“What’s wrong with falling,” I murmured, bringing my face a millimeter closer to hers, “If I’m there to catch you?”
Her eyelashes fluttered for a moment before she looked down and pushed me away. I looked up at the sky in frustration-what did I think I was doing?
“Thanks so much, Smooth Guy,” she joked, “Anyway, we should probably try and move faster. I still have the chills from your great uncle’s story and I feel like at any moment a wolf is going to pounce on me.”
If only she knew, one just had.
Chapter Eight
Sophia
I was walking down the aisle of Wilsons’ Grocery Store looking for a pack of birthday candles when I noticed Mark, Akemi’s friend that I had met, standing at the other end of the aisle. Feeling friendly, I approached him with a small smile.
“Mark, right?” I asked. He looked at me with curious eyes. “I think we’ve met before. Do you remember?” I gestured to myself hopefully. Finally he came to life and smiled.
“Sophia. From outside the library. Right, I do remember.”
“Yeah! It’s good to see you again. How is your summer going?”
“It’s been pretty tame.” He looked around and shrugged. “I’ve just been spending most of my time here.” It was then that I noticed he was wearing an apron.
“Oh, do you work here?” I asked even though the answer was obvious, “I shop here all the time! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you, though.”
“I’ve seen you,” he responded. I raised my eyebrows and he shrugged. “I mean, I think I have. It’s a small town, so I guess I see pretty much everyone come through here.”
“I see.” I couldn’t help but smile at his rambling. I was known to go off on a tangent myself sometimes too, so I didn’t hold it against him.
“How’s your summer going so far?” he returned the favor.
“I’d say mine was pretty tame too. I haven’t taken the time to see everything this place has to offer, so my days aren’t too exciting. I’ve just been reading or hanging out with friends.”
“Friends like Noah Mactire?” he asked. I raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“Um yeah, he’s a friend of mine,” I answered tentatively.
“Everyone knows everything about everyone here,” he said by way of explanation, “When there’s someone new in town some of the local folks get wrapped up in snooping into their business. I heard two women the other day by the produce talking about seeing you hanging out with him. They wondered if you were dating.”
“Well I’m not,” I said, taken aback slightly, “and you’re welcome to pass that on to the snoops. Tell them you got the news firsthand.”
“I’m sorry.” He blushed and I feared I had come off too harshly. “I’ve been hanging around the gossipers too long. I didn’t mean to imply such a personal question.”
“Oh it’s fine.” I laughed, and waved it away with a hand. “I don’t mind, really. I mean it is a bit unusual that people are so concerned with me, but I have nothing to hide. I’m pretty boring, so I’m sure the gossip will shift subjects quickly.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. From the talk I hear up and down these aisles you’d think you were a celebrity.” That had to be an overstatement, and I didn’t know how to respond. I needed a change of topic.
“Speaking of aisles, do you know if they’re hiring?” I asked, looking around. He looked at me questioningly and I laughed. “Not for gossip-listening purposes. I’ve just been thinking about getting a job to occupy some of my free time.” Once school started I would need some extra cash for books, and it didn’t seem like a bad place to seek part-time employment.
“I’m not sure.” He looked down at the price gun in his hand casually. “But I could ask my mom for you.”
“Your mom?” I smiled. “Is she really well-informed on employment opportunities or something?” He laughed, pointing to the name on the apron.
“She is for this store. She and my dad own it.” I felt like an idiot.
“So your last name is Wilson,” I guessed.
“Correct.”
“Well then, I hope you’ll put in a good word for me,” I said with a wink. He blushed and I found myself blushing in response as well. I had meant the wink as a joke but I guess it came off as overly flirtatious.
“Yeah I’ll, uh, ask my mom if she needs any extra help and let you know.”
“I mean, if you can, that’d be great, Mark, thanks!” I tried not to cringe at the awkwardness of the moment.
We exchanged numbers and I went on my way through the checkout counter, feeling pretty upbeat about the new prospect of a job. Working at a grocery store didn’t seem like particularly exciting work, but it was work that I wouldn’t mind doing. Plus, if I involved myself in the community more maybe I wouldn’t be such a hot topic of discussion amongst the locals.
It was weird that apparently everyone was so concerned with my business. I hadn’t felt like I was being watched, so it was surprising to hear that I was a popular subject for gossip, especially when I hadn’t done anything interesting or worthy of such attention.
I put my small bag of groceries in my bike’s basket and started to make my way back home. Even though I had spent the whole afternoon and evening with Noah the day before it felt weird that I wasn’t going to see him again for another day. It was really unfortunate that he canceled on our movie plans due to something that needed to be done at the ranch.
I caught myself mid-train of thought. No wonder the gossipers of the town suspected we were an item. We were constantly together! I questioned if to onlookers we really looked like a couple, though. It was doubtful. He was so handsome, and I was just so…me. Plus, it’s not like we held hands or were ever found draped in each other’s arms.
Immediately my mind flashed to the moment I fell into him on the way down from the campfire, and I felt my face heat up at the memory. It must have been so obvious how badly I wanted to him to kiss me in that moment. How embarrassing! I was supposed to be forcing myself to see him purely as a friend, but ever since I felt his strong arms around me I felt cold in their absence.
I decided a night without Noah would be healthy for me. I needed time to mentally assess the true nature of our relationship, and question whether both he and I wanted more. Who was I kidding, of course I wanted more. He was the dream guy I never even dared to dream up for myself. But it was for that exact reason that perhaps I shouldn’t want more. I doubted I would be able to keep him interested, and I didn’t think I could handle going back to days without the arguments and movie marathons I had grown so fond of. It was true, he bothered me to no end, but I liked being bothered by him.
➹➹➹
Noah
I looked out the window over the kitchen sink and smiled up at the clear morning sky. After going a whole night without seeing or talking to Sophie, I was all too eager to see her again and had invited her over to spend the morning at the ranch. I had been spent the entire night thinking about us and I came upon the realization that the only way our current dilemma was going to change was if I had the courage to change it. If I had any hopes of getting closer to her, I needed to open up and let her get closer to me. It was important to her, and it was the one thing holding our relationship back.
“Sophia’s here!” my mom called out from the other room. Immediately I felt my heart rate spike up and my hands flex in anticipation. I took a deep breath and walked out the front door to see her pull up by the garage and cut the ignition.
“Hey there.” She smiled softly as she hopped out of her car and shut the door behind her. I couldn’t help the grin on my face.
I jogged over to her and pulled her up into a hug, basking in the sound of her breathless laughter in my ear. She grunted as I set her down and wrapped her arms around her ribs, pretending to wince.
“Are you a boa constrictor or something?” she joked. No, but I am part wolf. I shoved that thought aside and shrugged.
“Sorry
. I guess I don’t know my own strength.” Cue strategic flexing of the biceps. Only she didn’t even look at my arms, she looked down with a playful shake of her head. I looked down at her worn-in converse sneakers and smiled. The girl was certainly a creature of habit. She found a pair of sneakers and she stuck to it. She found a plain outfit that worked and so she got it in every basic color. I hoped one day I could be a permanent habit of hers.
“What’s the plan for today?” she asked when her head came back up.
“Breakfast, and then maybe watch a game with the guys?” I offered, wincing, “There are a couple matches on the DVR." The second the guys learned she enjoyed soccer too they'd been asking to watch a game with Sophie. I liked that they were making a real effort to bond with her.
"Sounds good to me." She raised a shoulder and smiled.
"You're in a very agreeable mood," I noticed. I was expecting a little less enthusiasm or even a sarcastic remark.
"Let's just say I'm happy to be out of the house." She sniffed, avoiding my gaze.
"Your dad?" She shook her head and sighed again, this time her breath was shaky. My heartbeat quickened with worry.
"Mom," she deadpanned. I was silent. Finally she looked up at me with moist eyes, smiling sadly. "Today's her birthday," she explained.
I pulled her into a tight hug and didn't let her go for about five minutes. It killed me every time I heard her talk about her Mom. She sounded like such an amazing woman, and she was so important to Sophie. I couldn’t imagine what she went through. I definitely was blown away with how well Sophie was holding up in the aftermath.
“Let’s not join the guys just yet,” I suggested, “We could go for a walk? You could talk about it, or we could talk about something else.”
She slowly reached out and took my hand in hers, and I stopped breathing for a moment. “I’d like that.”
We started off on the path, my mind just focused on the sensation of her hand in mine while I let her collect her own thoughts.
“She’d be 41 today,” she said softly. I closed my eyes and held back a curse word.
“Wow, she was so young,” I said, not sure if it was the right thing to say.
“Yeah, well, she was pretty young when she had me.” She laughed softly. “Which was pretty much the reason why she and my dad didn’t work out.”
“Did he say anything about her today?”
“No, I haven’t seen him.” She swallowed loudly and looked down. “But he never talks about her, so why would today be any different?”
“Sophie, I’m really sorry.” I squeezed her hand.
She straightened her posture abruptly, as if physically rejecting the emotions she felt building. “We used to have this tradition,” she said, as she ran the back of her hand across her nose and sniffed again, “Where on our birthdays we’d go into the each other’s rooms at midnight with lit candles. They didn’t have to be in a cake, any kind of food would do. One time she even put my candles in a tuna salad sandwich. It was just important to us that we always blew out our candles right at midnight, right at the start of the birthday.”
“A tuna salad sandwich?” I smiled as she laughed.
“Yeah, some of the candle wax dripped on it but otherwise it was pretty good.”
“That sounds like a fun tradition.” I ran my thumb back and forth over her hand.
“Yeah, well.” She stopped walking suddenly and I paused my thumb’s movement. “I’m not one to bail, so, last night I lit some candles for her.”
“What did you put them in?” I took her other hand in mine as well. She looked up at me with a smile, but her eyes were brimming with tears.
“A stale croissant. It was all I could find in the kitchen.” Her voice hitched and finally her tears broke free, making their way down her cheek. I pulled her into another tight hug as she finally let herself feel what she had been burying all day.
Chapter Nine
Sophia
Noah and I were sitting between the giant roots of a tree, looking out at the mountains in the distance that touched the sky. I had my head rested on his shoulder and he had his arm wrapped around me. My knees were curled up to my chest and I was playing with his strong warm fingers. I wasn’t even occupied with thoughts on how affectionate our position was. It just felt really comfortable to be sitting with him like this. I felt safe, and his body kept me warm against the cool breeze. It would have been a really nice moment, if it weren’t for the fact that I was sniffling up snot.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized after one particularly grotesque sound escaped my nostrils. I wanted to bury my head in his shoulder, but I feared some of the wetness on my face might rub off on him.
“For what?” he asked, lifting his head off of mine to look down at me. I shook my head and looked away in embarrassment.
“I’m a hideous crier,” I moaned. I felt his fingers touch my chin and he pulled my face back to look at him.
“No,” he said firmly, “You’re not. In fact, Sophia Rose, I’m pretty sure hideous is nowhere near the realm of possibility for you. You’re too beautiful.” I felt a blush creep across my cheeks but I couldn’t look away from his sincere eyes.
“Um.” I chewed on my lip. “Thanks.” I wanted to roll my eyes and dismiss his comment with something sarcastic but my brain was failing to compute. I became even more frozen when I saw his eyes drift down to my lips. He leaned closer by only millimeters, and I mirrored him, giving in to attraction that was drawing me to him. Our eyelids drooped as we began to close the remaining distance when suddenly a noise caused us to break apart.
“HEY LOSERS BREAKFAST IS READY!” Benji yelled, ruining the moment. Noah leaned his head back against the tree and breathed deeply. I hastily moved out of our embrace and looked back out at the mountains, unable to look him in the eye.
“One minute!” he shouted to Benji, leaning back to look around the tree.
“YOU’RE MISSING OUT ON ALL THE BACON!” he shouted back.
“WE’LL BE THERE IN A SECOND!” I shouted, and my voice was cut off by my own embarrassed laughter. I looked at Noah and he rolled his eyes with a smile. He got up and dusted himself off before helping me up as well.
“Can you tell I’ve been crying?” I asked softly, wiping under my eyes. He humored me and inspected my face.
“Nope,” he said decisively, “You look great.” This time I allowed myself to roll my eyes. I took a deep breath to calm myself down.
“Thank you for listening,” I said. I reached out to touch his arm in earnest but decided against it, still confused over the intimate moment we just shared.
“Thanks for telling me.” He shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets.
“I’m kind of a mess today, aren’t I?” I grimaced. One second I’m sobbing in his shoulder and the next I’m trying to kiss him. Real smooth, Soph.
“It’s understandable.” He laughed, and placed his hands on my shoulders, swaying me from side to side a little. “In fact, it’s warranted. You shouldn’t ever feel bad about your emotions, or missing her. You’re human.”
“You’re pretty smooth, you know that?”
“I didn’t know that,” he joked, “But I’ll add it to the resume.”
“Add that you’re a great listener too. Plus, a good shoulder to cry on.”
“Nah.” He shook his head. “I don’t want word about those skills getting out. Then everyone will want to come for me for heart-to-hearts, and I can’t be bothered to do all that.”
“Is that so?” I laughed softly as he shrugged.
“I’m only interested in your heart.” Before I could react or contemplate what exactly he meant by that, he had pulled me into another one of his bone-crushing hugs.
“DON’T GET MAD IF THERE’S NOTHING LEFT FOR YOU!” Benji’s voice rang out over the breeze.
“OKAY WE’RE COMING!” Noah yelled, right in my ear. I pulled back and winced, covering my ear with my hand.
“Oh sorry!” He laughed, wrapping an arm
around my shoulder as we turned to head into the house. “I didn’t mean to bark in your ear.”
➹➹➹
Noah
“Oh, come on.” I groaned, slumping back onto the couch. Milo crumpled up his napkin and threw it at the TV.
“I don’t believe this.” Benji let out a short breath through his nose.
“Easy, there.” Milo playfully shoved him. “Try to keep your temper down.”
“I’m fine!” he protested. He leaned forward and focused on the TV, writhing his hands. As the youngest, Benji was the biggest risk for losing control. Younger shifters were notorious for shifting by accident. I opened my mouth to reiterate Milo’s warning but was interrupted by the sudden sweet smell of melted butter filling my nostrils.
“More popcorn?” Sophie asked, coming around to the coffee table and placing down a large bowl. Immediately, three large fists dove into the bowl and came out with monstrous amounts of popcorn.
“Jesus, boys, ever heard of ladies first?” Frankie protested, finally getting her share of the bowl.
“Ever heard of ‘snooze, you lose’?” Benji said through a mouthful of popcorn.
“We just had breakfast, but it looks like this batch might not be enough on its own,” Sophie murmured to me out of the corner of her mouth. She slapped my shoulder playfully with a smile and walked back into the kitchen. I rested my arms over the back of the couch. I was feeling pretty great. Sophie and I definitely shared a “more-than-friends” moment by the tree. Had we not been so rudely interrupted, I was sure we would have kissed.
“You know, Sophie,” I said, jumping over the couch and walking to where she stood by the microwave, “You don’t have to serve us or anything. You’re the guest here.”
“I don’t mind.” She shrugged, smiling as she looked over at our friends on the couch. “Besides, you’re all so glued to the TV if I wasn’t on snack duty you’d all get ‘hangry’.” I laughed. She sort of had a point there.
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