Chapter 18: Laurence

Embry's POV

"I—I'll take it from here. Thanks Janette." Laurence waved Janette away but didn't take her eyes off me. I didn't pay attention to the blond girl leaving the room. I was too mesmerized by the person standing in front of me. She really was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her skin was the richest shade of caramel brown I had ever seen. Her hair was straight and jet black except for the violet streak in her bang.

Janette eventually left and I was alone with Laurence. My imprint. I couldn't feel rueful about it. Not yet anyways. Not so soon after meeting her for the first time. I was excited to learn about her. I couldn't wait to spend more time with her.

Laurence smiled and looked down shyly to get the bracelet out of the glass counter. Her eye lashes were so long, it astounded me. They weren't clumped up and separated like it usually was when girls wore mascara, her eye lashes were naturally long.

"You want this one?" she asked, sticking her hand in the counter and touching the silver and ruby bracelet.

I looked down at the bracelet I was planning on buying. I nodded; I didn't want to look stupid in front of this timeless beauty.

"Okay, then," she opened a drawer that I couldn't see and pulled out a blue velvet box. I watched her every move. I was so fascinated by the grace she did everything. Her nail were very short, she was a nail bitter. That was kind of cute. Amber had cut the habit of biting her nail years ago. The comparison came naturally to me. I had made the connection but I wasn't thinking about Amber at all. I couldn't even remember why I was in this jewellery store.

Laurence kept looking up at me while she walked to the cash register. I paid for the bracelet on interact. It was a miracle that I hadn't lost my wallet on the run here. I shoved the jewellery box in my pocket, not really caring about it, and paid closer attention to Laurence.

I was glad to find that she was actually staring at me. She blinked quickly and looked away when we locked eyes but I saw her staring.

"Hi." I said, "I'm Embry…Call."

"Call who?" she asked, confusion in her tone.

I laughed nervously and blushed. "No, that's my name…Embry Call."

"Embry." She repeated, "That's a nice name. It's so unique…though I feel like I've heard it before…" she grinned.

I chuckled, feeling more heat rise to my face. I tried to remember the last time I'd blushed so uncontrollably and froze momentarily. Amber was the last person to make me blush this much. I was so embarrassed of everything I was doing when we were…getting intimate. The thought of Amber brought a flood of guilt into me and I turned around. I was going to leave this all behind.

I couldn't let this happen. Sure, I had imprinted but that didn't mean I had to drop everything. Yeah, I'd looked into the most beautiful eyes in the world and my heart was already aching with the thought of never seeing then again but I couldn't stay. I was in California—miles away from my friends and my family and my girlfriend whom I loved.

I felt hundreds of pounds heavier but I took large steps towards the exit. I wasn't going to let this stupid imprint ruin everything I worked so hard for. I was almost at the exit. My hand was inches away from the handle then I was distracted.

"As the World turns, right?" Laurence guessed.

My head whipped around to look at her. I was surprised that she actually knew what soap my name came from. I stared at her wide eyed and she grinned. She was happy to have caught my attention. That grin made my knees feel weak but I couldn't help grinning too.

"Yeah," I said grinning sheepishly, "My mom was kind of obsessed." I hadn't noticed that I was actually walking towards her again. "Lucky me."

She moved the counter so that it wouldn't be between us and nodded, "You are. She could've named you Casey."

"Who's Casey?"

Laurence giggled and my heart squeezed. I'd never heard such an adorable sound. Amber was a giggler. Her giggles were loud and made me want to laugh at its hyena-like characteristics. Laurence's giggle was a whole different thing. Her giggling didn't make me laugh, it made me want to pull out a recorder so I could listen to it over and over, "Casey was a disgusting teenager that lied to his girlfriend and told her he was a virgin when he totally wasn't because he got Gwen pregnant. He totally denied even sleeping with Gwen but—hello!—we all know what you did last summer." She giggled again, "Sorry, I talk allot."

I smiled. She did talk allot. That I could tell. But unlike when Amber would talk to me about meaningless things like this, I didn't space out with Laurence. Her smooth voice made me want to listen so I could know the ending of her story. Even if it was a soap opera.

"I'm glad my name is Embry, then,"

"Embry. I love it. Really. Embry. Embry. Embry." She chanted, "I'll name my first child Embry. Is it unisex? It sounds like it is?"

"I'm…I'm not exactly sure."

She laughed. That was the day I heard the most beautiful sound in the world. I had forgotten how delightful and beautiful a laugh could be. "It doesn't matter. We'll just tell people it is—I mean I, I'll tell people it's unisex." She laughed again but it was one of embarrassment.

"Who's Embry? On the show I mean." I asked. I didn't really care but I wanted to hear her talk some more. I wanted to hear her say my name again. I used to hate me name when people made fun of me for it, then I kind of liked it as I grew up but knowing that Laurence love it…Embry was the second best name in the world, after Laurence.

"I don't know. I started watching As the World turns about 4 years ago and Embry was in it, like, 20 years ago." She shrugged and giggled.

"Oh,"

The damage was done, my choice was made. She didn't have to say much for me to know that I couldn't live without her. I couldn't imagine not hearing her laugh again. I couldn't imagine not seeing her eyes again. The thought of being away from her scared me. I didn't even think about returning to Forks. And be miles away from Laurence? How was I going to protect her from Forks? Not that she needed protecting. She looked like she could protect herself.

Amber was so scrawny and fragile. In the beginning, I always thought that I might break her in haft like a dried up twig but Laurence…She was so gorgeous. She wasn't stick skinny like Amber was and that was a good thing. I hadn't noticed what she was wearing, but she wore a black dress that clung to all off her curves. Her skin looked so soft. Thick wasn't the right word to describe her, she was fit, but skinny wasn't the word either. I could only describe her as perfect, every man's fantasy. Especially in that dress. She had a body and she wasn't ashamed to show it. She was blessed and she wasn't afraid to let the world know. I didn't stare at her particular "blessings". I knew they were there but something more beautiful was worth my attention at the moment.

I smiled warmly at her. I hoped it looked warm at least. I didn't want to freak her out too soon with all my affection. The last thing I wanted was a Silver Masson situation. In the sense that I didn't want my imprint to run from me or reject my love. Laurence was my imprint but I had a girlfriend. I tried to keep that in mind. I had a girlfriend.

"I'm, uh, off work in a few minutes…do you want to go out for ice cream or something?" She smiled shyly. She looked away, kind of embarrassed when I didn't answer right away.

"Sure!" I said, a little too eagerly. "I'd love to get ice cream with you."

"You'll have to buy some too. I wouldn't want to eat it all by myself." She teased.

"Yeah, we'll just be…eating ice cream…" I was trying to convince myself. Friends went out for ice cream all the time. Sure, Laurence was beautiful—she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen—but I had a life…and a girlfriend.

You have a girlfriend. Amber is amazing.

I tried to remind myself. I constantly forgot that though.

A/N: I used to watch As The World turns but I stopped when Paul was getting on my nerves so I basically made up the whole "Embry being in ATWT". I have no idea what soap Embry is from.