Warmth

I sat on the porch of the main house, strumming my acoustic guitar.

"Hey, Ness." Jake walked up the steps to the porch, grinning. "Sounds good." He put his arms around me in a loose embrace.

"Thanks." I smiled at him. I'd spent less time with him recently than I'd liked. The holidays had come and gone, and I was leaving for Portland next week. I had spent a lot of time preparing. Everything over the last several weeks had gone much better than I'd imagined they ever would. I went with my parents to visit the city and tour Reed College. I'd been accepted and registered for school, deciding only to take two classes this semester, until I got a feel for going to school. I had planned to take more classes over the summer if everything went well. My parents even helped me to find an apartment not too far from campus, and a roommate. We hadn't met in person yet, but I'd spoken to Natalie on the phone and via email several times. I had gotten the vibe that she was a laid back, hippie kind of girl. She was studying full time at Reed.

"Aren't you freezing out here?" Jake asked. I shrugged. It was a chilly day, but I hadn't really noticed until he pointed it out. My temperature ran several degrees higher than a human's, though not as high as Jake's. "Why don't we go back to your place?"

"Sure." I stepped inside the front door and found my family gathered inside. From the looks of it, Alice had just gone shopping and was modeling a new outfit for my mom, who was seated on the couch next to my dad. I smirked as I recognized that my mom was trying to look interested but was really bored out of her mind.

"Hey, Ness!" Alice called. "I just got back from a trip to Seattle. What do you think?" She pirouetted in front of me, her A-line skirt fanning out around her.

I nodded enthusiastically. "I love it."

Alice smiled, looking back at my mom. "Apparently, your great taste is not an inherited trait." She squinted her eyes at Mom playfully. Mom rolled her eyes.

"Jake and I are going to go hang out at the cottage for a while. Is that OK?" Jake slipped his arm around my shoulders.

"Sure," Mom said. "Your father and I will be back this evening. We're going hunting here in a bit."

My father's expression abruptly changed and he began glaring at Jake. "Watch your thoughts, wolf," he muttered. I turned to Jake and found him blushing.





"Your dad's been a little..." Jake paused as we walked back to the cottage. "He's been really grumpy lately."

I sighed. I'd noticed as much. "He's just not happy about me leaving. You know, his only daughter going off to college."

"I completely understand." He scooped me up in his arms, surprising me. "I'm not exactly thrilled about that myself." He began to sprint the last few yards toward the cottage. He carried me in the front door and we went into the living room. He had to duck his head to avoid hitting it on the low, exposed beams. I sat on the rug on the floor and Jake began arranging the wood in the small fireplace and began to light a fire.

He sat next to me on the floor. I held his hands and stared at him. I would miss him. Truly, I did love him. I felt like that love was a permanent part of who I was, existing for as long as I had. Slowly, it had begun to change, to become something more than just the love of a best friend, something that would survive regardless of distance or time. He kissed me on the forehead. Suddenly, I became acutely aware of the sound of my pounding heart. I placed my hand on his cheek, showing him a memory. It was from the day I had started to realize that the love between us was changing, less than a year ago. I felt my face flush lightly and I kissed him on his soft, warm lips.

Suddenly, our kisses became intense, more urgent. I felt our lips part and I twisted my fingers in his dark hair. I felt a rush of warmth, of desire, sweep through my body. It felt like I was in another realm, far away from the confines of the small cottage. I heard the sound of both of our pulses quickening. I felt my hands running down his back while his hands explored as well.

Suddenly, Jake pulled away from me and I came crashing back to reality. "Wow," he said, taking a deep breath. "That was... amazing."

I smiled at him suggestively. "It doesn't have to end."

He frowned. "I don't want it to end. I really don't. I just don't want your father to murder me."

I pouted. I squeezed his hand. There's more to it than that, I said to him silently.

He let out a huge sigh. "You're right. There is." He paused for a moment and looked deep in though. "How do I phrase this? Ness, it's just not the best idea right now, not a good idea for you. I will never do anything that would hurt you, emotionally or otherwise."

I frowned. "I know you would never hurt me, Jake. I don't think it's possible for you to hurt me if you tried."

"You're right. I could never hurt you. But...going too much further is not what's best for you right now, for us. You're so young. We've got forever. I want to do this the right way. You're worth waiting for, Ness."

I sighed. In my mind, I knew he was right, but my body had other ideas. I leaned in to kiss him again, and things started to pick up where they left off. Jake kissed me for just a moment, then leaned away. He stood up quickly, knocking his head on one of the rafters.

I stood up and embraced him. "Are you OK?"

He nodded. "I'm fine. Look, I've got to go, OK? I've got patrols." He gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll see you soon." With that, he turned and walked out the front door. I followed him for a moment, long enough to watch him phase and for the huge russett colored wolf to disappear into the woods.