Winnie's POV
On my one day off, I didn't get to sleep in much. The sounds of hammering and thudding woke me up early, just a little after the crack of dawn. I spent awhile, tossing and turning in my bed, just hoping I can manage to fall back asleep. When it's clear I wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon I decided just to get my day started. Maybe I can find some time to nap later.
In the middle of my usual bowl of cereal, I poked my head outside my door to figure out what all the noise is about. There's a mess of tools at the side of Enola's house, power tools, hoses, and rakes thrown about with a ladder leaning against the victorian house leading to a massive dark hair man balancing on the roof.
"What are you doing here so early?" I shout up the ladder. Still in my pajamas and knockoff ankle uggs, while eating from my bowl of cereal, I'm happy it's only Paul. With how my hair is still messy, I'm glad Embry isn't here to see it. I was too tired to dress and shower for the day yet, or maybe I'm too use to Enola's property being just girls. I'm braving the morning chill in my usual pajamas, a matching pink set of cotton shorts and a t-shirt with hearts all over them, with mismatching socks and half my hair coming out of a bun. I wouldn't take either of Paul or I as morning people, yet he's here cleaning out Enola's gutters.
"We're working for your land lord." Paul grumbles back. My jaw cramps around my spoonful of corn flakes. We?
"Those pajamas sure are sexy," A whistle sends a chill down my spine. The sound of Paul's booming laugh above me tells me I'm defiantly in an embarrassing situation. After a long moment, I finally turn to find Jared Cameron and Quil Ateara working on Enola's back patio. They only wave at me, chuckling among themselves as I stand there frozen. While my pajamas aren't tight or short, but baggy and more sloppy looking like gym clothes, I still can't ignore the burning sensation of a blush rising up my neck, my ears to my hairline.
There's nothing that makes me more uncomfortable than someone seeing me out of uniform, and commenting on it.
"Ignore them," Jacob calls from the garden, covered in dirt rather than oil for once.
"Oh, hey," I manage a wave, trying not look too red. Forgetting the cereal, I pull my jacket tight around me, wishing I hadn't brought it with me to have two hands to zip it shut.
"So that's what you look like in the morning." I go from pulling my jacket, to fixing my hair when I hear Embry's voice. He's balancing planks of wood over his shoulder, shirtless in a pair of worn jeans, brown hair a mess, and his muscles flexing under the weight of the wood. I never figured I had a type till now, but Embry made the handy man look look good.
"Um, hi." I greet to my shoes instead of his face, cursing myself for wearing one tube sock along with a mismatching purple sock. "Isn't that heavy?" I ask him.
"This? Nah, this is nothing." Embry waves off, making it look easy. It's like he has superman strength sometimes.
"Enola got you guys working, huh?" I'm not sure what to do with the bowl of cereal anymore. I'm not even sure why I bought it out here with me in the first place.
"Yeah, she apparently corned Paul last night on his way out when he dropped you home. Then he told Sam. We didn't know we were going to be here till late last night." Embry explains, lowering down the wood to stretch. My eyes can't help themselves as they rake over his chest, running over every line and dip. I almost forget to look him in the eyes when Embry asks for some of my cereal.
"Did you eat breakfast?" I ask, though he is always hungry. "Did you work last night?"
"I ate." Embry nods.
"And his breakfast was delicious!" Paul shouts down to us from the roof. How can he even hear us from three stories up? Embry gives him a smile and a thanks before downing the rest of my cereal. A few droplets of milk missing his mouth and trailing down his chin.
"Yeah, Jacob and I had a shift, but we got off early." Embry nods along, smiling when I rise up on my tippy toes to wipe away the milk. "Do you have a glass of orange juice to go with this bowl of cereal?"
"I do. Would you like me to invite back inside for a glass?" Trying not to grin at his attempt for a minute alone, I suddenly don't care that I'm in pajamas anymore.
"Yes." Embry insists. "I'm parched."
"Your boss okay with that?" I ask, looking around for Sam Uley. Sam is known around the Res for a few things, some being an alleged cult leader, the other a strict all business guy who no one has seen smile since he was a kid.
"He's off taking Enola to a doctor's appointment." Embry smirks, yet still managing his angelic look. I don't know how he manages to do that.
"That's very nice of him." Hmm, no wonder Enola didn't ask me to take her. She knows my schedule. When I'm off she usually has me drive her somewhere, which I've never minded. While most girls have Saturdays in TJ Maxx with their moms, I've had grocery trip runs and dentist appointments with Enola.
"I'm nicer." Embry hums lowly, his deep voice reaching all the way down my toes.
"I know how nice you are." I almost laugh. With a roll of his eyes, he leads me by the hand back towards my cabin. With his long legs, he gets there in seconds. He hums to himself as he lets himself in, holding the door open to let me go first. The second the door shuts, Embry scoops me up into hug, pressing a kiss to my forehead. Smiling into his chest, I give him a tight hug back, feeling him give me a squeeze before he lets go.
"Do you want another bowl of cereal?" I ask, knowing how hungry he is.
"Hmm," Embry thinks it over, watching me leave my jacket on a hook by the door. "No, I ate your breakfast let me serve you yours" Embry decides. He already knows where everything is in my kitchen. He also knows how to work my kitchen better than I do.
"Coco Puffs?" Shaking the brown box mockingly with an arched eyebrow. I always nag him about eating healthy, now he's caught me red handed.
"It's Paul's. He accidentally got one of our bags messed up." I clarify. "But they're delicious, so don't tell him I have the box." I add, which makes him laugh. The sound of his laughter makes me warm, then his abs moving makes me hot.
"Then I'll have a bowl too." Embry grins, finding the bowls without even looking. We settle on the floor, the loveseat supporting our backs, and our legs tangled together. Embry of courses finishes before I do with that monster appetite of his.
"So, I heard you met the Cullens yesterday." He speaks up.
"The Cullens?" I repeat back in confusion. The Cullen family is infamous in the area. A rich young doctor and his wife who've adopted a gangle of teenagers. They're the closet thing to socialites in our small area. I've heard about the family for years, and about their expensive cars and designer clothes. I've only heard about them and never seen them. The family has never come to La Push or anywhere I've ever frequent. I've always assumed they vacation in the Swiss Alps or Hawaii or some other expensive place, and that the local beach wasn't in their price bracket.
"Bella and Edward, and their... daughter." He clarifies.
"Oh," I shrug, already knowing Paul would go and give every detail of yesterday to Embry. I didn't realize they were Cullens. I try not to remember their chalky skin or their empty big eyes, or else I remember how they don't blink or seem to breathe. "They don't go out much do they?" Embry snorts at my question.
"No, they defiantly like to stick their own kind." Embry sighs, leaving the bowl aside.
"You don't like them either? Paul was ready to start a fight with them. What's the deal between the Cullens and your friends?"
"It's complicated." Embry says vaguely.
"Also, whose has a ten year old daughter that young? They look fresh out of high school."
"They tell people she's Edward's niece that they adopted over their honeymonn." Embry's answer only makes me more confused. His word 'they tell people' making me almost as uncomfortable as I was when I met them.
"Bella grew up with Jacob?" I ask.
"Yeah, back when Bella was normal." Embry notices the look on my face and gives me a bit more detail. "Bella is chief Swan's daughter."
"Chief Swan, chief of Forks?" I almost spill my bowl. "He's one of my regulars. He must come in at least twice a week. I've never seen Bella in there with him"
"Ever since Bella started hanging with the Cullens, she hasn't been around much. Then she married Edward and she hardly ever leaves their house. It's like she's dead to us." The last part is very unlike Embry. "Jacob doesn't like to talk about it, because he had feelings for Bella. It was really hard to watch her pick Edward and his family over Jacob. So, I wouldn't bring them up around them."
"Of course," I nod.
"Also, just avoid them if you see them around Forks." Embry holds my gaze, his dark eyes silently begging me to agree.
"Why? They seemed nice enough." That's not true. They seemed too nice, too posed and too well mannered. Edward didn't really act his age, but closer to Old Quil's age.
"They're weird." He sums up.
"Weird?" Though I do agree with him.
"Defiantly weird." He nods, getting up to rinse our bowls out in the sink. "Their adoptive kids all date each other." If I still had cereal, I'd spit it out.
"That has to be a rumor." I rise up to my feet.
"It's not." The look on Embry's face confirms he's not joking. If only I could bring this up with Jacob, because I know he'd make it make sense to me. Siblings dating each other? Teenagers married right out of highs school? With an adoptive child? Without them even being in the room they give me the creeps. I land back on the couch, hugging my knees to my chest trying to shake off the goosebumps on my arms.
"They creeped you out?" Embry asks, as if already knowing exactly how I felt.
"Yeah... they're a bit off, aren't they?" I shrug off, but he lowers down on the loveseat to pull me to his chest anyway. Embry's warm, practically scorching compared to Edward Cullen's iciness. His body heat seeps through my pajamas, making me relax against him.
"I'll make sure you don't have to be creeped out by them ever again. You let me know if they ever bother you. If they look at you the wrong way." He murmurs into my hair, his chin resting on my hair. "Actually, let me know if anyone bothers you." Embry adds, which makes me chuckle.
"Hey, I'm being serious." Embry gives me a mix of puppy eyes and scolding look.
"I more than believe you." I try not to smile, but can't fight the corners of my mouth twitching.
"I can be a scary dude." Embry insists, looking a bit crossed now. Embry is definitely scary looking upon first glance. He's well over sit feet tall, and all muscle and veins. Running around with his friends with their matching tattoos and tired glares, it can be more than mysterious. But with how much I've gotten to known him, I see him as this big cuddly bear.
"Yeah," I agree, smiling to myself. "But you don't scare me."
"I'd never want to scare you." Embry's face falls at the thought.
"But yes, you can be scary." I try to ease any bruised feelings. It doesn't seem to work. Embry buries his head in between my shoulder and neck, his sigh tickling my neck.
"Do I ever scare you?" Embry's voice comes out muffled against my skin.
"All the time." He bulks up, giving me wide worried eyes. "You can scare me when you work doubles all night. You scare me when you don't eat or sleep. You scare me when take care of everybody else before yourself." I admit. His hand reaches up to rub his heart, as if it's sore.
"If it really worries you, I'll sleep here every night so you can track how many hours I sleep. Then I'll let you feed me bran muffins and tofu till I'm sick." He finally cracks a grin, that soft beaming grin that makes me feel like the sun is on me.
"I can see about getting tofu on the menu at the Lodge." Though I already know it would never sell. Embry chuckles into the curve of my neck, a low rumble that hums against my skin till it's hot against his mouth. He kisses the spot, his lips lingering on the soft spot till he kisses it again, making my head roll back and my eyes fall shut. His bottom lip traces the curve my neck, down the length of my shoulder, moving aside my t-shirt to kiss the skin there.
"You have goosebumps," He observes, his fingers running up my arm and disappearing under the sleeves to trace circles on my shoulder with his thumb. He gives me one final kiss at the back of my neck and top of my head before standing up.
"I came in for a glass of orange juice, and only a glass of juice." Embry clears his throat, running his hands through his hair.
"You didn't even drink any." I point out, suddenly needing something to drink myself. I'd stand up, but my legs feel wobbly. Embry pours us both a glass, and we both down them in seconds.
"I should go back out before Sam comes back." Embry sighs, heading out the door. Following him out, I don't tell him how I hate to see him go. And he's only working right outside my front yard.
"When is our next date?" Embry pauses on the front steps of my cabin, looking back at me with yearning eyes.
"Hmm, I dunno. Have you asked me out on a second date?" It may be silly, but I'm just now realizing Embry hasn't actually asked me out again. We always talk about when we can see each other next, for even a hour or two. But we haven't made plans to go on a real date since our first one.
"Winifred, would you do me the honor of—"
"Yes." I cut him off. He gives a huge smile, one that matches mine.
"I'll call you with the details." He promises, leaning in for another one of his kisses on the forehead. "Bye—"
Embry misses. He leans down and lands a peck right on my mouth. It's no more than a spilt second, just a touch of the lips. I didn't even realize it was an accident till he flinches back.
"Sorry." He says quickly, putting space between us. He looks like he's struggling to say something more, but he doesn't say anything. I don't have the time to react till he's runs off.
Does Embry not want to kiss me?