Disclaimer:
I don't own anything!
A/N- Sorry for the delay, enjoy the
chappie!
Chapter 24
I woke up feeling that yesterday was totally cliché. It was weird to think that the day I confess my secrets to Embry everything is suddenly so story book. Then again, I guess I shouldn't be surprised when I am living in a fantasy world.
I glanced at the clock, and realized it was Friday. Embry wasn't in the bed next to me, it was strange, but it had to be done. He had agreed to run patrols this morning to get tonight off. I felt bad that Brady and Collin had to work, but they volunteered. I should have known Sam would never let everyone have the night off.
Tonight, yes tonight would be the party. I still needed a few things, so I grabbed some clothes, nothing special… tank and jeans, and quickly took a shower. I slathered on my favorite body wash, scrubbing profusely, and then quickly massaged my scalp with my favorite strawberry shampoo.
After my shower I knocked on Rosa's door to wake her up. She too was a shopping addict, so taking her with me was only logical.
Except, to my surprise, I received no answer when I knocked. I called her name, and knocked a little louder. I threatened to send the dog in, and still no reply.
Grumbling, I opened the door and walked into the room. There she was cuddled into a little cocoon and snoring loudly. I probably should have taken a picture for future blackmail, but I was in too much of hurry to get going. I shook her until I was getting slapped and she was complaining she was awake. I smiled in achievement and continued downstairs to feed and let the dog out.
"Rocky! Want to go out?" I called loudly to the sleeping dog. He awoke with a jump and ran towards the door.
I closed the door and walked into the kitchen. I searched the cabinets for my favorite cereal, but growled angrily when I couldn't find anything besides pop tarts. One thing I wouldn't be able to rely on was having the cereal I wanted when there were werewolves around.
I
knew I would have to have something before I left or I would
definitely have problems later. I moved towards the fridge and, in my
famous tilted head stance, stared at the few contents left.
Rocky barked at the door signaling he wanted to come in. I jumped in surprise to the noise. I'm not sure how long I had been standing with the fridge door open but it was long enough for Kim and Jared to now occupy the once vacant table.
I nodded to them before I grabbed the OJ and quickly let the dog in.
"Hey, are you coming with me?" I questioned Kim when I returned to the kitchen. I then snagged a glass out of the cupboard for my juice.
"Where are you going?" She replied, confused. I was surprised I needed to answer. Could she have actually forgotten about our party?
I poured the juice and quickly fed the dog before moving to sit on the counter. She stared at me waiting for my explanation, and I groaned. She actually forgot.
"I need to go shopping for our party tonight." I told as if it was obvious. I grumbled in disbelief, while quietly sipping my juice. She replied with an 'Oh', just as Rosa walked in.
"Morning dudes!" She called loudly. I hopped down from the counter and set my juice to the side, to greet my friend. Unfortunately as soon as I put my drink down she picked it up. I rolled my eyes at her antics.
"Stupid midget steals my juice." I mumbled under my breath. Although super hearing Jared chuckled.
"Hey homes, you ready?" I questioned, anxious to leave.
"Yeah, is Kim going?" She questioned as she finished gulping down my juice.
"Yuppers!"
Kim said way too excitedly. Apparently she likes to shop, who would
have guessed.
She kissed Jared and got up from the table while
Rosa placed the glass in the sink.
"Hey Jar, can you tell Embry were I went?" I asked. I didn't want him to worry. He nodded simply. I could tell he wasn't much of a morning person, so it didn't bother me like it would most people.
Kim
grabbed her keys and noticing the rainy weather; we all grabbed our
jackets and purses and quickly ran to the car. It was coming down in
deep sheets, and it made me want to go off-roading. There was nothing
more fun than off-roading in the mud.
Kim roared the engine to
life, and I quickly bucked up. I normally didn't care, but there
are too many accidents in the rain.
We cranked the tunes and took off. Kim was a reckless driver, but it was amusing. She cut people off, and cursed them out. I had to say it was the first time that I got the finger four times by the same person while riding in a car. Rosie wasn't as amused; she held on for dear life and screamed bloody murder every other second.
We
chatted lightly, mostly about nonsense things, but it was relaxing.
Half-way there my phone vibrated, and I checked the caller ID. It was
Denine. I turned down the radio so I could hear, and then answered
it.
"Hey girl, what up?" I questioned my friend,
slightly surprised she was calling.
"Not much. Except well, we heard Rosa was coming out to visit you, and well we got jealous." She answered.
"We? Who's there? Am I on speaker?" I groaned in realization. Then I heard a series of 'hellos' and 'heys'.
"Hey
guys." I called to them. Was it even possible for any of my
friends to call someone by themselves?
"Well anyway my point
is, that everyone misses you and we all worry about you and we
decided to get a plane over there as well." She told me. I
wanted to be happy to see my friends, but I really didn't know if I
could handle them being here. I mean, it would be hectic, and there
isn't enough room. How long would they stay? Where would they stay?
"Uh, what do you mean?" I questioned, overwhelmed.
"Well, we were thinking that we would visit over the weekend. If that's okay?" Someone else told me who I recognized as Mike.
"Who all is coming?" I questioned warily.
"Well
me…Alina, Mike, and Justin. We didn't want to overwhelm you.
Unless you have plans or something, then we can come some other
time." Denine commented sadly. I rubbed a hand over my
face.
"Yeah, maybe you could come during the week. I mean I
need to make sure its okay with my roommates." I explained.
"Okay,
we just miss you. And we worry about you. I mean you didn't talk
for a month after it happened, then you ran away, and now all of a
sudden you act all normal. We just want to see you happy, and meet
the person the brought our friend back." She told me. I felt
bad. They really are great friends.
"Awe, I love you guys!
Hey I got to go. Chat later, iight." I joked as they said
goodbye too. I laughed; this would be the first time that we all had
a boyfriend at the same time.
I flicked the lid closed and groaned.
"Who was that?" Kim asked curiously.
"Friends, everyone wants to visit. When did I become so popular?" I complained, and Rosie laughed.
"They all just want to meet you man candy." She teased and I laughed. Then I remembered my question from before.
"Speaking of man candy, what did I miss last night?" I questioned the short girl suspiciously.
"Yeah, Rosa! I do believe I saw you flirting with Mr. Paul." Kim accused.
"I did not flirt with Paul." She argued, and I glared at her.
"Bull. I saw you holding hands. "I argued.
"I was not!" She defended, and I wondered why she was denying it.
"Sure he seems like a funny guy, and he's kind of cute, but he is not my type. I was just getting to know my roommate." She defended again, and Kim giggled. Rosa's cheeks tinted pink and I knew she was totally crushing on Paul. Maybe she liked him, but she just didn't want too?
"I am serious guys, I don't want a relationship. Besides I only break his heart when I go back to New York. Speaking of which, Liz what are you going to do come September." She said, and a knife crashed through my chest.
I had been avoiding that thought ever since my first date with Embry. I rushed into things with him, and now I would either break his heart or never return home. I had never been thinking. I was so desperate for someone to love that I ignored all rules. How could I let myself become attached to him, within a few weeks time? Was my love for Embry just a need for love and a chance to forget? Or was it just that I was his imprint and he loved me unconditionally, and that was all I needed to know before throwing myself deep into a relationship? Was I so eager to escape, that I was able to say I loved him in such a short amount of time. Or did I really love him for him?
I never did answer her question. I was too busy thinking about Embry and me. I spent the rest of the ride to the store trying to erase those thoughts rather than figure out whether or not I had any idea what I was doing.
When we finally arrived at the store, I was able to deter my thoughts and regain my excitement for shopping. I mean really regain, not just a little excited but super crazy hyper, I'm sure it looked like I was on speed or some drug like that.
We grabbed a cart and made our way through the aisles. We chatted, and joked about what games we would play, and made bets on who would embarrass themselves. I told them I had a practical joke planned for Sam. He is way too serious, and I don't think anyone would try it.
I
tried to hold in a laugh as I pictured it, but it didn't help when
Kim's face got serious, and scared.
"You cannot do that!"
She cried incredulously.
"Why not? It'll be harmless. Like I said, he's too serious." I argued disappointed that she didn't like my idea. Fortunately Rosie agreed.
"Really, it's not like he's going to be the only one. If I know Liz like I think I do you are going to be prank'd for that." She teased Kim, and I winked to her confirming I was.
It was true, I had a thousand pranks up my sleeve and I always get the one's that expect to be immune. Like the quiet ones, and the tough guys or my favorite…the one's that help plan them.
I snickered manically at my plan and Kim looked at me like I was crazy, I quickly covered my face and tried to hold it in. It worked well for a couple seconds. But I let it rip when Kim, who had been glaring at me suspiciously slipped in a puddle and fell.
"Slip
much?" I roared hysterically, unfortunately Kim wasn't too
happy and pulled me down next to her.
I cried out in surprise
while Kim mocked me, "Slip much?"
Both our legs were soaked from the mysterious liquid that seemed to have flooded the aisle. Rosie was getting a kick out of it, so both Kim and I teamed up on her.
We each grabbed a leg and yanked her down; she went straight down and hit the ground with a thump. We all laughed as she rolled to her side complaining her butt hurt. All of us were to tears, although it was undeterminable whether we were really laughing or crying in embarrassment.
It took several minutes, and a complaint from the manager before we were able to stand up and continue shopping. I was pretty sure he wouldn't let us back anytime soon though.
We continued to snicker as we moved more quickly through the aisles. We were all anxious to finish and get home. Not only were we feeling awkward under the glares from other people in the store, but the fact that our bottoms were soaked from the unknown liquid made us uncomfortable. Not to mention it looked like we peed ourselves.
We were able to grab everything we could think of without problem. Our cart was overfilled with items such as twister, cards, beverages, food, ping pong balls, board games, balloons, darts, wooden spoons, eggs, cherries, whipped cream, note cards, all the way too shaving cream. I hoped desperately I didn't forget anything, but realized we would just have make due with what we had. We paid for our supplies and then headed back to the house to get ready.
The car engine calmed to a hum as we slowed to a stop in our large driveway. I opened my door, and was once again greeted with the cool moist air of Washington, and the livid green colors that surrounded my home. I walked around to the boot and began pulling out bag after bag.
Just as I grabbed the sixth bag, my favorite wolf took them from me while the other men of the house grabbed the rest. I smiled and trudged in behind Embry savoring the view from the back. I followed him to the table where he dislodged the bags.
Throughout
our shopping trip I had completely forgotten my previous thoughts but
now as I glanced up and found Embry's deep dark eyes staring into
mine, I wondered how I could ever have doubted our love.
He
grinned wickedly and closed the distance. His hands found my hair
while his lips attacked mine. It was deep and passionate, but as
always ended too soon. We both pulled away, gasping slightly for
breaths. We didn't move from our close embrace.
"I missed you. How was your day?" He asked and stole kiss from me. I smiled widely.
"I missed you too." I said seriously and copied him by stealing a kiss too. I took a deep breath, and smiled.
"I hate waking up without you in bed next to me. But I had fun today; I don't think we are allowed back to that store though. I need to go change." I joked once again returning to my simple carefree persona. I pecked his cheek happily and headed upstairs.
"Do I want to know?" He teased as he followed me up. I chuckled.
"Probably not. It's just one of those silly girl things." I joked as I climbed the staircase.
"Now I'm curious." He teased as I moved to my dresser. Just as I pulled out some clean jeans, I was pulled backwards. I laughed as Embry's lips attacked my neck.
"Em, are you going to let me get dressed, or this going to be a pattern?" I teased as he once again started a make out session while we were getting dressed. I was not complaining though, this was definitely what I wanted, and needed.
He didn't answer, but I felt him smile against my lips and chuckle. It was all good until his hands started to travel.
I stopped and pulled back to look at him, was he serious?
"What are you doing?" I teased. He smiled devilishly.
"I'm just helping you change out of your wet pants." He teased, and smiled widely. I laughed, relieved. I hadn't expected that.
We continued our kisses and he lifted me up around his waist and I wrapped my arms around his neck and held myself up. His rough fingers found my waist band and started attacking my zipper and prying the soak pants off of me. I laughed as he finished and proudly smiled at his accomplishment.
I walked back over to my dresser and searched for cute little pink undies that I wasn't able to get out the first time.
"So are you going to tell me now?" Embry asked and I half expected him to find a shirt but instead he just collapsed onto the bed.
It still amazed me how he could run around without a shirt on and not be cold. Not that I was complaining, I am totally cool with him walking around half naked.
He smiled up at me from his spot and I signaled for him to close his eyes. He laughed as he waited for my explanation. I quickly retold my little episode as I pulled on my pants.
"You are so silly." He chuckled when I finished.
I threw my dirty clothes in the hamper as Embry got up and wrapped his arm around me before leading me back downstairs.
In the kitchen, we found all of the bags unloaded and all the items dealt with. The food was either in bowls or keeping cool in the fridge, while all the games and random items were spread across the living room. I smiled at my friends who all looked lost at where to go next.
"Before we do anything I need a hat." I said to the group. Paul quickly ran upstairs without saying anything. Not more than a moment later, he thundered down the stairs, taking two and three at a time, with a baseball cap in his left hand. I smiled and thanked him, before explaining.
"Here is how we do things. It is ritual for us to write all the games down and place the paper in the hat. We randomly select what we do as we go through the night." I explained as I held up the post its.
"Right, Liz and I basically have all the fun games on our list, but we want your help. If you know of anything that would be fun, write it down. We have our list, and some sharpies, so let's get started!" Rosa chirped as I pulled out my famous list.
Everyone
had grabbed a sharpie and was well on there way coping down the list.
All the ideas they had were already on the list, much to my
disappointment. It was fine though, it really is a great list.
"Done!" Jared cried, and we all sighed in relief.
"I am Starving. Do we have to wait to eat?" Paul questioned, and both Embry and Jared's eyes perked up at the thought of food. I laughed and rolled my eyes.
"Go
eat a horse!" Rosie joked, dismissing the boys. They raced to
the kitchen, arguing and pushing.
I sat back into the couch,
relaxing a bit before tonight. Rosa joined me, flicking on the TV,
while Kim put all the papers in the hat. It was a rerun of 'Family
Guy' but I didn't mind.
The time flew by as we waited for our friends. The boys eventually reentered the living room, arms stacked with sandwiches, and chips. We all waited anxiously as one by one cars parked across the street. Slowly the spacious living room turned into a crowded zoo, and as the door opened spilling in Sam and Emily I knew everyone was here.
I cleared my throat and watched as heads snapped in my direction. I smiled in success.
"Hey guys, thank you all for coming! I can't wait to start the fun, so without further a due, Rosie will explain the game." I shouted excitably, and everyone cheered. I leaned on the arm of the recliner as she lifted the little cap.
"Alright, Sooo… Liz and I have a well loved tradition. I like to call it the destiny of the hat, and basically whatever we do tonight will be decided by the hat." She explained, and took a quick break before continuing.
"Now, we rotate who gets to choose from the hat throughout the night. We normally go in order from birth date, but I think we should try it differently tonight…what do you guys think?" She questioned, as always friendly and hyper.
"Birth date sounds simple, why can't we use that?" Paul whined in Rosa's ear making her giggle. I rolled my eyes, although I knew I was just as bad.
"Because…Paul, we want to change it up, and Rosa hates that I'm always first!" I boasted proudly.
"Who knows maybe it'll be different this time." Paul challenged, and I just rolled my eyes.
"Ok, Paul lets hear it when's your birthday?" I questioned sarcastically, knowing I will win.
"Stop Paul. You're not going to win." Rosa tried to explain, but Paul's ever enlarged ego just flailed about.
"My birthday is January 5th! Beat that!" He shouted proudly while Rosa hid in embarrassment, shaking her head in her hand, while pulling him to sit down and shut up.
"Wow Paul! That is so close! Maybe we'll have joint parties." I teased while thinking of a new method. Last name? Social security? Height? Mothers' maiden name? I though over the possibilities, none sounding like a good idea.
"Babe, how about middle name? It's simple enough." Embry whispered in my ear and I smiled widely. Perfect.
"Hey guys were going to do it by alphabetically by middle name." Embry said loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Wait, Liz never said when her birthday was." Paul argued still trying to be the first. I had never seen him so stubborn, but I shrugged it off as he was probably trying to impress Rosa in some strange cocky male way.
"Fine, my birthday is new years! Happy? Now let's get going with middle names, huh?" I told him, and he finally sat down defeated.
"My middle name is Anne." Emily told us happily from her position at Sam's right. No one else spoke up, so Emily it was. I smiled, glad it was her.
Leah passed the hat to Emily, and her hand dove into the mixed shreds of paper. She slowly pulled it out and opened the folded sliver. She quietly moved her eyes over the words, then looking up she began the games.
"Park Bench?"
Let the games begin! Give me your thoughts, Review!!