195The bell on top of the door went and my eyes instantly flew to the door, a smile forming on my lips. It had become a bit of a routine. It was that time of day that I'd been expecting him.
"One coffee, black, please," he said, leaning against the counter and smiling as our eyes locked. I nodded, my smile growing and he went to sit down.
He would come in whenever he finished work, order a coffee, mark some papers or something boring, and then shameless flirt with me whenever nobody was watching.
I loved it.
Words couldn't explain how much I loved it.
I hadn't been working at the café long, but I had grown so accustomed to it, the way he would put on a little act every time would never fail to get the butterflies in my stomach to flutter about.
I had found the keys to my window and so I had been sneaking out again, going back to the Café after an intense argument when I couldn't go to Seth's and after a while Aylen's aunt said that I might as well just pick up a couple shifts. It turned out to be such a great opportunity. Harvey and Tiff were fine with me leaving the house for work, I did need to get a break and out of the house at some point, after all. It also gave Seth and I time to be able to spend time together without them knowing. Yes, they did let us spend time together now but they wouldn't want me spending too much time with him. And what they don't know doesn't hurt them, right? Plus, the money wasn't exactly a hindrance. I usually try and find a small little job whenever we stay somewhere for a while but I suppose with all the drama that had been going on I didn't really have the chance to here. And what work was there to do in La Push? There's like three little stores, the café and that's it. If they wanted more workers they'd just get family or friends of the family to work so I would have had to go somewhere out of La Push. Which would definitely be a problem considering I don't have a car.
Anyway, the job here suited me fine. And Seth was freaking yummy to watch.
He pulled out some files and set them down, his eyes flew across a page and then looked up at me again. Each time he'd look up I'd try to pretend I wasn't drooling. I'm pretty sure I annoyed Aylen when Seth was here because all I could really pay attention to was Seth, but he didn't say anything. Aylen would never say anything. I really love Aylen, he's so nice.
That smirk that I'm in love with played across Seth's face each and every time I served him. I would never ever get bored. Unfortunately, this time his eyes pulled away from me and scanned around the café.
"Do you know what's happening tonight?" he asked in a low voice when he was sure noone was looking. I turned to stare into his beautifully captivating brown eyes as the corners of his mouth twitched upwards.
"No?"
"Dinner. Me. You. Your parents."
I only just managed not to drop the coffee. "Bollocks," I whispered as he stifled a laugh, his eyes shining as I looked into them in horror. "You're kidding."
"Nope," he smirked and drank some of the coffee. I usually would have warned him for it to be too hot, but guess what? Boiling hot water doesn't really burn werewolves. I don't think they even find it that uncomfortable. I still don't understand half of this 'werewolf' business and to be honest I don't think I ever will. Why does he not get burnt? How is it possible that he is as strong as he is? How is it possible for his hearing to be so great? It blows my mind.
"I can't believe you forgot," he said, smiling at me. "I should feel insulted."
I just stood there, frozen to the spot. "Can't you say you're ill and can't come?"
He rolled his eyes. "No."
"Why?" I groaned. "Why the hell would you want to come? This is going to be torturous."
"You over-exaggerate everything, Frankie."
"Pfft. You just don't understand what they're like. You have no clue what you're letting yourself in for."
"What's the worse that they could do?" he asked.
"I've seen Tiffany make grown men cry before."
He laughed. "I'll try and hold myself together."
"Don't underestimate them, Seth, you don't know what they're capable of," I warned him.
"I've fought armys of vampires before, but I won't be able to handle one meal with your parents?"
I let out a breath. "Finally you understand."
He leant forward and smiled up at me. "I really want to kiss you right now."
"Well, you can't," I huffed and crossed my arms. "And you never will be able to ever again if they murder you with the eating utensils tonight."
"It'll be fine," he said, laughing.
"This really isn't a good idea," I told him but he ignored me.
"You should probably get back to work."
I glared. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"Thank you for the coffee," he said, a little bit louder, and I turned to walk away.
Oh dear.
I'd completely forgotten about that. This is not good. Harvey won't be able to just talk and eat. He will say something to try and rile Seth up.
I spent the rest of my shift simply worrying, my mind going over all the many awful possibilities of what could happen tonight. Seth, however, seemed to be basking in my discomfort. Why isn't he nervous? I don't get. This seems like a totally Seth thing for him to be nervous about. But he's not. And I'm the one who's worrying.
There is an actual feeling of sickness filling my stomach. Tiffany and Harvey's life ambition is to embarrass me as much as they can. Plus, they hate Seth. This won't end well for anyone. After everything that's happened how can we just sit down and eat as if Seth isn't my former teacher who they both think is a paedophile?
I've never taken a boyfriend home for 'dinner' before but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't even be fine if he were some normal, seventeen-year-old boy. When I first went to Fleur's to meet her granddad that was awkward enough and we hadn't had a big commotion like we'd had outside school after that shit with Yuma. Fleur never came to mine for tea, though, so I really have no clue what to expect them to be like. My parents always said it was 'just a phase' when I was seeing Fleur and hadn't really had any interest in meeting her. Which was fucking rude.
Time seemed to just disappear and before I knew it, Seth was up and paying me with that rare cocky look in his eyes. I finished up; wiping the tables, cleaning the coffee machine and other little things like that and the next thing I knew, I was sliding into Seth's car, about to meet my fate.
Seth smiled up at me, leant over and kissed my lips.
Why is he not panicking?
"If your parents ask, I'm twenty-seven," he said as he pulled away from the curb. "That way they don't get even more freaked out with the whole young-looking thing."
"Gotcha."
He sneaked a glance at me and then failed to suppress his laughter.
"You're really nervous, aren't you?"
"Why aren't you?" I shot back, staring at him incredulously.
"It'll be fine, Frankie," he tried to convince me. I wasn't convinced. I wasn't buying any of it.
I was preparing myself for the worst.
Awkward.
Awkward, awkward, awkward.
There was just no other word for it.
Seth's hand gently squeezed my knee under the table after I kicked Harvey for about the hundredth time for saying something inappropriate/awkward/mean to Seth. At least Tiff was actually putting the effort in and trying to be polite.
Seth was still just acting like the most perfect boyfriend, as if this wasn't the most awkward and insane meal of my life.
His hand stayed on my leg (my parents couldn't see from the table I knew this because would have already tried to stab him with their forks if they could see) whilst he 'chatted' with my mum about something. I wanted to stand up and just scream at him. How is he even alive at this point in time? I was cringing to death and this was my family. If the roles were reversed and I was meeting Seth's family and they were treating me like this, I'd of already legged it. Or thrown up. Maybe cried. Probably cried.
I just can't explain it.
The four of us. One table. Awkward, stunted conversations where Harvey didn't even try to hide his animosity towards Seth. I was just sitting there, hoping that I die.
Yep. I was ready. This moment in life has finally brought me to that point where I would welcome death with open arms.
"So," Harvey interjected, glaring at me and then turning his head to Seth. "Have you always been in teaching?"
I was waiting for it. I knew it. I could tell it was coming.
It was all part of his sculptured plan to get to the question he wanted to ask. And Seth fell for it hook, line and sinker. While Seth went on about his love for teaching and history, I could see the little cogs in Harvey's brain formulating a direct route to what he wanted.
After some cleverly planned questions he got to, "Oh right. How old are you?"
At this point I was pretty much a nervous wreck. Seth seemed to have noticed I was tensed up, waiting for what I was sure was about to come, because he would every so often stroke my leg in a calming fashion.
I was just staring intently at Harvey with wide 'don't you dare say anything like what I think you will' eyes.
"Twenty-seven," Seth said calmly and I had to congratulate that he's actually getting better at lying.
Not that that's exactly something that should be congratulated. I should probably be worried.
Now that I think about it, I'm really not a good influence on Seth. I can just add the fact that I've made him into a liar onto the long list of things that I have now changed about him.
Although, having said that, I do think he's calmed down. A lot. Maybe it's having half of this lie off his chest. Maybe it's that I'm not at school and we don't really have to sneak around too much and I'm not his student. Maybe it's the holiday that's quickly approaching. Or that my eighteenth birthday is also quickly approaching. But he's less… I dunno. Less controlling, patronising and just plain worried. He's calm. And happy. I like to think happy. I hope he's happy. I'm happy. I'm happier than I've been in a long, long time.
"Oh. Just ten years older than our Frankie then," Harvey said in an almost relieved tone, which you knew was put on. And you knew he purposefully wanted us to know that he didn't think there being only ten years between us was relieving.
I couldn't even look at Seth to see his reaction. This was mortifying.
"Have you always liked little girls nearly half your age or is our daughter just really lucky?"
Yep. That was definitely what he was building up to.
"DAD!" I jumped up and he just turned slowly to look at me, obviously not bothered. "Join me in the kitchen?" This definitely deserved more than just a swift kick in the shins.
Begrudgingly, he did so and I tried not to slam the door too loudly behind us, knowing it would probably be very awkward for Seth and Tiff in there.
"Seriously?" I spat and he just stared back at me evenly.
"What?"
"You are so out of order that it's insane! I cannot believe you!"
"How am I? I was simply asking a question that has been on my mind," he replied smartly. Well, he though it was smart, I could tell.
"You just wanted to be a fucking pain in the arse, like always! Why couldn't you just be civil for five minutes?"
"Watch your tongue," he said dryly.
I let out a snort. "Me! You're the one that needs to bite their bloody tongue!"
He let out an exasperated breath.
Because I'm the one being difficult. Obviously.
"Are you, or are you not younger than him by ten years?" he asked and I crossed my arms angrily, leaning back on my hip, glaring him.
"Yes," I answered in a clipped tone.
"Exactly. I was just asking if you were his fist vict- oh sorry, I mean girlfriend."
We glared at each other for a while before I lost it. "What the hell, Harvey? You can't just fucking switch your mind like this! Why ask him round if you're just gonna be a twat to him? That's totally uncalled for. I thought you were giving him a chance!"
"He got his fucking chance when I let him in the house, so pipe down! Would you mind your language and actually show me some respect? I think I've been far more reasonable than I should be – more so than a lot of fathers would with their daughters –"
"Apart from I'm not your daughter. I wish you'd stop calling me that," I interrupted, but I got ignored.
"And if he didn't expect at least a few unpleasant questionings then he's an idiot. If he really cares about you like he seemed to want to make us believe, then he wouldn't care."
"'A few unpleasant questions'? That's what you call that? That was more of an interrogation! He hasn't done anything wrong to deserve this! Why should he have to expect to go through this? Loads of people have relationships with someone ten years younger than them but they don't get treated like a villain for it!"
Yes, I knew I was pushing it because he wasn't actually just ten years older than me, he was twenty-five, but that didn't matter. Harv didn't know that. And I just had to pray that he never, ever, ever found out.
"You really think he hasn't done anything wrong?" he asked, his calm tone pissing me off. I hate most of the stuff he says when we argue but when he says it in that calm, patronising way I really can't control my anger. "There's a massive difference between a forty and a fifty year old seeing each other than one that's seventeen, okay? Plus, he broke the law, Frank. Teachers cannot have romantic relationships with their students."
"We haven't even done anything!"
He should trust me on that one. We hadn't done anything. Nothing. Zlich. Nada.
"That isn't the point!"
"Maybe if you just gave him a chance you'd see that he's actually one of the sweetest guys ever? And that you should actually be happier I'm with him than a guy my age. Guys my age think more about get their dick wet than anything else. Seth, you'd notice if you stopped being so rude and actually talked to, cares about me."
He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I was never going to be exactly thrilled with you ever having a… boyfriend. I'm not going to rush to 'get to know him' when we're in this predicament. I was going to hate him regardless, but the fact that he was your teacher, he's twenty years older than you, and that incident outside your school aren't helping his case."
I hate it when he cares about me. It makes me feel guilty for arguing with him. I wish he could just argue with me and just leave it like that, with us being angry with each other.
"And I'd give you grief for being a dick about it even if he was someone else – but this is even worse because I really care about him. Harvey, I really do love him. And I know he loves me too. I know you won't believe me but he's the one. I know it. And it would really help if you'd accept that."
"You don't know that. You're seventeen. You really don't get how young that is. You're going to fall in love with loads of people after him and you will probably think that every time. You can't just –"
I let a loud, frustrated groan. I couldn't even explain how much that angered me. "I'm seventeen, not twelve! Would you stop treating me like a fucking child for five minutes? I'm so fed up of it! And you wonder why we're always arguing? Maybe you should actually realise that I'm old enough to understand things – to understand my own feelings. I'm the one who can feel them, you can't just decide what you think it is. This isn't just a fucking crush on my teacher that you seemed to think it is – I'm not going to just 'get over it' like you thought I would with Fleur."
"You thought you were in love with her, too."
"How was it not love?" I screeched. "After everything, you still don't think that we actually cared about each other?" He didn't even look ashamed or anything. He still stood by what he said. "You're so fucking unbelievable. I'm so fed up with that 'you're just seventeen' bullshit."
And then I stormed out. And I grabbed Seth. But he wanted to have a couple words with Harvey first. So I had to stand in the same room as Tiffany for about five minutes. Sort of ruined the 'storming out' part of the exit.
"You know he only does it because he cares, right?" she said and I shot her a look before glaring at the floor. I didn't want to hear it. I knew it. I knew I was even lucky to have people who cared for me to this extent. But at that moment in time, I couldn't care less. I'm hot-headed and I shout and I argue way too much and I'm frankly an annoying, bratty little bitch but I just couldn't care less. I could probably have handled this much better. Arguing probably didn't help in the slightest – it probably had the opposite affect. But I wasn't going to just sit there and let someone be mean to Seth because I know Seth worries and beats himself up over this more than anyone else could.
And the moment Seth got out I continued my 'storming out'.
"My car's right th– never mind."
I just angrily stalked to his house.
I didn't care that La Push is really freaking massive or that it's quite a walk. I didn't care that his car was just outside my house and that it made no sense to walk. If he wanted to get in his car, he could. But he didn't. He walked behind me, even though it was stupid. And I was stupid. And it stupidly made me want to cry and hug him because he just followed me and didn't tell me I was stupid.
And when we got to his house and I took his keys, opened the door, told him to get in and then shut and locked the door, put the keys in the dish he has on the little counter thing he has near the door, he didn't tell me that I was rude because it was his house. And when I marched us up his stairs, promptly changed into one of his t-shirts and threw his sweatpants at him, he didn't tell me that I was acting like a four year old, he just silently went outside to change to give me privacy (even though I wouldn't of cared). And when I got into his bed he didn't remind me that it was only nine o'clock, he just got in.
Seth's arms opened and I crawled into them. And it was like everything was just lifted off my shoulders. It was all gone. The stress, the arguments, the stupid dads… gone. And I knew I could get by as long as I could crawl into those open arms at the end of every single day.
"I love you. I want to marry you and have loads of children with you and name them all Seth Junior," I murmured softly.
He let out a very loud chuckle and pulled me tighter against him, pulling my hair out from between us and out of my face.
"I love you too, baby," he said, smiling and laughing as he stroked the side of my face and neck. "But I think you're getting a bit carried away."
"I know I am but I don't care. It's true," I said, leaning on top of him, taking in long, deep breaths, filling my senses with his smell. Because boy do I love his smell. And when I'm in his room, in his bed, with his covers over me, lying against him, in his shirt, I can pretty much get high off his smell.
"You're one of the most impetuous people I've ever met."
"Trust me," I said, aware that he wasn't taking me seriously at all. "If we were closer to Las Vegas, we'd be on our way there night now to elope."
"And it took your argument with your dad for you to realise all this?" he asked in amusement.
"Well, it was a long way coming. I just realised that you're all I ever want from now on." That I said with a bit more seriousness. I think he took it a bit more seriously because he went silent and just stroked my arm and occasionally the tips of my hair.
"I used to think it would be simpler if we'd just met incompletely different circumstances," he commented, staring over me head. "But I've changed my mind. I'm so happy that you're seventeen."
I frowned and looked up at him in confusion.
"I love that you're seventeen. I love that you're stubborn and a bit too brash," he smiled and cupped my cheek as I got lost in those deep brown eyes. "I'd hate it if I'd met you when you were like thirty and you were calm and level headed. And when you got angry you just rationally talked about it. I love that you get passionate and end up just saying the same things because you think far too quickly to be able to come up with a full argument. I hate confrontations and arguments but I love that argue."
I shook my head at him in despair and his smile deepened. "I love you," he said, leaning forward to kiss me.
"That's because you're mental."
"Mmm," he brushed his lips against mine as my breath caught in my throat. "You're what makes me mental."
My eyelids fluttered closed as his lips claimed mine again.
"And I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Stop talking and kiss me," I whispered as he taunted me with his lips once more. He pushed me onto my back, his lips caressing my neck, his teeth gently grazing across the skin, his tongue tickling the sensitive flesh.
I flipped us over and forced my mouth onto his, my hands moving over the strong blades of his shoulders before moving down to his firm abs and then even further down.
He let out a low groan. "Don't. Not now – not just because you're upset."
I shook my head and kissed him again. "There's a difference between touching and sex. I know we have to draw a line between the two. But that doesn't mean we can't do some things."
Seth let out another groan, his fingers gripping tightly at my hair as he directed my mouth to his. "I really do not have the resistance to keep denying you."
Our mouths joined, our tongues danced and our hands got well acquainted with the rest of the other's body.
Okay so, I hope you like it! I've become awful with short chapters lately but I now how lots of exciting things that are about to happen so hopefully lots of long chapters to come!
Thank you everyone who's reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it and please keep them coming :)
Swanny21 - Haha! Well, thank you for both of the reviews anyway! And I'm glad you liked that side of Seth, I loved writing it. Thanks again:)
Rachel - Everyone seems to be saying they like sneaky Seth! He's definitely gonna be making a lot more appearances I think. And thank you so much, I'm really glad you like the story and Frankie :)