Winnie's POV

"The Lodge, what can I get you?" I answer the phone, ready with a pad and pencil in my hands.

"Uh, hello." An oddly thick murmur greets, sounding far away. I immediately ready myself for a prank phone call from some kids.

"Yes?" I try my best not to sound bored.

"I want to put in for a pick up order."

"What can I get you?" I'm expecting something stupid like a can of whoop ass or something dumb.

"Can I get a hoagie?"

"Sure. Lettuce? Pickles? Mayo? oil?" I follow up to test them.

"Yeah, all of that. Could you bring the order out to my car?" The person asks.

"We're not allowed to leave the restaurant, sir." I make up, but whoever they are they insist. Giving me a story about being elderly and how I would save them a trip inside. I only accepted if they pay in cash. When they call back, I double check what car they will be in. The answer I got was a vague description about an old white car, said I couldn't miss it.

When I come out into the parking lot, Embry is hanging out of the passenger window of my buggie. A huge red bow sits on the hood of the car, which makes me break out into an excited grin. I get so happy, I nearly drop the sandwich. Jacob drives the car forward, honking the horn playfully.

"You are the best." I rush up to Embry's window, cupping his face to plant a kiss on his cheek. We're both a little surprised, but too excited to notice. With his hand to the cheek I just pecked, a huge smile reaches from ear to ear, looking as if he wants to kiss me back.

"My thank you is the hoagie." Jacob reminds us he's also here with us, leaning across the seat to call through the window.

"Thank you, Jacob." I bend down to speak through the window, Embry sliding back in so I can talk to Jacob better. "I owe you big time. I really can't thank you enough."

"You don't owe me anything, Winnie." Jacob says sweetly, before lifting a firm wagging finger at me. "Really. You don't owe me anything. I won't accept it." He insists with Embry nodding in agreement.

"Every man has his price." I narrow my eyes, handing over the sandwich.

"Not me." Jacob says, already unwrapping the sandwich. Embry reminds him not to eat in my car, and he immediately climbs out.

"How's it running?" I ask Embry, bending down to the window so I can better talk with him. His eyes take in my whole face, grinning up at me before his eyes drop to my lips for a brief moment.

"Running like new. I told you Winnie, Jacob is the best mechanic on the res." Embry shrugs coyly, giving a glance to Jacob whose already half way through his sandwich.

"Thank you, Embry. For everything." I put my whole being into those words, meaning them with everything.

"You don't have to thank me." Embry says with a soft look. We exchange more than a smile, maybe something bigger and warmer.

"But I want you to know how grateful I am that you helped me off the side of the road that night. Everything's been better since." Embry's eyes go warm, his hand reaching out to cup my face. There's a flip in my stomach but no nerves or double guessing.

I'm sure.

Just when he leans up, Jacob clears his throat.

"Not to interrupt, but I'm trying to eat." Jacob grumbles. Instead of getting embarrassed, Embry smirks up at me. A sly smile that's full of innuendos while matching the hooded look in his eyes. It's so attractive I forget how to move my legs.

"Sorry, Jacob." Embry calls back with an innocent tone that doesn't match his smirk. Knowing I'm blushing, I straighten up before I turn a bright red. I can't believe I got so swept up I was about to do PDA right here in the middle of the parking lot, in front of Jacob. The way Embry just makes my mind go blank is too powerful.

"So, um, I don't see Embry's van or Jacob's truck. How are you guys getting home?" I ask. Embry finally gets out of the car, handing me the keys.

"We're gonna run." Jacob shrugs like it's an obvious answer.

"Run?" I furrow my brows.

"He means walk." Embry corrects.

"You're gonna walk all the way back to La Push? That's more than an hour walk." I cross my arms, giving them a worried look.

"It's a nice day." Jacob tries.

"It's going to rain." I point out.

"I don't think so," Embry says, glancing at the sky.

"It's La Push. It always rains here." I frown. Not able to excuse themselves out of that one, the pair turn to each other looking for an answer.

"We have to go work a shift, so we gotta head out." Jacob states, resting his arms on the top of my car.

"Don't worry, Winnie. We'll have Quil come pick us up." Embry assures.

"Will you text me when he does?" I ask, which makes him grin.

"I'll text when he does and when we get there."

When I first pull into Enola's driveway I feel lonely. I'm overjoyed to have my car back, yet there's this small empty feeling when I first come home alone. I've gotten so use to being the passenger in Embry's van, it'll take some getting use to coming home alone everyday.

"Got the old clunker back, I see." Enola calls from the back door of her house when I lock up the buggie.

"Yes Ma'am I did." Her annoyed look scolds me across the entire backyard. She always prefer being called Birdie. "Sorry," I amend.

"That Call boy of yours fix it for you?" She asks with an amused look in her eyes, but the usual grim look not budging.

"His friend did."

"Hmm," She cracks a knowing grin.

"Yes?"

"You didn't deny he's your boy." She chuckles which makes me turn red. "Ask your boy about some yard work. Gutters too." She calls, going back into the house with an amused chuckle and without a goodbye.

Embry's POV

It's been almost a week since I saw Winnie. With her buggie back, I lost my main reason to go see her. Paul's situation hasn't bettered yet either, meaning I'm just as busy as before with patrols and needing to be home.

I miss her. I miss her so much.

We talk on the phone, but calls aren't the same. Every time I start my van, there's this hollow feeling in my chest whenever I look at the empty passenger seat.

"Did I do this right?" Paul asks me about the chopped onions on the cutting board.

"Right." I don't tell him how they're too chunky instead of diced. But I'll use them in the spaghetti sauce anyway. Paul isn't use to cooking or cleaning. Even though he lives alone for most of the year, he survived off Lysol wipes and instant food a lot. He's better with his hands than a stove. He's been a great help with mowing the lawn and making small repairs.

"You don't just use jarred sauce?" Paul quips with an arched brow. He looks funny in my mom's apron which barely reaches around him to tie at the back. The way it wears him leaves one guessing if it's too small or he's double the size.

"I like cooking from scratch." I answer with a shrug.

"But it takes hours. We've been here since noon." Paul grumbles.

"It's almost done, don't worry." I chuckle. "If you want, stir the sauce while I get started on kneeding the pasta." This only makes Paul groan. Before I start I notice I'm short some ingredients.

"Shit," I curse to myself. "I gotta run to the store."

"Nah man, let me." Paul offers, trying to be helpful.

"You wouldn't know what to get, don't worry."

"I don't know what to do if you leave." Paul admits gesturing to the kitchen.

"Just make sure it doesn't burn. It's simmering. All you have to do is stir every ten to fifteen minutes. If it starts to stick to the pot lower the fire." I advise, shrugging on my jacket. Paul tells me to hurry back, and advises me to get boxed pasta too.

It's raining out. Not a slight drizzle, but a full on down pour that falls so hard it smacks against the ground with every drop. I'd usually run, but with how it's pouring I don't bother with shifting and just take the van.

Halfway to the store, I make a quick turn off the way I should be heading.

"Hey." I dial Winnie's number at one of the few red lights in the center of the res.

"Hi," The sound of her voice makes me smile.

"Just wanted to ask if I could come over for..." I glance at the dash. "Seven minutes?"

"Just seven minutes?" The sound of her laughter over the phone makes me speed up towards her cabin.

"Let's make it ten minutes. I'm between running an errand and cooking dinner. Paul's watching the stove while I'm gone."

"I mean if you'd like. You sure you wouldn't want to wait for a day you could come over for—let's say something crazy—like a whole hour?" Winnie offers.

"Who knows when that'll be." I grumble. "I'm here." I announce, halfway between unbuckling my seatbelt and halfway out the door. We barely even say goodbye as I run up the driveway too fast, hopping Old Lady Enola or a neighbor isn't peeping out a window the whole run up. Winnie is in the middle of opening her front door when I rush up the steps and hoist her up by her hips into a big hug.

First there's a surprised yelp, then a bubbly laugh as Winnie watches me kick the door shut over my shoulder. I nearly groan when she tightens around me, looping her arms around my neck and crossing her ankles at my lower back as she hugs me back. Making sure I'm careful, I clutch her to me as tight as I can without accidentally bruising her. She's heaven. My eyes shut for a moment, taking in how soft she feels in my arms, along with how good she smells.

"Ah, you're wet." She pulls back to take a look at me. I was running so fast I forgot about the rain. I'm soaked through, hair sticking to my face and clothes dark with water.

"Did I get you wet?" I ask, not wanting to put her down just yet.

"Barely." She mutters, pushing my wet hair out of my face. "But Embry you'll get sick."

"I'll dry." I shrug, making her bounce in my arms.

"Let me get you a towel."

"There's no point. I have to head back out there in ten." I remind her.

"You'll get sick!" I shake my head at her, which makes her roll her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Apparently you never get sick."

"I don't." I beam at her with a cocky smile.

"I'm not gonna feel better till you dry off a bit." She got me right where she knew she could get me. Begrudgingly, I lower her down. The second her feet hit the floor she rushes off to the bathroom. She comes back with the fluffiest white towel ever, grinning as she watches me dry my hair.

"That wasted a minute of our ten minutes." I point out with a frown.

"Right, the grocery store run." She nods as she thinks something over. "If I have what you might need, that's an extra few minutes right?"

"Please tell me you have spaghetti and garlic paste."

"I have the pasta and garlic powder." With how little she cooks, I have a sneaking feeling she didn't even know about garlic paste till now.

"Welp, looks like the store was out of garlic paste." I shrug, before taking her back into my arms for a hug. She smiles into my chest, trying to wrap her arms around me but they won't go all the way around my back.

"I haven't seen you in so long, it feels like you've gotten bigger." She jokes, rising on her tippy toes just to reach my neck.

"Hope not. That last growth spurt already has me bending to get through doors sometimes." Winnie is pretty tall herself, with long legs that I love to watch move.

"That was when you left school, right?" She's referring to our sophomore year of high school. When we all stopped going to school while we endured the change. That was a hard time on all of us. It was hard even on our parents. While we all did go back at some point, a lot of us didn't finish. Jared, Quil and I somehow saw graduation to the end. Though Paul dropped out and Jacob never finished when Bella got married.

"Yeah," I nod softly, before she has a chance to ask about why I left school, I take a step back. Needing to do something with my hands, I pat myself dry with the towel to keep busy.

"I don't like to talk about high school either." Winnie observes, not taking offense to my withdrawal. Instead she goes to make a cup of tea across the room.

"It's hard to talk about. A lot of stuff to get into." I get why Winnie never likes to even think about high school. For a couple of kids like us, we had to go through a lot more than kids should have to. More bad days than good.

I use to really like school. But after the change...

"We never have to if you never want to." She comes back with a mug of tea as an offer. "If you'd like we can just say we're foreign exchange students or something."

I feel the sad smile on my face. It's small, and such an effort to make. I take the mug of tea just to have something to hide it behind.

We would eventually would have to talk about high school. As much as we would like to pretend that phase of our lives didn't happen, it did and it changed everything. As much as we'd like to continue on as this normal young pair dating, we're imprints. Our story began way before now, back at high school when I changed and when Winnie went through the incident.

The talk is going to happen sooner rather than later too.

No doubt, it's going to be a hard talk. I'm not sure if she'll believe the wolf legends. Or if she'll be afraid of me or hate me more than she did before. But we still need to have the discussion.

"I do. Maybe not today but eventually. Would you?" I ask, giving her a sheepish look.

"Honestly? No." She admits. Before I can let out a sigh, her hands cups the side of my face. Leaning into her touch, my hand closes around hers to hold it where it is. "But with you, maybe it wouldn't be so bad."

"This is bad timing, but I should go before Paul burns something." I sigh, wanting nothing more than to lower down on the couch instead of heading home.

"Yeah, if you don't go soon you'll end up eating ramen noodles or something." Winnie nods along, taking a step back before smirking. "You like instant ramen, right?"

"I can eat it for dinner every night. I'll tell Paul where he can find it after he burns my sauce." I smirk, circling my arms around her waist. I press a kiss to her forehead, feeling her melt against me at the touch.

"Was that really fifteen minutes?" She sighs against my chest.

"Quickest fifteen minutes of my life." I mumble into her hair, my hand tracing up her back to carcass the back of her neck.

"When can you come back for that hour?" Winnie asks.

"Probably..." I trail off, knowing I'm busy everyday this week. "I promise soon."

"Waking up at 6AM did give us some time to see each other." Winnie points out, walking me towards the door.

"Yeah." I think about offering to come right after a patrol. Just running here instead of running home. Though, she's working most of the time when I'm coming off patrol. And the few days she isn't are the days she gets to sleep in a bit. Maybe one day in our future I could come straight here and crawl into bed with her but that future is far off for now.

"I'll call you tomorrow." I promise at the door. She nods reluctantly, trying her best to give me a small grin. With a goodbye, I lower down to give her a kiss goodbye on her cheek just as she rises on her tippy toes. I smile to myself, knowing not even a few weeks ago she would even speak to me if she could help it. I'm so happy I peck her twice on her cheek, then again on her forehead before running out into the rain.