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FOUR; MEAT LOVERS

     "I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND, Emily. Why would you do this for us voluntarily?" Paul asked, staring down at the pink colored soup in the pot.

     "Because I'm good at it, Paul," the woman answered, also staring down at his confection. "How did you even turn chicken noodle soup that color?"

     "I don't know. I honestly tried to follow all of the instructions you gave me."

     She sighed, running a hand down her face. Sam was watching the two amusedly from his spot at the table. "How about you let me make the dinner instead?"

     "No, I really want to learn this. Please, Emily? I want to impress her so badly," he whined, begging her. Emily raised an eyebrow, exchanging a look with Sam, who was laughing quietly behind his hand.

     "Fine," she conceded. Paul grinned and crushed her into a hug, but with one growl from Sam, the two pulled apart. "How about we just cook her some nice steak? I have some in the freezer we can make before your date."

     "You're the best, Emily."

♡♡♡♡♡

     "Why do they always forget to put the bacon on my breakfast burrito? I clearly say bacon when I approach that window," Vitani grumbled to herself, picking apart her breakfast. Valentina giggled from beside her and nudged her shoulder.

     "I can't believe you almost got him into a fight!"

     Vitani shrugged. "There was barely a competition."

     Valentina gasped and grabbed Vitani's arm. "I totally forgot to tell you. I saw one of them yesterday, and I didn't realize how ripped they actually are. You scored huge, Vitani!"

     Vitani laughed at Valentina's excited nature over the La Push boy. She was living up to that Forks girl standard. Someone cleared their throat, and the girls both looked up. The head editor of the newspaper was standing there, observing the two.

     "Vitani, how's the article coming along? I don't have any other major articles for the front page, so we're all counting on you."

     She smiled devilishly, chewing on her breakfast burrito. "You can bet it's coming along quite nicely. Snagged a La Push boy."

     He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow. Nice work."

     "She takes her job seriously," Valentina added, backing her up.

     He nodded in acknowledgment. "Alright. Keep up the good work."

     As soon as he walked away, Vitani muttered under her breath. "Asshole."

     "Don't worry," Valentina assured. "You're going to knock this one out of the park. There's already been talk about you and him. Some people at the party were wondering how you got one of those boys so quickly."

     "They can continue to wonder," Vitani responded because quite frankly, she didn't understand how she did it either. She had heard rumors about Paul Lahote, especially about him being a player before he became friends with Sam Uley. However, he cut off all connections due to 'other' responsibilities. Vitani could not comprehend exactly what that meant, and she heard that she was the first girl Paul had been with since his friendship with Sam.

     "So how are you planning to torture him tonight?"

     Vitani smiled to herself, staring down at her meatless burrito. "I have an idea."

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     Vitani knocked on the door, hearing Paul's voice yell from inside. "Come on in, door's open!"

     She gave herself one last opportunity to laugh before opening the door, carrying a box as she walked inside. "Hi!" She chorused to Paul, who was finishing up Emily's steak recipe in his kitchen.

     "Hey," he replied. "I hope you brought your appetite, babe. We've got a feast tonight!"

     She just smiled and giggled as he was immersed in his work. She walked into the kitchen and past the table, which was set up with candles and bread and butter. Damn, he really went all out. "Aw, Pauly," she cooed. "Aren't you so sweet?"

     Paul chuckled as he started to move the mashed potatoes to the plates. "Go ahead and sit down, I'm almost finished."

     "Great, I'm starving!" She exclaimed as she moved to the hallway, entering his bedroom. She changed his plain sheets to pink frilly ones, laying some stuffed animals on the bed for extra measure. Then, she moved onto the bathroom, where she put on a fuzzy pink toilet seat cover and a rug to match. She grinned, hoping that Paul would react the way she wanted him to.

     Vitani put in her bubblegum pop CD into his CD player, immediately belting the lyrics as the tune burst into the air. Paul didn't seem to mind, chuckling to himself in the kitchen at her singing voice.

     He finished the meal, exiting the kitchen and coming around to Vitani, who was dancing by herself at the table. He examined his surroundings, and was surprised to find a framed picture of her sitting on one of his hallway tables. "Wow! Look at all of this stuff."

     She started singing to him, and he smiled and nodded. He pointed to the box Vitani left on the floor. "What have you got there?"

     "Oh," she said, bending down and picking up the plant. "It's a baby fern."

     "Yeah?"

     "Just like our relationship — a helpless little baby in need of tender, loving care."

     She handed the fern to him and he observed it, laughing to himself. "Thank you." He gestured to the table. "Alright, take a seat. Dinner is served!" He brought out two plates of steak, mashed potatoes, and string beans, laying one of them in front of Vitani. "Chef's personal special tonight for you."

     Suddenly, her face twisted into one of disgust. She began to pout and she felt tears well up in her eyes.

     "Oh, no," he said, thinking he did something wrong. Maybe he should've had Emily make the dinner for him. "Hey, you okay? What's wrong?"

     "It's beautiful," she whispered through a choked breath. "I just wish I ate meat."

     Paul paused, not expecting that answer. "What? What do you mean? You ate all of those hotdogs at the Seahawks game."

     "It was a cheat day! Oh, so now I'm not allowed to have cheat days for myself, Paul?" She hissed. She handed him the plate. "Take this away before I gag."

     "Um, okay," he said, setting the meal back in the kitchen. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize. Do you want to eat out instead? I think there's a small vegan place down in Forks."

     She smiled, putting a hand over her heart. "You would do that for me?"

     "Of course. Anything for you."

     Before she could feel the guilt rise up again, she quickly agreed. "Okay. Let's go."

     Paul drove the two of them on his motorcycle to the vegan restaurant, despite having never entered the place before. Vitani was thinking to herself, wondering how Paul had not dumped her just yet. He really was a sweet guy if he could put up with all of this crazy.

     "Hi," a lady greeted them. "For two?"

     He nodded, and they sat down near the window. The waitress offered a menu, and as Paul glanced over the items, he realized why he wasn't a vegetarian and never would be.

     "Doesn't all of this look great?" Vitani cooed.

     Paul nodded slowly, trying to contain the vomit that was slowly crawling its way up his throat. "Yeah, it sure does."

     "How about we just order the two dinner specials?" She suggested.

     He nodded, not really wanting to look at the pictures on the menu any longer. "Sounds good."

     As soon as Vitani placed the order, she excused herself to go to the bathroom. The food came out fairly quickly, and if Paul were to guess, he would say it was because they barely had to put anything together. He stabbed a piece of kale with his fork, eyeing it carefully. He gagged, putting the food down and covering his mouth.

     "Jesus, this stuff is for cows."

     Vitani returned, taking a seat beside him and looking awfully distressed.

     "Hey, how are you doing?" Paul asked, sensing her change in mood.

     "Oh, just a little indigestion," she assured, waving it off.

     The waitress passed by their table again, and Paul raised his hand. "Excuse me, miss. You happen to know the score of the Seahawks game?"

     The woman looked thoroughly disturbed by the question. "Do I look like the kind of person who knows the score of the Seahawks game?"

    Paul grimaced. "No, you don't."

     Vitani continued to play around with her food, frowning at the bowl. The waitress examined her carefully. "Is there something wrong with the barley?"

     "No, no," Vitani shrugged. Then, she started to cry. "My boyfriend thinks I'm fat!" The waitress gaped at Paul, who was completely confused by the sudden accusation. "And I can't eat in front of him! I can't eat in front of you!" She screamed at him. "I have to go to the bathroom."

     She got up and left the table, and all eyes turned to Paul. He raised his hands up in surrender. "I don't think she's fat, I swear."

     The waitress simply glared at him.

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     Paul opened up the door to his house, mind still swirling from the events that occurred. He didn't know when he said something to Vitani that would imply he didn't like her size, but he knew it wasn't true.

     He set his keys down on the table and she giggled happily. "Well, that was fun."

     He shook his head, trying to take his mind off of her constant change in temper. He turned on the television, flipping to the sports channel. Vitani collapsed on the couch, smiling happily to herself.

     "Sorry we missed the game."

     He just nodded, simply acknowledging her apology. When the Seahawks missed their last opportunity to score a touchdown, he yelled out of anger and stood up. She watched his reaction amusedly.

     "Oh, man. I can't believe I wasn't here to see that."

     Vitani decided it was time to begin the second part of her plan. Her hand gripped Paul's leg, and his eyebrows raised. She immediately climbed on top of him, hands fisting his shirt. She began taking off his shirt and growled. She internally cringed at what she was about to say.

     "Can Princess Sophia come out and play?"

     His face twisted into one of confusion. "Huh? Who's Princess Sophia?"

     Vitani laid her hands on his jean shorts and pointed down. "Right here!" She shrieked, pointing down.

     "No, no, no," he mumbled in disagreement. She brought her nails down his chest and grinned. She began kissing his chest as he continued to grumble. "Wait, you're kidding me, right? Princess Sophia?"

     "Little? Big?" She began making gestures with her hands. "I don't know. We will find out."

     Paul thoroughly enjoyed getting all of this attention from his imprint, but he had to address this 'Princess Sophia' business. "You know, hang on, baby." He pushed her back a little bit as she pouted. She took her spot on the couch as he stood up. "Listen, you can't name my member Princess Sophia. It doesn't-"

     "Yes, I can!" Vitani argued in her fake shrill voice.

     "Listen to me," Paul spoke in a distressed manner. "If you're gonna name my member, you gotta name it something hypermasculine. Something like Spike, Butch, or Krull, the Warrior King, but not Princess Sophia!"

     She giggled. "What did you just say?"

     "Spike. You know what I mean?"

     "No, no. After Spike."

     "Butch."

     "After Butch!"

     Paul paused in realization. "Krull, the Warrior King."

     "Does Krull, the Warrior King, want to come out and play?" She smiled, standing up and walking over to him. She ran her hand down his chest again. "Oh, come on out of there. Krull!"

     "You know what?" Paul sighed. "Due to the intense humiliation, the king has momentarily abdicated his throne. Okay?"

     "Oh. Uh-oh," she spoke shyly.

     "Yeah."

     "Well, in that case, I better get going." She smiled and began walking towards the front door. "Take care of our love fern, honey!" She blew him a kiss and walked out.

     Vitani grinned, proud of herself. Before she could leave the block, however, Paul came running up to her.

     This was it. She was finally prepared to write the concluding results of her research, and Paul was finally about to end things with her. There was absolutely no way he was going to stay after the 'Princess Sophia' fiasco. A part of her still wanted to continue dating him, especially after all of the things he put up with. He was a decent guy, and Vitani wasn't going to lie, she kind of liked him.

     Paul stopped her from walking any further, grinning. "Can I see you tomorrow?"

     Her spirits dwindled a tiny bit. "Really?"

     "I hope so."

     She giggled and began walking away. "Call me."

     "I will," he chuckled.

     "And I'll call you."

     "Sweet dreams," he said in goodbye as she walked away.

     "Answer your phone!" She reminded him. Once Paul was out of sight, she grunted to herself. "What the hell just happened?"

    Meanwhile, Paul was congratulating himself for making Vitani happy, and declared the night to be a successful date.

hi, half of the next chapter is complete and i promise i'll try to finish this book in my free time so at least i'm giving you guys some content