♡♡♡♡♡

TWO; WHITE ROSES

PAUL'S PLACE was nice. It was small and quiet, and Vitani wondered where his parents were. "This is cute."

"You think?" Paul smiled. "It's not much, but it's home."

Vitani grinned at his small comment. However, there were no pictures plastered on the walls that people usually put up to remind them of their family. The living room held just a couch and a small television.

"Want me to get you a drink?"

"Yeah. Do you mind if I use your bathroom?"

"It's down the hall, on your right."

"Thanks."

Vitani quickly scurried into the tiled room and shut the door. She glanced at herself in the sink mirror and pulled out her phone, dialing Valentina's number.

"Angela told me you landed a guy!" The girl immediately shrieked when she answered. "Damn, girl! You're quick!"

"Relax, Valentina," Vitani chuckled softly. "I'm not going to do anything with him."

"What? Why not? Angela told me the guy was totally hot! And he's a La Push boy? Vitani, have some fun!"

She rolled her eyes. "Valentina, I'm here for a mission, remember? Not just to get into this guy's pants."

"But what's the harm in that?"

She laughed. "I'll call you later. I'm going to scope this guy out."

"Have fun!"

Vitani hung up the phone, exiting the bathroom. The dance music that was playing earlier had turned into a slow song, and she smirked. This guy sure knew how to pull out the moves.

"There you go," Paul said, handing her a drink.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

They sat down on the couch together. "So, you go to Forks?" Paul asked.

Vitani nodded. "You're correct. And you're a La Push boy, I assume."

Paul chuckled. "How did you guess?"

"The tan skin, the bulging muscles, and the overconfidence — I mean, it was pretty easy," she teased.

"Oh, really? Well, you Forks girls are pretty easy to identify as well."

"Is that so?" She scoffed.

"Yeah. Always wishing for the sun, and desperately wanting a tan boyfriend like me."

She laughed loudly. "You're really in your head, huh?"

"Hey, I just state what I know." As soon as their laughs died down, Paul took another look at the girl who was his soulmate. "You going to college next year?"

She nodded. "Majoring in journalism."

"Ah," Paul nodded. "You have a passion for writing?"

She was challenged by his tone. "Something wrong with that?"

"No. I just pegged you as a STEM girl."

"The written word inspires people, you know? Encourages kids to write and learn about the world," Vitani defended.

Paul threw his hands up. "Hey, I'm not arguing. I agree. The most passionate people I know funnel their energy into writing."

"What about you?"

"Me?" Paul asked rhetorically. "I'm going to stay here. I have responsibilities."

"Family?" She guessed.

He shook his head. "Friends, if you want to call it that. All of us are staying home."

"Sam Uley's group?" She asked, snapping her fingers.

"Correct. So, tell me. What kind of absurd things have you heard about us?"

"Just that every Forks girl is desperate for you, like you said," she shrugged. "Why? Is there something I need to know?"

"All the La Push girls kind of assume we're on drugs. Pretty sure most of them have bets to see who can be the first girl to crack one of us and get us to spill all of the secrets."

Vitani's nose twisted. "That's awful. At least us Forks girls just want you guys for the tan skin and offers to walk on the beach."

"My hero," Paul joked, clutching his chest. "You know exactly the way to a guy's heart."

She laughed. "After all, we're just known for having pale skin and the miracle that is Bella Swan."

He rolled his eyes. "Please. You don't need to tell me about her. I know everything from Jake."

"Oh yeah," she mused. "I forgot that a La Push boy was in love with her. She's great, and I've talked to her a couple of times, but she gets way too much recognition. Mike Newton was practically drowning in his own drool when she showed up. Everyone just always asks her why she's not tan if she's from Arizona, and they just treated her like new meat. It was weird. Not a fan."

"I'm beginning to like you more and more," he smiled. "Keep talking."

She inched closer to him, eyes sparkling. "How about we talk less, and do more?"

She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. Paul gripped her waist, pulling her closer. Their lips moved in sync as he pinned her to the couch, hovering over her frame. When Vitani heard the zipper of his pants go down, her eyes widened and she pushed his chest slightly.

"Um, maybe we're going a little too fast."

Paul nodded, realizing that this wasn't just any random girl. This was his imprint, and he needed to treat her with care. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry." He pulled away from her and Vitani sat up.

"I want you to respect me."

"And I want your respect," he agreed.

"I respect you for respecting me."

"I respect that."

"Good."

She smiled awkwardly. "I should head out then."

He stood up, helping her stand and walking her to the door. Vitani purposefully left her clutch on the table, which luckily, Paul didn't notice.

"Good night, Vitani Santos."

She smiled and walked away, turning back to wave at him one last time.

"Oh, you are already falling in love with me," he whispered to himself.

"I'm going to make you wish you were dead," she chuckled quietly. "Poor guy."

♡♡♡♡♡

"You found your imprint? Paul, that's amazing!" Emily exclaimed.

"You picked a good one, Jared. These ten days are going to be a breeze," Paul sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"Bet is still on?" Jared asked.

"Of course. I still don't want to run patrol, and we all know imprints cannot fight the bond. Your ass is mine, Cameron."

"Paul, maybe you shouldn't keep this going," Sam warned. "She's your imprint. She could be offended by this game you and Jared have going on."

He rolled his eyes. "Relax, Sam. If she's the girl I know she is, we'll be just fine."

"Is that her purse?" Embry questioned, eyeing the black bag sitting in the middle of Emily's table.

"It's more of a clutch," Quil corrected. They all raised their eyebrows at him. He threw his hands up. "Look, I play a lot of dress up with Claire. I know which is which."

"She left it at my house last night," Paul explained.

"Have you looked through it?" Seth questioned, observing it.

"No."

"You can't look through a woman's purse, assholes," Leah hissed.

"And why not? This girl is Paul's imprint. Doesn't he have the right to know what's inside it?" Jared retorted.

"A woman's purse is like her secret source of power," Sam explained. Emily made a face and looked at her fiancé.

"Unless she left it behind so that I would have to look at it," Paul suggested.

Suddenly, someone had kicked the table and the bag fell over, spilling all of its contents. Both Emily and Leah rolled their eyes.

"Crap! We gotta clean it up," Jared said.

"Yeah, yeah," Paul agreed.

There wasn't much in Vitani's bag — pepper spray, toiletries, perfume, earphones, wallet, and... Seattle Seahawks tickets for that night's game.

"Seahawks tickets," Jared gaped.

"Seahawks tickets for tonight's game," Embry clarified, grabbing one of them.

"Holy shit. I have to call her now."

"Forget that!" Quil dismissed Paul's statement. "You have to buy her anything and everything! You have to do everything possible for these tickets!"

♡♡♡♡♡

"Delivery for Vitani Santos."

Vitani looked up from her homework, trying to finish it before class ended. Four delivery men walked in, each carrying a bouquet of white roses. Valentina gasped as each bouquet was given to Vitani.

"Vitani, oh my God!"

Vitani took the card off one bouquet, smiling as she read it to herself.

To: Vitani
100 times more beautiful than 100 roses.
Love,
Paul

"Catchy," Valentina said after she peered at the card herself.

"The guy's got moves," Vitani credited.

"All done with your romantic life, Ms. Santos?" The English teacher asked, one eyebrow raised.

She smiled shyly. "Sorry."

The woman resumed her lecture and Vitani continued to whisper to Valentina.

"So, does this mean you've got him wrapped around your finger?" Valentina asked.

"This means he found the Seahawks tickets."

Valentina scoffed playfully. "You left the tickets in your purse?"

"Yeah."

"You are just on a whole different playing field."

Vitani's phone lit up and she smirked when she saw a text from Paul.

paul
hey, gorgeous
delivered 10:46 AM

vitani❣️😍
something odd just happened - a nice man delivered really pretty white roses to me
delivered 10:46 AM

paul
that is odd
delivered 10:47 AM

paul
maybe you have a secret admirer
delivered 10:47 AM

vitani❣️😍
you think? i'm such a lucky girl then
delivered 10:47 AM

paul
i had a great time last night, and you left your bag at my place
delivered 10:48 AM

vitani❣️😍
i know, i can't believe i forgot it
delivered 10:48 AM

paul
yeah, well you probably need it back, there's a lot of valuables in here
delivered 10:48 AM

vitani❣️😍
like those seahawks tickets??
delivered 10:49 AM

paul
yeah, those are pretty valuable too
delivered 10:50 AM

vitani❣️😍
were you going through my bag, paul??
delivered 10:50 AM

paul
well, i wasn't, but my friend accidentally knocked it over and everything spilled out
delivered 10:51 AM

vitani❣️😍
sorry, i've made plans with someone else
delivered 10:51 AM

paul
not anymore
delivered 10:51 AM

paul
besides, you didn't really leave your purse at my place by accident
delivered 10:51 AM

paul
you really wanted to take me to this game
delivered 10:52 AM

vitani❣️😍
does this work on all the la push girls??
delivered 10:52 AM

paul
most of them
delivered 10:53 AM

vitani❣️😍
alright, if you can find my place and pick me up at 12, we can go together
delivered 10:53 AM

paul
deal
delivered 10:54 AM

Vitani grinned and tapped Valentina on the shoulder. "He's in."

"That's how it's done?"

She smirked. "That's how it's done."

♡♡♡♡♡

"Wow, you actually managed to find my house. I'm impressed and slightly afraid."

"I have my connections, babe."

Vitani smiled and stepped down from the steps of her porch. Paul was wearing a Seattle Seahawks jersey and she was adorning a cute Seahawks shirt.

"So, the only way I can get a guy to text me back is if I stash football tickets into my purse? Kind of hurts my ego."

"Trust me, babe, I wanted to go out with you way before the tickets came about. This, however, is a bonus," he teased.

"It's a three hour car ride. You comfortable with being around me for that long?"

"For the tickets, I think I'll just have to make that sacrifice."

Vitani held a smug grin, already planning exactly how she was going to torture Paul for the duration of the car ride. They piled into her small Honda Civic, and as soon as she turned the engine on, loud bubblegum pop music started wafting through the speakers.

"Oh," Paul frowned. "You like this stuff?"

"It's my favorite type of music," Vitani defended. "What? Are you trying to tell me that it's annoying?"

Paul put on his best fake smile. "No, no, of course not. Just wanted to know if we'd be listening to this the whole car ride."

"You bet your ass we are. Three whole hours, baby."

Paul grumbled lowly to himself, but initially deciding that if it was what his imprint wanted, it was what she would get. However, he jumped slightly in his seat when Vitani suddenly began to scream the lyrics of the song.

"Sugar, sugar! Honey, honey!"

Paul closed his eyes, settling for Vitani's screeching noises as he tried to rock himself to sleep. Although, Vitani was not going to let that happen.

"Paul!" She shrieked, slapping his chest.

His eyes flew open in panic. "What? What happened?" He asked frantically.

"You're ignoring me," she pouted. Vitani internally cringed at herself. She would never actually say any of these things if she was trying to be herself. "Would you rather go to sleep than spend any time with me?"

Cue the tears. She was so glad she took all of those acting lessons in drama class.

"Oh, shit," Paul murmured, watching as Vitani began to cry as she tried to keep a strong hand on the wheel. "No, I'm sorry, Vitani. I didn't mean to ignore you. I'm sorry."

"I bring you to a football game and all you can do is sit back and relax while I drive your sorry ass for three hours! Three hours, Paul. How can I expect you to get married and raise children with me if you can't even hold a simple conversation!"

Usually, the mention of commitment would send Paul running to the hills. Hell, he would even jump out of the car if Vitani said this a week ago. But now, he was willing to imagine a life with children and wedding bells.

"I'm sorry, Vitani. Here, I promise I'll stay awake for the whole car ride, okay? We can listen to your music and you can sing along as much as you want."

Damn. How was it possible that Paul got even sweeter when she mentioned marriage and children? Whenever Valentina did it to her guys, they usually excused themselves to go to the restroom and never came back.

"Okay," he said, sitting up. "I'm wide awake. What do you want to talk about?"

Vitani's hands clenched around the wheel. This was going to be a long car ride.