Chapter 9

"He WHAT!?" Kat squealed.

It was Saturday afternoon and Kat had come over to get ready for the BBQ later. I had just told her what happened last night when Seth had come over. I told her everything Seth said, I couldn't help but smile and blush. She asked why I was blushing so much and when I told her that he kissed me she started screaming and jumping up and down.

"He… kissed me." I whispered, biting my lip and blushing as I thought back to that moment on my back patio. He had leaned in and pressed his lips to mine, pulling me closer in the process. I couldn't help but let my body move into his, gently grabbing his face with my hands. He took that as initiative to keep kissing me and his tongue started tracing my lips, asking for entrance. I started to realize that even though it was Seth I was kissing, it felt normal and almost right, like it wasn't weird to randomly hook up with your best friend. I had pulled away sooner than I wish I did because I didn't want my parents coming out back for some reason.

"Did you kiss him back? Was it just a kiss or like a make-out sesh? Was he good? Did you like it? Are you dating?" Kat fired off questions quicker than I could answer.

"Yes, I kissed him back; it was just a kiss; yes, he was good; yes, I liked it; and no, we're not dating." I laughed at her curiosity.

"Did you say it back?" she asked quietly, looking at me intently.

"Say what back?"

"He told you he loved you… did you say it back?"

As I thought about it I realized I didn't. I never actually commented on what he had said to me. I was too shocked by his confession and overwhelmed by his kiss that I just went inside.

"No… I didn't say it back." I said quietly as I kept thinking about it. Wow I'm an idiot, how could I not say anything to him?!

"Well, do you?" she asked. I sighed and fell onto my bed. Honestly, I had no clue. Yea I was jealous of Nikki and I hated seeing him hook up at parties with other girls. He was my best friend and I couldn't live without him. Yes, I loved him, but was I in love with him?

"I don't know. I mean he's kind, and caring, and funny, and superhot, but like, I don't know if I want to date him and risk ruining this great friendship we have, yenno?" she nodded but she seemed sad. "Why? Do you think we should date?" I asked

"Oh, no I don't know. I just know he really likes you, and he has for a long time. I think you guys could be cute and I think it would work with you guys." I sat up and thought about it. "But what do I know, I'm just the blonde best friend who doesn't pay any attention to the flirty actions going on between my two best friends." she commented with a wink. I rolled my eyes and went to grab two bikinis from my dresser drawers.

"Which one should I go with?" I asked Kat. "The pink and white polka dot or the yellow bottom with the lime green top?" I laid the two bikinis on my bed as I grabbed my ripped denim shorts and white V-neck.

"The yellow and green one, definitely." She said as she flipped through a magazine. I quickly changed and threw on my shorts and t-shirt. I through my hair up into a messy side bun and put my aviators on.

"Ready?" I asked as I tossed her flip-flops. She jumped up and we started walking to the beach.

The beach was packed with kids from our school. It looked like everyone was here already. There was a food area, a bonfire going, kids in the ocean, girls laying out in the sun, and of course, the guys I met last night playing soccer a little further in the distance. Most of the guys had graduated last year or the year before but since it's an open beach and technically open party, they came anyway and will probably just keep their distance. I looked around for Seth but I couldn't find him. I did, however, see Brady in full sprint come running towards us.

"Hi guys!" he picked me up in a hug and then did the same to Kat.

"What has you in such a happy mood?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Am I not allowed to be happy? Would you rather me be all doom and gloom?"

"No!" I laughed, "But you seem overly happy right now, did something happen?"

"No, I'm just really glad my best friends know the secret and we can finally all hang out together again like normal. Unlike last week where it was awkward and we were all on edge around Stevie." He said, poking my side.

"Yeah yeah mushy friends, where's Collin?" Kat asked, scanning the beach for her boyfriend.

"Him and Seth are at the store buying sodas and snacks. They should be back soon." Kat smiled and skipped off to the rest of the group while me and Brady trailed slowly behind.

"So don't worry, you're little boyfriend will be back soon." Brady said to me.

"Seth is not my boyfriend…"

"Oh really? So, you just kiss all of your best friends then?" He said, making a kissy face at me. I shoved his face away. I was going to ask how he even knew about that and then remembered they told me the wolves can read each other's minds when they're phased. I wonder what else Seth had said to them about me…

"It was a small kiss and it was in the moment. He professed his love for me, how could I not kiss him?"

"So, you don't like him like that?"

I sighed, "I don't know Brady. I mean it's Seth. He's my best friend and I'm scared that if we tried for more we might ruin it. Sure, he's sweet and nice and smoking hot but still." Brady laughed.

"Yea that's true. So maybe just stay friends. Maybe you'll meet another super-hot and nice guy who you like…" I looked over at him and he was just looking at his feet as he kicked the sand we were walking on.

"Yea maybe." I smiled and he looked up and smiled back at me.

A car horn beeped and we turned around to see Seth and Collin jump out of Seth's truck with bags of chips and drinks. I couldn't help but smile at him as he waved for us to come help.

"Go put your shit down, I'll help those idiots." Brady smiled and ran to go help and I walked to where Kat put her bag down and I put mine next to it.

"PASS IT OVER HERE! OVER HERE! I'M OPEN! GUYS I'M OPEN!" Quil was jumping up and down hoping his team would pass him the soccer ball. They didn't. Instead Paul knocked down Collin who was guarding him and made the goal himself.

"GOOOOOAAAALLLLLLL!" Paul ran around the make-shift field with his arms spread.

The guys had decided to play a game of soccer so they split into two teams: older wolves (Paul, Jared, Quil and Embry) versus the new wolves (DJ, Seth, Collin and Brady). Me and Kat stared in awe as the guys had taken their shirts off before the game. They were beautiful. All of them. Every. Single. One of them. Except DJ, he's still gross. I couldn't help but stare at Seth in particular. He was always a scrawny and lanky kid, sure he had some muscle from being forced to accompany Brady and Collin at the gym but he never had the body he has now and boy does he look good with it. He had seen me checking him out and gave me a wink and I had just blushed and forced myself to look away.

The new wolves were losing by only a few goals but from the victorious faces of Paul and Jared I could tell my boys weren't going to be catching up and winning. Which meant they were going to be taking a dip in the ocean since that was the agreement of the game: losers go swimming.

"FUCK YOU THAT DOESN'T COUNT YOU TRIPPED ME!" Brady shouted as Embry made the winning goal.

"No one said I couldn't." He answered back with an evil smirk.

"We told you guys from the beginning, us older wolves never lose. You two were just so cocky and wouldn't listen." Jared said walking past Brady and Seth. They just grumbled a few choice words and walked away.

Seth jogged over to me and stuck his hand out to help me off the ground. I just stared at it.

"I'm quite content sitting right here actually" I smiled up at him, "But have fun in the ocean."

"You two are coming with us. Did you really think we'd let you stay warm and dry?" He said with a smirk. My face dropped and I jumped up and ran away.

"I am NOT going in the ocean, it's way too cold!" I stood on one end of the table with Collin, Seth, and Brady on the other end. Kat was talking to Emily about the food so they weren't bothering her yet.

"Stevie, don't fight it. You're going in." Brady had an evil smirk and I saw him and Collin start to walk to the opposite sides of the table. A few kids from school were at the table and laughing at me, but of course not helping. Those bastards were planning on surrounding me. I turned and sprinted to Kat, jumping and koala hugging her.

"If I go down she's coming with me!" I shouted, hoping Collin would give up since it was his girlfriend.

"Thanks Stevie, you're such a great friend." She said with a nasty look. I kissed her cheek.

"You love me."

Collin, Brady, and Seth looked at each other and just shrugged. Were they giving up? Was I free? Seth ran up and wrapped his arms around my waist and Collin wrapped his around Kat and they pulled us apart, holding us in the air so we couldn't run away. I kicked and screamed trying to fight my way to the ground but Seth just laughed and ran to the water.

"You're the worst, you know that?" I said to him, giving up on breaking free.

"Yea, I know." And with that he threw me into the freezing cold water.

This bonfire was SUCH a great idea, I don't know why we didn't do it every year! Honestly, we should celebrate the start of every grade year with a giant party! There was so much beer and food and snacks and alcohol and snacks and beer and alcohol. Boy, was there plenty of alcohol tonight. I didn't know I loved it so much until this very moment.

"STE-VIE! STE-VIE! STE-VIE!" everyone was chanting my name as I did a handstand over the keg with someone holding my legs. I used to think beer was gross but it tasted amazing right now, not that I was really tasting it because it was going down waaaay too quick to actually taste it.

When the person holding my legs let me down, I tumbled my way over towards where I thought I last saw Seth. He needs to know that I just did a keg stand! I looked around but I couldn't see him anywhere. Something twinkling in the sky caught my attention- a star! A bunch of them! They were everywhere! It was so beautiful I almost forgot it had gotten dark when I was busy running around earlier.

"Stevie?" a voice from behind me made me jump. I turned around and smiled when I saw Seth two feet behind me.

"Seth! You found me!" I shouted, throwing my arms around him in a hug. I'm so happy he found me.

"I didn't know you were lost." He chuckled as he hugged me back. He wrapped his arm around my waist and we walked back towards a group of people. I didn't realize how cool it had gotten until I felt his warmth wrap around me. I leaned my head on his shoulder. Wow he smells good, did he always smell this good?

"You smell good." I told him, taking another deep breath. I felt his body shake from laughter.

"Why thank you drunky."

"I am not drunk!" I said, standing upright and turning to look at him. There must've been something on the ground where I was walking though because my foot got caught and I began to fall forward. Seth was super-fast though and caught me. What a guy, I sighed internally.

"Yup, not drunk at all…" Seth laughed and wrapped his arm around me again, pulling me towards Brady and Collin. "Look who got super plastered off of the keg." He said, sitting me down on a tree log and grabbing a bottle of water before coming and sitting down next to me. "Drink." He said, handing the bottle to me. I did what he said, not wanting to upset him. This water tasted so good, it was nice and cold and made my belly feel all funny. I looked at the water to see if it was a special kind made for drunk people. The water dripped down the side. I think that's called condensation.

"Oh wow, she's gone." I heard Brady say from the bench across from me. I looked up at him confused.

"I'm not gone, I'm right here." He's so dumb sometimes. Everyone laughed at me for some reason and Seth just rubbed my back. I finished drinking my water and pouted when I realized I had no more.

"Seeeeeth, can you get me more pleeeeease." I gave my best puppy dog eyes but with the laughs coming from Collin and Brady it probably wasn't as adorable as I intended. Seth nodded and got up to go find more water.

"Whipped." I heard Brady mutter. Collin just elbowed him and the two laughed some more. What were they laughing at?

"What are you laughing at?" I asked, wanting to know what was so funny. I like jokes, I want to laugh at a joke.

"We just think it's so funny how whipped Seth is." Collin replied.

"He's not whipped! He's just being a good friend is all."

"Yea good friend." The two broke into a fit of laughter again. I still don't get it. Seth was my good friend. Wasn't he?

"He is!"

"Okay sweetheart, just friends" Brady giggled to himself. "Damn imprints." he muttered.

"Imprints? What's that?" I asked. The word sounded familiar but it was lost on me right now. It sounded like something that involves newspaper. Collin and Brady exchanged nervous glances at each other.

"Uhh, it's a wolf thing Stevie, nothing to be talked about right now in public." Brady said looking around at the kids from school. No one was around us though, we were to the far side of the bon fire so no one was bothering us.

"There's no one around right now! I wanna know what it is!" I argued.

"Shhhh. Alright alright just keep your voice low. God Stevie you're gonna drunkenly expose us without even knowing." Collin said, moving closer to me.

"I ain't getting involved in this one" Brady said, standing up. "I need more beer." He walked away in search for beer.

"Bring some back for me!" I shouted to him. He just waved his hand. I think that meant he was going to! I turned back to Collin, "So what's inprinting?"

"Imprinting. It's…uh.. don't you remember us telling you about it at Emily's the other day?" I shook my head. Honestly, I'm surprised I'm able to remember how to speak right now. I'm getting dizzy and the last thing I want to do is think back to another day.

"It's like love at first sight. When a wolf sees this girl, it's like she becomes his whole world, he's attached to her. He would do anything, be anything, say anything she wanted. If it makes her happy then he'll do it, no questions asked. She's his soulmate and he's hers. It's like true love." Collin had a smile on his face while he was explaining this to me. His eyes were staring at the sand but I could tell his mind was somewhere else. It sounded so romantic, falling in love with the perfect person, knowing they would love you forever. It was magic. I want it. I want it with-

"What are you guys talking about? Stevie, you okay?" Seth jogged back and crouched down beside me, Collin turning to look at me. I just closed my eyes and smiled at them as I felt myself sway back and forth.

"It's like magic Seth. That imprinting thing, it sounds so magical…" I said as I felt my stomach suddenly churning. Uh oh, it was going to happen. I could feel my stomach moving around. I quickly jumped up and ran to an open sand area, hidden from the crowds of people and fell to my knees, the entire contents of my stomach coming right up and onto the ground in front of me. Great.

I rested my cheek on the cool ceramic tub in Seth's bathroom, closing my eyes to try and keep the room from spinning again. Being drunk sucks.

"Dude, it's your turn." Brady said to Seth, standing up and passing Seth in the doorway. Seth came and crouched down next to me, leaning against the tub.

"How ya holding up bub?" He asked, brushing some hair out of my face. Apparently after getting sick at the beach, Seth and Brady brought me to Seth's house as to not bother my parents with a sick teenager. They placed me on the bathroom floor in front of the toilet so that if I got sick I could just throw-up in the toilet. Real nice of them, right?

"I'm never drinking again." I told him, leaning over the toilet as I felt my stomach churn again. Seth leaned up and grabbed my hair into a messy bun so it wasn't in my face. He held it while I dry-heaved, not once complaining or making a comment about me being gross. Both him and Brady were being really nice about this. They've been taking turns sitting with me in the bathroom and not once did they tease me or make me feel embarrassed. It's probably because we've all been here at one point, especially them two. When they drink, they go hard and boy do they not care how black-out drunk they get.

It's weird, they both drank a lot tonight, almost more than they usually do, yet they are fine. Maybe it's a wolf thing with the warm body heat.

"I'll believe that when I see it!" Brady yelled from the hallway. "You love to party too much to never drink again." He laughed and I rolled my eyes.

"Seth, you don't have to stay in here you know, I'm kinda gross right now."

"I wanna make sure you're okay, I don't mind waiting." He smiled at me and rubbed my back while I sat there, slumped against the tub again. I smiled weakly up at him and he just smiled back, not saying anything else.