Winnie's POV
"You look so pretty," The way Embry smiles down at me immediately makes my stomach flip. He leans against the side of my cabin with his arms crossed, smiling at me when I come out.
"Thank you," I try to keep busy with my keys to lock my door so he doesn't see how red he gets me. We're not even ten minutes in our date and he already has me flustered. Since I get my car back tomorrow, last night Embry insisted to have a date for today over the phone.
"But is it warm?" Embry asks, gesturing to my skirt and sheer tights. We each look like we're dressed for two separate evenings. I'm wearing a white pleated skirt, the only thing to keep me warm is a green sweater. While Embry is tight in layers, his muscles looking bigger from all the extra layers of clothing as if he moves the wrong way the seams will rip. A gray hoodie peaks out from under a Sherpa jacket, with a gray beanie pulled over his ears.
"It's warmish," It's still mid September. Though it's that time of year where the nights are chilling over.
"It's probably not warm enough." Embry comes up the front steps to give me a worried look. "I hate to say this, but you should change into something warmer."
"Warmer for what exactly?" I ask skeptically. He hasn't told me any details for tonight, just that he was going to pick me up at sunset. He only gives me a sly grin and shakes his head. "If you're willing to wait, then I'll go change."
"I'm happy to wait, Winnie." Embry nods, dropping down on the steps to sit. Telling him I'll be right back, I go back in to change. When I come back out, I'm in my warmest outfit that won't weigh me or sweat through. A pair of black leggings, a white turtleneck under a thick navy blue cardigan Enola knitted for me that's the equivalent of being swaddled in a blanket. I had a feeling Embry wouldn't be satisfied with just this so I added a matching blue beanie, and thick white socks.
"Ready," I lock my door again. The wood creaks under Embry's feet as he straightens up. Just when I think he might try to say something flirty, he gives me a knotted look.
"Do you have gloves or a scarf?"
"So, where is this?" I ask Embry as he reverses into an empty field. After a few mountains, we're miles deep into the res. So deep there's no roads, just dirt paths and trees.
"Well since I can't go all the way out to Port Angels or get a day off, I brought you to my favorite spot on the res." Embry explains, getting out.
"Which is the middle of nowhere?" I ask, following him out. It's an empty clearing, with big red cedar trees and wildflowers on the perimeter. The usual nerves aren't there, the underlying double guessing about whether or not this is real or not. I'm at ease, knowing fully I can trust Embry.
"I come out here a lot. Whenever I need a break or a minute to be alone with my thoughts I'll come out here." Embry states, unloading his van. Just as I'm about to inquire about why he wonders alone into the woods, the sound of a match hisses, then a crackle. There's a glimpse of light before it drops to the ground and doubles in size in a bonfire.
Embry finishes setting up, opening the doors as wide as they will go. With a click, the back floods with light. String lights the shape of stars hang from the ceiling, their dim glow showing a rug laid down with bean bag chairs and a bag of marshmallows.
"I know I promised you a movie Winnie, but how about s'mores and star gazing instead?" Embry waits for my reaction, giving me a sheepish grin.
"Is this why you were trying to redo your van?" I ask, a warm feeling spreading so fast my knees almost buckle.
"It's not done yet, but yeah I thought we could make it a hangout spot together." Embry states, climbing in to offer his hand to help me in.
"You did this all for me?" I ask, taking hold. In one smooth movement, he pulls me into him, so close I'm near flushed against him. I could reach out and be engulfed by him with the slightest of movements.
"Of course." Embry smiles down at me. "Do you like it?"
"This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me." I admit. Embry beams with satisfactory. Lowering down carefully, I sink into chair, silently wondering if this is really happening in real time. "This is my first date."
"Wait, seriously?" Embry does a slight double take at me.
"I've never been on a date before." I admit. Not even a coffee date. Though I've been asked out too many times before; asked as a joke or asked for hookups pretending to be dates.
"Someone else's loss," Embry wraps an arm around my shoulders to pull me in close. The weight of his arms sends me sliding out of my bean bag into his, landing into his side where he brings me in closer to his chest. "My win."
"We don't have to talk about this. It's a date." I would look at him but the feel of his arms around me makes me feel so hot in the face, I swear they're burning red.
"It's your date. We can talk about whatever you like." Embry smiles into my hair, stopping short of the spot below my ear where the curve of my neck begins. With a hesitant movement he pulls back to busy himself with getting the s'mores ready, and I swear I nearly him growl.
"How about how you came up with all this?" I ask, helping him open a bag of marshmallows.
"Honestly?" Embry gives me a coy smirk in warning.
"Honestly."
"Billy Black gave me the idea. The man has killer dating advice." Embry admits.
"Who knew he was such a romantic?" I grin, handing him a stick for his s'mores.
"Back in the day the man pulled moves on his wife when they were dating." Embry adds, easily holding out his stick for the s'more to toast in one easy extension, being so tall it reaches the flame. All while his other arm is still locked around me.
"So what are Embry Call's moves?" I ask.
"I don't have moves." He gives me an innocent look as if he can deny it. I give him a knowing expression that he can't dodge. Since the eighth grade Embry has been really popular with girls. Besides Paul Lahote and Jared Cameron he was one of the most asked out guys during high school.
"Okay, I have one." Embry admits with a mischievous smirk, failing at keeping up that innocent expression of his. "My go to was to wink."
"Hmm, why do I feel like there's more than one?" I pull back my stick to finish it off with a graham cracker.
"If there's more, you can find out for yourself." Embry says cooly, as if he's talking about the weather. When I can't muster up a reply from getting so tongue tied, he turns to me and shoots me a wink.
"That one up there is Equuleus." Embry points up at the sky, my eyes following his finger tracing out a shape. "It looks like a horse's snout."
"All I see is a rectangle." I admit which makes Embry laugh. We've been out here for a couple of hours now, and I've never once have gotten cold yet. Embry radiates so much heat, I feel perfectly toasty. His big hands keep my fingers from going numb, tangled in mine whenever I'm not holding anything. "I didn't take you for a science guy."
"I'm not." Embry shakes his head. "But I work outside at night a lot and got bored enough to start googling what constellations were out. I learned on my own time." Embry explains, fixing himself another s'mores. I had a stomach ache by smore number three, yet Embry has nearly finished the whole bag.
"What has you working at night?" I ask, confused.
"It's hard to explain." Embry dodges. "I'll show you one day what I do." He amends with a promise. With a nod, I accept his answer.
"Can I have a hint?" I ask, but he takes a big bite out of his s'mores to avoid answering. "Do you like what you do?"
That makes Embry pause.
"No one has asked me that before." He says thoughtfully. "I dunno, I've always looked at it as just a job. Not if it I like it."
"Do you?"
"At first, I thought I could like it. And I like how I work with my friends, but now that I think about it, no. I don't really like it." Embry admits in a low voice. Embry rarely looks bothered, yet right now he looks sullen. He's so turned off, he doesn't even finish his s'mores.
"How did you get into it? You started while in high school, right?" I ask, knowing I'm prying but he's been avoiding these questions.
"Yeah, I started in my junior year." He nods. "I don't think I ever had a chance to figure out what I wanted to do. Ever since I was little, the most I wanted out of life was to take care of my mom and be a good person."
"You can now. We only graduated a year ago." I point out trying to cheer him up, but the frown from his face doesn't budge.
"I can't really quit my job." Embry admits giving me a patient yet sad look. He looks like he wants me to understand, but how can I when he won't be upfront.
"Sounds complicated."
"It is." He sighs.
"You don't have to act on anything right now. But you still have a lot time to find out what you like." He thanks me for trying to make him feel better instead of continuing our talk. When the fire gets low he gets up to add more wood to keep it lit.
"What's something you've always wanted to do?" I ask him, leaning out of the van a bit.
"Anything?" Embry asks.
"Anything."
"It's not really a career, but I've always wanted to follow a band on tour." Embry answers, coming back over to gently tug my hat down to keep my head warm. I lean into his touch, letting his large hands cup my jaw with his thumb rubbing little circles while he thinks over his answer.
"Which band?"
"Any band with good music." He grins. "Just get in the van and go. I've never spent more than a night away from La Push. I can't just take off and leave my mom, or the job or leave behind my friends. But I've always just wanted to just..."
"Just go." I finish for him. He looks guilty as he nods, his hands dropping from my face to be stuffed in his pockets. He's doesn't want to let himself want it, because if he does he will already feel like he's one foot out on his friends and family.
"Go doesn't mean not come back." I say softly, which makes him stiffly nod. He's like me. It doesn't matter where as long as it's somewhere. The difference is Embry has something to come back to and I don't.
"What you said before about being a good person and taking care of your mom, you definitely are that kind of person. You're the best person I know." His face finally softens up a bit.
"Yeah, this is usually the part where you tell me I'm a nice person, Winnie." He grins but it doesn't reach his eyes.
"I mean it."
"I know you do."
"Embry."
"Yeah?"
"I'm cold." I hold out my arms, thinking it might comfort him. "Could you—" I don't even finish my sentence. In one quick movement he climbs in, hoists me up and drops me back down on him. I'm tucked into his side, halfway on top of him, with his hands keeping me there with one on my back, the other on my knee.
"How are you so strong?" I say in disbelief.
"Lots of milk." Embry jokes with a satisfied smirk brushing against my neck. The way his lips part against my skin makes me shudder. "How was your first date? It wasn't a let down, was it? Because I can still pull a few moves, flowers, music,"
"It was great." I admit with a smile against his chest. His grip on me tightens, his chin resting on my head.
"You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that." From the way his hands feel against me, a part of me thinks he's going to in for a kiss and readies for it. Instead Embry wraps a blanket around us, making sure to tuck it under my chin.