For You, I Will

“What on earth are you doing up this early?” my dad asked, genuinely surprised to see me dropping down on the stool at the counter. I gave him a huge smile.

“Embry said he’d come and get me so we could do something,” I told him, reaching over and grabbing a banana out of the bowl.

“I guess that banana will give you good practice,” Lucas said mildly from the couch, giving me a mischievous glace.

“Lucas!” I gasped, my face turning red. Laughing, Lucas stood from the couch, stretched, then came to sit beside me.

“Honestly, Lucas,” my dad sighed, giving him a stern frown. Turning to me, he added,

“Lil I’m sure he’ll want to sleep in. He was out late on patrol last night-“

“Hey, Seth,” a new voice said just as the front door was open. “Is Lillie awake- Lillie!” Embry exclaimed. I spun around on the stool, the banana still partially in my mouth.

“I’m sure Embry likes that face,” Lucas snorted, giving me a nudge with his elbow. My face flushed a bright crimson as I yanked the banana out of my mouth and threw it at my brother.

“Shut up Lucas!”

Embry burst out laughing as he watched the scene from across the room. Clearing his throat, my dad grabbed his plate and made his way towards his room, giving Lucas a good thwack over his head as he passed by.

“Well, if you need anything,” Lucas began, sliding off the stool and rubbing his head. “Condoms are in the bottom drawer of my dresser.”

I blushed even deeper red, but Embry just laughed and said,

“We’re good, thanks. They’d be too small for me anyways.”

Giving Embry a high-five, Lucas sauntered to his room and shut the door. Instantly, I launched myself off the stool and wrapped my arms around Embry’s neck. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he picked me up and spun me around.

“Morning, gorgeous,” he said, putting me back down. This was how life was supposed to be. I was supposed to be able to give Embry a hug whenever I wanted. I was supposed to be able to love Embry without worrying what he would think.

“What do you wanna do today?” I asked, stepping back and tucking a lock of hair behind my ear.

“There’s a carnival up in Seattle,” he suggested, holding out his hand and giving me a smile. Sliding my hand into his, I allowed him to tug me towards the door. “Sound like something you’d like?”

“Of course!” I exclaimed, giving a little skip of excitement.

“Be back by supper,” a voice said from the hallway. Surprised, I turned and saw my mom leaning against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest and a small smile on her face.

Returning the smile, I let go of Embry’s hand and pulled my mom into a hug.

“Thank you,” I said softly, giving her a squeeze. She squeezed back, then stepped away and nodded towards Embry.

“Take good care of her,” she said.

“I won’t let anything happen to her, I promise.”

With a nod, my mom turned back and disappeared into her room. Taking Embry’s hand again, I followed Embry outside; it was a warm, sunny day, which I was grateful for. I was wearing a pair of my favorite knee-length shorts, a cute shirt, and a cute pair of flats.

Waiting at the top of the driveway was a red rabbit, with my best friend hanging out the passenger window waving wildly at me.

“We’re going to a carnival!” Nessie exclaimed, crawling out of the window and running to greet me. She flung herself at me, and I nearly toppled backwards from the force of her hug.

“Come on, wild child,” Jake called from the car. “We gotta get a move on!”

Giving me an ecstatic smile, Nessie detached herself from me and skipped back to the car, opening the door this time to get inside. Embry held the back door open for me and I slid in, scooting over to make room for him. As he shut the door, Jake cranked up the music (Breaking Benjamin) and threw the car into drive.

“Hurry up!” Nessie squealed, tugging Jacob’s arm as we all climbed out of the rabbit. The carnival was absolutely packed; people were everywhere, constantly running into me and knocking me back. Embry wrapped an arm around my shoulders and began to tow me through the crowd towards the ticket booth.

Once we had our tickets in hand, Nessie took off, calling over her shoulder,

“I wanna ride the roller coaster!”

Jacob rolled his eyes but took off after her, with Embry and I right behind. Nessie was already scrambling into the seat. Jacob took the seat next to her, and Embry and I sat behind. I’d never ridden a rollercoaster; actually, I was pretty sure none of us had. But we were all excited, and the ride was the most amazing thing we’d ever experienced.

Nessie dragged us on the coaster six more times, until finally Jake made her stop.

“I can’t even see straight, Ness,” he panted, dropping down onto a bench. Nessie let out a huff of breath; she held still for a moment, until another ride caught her eye. Grabbing Jake’s hand, she took off in the direction of the ride, leaving us to chase after them.

The entire morning went like that. By lunchtime, we were dizzy and exhausted, but we were having a blast. Nessie finally dragged us all to one of the hotdog stands, and we ordered enough to feed nearly all the people at the carnival. Actually, we ordered just enough for Nessie and I to have two each, and Jacob and Embry to scarf down the rest.

“Man, I was starving!” I exclaimed, stuffing a fry in my mouth.

“Didn’t you eat breakfast?” Nessie asked.

“Not really,” I admitted.

“This is why we use bananas for food, not weapons,” Embry joked. With a mischievous gleam in his eye, he gave me a wink and added, “Not for training, either.”

Jacob gave an unexpected snort, choking on his hotdog. Nessie burst out laughing, saying,

“No wonder Embry took so long to get you!”

“Renesmee!” I gasped, throwing a fry at her. She just laughed even harder. I knew I was beet red; laughing, Embry pulled me close to him, and Jacob snapped a picture of the two of us.

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around and taking pictures. Every time Nessie and I posed, Jacob told us to smile and look normal. This, of course, resulted in the two of us inventing different insane poses an instant before he snapped the picture.

As the sun began to sink lower in the sky, we passed a ride called the Tunnel of Love. Nessie’s eyes lit up as she spun to grin up at Jacob.

“Can we please ride it?! Please Jake?!”

Jacob laughed, pulling her into a hug.

“Right, like I’m gonna say no to a romantic ride through a dark tunnel with my girlfriend.”

Nessie giggled and took Jacob’s hand as the two of them raced to get in line. Embry and I exchanged a glance.

“We might as well go with them,” he said at last, taking my hand to pull me towards the line. I was doing the best I could to keep myself calm. Possibly the only thing that no one knew about me was that I didn’t know how to swim. It was just never something I’d learned. My mom had never let me go cliff diving when I was little, and swimming had never been a past time of mine and Nessie’s. We’d spent most of our summers off in different countries, courtesy of Bella and Edward. The most water I’d gone into had been the bathtub, and those little kiddie pools at hotels. Embry seemed to catch on to my anxiety; he gave my hand a reassuring squeeze and whispered,

“We don’t need to do anything you don’t wanna do.”

Though that was sweet of Embry, that wasn’t what I was worried about. Reluctantly, I slid into line beside Nessie and listened to her relaxing chatter. I didn’t want to admit my fear. Once our group reached the front, Jake climbed into the boat and then helped Nessie in, while Embry did the same for me. He held me steady as the boat rocked, and I clung to him.

“Haven’t you ever been in a boat?”

“No,” I whispered, my hands tightening around his arm as the boat rocked again. Gently, he pried my hands off and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, holding me close.

“It’s okay,” Embry tried to assure me. “It’s perfectly safe.”

“Yeah, okay,” I muttered, wrapping my arms around him. Embry didn’t seem to mind. The boat gave a small lurch as the ride began. I barely kept a startled squeal from escaping through my lips.

“Are you okay?” Embry asked as the boats entered the tunnel, enveloping us in darkness.

“Y-yeah, I’m good,” I told him, trying to ignore the ominous rocking of the boat as we headed down the tunnel. There was a dim light from the glow-in-the-dark paint that smothered the walls of the tunnel; the music playing drowned out the sounds of everything else, and I tried to ignore my own fear. This was a romantic date with Embry; how many times had I dreamed about something like this?!?

Swallowing my fear, I scooted a bit closer (if that was possible) to Embry, and rested my head on his chest. Embry’s hand fell from my shoulder to my waist. Gently, I tilted my head up, smiling up at Embry. His soft, chocolate eyes melted into mine, and I felt myself leaning forward.

Embry leaned down, closer to me, resting his hand on the end of the seat to hold his weight. His other hand wrapped around me and pressed into my back, pressing my body against his. Embry leaned even further, dipping me back so that my hair brushed the bench. Closing my eyes, I readied myself for his kiss. I felt his warm breath against my lips.

A second later, I felt the boat rock as we rounded a corner, and I felt the boat lurch a little too far to the side. Instantly, I was plunged into cold, suffocating water.

Panic began to take over my body; I flailed my legs, kicking out desperately. My feet met with the bottom of the tunnel.

Calm down, Lillie! I shouted in my head. Just stand up, it’s not that deep! It’s not that deep! Mustering every bit of self restraint I had, I forced my fear to the back of my head and put my feet underneath me, pushing up until my head broke the surface.

Okay, so I’d panicked for nothing: the water only came up to my waist. But still, plunging into the water had freaked me out. Embry waded over to me, his deep, musky laugh settling my frazzled nerves. I felt warm arms envelope me, pulling me to his chest.

“You okay, Lil?” he asked, rubbing my back. In spite of my fright, I couldn’t giving a laugh.

“I’m fine,” I told him taking a step back to look up at him. His eyes, still twinkling with amusement, softened as he stared at me.

“You look beautiful, Lillie.”

With that, Embry gently cupped my chin in his hand and tilted my head up, then pressed his lips gently to mine.

Every other happy moment I’d ever had couldn’t even try to compare to the euphoria shooting through my body the second we kissed. Every fear, every doubt, every painful experience was washed away as Embry pressed his lips against mine.

“Are you two all right?” A voice asked as another boat passed us. Embry and I pulled away, turning to stare at the next couple. Both of us burst out laughing.

“We’re good,” Embry told them, taking my hand. “C’mon Lillie, Jake and Nessie are probably worried.”

Embry leading the way, we began to follow the dimly lit tunnel towards the exit, occasionally bumping into the wall or tripping on the boat track beneath our feet. When we finally reached the end, we pushed past the black curtain and emerged out into the night. The cold air cut through my soaked clothes like a burning knife, seeming to freeze the blood in my veins instantly.

“Holy crap,” I gasped, hurrying to Embry’s side to try and soak up some of his warmth.

“Gah! Lillie, you’re freezing!” Embry gasped as I wormed my way under his arm.

“Oh my God!” Nessie exclaimed, dashing to the edge of the water. “Are you two all right?”

“Fine, actually,” I told her through chattering teeth. “N-never b-better!”

Jake hurried to stand beside Nessie, and he gave me a hand out of the water. Embry pulled himself up as I gratefully accepted a towel one of the carnival employees handed me.

After drying off, the four of us headed towards the exit; I kept my hand entwined with Embry’s the entire way, soaking up the warmth he had. Once we reached the rabbit, I crawled into the backseat, scooting to make room for Embry. The second he shut the door, I crawled back towards him and curled up beside him. Embry gently lifted me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around me to serve as a blanket.

As I began to doze off, I felt Embry’s lips press against my forehead. I snuggled in a bit more, and his arms gently tightened around me. His lips rested beside my ear; I felt his warm breath against my cheek as he murmured,

“Sweet dreams, Lillie.”