Chapter 5

At quarter to seven, I was ready. I dressed in a pair of my favorite black skinny jeans, a long white-and-black striped off-the-shoulder dress/top, and a pair of high grey heeled boots. I straightened my hair and pulled it back into a long slicked-back pony tail, letting it fall to the middle of my back since it's so long. After putting on a little bit of makeup, I grabbed my phone and some money and headed downstairs.

"Mom, I'm going out with Seth! I'll be back by eleven thirty!" I yelled as I ran out the door.

Club 21 was on the border of Forks and Neah Bay. It was about a twenty-minute drive. I pulled into the parking lot and got out, walking quickly to the front door. There were only a handful of people in the front room.

The club was split into two rooms. One room, the front room, was the quieter area. There were tables and chairs scattered around the room. There was also a pool table on the higher area of the room. On the far side of the room was a bar, where they served non-alcoholic drinks because the club was for kids under the drinking age of 21. A door next to the bar led to the actual dancing area, or room two. When you go through the door, the other part of the bar is on that wall. There is a DJ that is always playing good music and people are always dancing. There are a few chairs and tables but most people don't use them.

My favorite part of the club was on Tuesdays because Tuesdays is open-mic night where they hold contests for people that want to come up and sing. I go all the time with Brady and we compete against each other. I looked around for Seth but I couldn't find him. Maybe he was running late. I walked up to the bar and sat in a stool.

"Hey Stevie! How are you today?" the bartender asked.

"Hi Nicole. I'm good, how are you?" Nicole was 24 years old and we became good friends when she started working here.

"I'm good. Are you here with someone?"

"I'm waiting for Seth. He's been sick all week but he's finally feeling better so were gonna hangout tonight."

"Oh, that's good. Well tell him I'm glad he's feeling better. I have to work the other side for a little." She said, handing me a Shirley Temple. I smiled at her and took a sip.

"I'll tell him. Thanks." I said lifting the cup to show her what I was thanking her for.

9:53pm

Three hours. Seth is three hours late! And he didn't even call to tell me if he was canceling or something! I've checked my phone a million times and even called and left him messages, but he hasn't answer or called back. I have no idea where he could be. I called his house and Sue had said he went out and that she thought he was with me.

The door chimed and I looked over at it hoping it was Seth. It wasn't. Instead, a small group of insanely hot Quileute boys walked in. I recognized them from school.

One of the boys turned and looked at me. Our eyes met and a huge smile formed on his face. He lifted his hand and gave a small wave to me. I smiled and waved back. I recognized the boy, he used to go to La Push high but graduated two years ago. He's also part of the La Push gang. His name is Embry Call. I quickly turned around when I realized I was staring. I hoped he didn't come over here, I was waiting for Seth regardless of how late he was.

I peeked over my shoulder to see the guy who smiled at me walking over. Crap! I turned my body so my back was too him, hoping he would take the hint. I can't go on a date tonight, I'm waiting for Seth.

"Hey." He said quietly. I slowly turned my body towards him so I could get a better look. He was unbelievably tall, towering over me. His dark tanned skin stretched out over his muscles that were halfway between bulky and lean. He raked a hand through his short, dark hair and looked at me with a small smile on his lips.

"Hi." I answered as I caught myself staring into his dark grey eyes.

"Haven't I seen you someplace before?" I had to stop myself from scoffing. Was he really using that cheesy pick up line? I turned the rest of my body to him with a sarcastic smile.

"Yeah, that's why I don't go there anymore." His smile grew slightly bigger as I batted my eyelashes.

"I'm Embry." He said sticking his hand out. I looked at it. I may be waiting for Seth, but that doesn't mean I can't flirt with a guy, right?

"And I'm not interested." I said with a small smirk. He took it back but instead of looking put out, he looked…happy?

"Is this seat empty?" he asked, pointing to the empty sat next to me.

I gave a seductive smirk. "Yes, and if you sit there so will this one." He chuckled and sat down.

"So, what's your sign?" It was when I realized he wasn't trying to pick me up for real- sure he was interested, but he was having fun with it. I smiled and took a sip of my drink.

"Do not open." He tried to stifle his laughter.

"Well, what do you do for a living?"

I put my drink down and gave him my biggest seductive smile, leaning my elbows on the bar and resting my chin on my hands. "I'm a female impersonator."

"Well you're doing a great job!" I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips. We both started cracking up at the corniness. When we both started to calm down, he stuck his hand out again.

"I'm Embry."

"I'm Stevie." I smiled as we shook hands.

"So, tell me Stevie, what is a pretty girl like you doing at a club, on a Friday night, all alone." He asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"My date bailed." I sighed and turned back to the bar for another drink. Embry held up two fingers towards Nicole and she came back to two cokes. I smiled at Embry and took a sip.

"How late is he?"

"Three hours."

"Ouch. I'm sorry."

"It's cool. I have company now, so it's all good." I gave him a wink and his smile widened. "So how come I've never seen you around here before?" I asked.

"I've been grounded almost every night for the past six months." He said with a frown.

"Oh, why is that?"

"It's mostly my fault. My mom tells me every night not to sneak out and every night I sneak out. So, she grounds me for the following night, and that night I sneak out again."

"So why don't you just stop sneaking out. That way your mom isn't mad and you don't get grounded."

"That's just it. I have … stuff to do during the night, so I have to be there. So, I sneak out." He hesitated when he said what he was doing so I figured it was best not to question what he was doing in the night.

"I'm assuming you didn't sneak out last night."

"Nope, I stayed home all night, so my mom let me out. I'm free until one. That's when she wants me back."

"Are you going home at one?"

" …probably not." He whispered. I scoffed.

"Of course not." I muttered sarcastically. It got a little awkward after that. Thankfully Nicole broke it, telling me my favorite song is playing in the next room. I quickly finished my drink and grabbed Embry's hand, pulling him into the back room.

"I love this song!" I shouted over the sound of Jason Derulo's Ridin' Solo blasting from the speakers. Embry laughed.

"I see you like the throwbacks!"

"Duh, throwbacks are the best." He chuckled and grabbed my hands, twirling me and dancing to the music. We laughed at each other's awful dance moves, completely ignoring the people around us for the moment. Seth may have bailed and ruined the beginning of my night but that didn't mean I couldn't make it better. Embry and I laughed and danced to more songs that played until I was so out of breath I needed to sit down. We made our way back into the front room for water and to calm down.

"You gotta teach me those dance moves sometime." He smiled at me, mocking my disco dance moves. I playfully shoved his shoulder and took a sip of my water. "So, wanna head out and maybe go to First Beach or something?" he asked, looking a little nervous. Was he asking me to basically come back to his house? Like people do when they hook up at bars?

"And what makes you think I'd wanna do that?" I asked with a smile.

"Well, you know, we danced, we talked, I feel like now we should maybe go to a quieter place. Maybe get to know each other a little better?" I laughed and finished my water.

"Hmm…" I grabbed my car keys out of my pocket, getting ready to head out.

"Or are you just going to go and leave me hanging?!" he asked, his mouth open in fake shock. I thought about it.

"Well I was gonna take you with me, buuuuut leaving you hanging sounds like a much better idea." I said, giving him a wink.

"Well shit…" he looked upset. I wrote my number on a napkin and slid it to him.

"I promised my mom I'd be home soon so I have to go. But I'll be seeing you Embry." I gave him a smile and turned to leave. From the mirror across the room I could see him watching me walking away with a shocked expression that was also covered in surprise and excitement. I blew him a kiss as I got to the front door to leave. He winked and I left.