Obligatory note: So, I had wanted to post this before I went to Forks. But I didn't. But TwiFest actually turned out to be pretty fun! Met some super cool people. Some not so cool, but let's not talk about them. They don't deserve our words. Anyway, turned out to be an awesome weekend, my team won the geocaching because we're just that cool. Even if you don't go for TwiFest, you really should still go. Absolutely beautiful over there. Have I mentioned weed is legal there now? Hashtag just saying.
As for the delay in getting this chapter out... It literally was just the ending. I had most of it written but was stuck on the end for months. Still better than two years, if I do say so myself. Unless it's utterly terrible, in which case I may have been better off holding it for two years. So that's it. Enjoy!
As always, a huge thank you to my sister from another mister and beta, Mel Cooley!
Jacob and Renesmee had given me a lot to consider. Too much to simply ignore, as much as I wished I could. My first instinct was to pack up and run. My default, knee-jerk reaction. But I was tired of running. I had run from Rochester. I had run from New York. I didn't want to run again. I was a half-vampire cop, for crying out loud. I shouldn't be afraid of anything. Least of all love.
Unconditional, eternal, supernaturally-influenced, gene-induced love.
And so that early Saturday evening found me anxiously pacing to and fro in my living room, looking out the large bay window at every pass. I now regretted agreeing to this and wondered if it was too late to call him and cancel.
I darted over to the coffee table to pick up my cell phone, only to have it buzz in my hand. A text message from Alice. I could already hear her little pixie voice in my head screaming at me, "Don't you dare cancel on that boy! It's just dinner and a movie, you'll be fine, stop making it out to be a death sentence. Blah blah blah blah!" When I unlocked the phone and opened the message, it wasn't far off from what I had imagined.
I dropped the phone onto the table and fell back onto the couch, head in my hands, remembering how I had gotten myself into this mess.
Before leaving on Thursday, Renesmee had made sure to snag my phone and sneak Seth's number into it. And send him a text. From my phone. Somehow without me realizing. So imagine my surprise when later that night I got a text message from him. I tried to ignore it, but just a simple text had somehow served as that last push to force me into communication with this boy.
Hi.
That was all it said. Just, Hi.
And from that point forward for the rest of the night I had his goofy grin-wearing face stuck in the forefront of my thoughts. It was there when I stopped that speeder flying by the Thriftway on the 101, it was there when I went to that domestic dispute with the angry, knife-wielding husband, and it was there when I signed out at the end of my shift.
Resigning myself to whatever fate had in store, I sat in my car in the parking lot of the station and pulled up Seth's conversation on my phone. I stared at the screen for 44 seconds before typing a response.
Hey.
After I touched Send, I tossed the phone onto the passenger seat and started up the engine to head home. Almost immediately my phone buzzed with a reply, but I stubbornly refused to look at it until I was parked in my driveway.
How are you?
I unsuccessfully tried to hold back my smirk and rolled my eyes. I waited until I was inside my house before replying.
Fine. Tired. Had a long night. How are you?
I stretched out on my couch and clicked on the TV, which was quickly becoming the routine every day. I flipped through the channel guide for a bit until I found something mildly entertaining (a Supernatural marathon) and dropped the remote on the coffee table just as my phone buzzed again.
Still repentant. I figured you'd be tired so I'll get right to it. Dinner and a movie tomorrow night?
Even though I had known this was coming, I still gaped at the phone. He didn't beat around the bush.
"Ugh," I sighed out loud. I let him sweat until the next commercial break; about ten minutes.
Fine. Pick me up at 7. Flight just opened last weekend. We can see that. And I like Italian. Good Italian, not imitation Italian like Olive Garden or Uno's.
Just because I was finally acquiescing didn't mean I was going to make it easy for him. But I was starting to feel kind of bad for him. He really was being sweet.
Didn't make up for the fact that he tried to eat me. And wrecked my car. Okay, so he wasn't the one who tried to eat me. But he had been there. Guilty by association.
The phone buzzed again and I picked it up.
Sounds great! Flight looks good and I know just the place for dinner! I'll see you at 7!
And so it was that I found myself a nervous wreck at 6:57 Saturday night, waiting for my... date... to pick me up. Ick. I couldn't even think the word without cringing. Alice had been quick to insist on a cute little outfit, of course. I had stubbornly pulled on jeans and a hoodie. Anything to downplay this little rendevouz as much as possible.
This was nothing more than a free meal, a free movie, and the company of a (hopefully) not too annoying boy.
Those pecs, though...
Focus, Alex.
The sounds of crunching gravel and a loud exhaust grabbed me out of my thoughts. I shoved my phone into the pocket of my hoodie and went out the front door to wait on my porch as the car came into view.
The rusted, gray, severely outdated Honda pulled up next to my Lexus, looking sorely out of place. I didn't give him a chance to shut off the engine before I was making my way to the car. I threw a smile his way as he awkwardly stood half in and half out of his side of the car and I opened the passenger door and fell into the seat, wasting no time closing the door and buckling my seat belt. Seth silently sat back in the driver's seat, but turned to me before putting the car in reverse.
"So," he began slowly, "just so you know, this is my first date. Ever. I, uh... I brought you flowers!"
That ridiculously happy grin was back on his face as he turned and reached into the back seat and turned back around with a small bouquet of daisies held out to me. I hesitated before reaching out to take them and reactively stuck them in my face to smell them. Where he got fresh flowers in November I couldn't begin to guess, but they smelled lovely.
Despite myself, I smiled shyly. "Thanks," I said.
His grin widened and he backed down the driveway, turning onto the road and heading toward Port Angeles.
About ten minutes along the 101, I finally broke the silence.
"So, is this really your first date ever?" I asked, toying with the flowers in my hands.
"Yeah," Seth answered. "It's a small community and no one ever really stood out for me, you know? And with all the pack stuff, protecting the town and the res and everything, dating was just never a priority."
I made a noise in my throat akin to a muted chuckle. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, nobody's ever brought me flowers before."
"Really?" he asked, incredulous.
"Really, really," I confirmed. "I guess New York guys are just not as romantic as Washington guys."
Ugh. Did I really just say that?
Seth grinned. "I guess that means I'm starting off pretty good then, huh?"
I let myself laugh out loud that time. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Romeo. And thanks for wearing a shirt today."
His grin didn't falter, but he blushed immediately, glancing down at his untucked dress shirt. "Wolf thing," he explained. "We run a little hotter than normal people."
I felt a thrill of camaraderie. Maybe we were meant to be, after all. I myself had never had a body temperature anywhere near 98.6.
"Well, you feel normal to me," I said awkwardly. "When I broke your nose you did, anyway."
Good job, Lex. Just keep sticking that foot in your mouth.
But to my surprise, he just laughed again.
"I have to admit, I never saw that coming," he said. "But no harm done. I heal probably just as fast as you do."
The rest of the ride into Port Angeles was less awkward, the two of us comparing our so called super powers. When we pulled into the Deer Park Cinema, he parked and practically jumped out the door to run around to my side to hold my door open for me.
I eyed him as I slowly stood from the vehicle.
"I wanted to do this when I picked you up, but you moved too fast for me," he explained.
It was getting harder and harder to be cold to him.
All through the movie, I kept waiting for the cheesy stretch move. You know the one, where the guy fakes a yawn and a stretch and his arm conveniently lands around your shoulders? It never came, though. No sly moves to hold my hand or cop a cheap feel. I did catch him looking at me a few times when he should have been watching the screen, but as soon as he saw I had noticed his attention shifted back to the movie.
Two hours and eighteen minutes later, we were driving to whatever restaurant he had picked out for dinner. He told me the name, but I was too busy watching his full lips from the words to pay attention to what he was actually saying.
The five minute drive from the theater to the restaurant was enough time to snap myself out of whatever haze I had fallen into. I needed to stay focused or else things might end up going a lot farther than they should on a first date.
No problem. We were getting Italian, right? Italian means garlic. Lots of garlic. No one wants to make out with garlic breath. Genius, Lex, I mentally congratulated myself. Perfect.
Seth must have made a reservation because there was a small crowd of people waiting in the lobby for a table to open, but he went straight to the hostess who led us immediately to a small booth toward the back of the restaurant. She handed us each a menu and promised that our server would be right with us before heading back to the front.
I picked up the menu in front of me and quickly read it through, looking for the stinkiest, least appealing dish they served. It didn't take me long, and I even had time to peruse the wine list before the waiter, a tall blond man around our own ages, approached us, notepad in hand.
"Good evening, my name is Mike and I'll be your server," he said. "Would you like to hear tonight's specials?"
Seth glanced at me and at my slight head shake said, "No thank you, I believe we're ready to order. Alex?"
"I'll have the steak carbonara please, rare, and a glass of Merlot," I said.
"Spaghetti with meatballs, please," Seth said. "And also an order of lasagna. And also a chicken parm."
Mike wrote everything down as Seth spoke, hesitating when he'd finished before looking up again.
"Do you have more joining your party?" Mike asked.
"Uh, no," Seth answered, smiling self-consciously. "That's, uh... That's all for me. Um... Big appetite."
Mike looked Seth up and down quickly before turning back to me. "And may I just see your ID, please?"
I scrunched my brow, before remembering I had ordered wine. As Mike scrutinized my driver's license, I couldn't help noticing how absolutely adorable Seth was when he was bashful. He had slightly blushed when his order was questioned, and his full lips had pulled up into the most-
"Thank you, miss," Mike said handing me back my ID. "I'll go put that order in right now."
Before he could turn away, I blurted out, "And garlic bread. Lots of garlic bread. Just keep it coming. Please."
Mike nodded slowly before turning back toward the kitchen.
Seth and I exchanged an awkward look before we both burst out laughing, undoubtedly thinking the same thing.
"I think we gave them enough gossip for a month," I said.
"Oh, who cares," Seth said. "They don't matter. Let them think whatever they want."
Mike returned to set down a basket of freshly baked garlic bread, my glass of wine and a glass of water for each of us, and quickly disappeared again.
I grabbed the top slice and immediately bit off half.
"So," Seth started casually, taking the next slice of bread in a much more civilized manner than I had. "What's it like working for my step-dad?"
I choked on the half-masticated bread in my mouth. Seth's face turned into an expression of pure panic.
"Oh, here!" He shoved a glass of water into my hand and I chugged it down.
Once I got the chunk of bread down, I set the glass back down and tried to catch my breath.
"I'm dating the Chief of Police's son?" I asked between gasps.
Seth shrugged. "Well, step-son. He married my mom a couple years ago. And you know he's Bella's dad, right?"
"Is anyone in Forks not related?" Damn small towns...
Seth shrugged. "Well sure, but the Cullens are a huge family. A lot of opportunity to make connections. And who are you to talk? Finding your great aunt who's been missing for how many years?" He added on a wink to let me know he was teasing.
"All right," I said, taking a sip of wine. "So fill me in on your life story."
About an hour, three glasses of wine, four baskets of garlic bread and nearly half a dozen entrees later, I had learned that Bella was the daughter of Chief Swan and had moved up here as a teenager from Phoenix, fell in love with Edward, and after a fair share of dramatics (Which were politely glossed over), the two got married and had Renesmee by accident, and that Chief Swan had married Seth's mother, Sue, after the two had grown consistently closer after the unexpected death of Seth's father, Harry, who had passed around the time Seth and his older sister Leah had "phased" (Seth's word, not mine) into giant mutant wolves for the first time. Seth had also told me about how relations between the Cullens and the La Push pack had not always been so cordial, and thus why some of the wolf-men were so anxious when I first arrived.
"Not all vampires are friendly vampires," Seth had whispered to me seriously.
Well, duh. They're vampires.
"The town should really post a warning sign at the border," I said, after Mike had taken the check and Seth's payment away. That earned a snort from Seth.
"I think that might defeat the whole purpose of secrecy, though," he answered through a grin. Which I returned. And we sat there grinning like idiots at each for God knows how long.
Finally, or maybe all too soon, Seth blinked and glanced away, effectively ending whatever spell I was just under.
"Ready to go?"
I nodded and stood, shrugging my hoodie back on and grabbing the last piece of garlic bread before walking with Seth to the door and out to his car.
The ride home was quiet, but comfortable. The view of Lake Crescent under the moonlight as we drove along it was absolutely breathtaking.
Less than an hour later, we pulled into my driveway and Seth once again parked right next to my Lexus. Knowing he'd want to open my door again, I smiled at him as he got out of the car and walked around to my side. He opened the door and held out his hand. I took it and he helped me out of the car.
"May I walk you to your door?"
I felt my face heat up. "Sure," I answered. My cheeks were beginning to ache from smiling so much. What was he doing to me?
Flowers in hand, I led him up the porch steps as I pulled my keys from my jeans' pocket and stopped at the front door. I turned around and he was standing only a few inches away. I could smell him easily from here and he smelled... Describing his scent would be like describing colors to the blind. He just smelled amazing and I kind of wanted to lick him to see if he would taste just as good.
"I had a really great time, Seth," I said, fiddling with my keys. "I'm sorry for being an epic bitch before. And thank you for tonight."
He smiled bashfully in return and ducked his head a little. "Don't worry about it. Being a bitch, I mean." He suddenly jerked his head up, his expression on of pure terror. "Not that I'm saying you were a bitch! Because you weren't! I mean, I get it, why you were apprehensive, not that- Oh, jeez-"
"Seth! Shut up!" I snapped my fingers in front of his face, effectively cutting off his hole digging. He complied, and I sighed. "You're too sweet for your own good, you know that?"
"I may have heard that from someone before," he said. "What are you doing tomorrow?"
I shrugged and shook my head. "No plans."
His grin grew back. "Good. You wanna go for a run?"
That threw me. A run? What kind of date was that? Well, I mean, I could stand to stretch my legs a bit.
"Okay, sure. Tomorrow morning? Say around nine?"
"That late?"
I scoffed. "It is after midnight, Mr Clearwater, and some of us need our beauty sleep."
He inched closer to me. "I know you're not talking about yourself," he breathed.
Whoa. When did this conversation take this turn?
"Of course not," I breathed back. "Obviously I meant you."
He chuckled as he ducked his head once more, only this time my head was in his path. His eyes fluttered shut.
Oh no!
Warning bells were going off, hell, there were air raid sirens in my head! We couldn't be about to kiss! It was only date one! Who kisses on the first date? Who? This was a five alarm emergency, and needed to be stopped. His lips were definitely incoming, oblivious to the sheer panic in my brain.
I coughed, and immediately the spell was broken.
"Sorry, sir, I have garlic breath, and I believe I've committed myself to a somewhat early engagement in the morning," I said suavely, turning and shoving my key in the door and pushing it open. I stepped in but before I closed it I turned back to see Seth's disappointed but thankfully not shattered face. "Thank you for the flowers," I added, and then smiled. "I'll see you at nine. Hope you've got good running shoes."
He smiled back and straightened up, scoffing. "I don't need running shoes."
I closed the door and listened as he got back into the car and drove away, still grinning to myself. When the car was out of my hearing range, I went to the kitchen to find something to put the daisies in before heading upstairs to dream of what had turned out to be a fantastic evening.
PS- I also want to acknowledge and thank everyone who has left such wonderful comments and subscribed to alerts for this story. I saw a surge after last chapter and you did motivate me to write a little faster. I hope I met your expectations.
As always, leave me some love.
Ren
