Chapter 17: Warmth

Kayla POV

As noon approached I grew more and more nervous. My mom and I were in a full on yelling match already. Lily was diligently trying to remember everything she possibly could to embarrass me. My dad was mercifully being nice. I think he was excited to finally have another guy to watch the game with. Maybe he was even looking forward to intimidating my first boyfriend. I don't know, none of us had been in this situation before.

"You know what else I'm going to tell him?" Lily asked, sauntering up to me. "I'm going to make sure I mention that summer you didn't brush your hair for a month and the whole thing was a tangled mess!"

I shrugged and responded icily. "If he's repulsed by something that happened when I was seven, then we obviously shouldn't be together anymore anyway."

"Fine, I'll just find better stories!" She taunted.

I sighed. He loves me, he loves me, he loves me… I repeated silently in my head. We're soul mates, and he isn't shallow like all those other boys. He loves me for me. Then, he came walking up the front walk. My legs carried me out the front door and into his arms of their own accord. I pulled him in front of the garage where there were no windows that my parents or Lily could see out of. He kissed me so tenderly, nearly stopping my heart with the rush of emotion it invoked. Seth pulled away first, being careful not to cross any lines.

He picked up his grocery bag of soda and we walked to the door and into the house together. Daisy went wild, jumping up and trying to kiss his face.

"Get down Daisy, that's my job now!" I scolded her quietly. She didn't listen.

"Daisy, stop now." Seth tried. Miraculously, it worked. She put all four paws back on the ground and sat down, looking up at him expectantly. My mom appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Um, mom, this is my b-boyfriend Seth C-Clearwater." I stuttered.

"Stop stuttering, it's unattractive." She turned to Seth. "Nice to meet you. You're much handsomer than I ever expected for her to end up with." After that, she passed us and went to the kitchen. I glanced at Seth and noticed that he seemed to be trembling.

"Seth?" I cried, alarmed. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." He said. Did I hear anger in his tone? Next thing I knew I was wrapped in another bone crushing hug. "That was just really rude of her to say about you."

I scoffed. "That? That was nice compared to how she usually treats me."

Lily bounded down the stairs. "Hi tall guy. Hi weirdo. Get a room!" She said cheerily, before following my mom. Seth gave me another shocked glance as I flushed scarlet.

"C'mon, let's just go say hi to my dad." I suggested, grabbing Seth's hand and pulling him toward the living room. "Hey dad, Seth's here."

They shook hands and my dad graciously allowed us to sit on the couch together. I instructed Seth to sit down while I went and poured us some drinks and grabbed a bowl of chips. He wasn't having that. Cup cabinet already ajar, he grabbed two glasses and set them on the counter. I grabbed mine and tried to fill it with water, but he didn't like that very much either. He grabbed my hand.

"Why on Earth would you prefer water over soda?" He asked.

"Soda has like a million calories that I can't really afford." I replied, ducking my head.

"That's nonsense! You have a perfect body and don't you forget it! You can have a cup of soda." He smoothly took my glass from me and poured some in to both cups. I grabbed some chips and we exited back into the living room. My dad smiled widely at us, and I knew he had heard what went down in the kitchen. Quickly, I learned that Seth ate a lot. Handful after handful of chips were swallowed and packed away somewhere in his lean body. My eyebrows raised and he whispered in my ear 'it's a wolf thing.' I nodded and grabbed a chip.

The football game was immensely fun. Much to Seth's delight, I got into it just as much as they did, yelling at the TV and cheering loudly when our team scored a touchdown. Dad was enjoying having another male around. They debated the calls the referees made and the different skills of the star players. When dinner rolled around, we ate happily. My mom made her second appearance then, but kept her mouth shut thankfully. Seth complimented the food at all the right times and sounded genuinely sincere too.

All too soon, it was nearly eight o'clock and Seth needed to go home. I walked him out and we shared another small kiss, our lips barely touching. However, it was perfect. He walked away remorsefully sad to have to leave me. I felt bad for not putting more into my kisses. The needs of a sixteen year old boy were probably more physical than the needs of an almost fifteen year old girl. Half the problem was, I wasn't sure how to give him anything more.

I walked lightly into the house, on cloud nine. Blissfully happy, I didn't even flinch when my mom ordered me to clean the kitchen. I didn't even flinch when Lily tried to make me feel like I didn't deserve him. But something did make me flinch. It burst my happy bubble more quickly and violently than I would have ever imagined.

"So, when were you going to tell me how old he is?" My mom asked bitingly. "What are you now, jail bait? Or should I call him a cradle robber?"

I gasped. "He's barely sixteen, mom! And I'll be fifteen in a few weeks!"

"Oh sure, you expect me to believe that? He's taller than your dad! Does that mean he's on steroids?" She said with a sneer.

"How dare you insinuate that? If you think I'm that stupid then maybe you should question your parenting skills, or lack thereof!" I bellowed before stomping upstairs, slamming my door, and collapsing on my bed in a crumpled heap, sobbing. I stayed like that until my whole house fell asleep. I decided it was too hot in my room, so I sluggishly got off the bed and cracked the window open. My mom's words replayed in my head, bringing on a fresh wave of tears. I was so absorbed in my misery that I didn't even hear my window slide further open.

I knew he was in my room before I even felt his warm arms around me. I was so distraught that all I could do was whimper his name and reach out for him, not even caring how he got up to the second story window. I wept on his shoulder while he rubbed my back and peppered my exposed cheek with fiery kisses. He whispered how much he loved me and how beautiful I was, even when I was crying. Eventually the tears stopped, and my nose cleared, and peace settled over me.

"Seth, why aren't I good enough for everyone? What do they have that I don't have?" I whispered, my voice cracking slightly.

"They have blind spots sweetheart." He murmured soothingly. "Some day, you'll wow them all and prove to them why you are good enough."

"I love you, Seth, for being here for me when I need it and for making me feel so much better about myself."

"I love you too, Kayla. It only gets stronger by the minute."

"You know, I used to think I'd be alone forever? Then you magically appeared." I smiled weakly

"I used to think that whoever I imprinted on would think I was a monster and run away." He said.

"Well, wolves aren't monsters. And you have too many good qualities for the wolf side of you to make me love you even less."

Abruptly, he had pulled me up off the bed and pressed his lips to mine. There was so much heat that it engulfed my senses completely, throwing me in a red hot inferno of passion. Our first few kisses, I had just stood still, unsure of what to do. Instinct had taken over this time, as naturally as breathing or blinking. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him tighter before reaching up and twining my fingers in his short hair. His hands gripped my waist tightly. His lips slipped to the hollow below my ear and down my neck, back to my lips again. My mind screamed at me that we were moving way too fast, but my heart and my body wouldn't listen to reason. Destiny had brought us together and resistance was futile. We broke apart, but he held on to me, possibly sensing that my knees had gone weak.

"Wow, you are a good kisser." I said before I even had time to think about what I wanted to say. I didn't even blush, because my cheeks were already aflame.

He looked distinctly pleased. "You'd be surprised what you learn listening to the thoughts of so many other guys."

I laughed quietly. "Yes, I could see where that would come in handy."

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to kiss you like that."

"I'm guessing a little over a week?" I said coyly.

"Yes, but considering how little I sleep, and how close I've gotten without actually getting that far, that translates into practically an eternity for me."

"Well, savor it. Remember, I'm only fourteen." I said, winking.

"Yes, but you'll be fifteen soon enough." He teased.

"Cool it pal, we have our whole lives left." A smile on my lips, I lay down on my bed and he sat on the edge.

He chuckled. "It's a good thing your family sleeps soundly, I can't imagine what your dad would do if he found me in here." He glanced at the clock on the wall. "I should probably go."

A whimper escaped my lips. He raised an eyebrow. "I don't think we could pull off having me stay the night." He pointed out. "Your dad strikes me as an early riser."

I sighed. "Stay until I fall asleep then. Chase away my nightmares."

He immediately lay down beside me and draped an arm over me.

"Is this too close?" He inquired in an undertone.

"No." I murmured sleepily. "I love you."

"I love you too hon. So, so much."

A/N: Like always, you guys blew me away with the amount of reviews! Thank you so much! Unfortunately, I feel obligated to let you all know that softball tryouts start for school softball on Monday, every day after school, and practices will begin. The season lasts until the end of the school year. I PROMISE that I will try my very hardest to at least type a little every day so that I can keep updating. Wish me luck! I'm shooting for varsity, but it's hard since I'm a sophomore. :-P