CHAPTER 6

Embry POV:

I left a note for Mom letting her know that I would be at the Clearwater's for dinner and I wasn't sure what time I would be home. I had a hard time getting dressed to go to Leah's. That was NOT like me at all. I usually just threw on whatever was closest. But for some reason, I was worried about how I looked. I put on my best pair of khaki shorts, and a white v-neck t-shirt. Then I slid a brown plaid, short-sleeved, button-up shirt on over the t-shirt. I looked in the mirror. Not bad. I made sure that I shaved and brushed my teeth. I even brushed my hair over to the side so my bangs kind of swooped over my forehead. I needed a haircut. I remembered that Emily told me that the last time I saw her. She always cut my hair for me. I would have to get my ass over there soon.

I remembered that I had some cologne that I had gotten from my mom last year for Christmas. I looked in the medicine cabinet, found it and put a little on. Then I closed the cabinet and looked in the mirror again. What the hell is wrong with you? Why are doing this? Like you think you have a chance with Leah? Do you want to have a chance with Leah?

I shook my head and decided I better get going. I drove over to the Clearwater's and pulled up at five til six. I parked and walked up to the door. I knocked and heard Seth holler out, "Come in!"

I walked in and sniffed. Wow, something smells really good! "Hey," I said to Seth.

"What's up, bro?" he replied.

"Not much. Who's winning?" I asked as I noticed that Seth was watching the Mariner's game.

"Who do you think? Not the Mariners. Griffey hasn't hit a home run in like 2 weeks!" he said.

I nodded. "Where's your sister?" I asked.

"Kitchen," he grunted. "Oh man, come on! He was out by a mile!" I decided to leave him screaming at the TV.

I walked into the kitchen and found Leah stirring something on the stove. She had a radio playing some music, and she was humming along. She had her back to me. She had her hair clipped up and I had the sudden urge to walk over and kiss her neck. God Embry, knock it off.

"Hey Leah!" I said.

She jumped and turned around. "Oh my gosh, Embry. You scared me!"

I laughed. "Sorry!"

She put the spoon down and turned around to face me. "Wow, you look really nice!"

I smiled shyly. "Um, thanks. So do you." She did too. She was wearing a short white skirt with a dark purple tank top. I don't know if I had ever seen her wear a skirt. She had the legs for it, that was for sure. She was barefoot – I liked that.

She smiled at me and said, "I hope you're hungry. I made spaghetti and meatballs. But I have to warn you: it's Seth's favorite, so you may have fight him to get enough."

"I can take the little runt, don't worry."

She smiled again and said, "Well, it's almost ready. I just have to drain the spaghetti. "

"Do you need help with anything?"

"Nope. Why don't you go and get Seth and tell him it's time to eat," she said as she poured the spaghetti into the colander in the sink.

"Sure," I replied. I walked into the living room and said to Seth, "Your sister said to tell you it's time to eat."

He looked away from the TV and said, "Yea, OK. This game is done anyway." He clicked the TV off and I followed Seth into the dining room. Wow! A house with a dining room. This was the nicest house on the reservation. It had a living room, a big kitchen, a dining room, three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and a rec room in the basement with a pool table! I felt a little out of place here.

Leah had set the table with nice dishes, glasses, silverware, placemats, the whole thing. There was a salad sitting at each place. It looked really nice. Seth walked in and plopped down in a chair. Leah came in with a basket of bread and said to me, "Go ahead, sit down. You can start on your salad." Seth picked up his fork and began eating his salad.

I pulled out a chair and sat across from Seth. She brought two plates of spaghetti and put one in front of me and one in front of Seth. "What do you want to drink, Embry? We have milk, water, iced tea, pop?"

"Um, water is fine," I said quietly. I was really feeling out of place. This fancy stuff was nice, but it wasn't my scene.

She came back with a pitcher of ice water and a plate of spaghetti for herself. I took the pitcher from her and poured a glass for her then for myself. I noticed that Seth was already finished with his salad! I handed the pitcher to Seth who poured a glass for himself then he picked up a fork and dug in. I smiled. Leah was right. He was shoveling in as fast as he could.

She looked over at me and rolled her eyes. She sat down at the end of the table and dug in. We all ate and talked a little. Seth ate three plates full of spaghetti. I stopped at two to be polite. "Leah, that was awesome. You're a really good cook!" I told her.

I think she blushed a little. "Thanks," she said shyly.

Seth said, "Yea, thanks, sis. That was great!" He stood up and took his dishes to the kitchen. He walked back into the dining room and said, "Hey, I have to leave in about 10 minutes to patrol with Jared. See you guys later."

"OK. Be careful, little brother," Leah called to him.

"Always am," he called back.

She looked over at me and I smiled at her. "Want some help cleaning up?"

"Sure," she said.

We cleared the table and I helped her load the dishwasher. A dishwasher! I don't think I had ever seen one let alone load one. She wiped down the counters and hung the dishrag on the faucet to dry. She pushed the button on the dishwasher and it purred to life. "I guess that's it. Thanks, Embry."

"Least I could do for such a great meal," I told her. I meant it. It was really good.

She walked into the living room and sat down on the couch and curled her legs underneath her. I plopped down beside her. She looked at me and asked, "I hope I didn't get you in too much trouble today with Mandy."

I laughed. "Oh yea. She was pissed. But of course, I smoothed it over and she was eating out my hand by the time I dropped her off."

"Uh-huh. I forgot, the 'Embry Magic'." She smiled at me. She is so beautiful when she smiles.

"Yea, right." Then for some reason I found myself saying, "But after she assaulted me with her tongue and then walked to the house and turned and gave me her little cutie-pie wave, I wished that I had let her stay pissed at me."

"What?" she said with a fake shocked look. "Are you telling me that you are finally tiring of bimbos?"

"After today, I don't know," I answered truthfully. "Maybe." I looked at her sheepishly.

"So, why were you staring at me so intently today, may I ask?"

"Um, I . . ." what was I going to say? I was staring at this beautiful goddess walk from the ocean and I was trying to keep myself from running over and taking her in my arms and kissing her until we fell into the sand and . . .

"Embry?" she prompted. She was looking at me, waiting for an answer.

I threw my hands up and said, "OK, you caught me! I was staring at you. I don't think I have ever seen you in just a bathing suit like that, and Leah, come on, you have to know what a gorgeous babe you are. It just caught me off guard, I guess. I never pass up the chance to stare at a hot girl." I grinned at her.

"Yea, right. Me, gorgeous. Good one, Embry," she snorted then hung her head.

"Hey!" I reached over and pulled her chin up to look at me. "I'm not shitting you, Leah. You are a beautiful girl. I may say a lot of things to girls to get them to go out with me, but I NEVER lie to a girl about how hot they are."

She smiled and I found myself wanting to kiss her again. What is it about that smile? I put my hand out to touch her cheek. She didn't move, she just looked at me. I leaned in and kissed her on the lips. I lingered there, but she didn't kiss back, so I pulled away and said, "Leah?"

"Why did you do that, Embry?" I couldn't quite read her face. Was she pissed again?

"What? What do you mean, 'Why did I do that?' I don't know. I just got done telling you I thought you were gorgeous, and you want to know why I wanted to kiss you? When I'm with a hot girl like you Leah, it's what I do," I said with a smile.

Uh-Oh. Must have been the wrong answer. She pulled back and l could see the anger in her eyes. "So that's why, cause you think I'm hot? That's it? I'm not like the rest of the skanky girls you usually have hanging all over you, Embry. I'm not going to fall all over you because you tell me I'm hot!"

"No, Leah. That's not it! I mean, yea, you're hot. But . . . it's not just that. "I hung my head. "Damnit!" I said softly. I looked back up at her and said, "Leah, I like hanging out with you. When I said on the beach today that I missed you, I really meant that. I like talking to you, you know? I've enjoyed patrolling with you and getting to know you a little more. I find out something new about you every time I'm with you. Like you helping me with the DNA tests. You really care. I mean, no one has ever gone out of their way to do something like that for me."

She just sat there and looked at me. "Embry, I can't figure you out. I know how you are with girls, we all do. But, now you're confusing me. I just don't know why you would want to kiss me."

"Didn't you listen to anything I just said? Man, Sam really messed you up! Leah, just because Sam imprinted on someone else, it has nothing to do with who you are. You have to get that through your head. I kissed you because you are really pretty, beautiful in fact. But you're also smart, and caring and fun, and you . . ."

She put her hands on my chest, leaned forward and kissed me. I scooted closer and took her in my arms. I wasn't letting her get away this time. I deepened the kiss by teasing her lips with my tongue. She parted her lips and touched her tongue to mine. Wow! Our lips moved together in perfect unison, like we had been kissing each other forever. It wasn't an assault, like with Mandy. It was different kissing Leah. Different from all of the other girls I ever kissed. I actually felt something when I kissed her. Suddenly she broke the kiss, pushed herself away from me and stood up and walked over to the window.

"Leah? What's wrong?" I asked. I got up and went to stand beside her.

She looked at me and I saw a tear roll down her cheek. I reached up and wiped it away with my thumb.

"Embry, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. It's not fair to you," she said.

"What are you talking about? It was fantastic!"

"I don't know if I'm ready . . . to do this again. To care about someone. It's so hard, Embry." She looked up at me and smiled, "But I haven't been kissed in so long. And, of course, you are really good at it!"

I laughed. "Well thanks. I guess I could say practice makes perfect, but that makes me sounds like a real ass. But, honestly, Leah, I have never felt that way with any other girl, the way I felt just now when I kissed you. I really felt something, you know? And by the way, you are really good at it too."

I pulled her into my arms and held her close. I breathed in and smelled her hair. It smells so good. Like strawberries and sunshine. She wrapped her arms around my neck. "Really? Or is that another trick you use on your bimbos? I'm getting to the point where I can't tell," she said with a small smile.

"It's not a trick." I leaned down and kissed her again. "I really, really like you," I told her. I pulled away to look in her eyes and I said, "And seriously, since I saw you on the beach today, I can't get you out of my head. Something happened today, Leah . . ."

She leaned in and put her lips on mine. She gave in and let go. She kissed me with all of the pent-up passion she had. I felt like my head was spinning! I pushed her shirt up her back and ran my hands over her skin. She pulled back and said, "Embry, stop!" she said, panting.

"What? Why?" I asked, trying to catch my breath. "It was just getting good!"

She took my hand and walked me back to sit on the couch. "Embry, it's so easy to get lost in the feeling of kissing you," she said with a smile. "But, I'm really afraid. What if . . . what if I fall for you, and . . . you imprint on someone else? I couldn't go through that again, Embry. I just can't. I think it would kill me." Tears slipped from her eyes and ran down her cheek.

"Oh God, Leah. I never thought of that." I hadn't. I never thought about imprinting. But I wasn't worried about it the way Leah was, and she had good reason. "I don't know what to say. I would love to say that I would never do that to you, but we both know . . ." I let my voice fade away. Damnit! I looked at her and said, "Look, we're just friends, right? Neither of us are really looking for a relationship. Maybe we can be . . . friends with benefits?" I smiled.

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "I don't know, Embry. Depends on the 'benefits.' "

I laughed and leaned back onto the couch. I put my arm around her and pulled her to me. "We can negotiate that later." She laid her head onto my shoulder. We sat there quietly for awhile. Then we heard a car pull into the garage. She picked her head up and said to me, "Mom's home."

"Should I go?" I asked quietly.

"No. Not yet."

We scooted apart and Leah flicked the TV on. An old episode of Friends was on. We pretended to watch.

Her mom walked into the house and called out, "Anybody home?"

"In here, Mom!" Leah answered.

Sue walked into the living room, "Hi, honey. Well, Embry hello! How are you?"

"Good, thanks. You?"

"Good. I'm glad you're here. I have something for you." She pulled her purse off of her shoulder and started digging around looking for something.

My heart started to beat a little faster. Could it be the DNA test results? I looked at Leah. She looked as excited as I did.

Sue pulled an envelope out of her purse and walked over to hand it to me. "Here you go, Embry. I hope you find what you're looking for. Remember, these tests were done by numbers. I have each of the boy's numbers written down. Let me go and get them so you can match up the results." She left the room.

I looked at Leah. The envelope felt like it was burning my hand. "I'm really nervous. Will you open it and read it for me?"

"Are you sure?" she asked.

I nodded. I still wasn't sure I wanted to see what was in there. How would I deal with what I found out?

Sue walked back into the room and handed me a piece of paper with three numbers written on it, and a name next each one.

Leah looked me in the eye and said quietly, "Ready?"

I couldn't speak. I just nodded. She ripped open the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. "There is a match!" she said excitedly. "Number 875261."

I handed her the paper in my hand. My hand was shaking. I closed my eyes. Get a grip, man. She looked at both papers and said, "It's Sam. You're Sam's brother."

I opened my eyes. Of course it was. What was it Sam had called his father? Oh yea, an asshole.

"Embry? Are you OK?" Leah asked me. She reached over and took my hand. "Embry, talk to me."

I looked up. Sue had quietly left the room to give me some privacy. "Um, yea, I'm OK. Just remembering what Sam had to say about his dad. I think he affectionately called him an asshole. Figures doesn't it?"

"Stop that! God, Embry! You finally know who your dad is. I thought that is what you wanted. No one gets to pick their parents, you know. So the guy was an asshole who left his wife and kid. He had an affair and had another kid he never met. That's not your fault. It's not Sam's fault. At least you know now. You are a Uley. Talk to Sam and learn more about the family tree. The Uleys were an important family in this tribe, you know. I'm sure there is something to be proud of somewhere. You can be proud of Sam. He's a great guy."

"Oh yea, Leah, he's a prince. He broke your heart. How can you say he's a great guy?" I shot at her. Shit. I took a deep breath and took her hand. "Leah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. You're right. I do respect Sam. He is a great guy. I will talk to him." I leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Thanks, baby. Thank you for doing this for me. It means a lot to me."

She smiled and said, "You're welcome. I hope that hole inside feels a little smaller tonight, Embry. I can hardly feel that emptiness anymore."

"Really? That's great! I'm happy for you, Leah. I really am." I reached up and touched her cheek.

I began to lean toward her to kiss her again then I heard her mom rattling around in the kitchen. I forgot we weren't alone. "I better get going. I have a lot to think about," I said. I took her hand and stood up, pulling her up with me. "Walk me out?"

She nodded. I stopped and turned toward the kitchen. "Sue?"

Sue was making herself a sandwich. She turned from the counter and said, "Yes?"

I walked toward her and said, "Thank you so much for everything you did to help me find out who my dad is. It's Sam's dad by the way. I guess I'm a Uley."

"Aw, honey, you're welcome." She came over and gave me a hug. "I'm glad I could help. I know it's going to take awhile for you to sort things out, but if there is anything else I can do for you, let me know, OK?"

"I will. See you later," I said.

"Goodnight, Embry."

We walked out of the kitchen and made our way outside. Leah closed the front door behind her then reached down and took my hand. We walked to my truck. When we got there, I pulled Leah into my arms. She laid her head against my shoulder. "Some night, huh?" I said.

"Yea." She pulled her head away and looked up at me. "Would it be selfish of me to ask you to kiss me again, Embry?"

I smiled then I kissed her long and slow. She leaned into me and wrapped her arms around me. I finally pulled away and said huskily, "Leah, I . . ." I rested my forehead on hers.

"I know. It feels really good, Embry. Kiss me again."

My lips found their way to hers again. She was letting go and we were getting into kissing when . . .

"What the hell is going on here? What the fuck?" I heard. Uh-oh! Seth!

I pushed Leah away from me. I looked over and said, "Hey Seth!" That's when he planted his fist in my face! It knocked me back into the truck.

"Seth!" Leah screamed. "Knock it off!" She grabbed his arm just as he hauled back to hit me again.

I stood up and said, "Let him go, Leah." She let go and he backed up. He was shaking good, I knew he was close to phasing. I didn't want Leah to get hurt if he did. "Calm down, Seth!" I shouted at him.

"Seth! Listen! Stop!" Leah was yelling at him. She got in his face and yelled, "I wanted him to kiss me. I was kissing him because I wanted to. Do you hear me? Knock it off!" He nodded and backed away from her.

"Seth, I'm sorry, dude. This all happened kind of fast. We weren't expecting it."

Seth just looked at us and muttered, "Yea, whatever." He took off running toward the house.

"I think I'm on his shit-list," I said to Leah. I put my hand up to my eye. "Man, he packs a mean punch for such a scrawny kid! That's gonna be a shiner, at least for a little while." Good thing about being a werewolf – it would heal before morning.

"I'm so sorry, Embry. I'm gonna go talk to him," she assured me.

I nodded. I leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. "See you tomorrow?" I asked.

"Yea, sure," she said with a smile.

I climbed into the truck and watched her walk into the house. I rested my forehead onto the steering wheel. God, what a night! So much had changed in just a few hours. I started the truck and took off for home.