My Mysterious Mate

Chapter 1

**Emma's POV**

I stared down at my phone for the longest time. The text read, "Emma, we're going camping, so pack lightly! No, you cannot get out of it. --Dad" I hated camping. I hated the outdoors. It was so like my Dad to pull a stunt like this. Since Mom was leaving on a busniess meeting for the week, he no doubt, was bringing my brother, sister, and I on a camping trip. I was the only one of us that hated camping, but there was no way we would go on a nice holiday without my mother. My dad was too restless to stay at home without her though.

I loved going places, but not in the middle of a damn forest.

I wanted to see him. The one with the green eyes that would stare into my soul. We've met by chance seven times now. Not that I'm counting.

I was five the first time we met. My parents had taken me to the zoo and I saw a penguin stuffed animal. I had to have him. I cried, and cried, and cried because I couldn't get him. At the time, my entire world had crashed and was about to end, all because of a stuffed animal. We left the gift shop and my parents explained that I wasn't always going to get what I wanted. I didn't want to accept that. Then he walked up. He was older than me by a couple of years, but as soon as I saw the penguin stuffed animal in his hand, he could have a giant, and I wouldn't have noticed. He said his mom bought it for him, and he didn't want it. I didn't hesitate to take it. I thanked him, happy to have my penguin.

The second time I met him we were touring around the Grand Canyon. I was eight. I was bored out of my mind, and I wandered off. I ended up getting lost, and then he found me. He was playing with some friends, and as soon as he saw me, he came running up. I didn't recognise him at first, but as soon as he said "penguin"I knew exactly who he was. I refused to tell him my name though, he was still a stranger. So he called me "kid". I didn't mind, and he helped me find my family. I wasn't sure how, since they were pretty far away, but I wasn't scared with him.

The third time we were vacationing in Hawaii. I had just turned twelve and I thought I could do whatever I wanted. So, early one morning I snuck out of the hotel room and made my way down to the beach. My mom had told me I couldn't learn to surf, that it was entirely too dangerous. So, I decided to do it on my own. I stole a surf board and made my way into the water. I had been watching people do it every time I went to the beach, I was pretty sure I had it. I misjudged my ability to stay up on a surf board, as soon as the wave hit, I was under. I thought then that I was going to die, until a boy with green eyes pulled me up to him. He was angry with me. I had never seen him angry before, but I was too scared to care. I promised myself that I would never go surfing again. I still refused to tell him my name, but he stayed with me on the beach for hours after that. We talked, and we got on nicely. I hadn't noticed his British accent until then, but as we talked, the more prominent it became. Then I had to go back to the hotel room, before anyone noticed I was gone. I met him every morning for a week, before my family was up, and we just talked. Then I had to leave again.

The fourth time, was exactly a year \after I had seen him in Hawaii. We were in France, and I literally walked right into him. At this point, it was a game. He still didn't know my name, and I didn't know his. But I loved running into him. I almost expected it every time we went somewhere, and he never failed me, he was always there. He said his family travelled a lot to. They were in some busniess, and they were always trying to keep stuff in order, so he just went with his dad. I didn't mind though. I had become so attached to those green eyes. We spent that week together too.

The fifth time I saw him, we were in New York for Christmas. I was fifteen, and rebelling against my parents. My brother and sister were driving me nuts, and I snuck out of my hotel room one night. I wandered the streets. The more I look back, the more I realised I was looking for him. He was always there. It was as if fate loved to bring us together. It wasn't long before I saw a group of teenage boys walking on the opposite side of the street. Within minutes, he was by my side, dimples showing, and his green eyes shining with happiness. We saw each other just about every day for my entire trip, and for New Year's, in Times Square, he found me too. We shared our first kiss that night. It was magical. I couldn't have imagined a more perfect first kiss. That's when I realised I was falling for him, and we hardly spent any time together. I didn't even know his name, or If he already had a girlfriend. I didn't want to ask the questions though.