Following Isaac (10 page)

Chapter 16

Isaac

"I thought Saturday workouts were supposed to be easy," I said, hefting the heavy bar onto the stand after my last set.

"I'm getting you pumped for tonight," Shane said.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "I didn't say I was a hundred percent about going," I said, feeling like going out was the last thing I wanted to do.

Shane instantly started shaking his head and staring at me impassively. "Oh, no you don't," he said. "You already said you were going. Plus, I have a present for you and I'm bringing it with us."

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I think I just need to work through a few things, before I'll feel like partying. I keep telling myself I'll forget about her, but at this point, I'm considering going back to L.A. I'm not saying we'll be able to work things out, but I feel like I at least need some closure. It was so fuckin' weird. I thought I had a connection with her and she just left me a note. I can't even really decipher it, either. I think she might have a record or something."

"A record?"

"Never mind," I said. "It's just that her note didn't really even make sense, and I've been thinking about going back for a few days to talk with her in person."

"I think you should just calm down. Do me a favor and come out with me tonight." He wore a conspiratorial smile that had me suspicious. "You're gonna love my gift."

I knew just by the way he said it that he was referring to a girl. I was almost positive I'd accidently run into a hot little piece of action wherever we were going tonight.

"I know it seems crazy that I'm not into that right now, but it's only been a few days, and I'm just not in the mood," I said, in a last-ditch effort to cancel again.

He put a hand on my shoulder and stared into my eyes. "Isaac, I'm your boy. I'm bringing you out tonight whether you like it or not, and we're gonna have a blast. Wear your best shirt and meet me at Billy's at eleven o'clock."

"I hate Billy's."

"No you don't. Don't be an idiot. We're gonna have fun."

"Why can't you just let me be pissed off for a few days?"

"Because sometimes I know you better than you know yourself. Just stop arguing about it. You know you're coming with me tonight."

"Fine, I'll go, but I’m not happy about it."

"You will be as soon as I give you your present."

I almost said, "If my present is Becca," but I knew he was tired of hearing about it.

I took a nap after our workout, and once it was time to get dressed, I actually had a better outlook on the evening. Shane was in an on-again off-again relationship with a girl named Mindi, and the two of them were hanging out together before meeting me at the club.

I ended up calling my friend Tucker to ride up there with me since I knew he'd be game for going out. He was a fellow model who actively went out looking for trouble. He had plans for later that night, but said he'd like to go to Billy's with me for a little while. I was sure whatever "gift" Shane had for me would apply to Tucker, so I told him he could expect some girls to meet us there.

Tucker showed up at my apartment at 10PM, and we had two drinks before getting in the cab to go to Billy's. We were both dressed in black from head to toe. Each of us had been given a lot of high fashion, expensive clothing, and just the quality of our wardrobe turned heads when we went out together. We knew the bouncer and he waved us in as soon as we walked up. It was five after eleven when we arrived, and I pondered the whereabouts of my mysterious present.

A thick wave of sights, sounds, and smells hit us as we walked into the room. It was loud and packed, and I smiled at the warm-cozy feeling I got from the chaos. Shane was right. It was a positive thing for me to get out of the house, and I was glad he talked me into it.

Girls started approaching Tucker and I instantly. I came to Billy's regularly enough that my presence wasn't a surprise, and several people (and by people I mean girls) greeted us by walking up to us. I glanced around the crowded bar to see if I could find Shane.

Tucker and I looked like a force to be reckoned with in all black, and the females who surrounded us literally reached out and pawed at us. Women flocked to us, literally elbowing each other vying for a place to stand next to us.

"We'll be right back, ladies," I said.

Tucker followed me, but not before pausing to kiss one of their hands. "I don't know why you'd want to walk away when we had a perfectly good welcome committee," he said.

"I just wanted to grab a drink and try to find Shane. He said he had something for me."

Tucker and I stood at the bar and ordered a drink. I turned around and looked into the club as we waited for our whiskey.

"There's Shane right there," he said. He pointed to a table on the other side of the dance floor. Shane and Mindi were sitting near the corner of the room. It was hard to see through the crowd, but I was almost positive it was him. As far as I could tell, she had a few friends with her, and I sighed assuming that was my 'gift'. I stared at all the beautiful ladies thinking what a shame it was that I had no desire for any of them.

"Are you taking one of them home?" he asked.

"Probably," I said. Deep down I knew it was a lie, but I didn't feel like explaining why I wasn't in the mood. I knew I'd get better with time, but for now I was pissed off at Becca for being so unforgettable.

Tucker smiled. "Why probably?"

I shrugged. "What about you?" I asked.

"I'm meeting up with some other people later tonight," he said. "These girls will just get me warmed up."

I knew getting warmed up followed by scoring should have sounded appealing, but it didn't. I smiled and tried to act like I was looking forward to the same thing.

We finished our drinks before making our way across the crowded floor toward Shane. Beautiful girls swarmed Tucker and me when we tried to cross, and it would have been rude for us not to spare a dance or two. I took my phone out of my pocket to text Shane.

Me: "I'm here. I brought Tucker. We see your table. Be over there soon."

I didn't really care how he responded. He got his wish by me showing up, so I figured the gift could wait. Tucker and I ended up a few feet from each other on the dance floor as girls danced around us. I glanced at Shane to see that he was looking for me. He was standing and looking out onto the dance floor, but he was focused on the wrong area, and I knew he didn't see me. One of the girls who was dancing close to me, stuck her drink in front of me and offered me her straw.

"I'll drink the whole thing," I said.

"Do it," she said with a challenge in her eyes.

I wrapped my mouth around her straw and drained her drink in a few seconds. It was some kind of sweet martini, and it went down easy. By the time the song was over, I was feeling some relief from the nagging heartache that had been haunting me the last few days.

One song seamlessly blended into the next, and neither Tucker nor I moved to leave the dance floor. Ladies were basically throwing themselves and their drinks at us like we were freaking kings, and it felt good—or at least helped masked the fact that I was miserable.

During the second song, another girl thrust a drink in front of me, and I drank it down without hesitation. By the time I finished it, I was feeling the music in a way you don't feel when you're sober. I didn't grab onto any of the females who surrounded me, but I also didn't protest when they grabbed onto me. I had them on all sides, and with the aid of three strong drinks, I relaxed into the pounding beat. It was packed, and bodies moved and pulsed against mine as I became one unit with everyone else in my vicinity. There was something to be said for beautiful women rubbing up against you while a great DJ does his thing. Billy's always had good music and hot women, and thanks to the alcohol, I was starting to enjoy them.

It was during the third song that I leaned over to get a whiff of something. There were people everywhere, but I tracked the smell to one of the girls who was standing close to me. I was just drunk enough to pick my date on smell alone. It was the fresh, citrus scent I remembered Becca wearing, and the smell brought back a flood of recent memories.

I took hold of the girl I thought smelled like Becca, and pulled her into my arms without even looking at her. She must have been trying to hook up with me in the first place, because she didn't resist when I grabbed her. I continued to sway to the music as I held her securely in place in front of me. I put my nose by her neck and took a deep breath in. I squeezed the poor unexpecting girl, but still, she didn't protest.

"You smell like my girl," I said in her ear.

She lifted her hand and grabbed onto the back of my neck, and with closed eyes I buried my nose into her.

"I need you to write down the name of what you're wearing and give it to me before we leave here."

It was at that moment that I happened to glance in Shane's direction. He had caught sight of me because he was staring straight at me when I looked his way. He smiled and gave me a big thumbs up, which I returned mostly so he'd stop stalking me on the dance floor. He seemed satisfied that I was having a good time, and I smiled thinking what a dork he was.

I focused my attention back on the girl I was dancing with. She seemed timid among the others who were vying for a spot next to, me, and for a second, someone started to shove her out of the way. I reached through the wall of bodies that was closing in on us, and grabbed a hold of the girl who smelled like Becca. With my help, she made her way back in front of me where I could wrap my arms around her. I held her tightly as I breathed in the smell of her again. I was tripping because she even felt like Becca.

"Who'd you say I remind you of?" she asked, running her fingertips over my neck as we continued to sway to the beat.

It was so loud I could barely hear her, and part of me just wished she'd be quiet so I could pretend she was someone else.

"Someone I used to know," I said.

She leaned in to speak next to my ear. "What's her name?"

"Rebecca," I said, nearly having to yell over the music.

"Why don't you know her anymore?"

I was silent for a few long seconds before deciding to answer her. "Because she gave me a fuckin' Dear John letter."

She pulled me closer and curled up into my arms, and I took it as a gesture meant to comfort me. I held onto her. "I'll bet she's sorry," she said in my ear a few seconds later.

"I wish that were true."

"It's so very true, Isaac."

I closed my eyes and imagined this mythical creature dancing in front of me actually knew what she was talking about and could speak for Becca.

"You know my name," I noted, just realizing that she referred to me by it.

"You know mine too," she said, again running her fingers over the back of my neck.

"Oh yeah? How do you figure?" I asked.

She turned around, pulled back and stared up at me. She wasn't a girl who smelled, felt, and sounded like Becca—it was the true one. She was standing in front of me looking like a desert oasis when I was dying of thirst. The pounding beat of the music went on around us, but I stood motionless, staring down into the perfect innocent face I'd memorized so thoroughly.

I stood there and looked at her for so long that she finally said, "Are you happy to see me?"

I honestly didn't know how to answer. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

Her smile faded. "I came for you. Shane thought that… he called and asked me to… "

"Shane set this up?"

"Yes. He thought you might want to see me, and I wanted to see you too, so here I am. I came all the way out to New York, and here I am, standing in front of you." She looked around, waiting for my reaction.

With no further hesitation I wrapped my arms around her waist and hoisted her onto my chest. She started to protest, but I held her securely, and she quickly stopped squirming. I put my mouth right next to her ear.

"I seriously can't believe you're in my arms right now, Becca. It feels like I'm trippin'. I pulled back to stare at her face again before coming in close to speak in her ear. "Here's how it's gonna be, so listen carefully. In just a second, I'm gonna set you on your feet. If you intend on leaving me again at any point in the future, then I want you to do it now. If you don't walk away when I set you down, then I'm gonna assume that you regret all that dumb shit you wrote in the letter and you want to be with me. If you don't walk away when I set you down, I'm gonna assume you're mine, do you understand that?"

She put her mouth next to my ear when she said, "Yes," and the feel of her breath was enough to drive me crazy.

"Don't walk away," I said before I set her down.

"I won't," she said.

Chapter 17

Becca

Isaac and I were yelling over the music. There was utter chaos going on around us, including some girls who were still trying to touch him and dance by him even though they could clearly see his attention was focused on me. He'd only a second ago realized who I was. He picked me up, which was still a nightmare even though I knew I was light enough not to worry about it now. When he had me there, he made me promise that I wouldn't leave him again. I found it easy to make the promise even though I should have been terrified of it.

"Come on, let's go talk to Shane," he said. He reached out for my hand and pulled me through the mass of people. The dance floor was so packed that girls felt like they could get away with groping and rubbing up against him. I honestly couldn't believe the nerve—especially when he was holding my hand and dragging me along.

At one point, a couple of girls strategically moved between us, physically forcing us to break contact. Before I knew it, a wall of people separated Isaac and me. I sighed and continued heading in the same direction, figuring I'd find him eventually. Then I saw him. He was looking annoyed as he elbowed his way through the wall of women who separated us. He held out his hand. This time, when I gave him mine, he pulled me to his chest, and wrapped his protective arm around me.

We headed off the dance floor and away from the chaos. I recognized Shane before he even noticed we were coming, but by the time we got close, he caught sight of us and stood up. The girl who was sitting half on Shane's leg was forced to move when he stood, so she stood up beside him. She looked me over with a scowl and I did my best to smile at her.

Isaac shook Shane's hand and nodded a greeting at the girl. "What's up Mindi," he said.

She smiled. "I'm trying to talk his lazy butt into dancing with me." She cut a look at Shane and poked his shoulder. "I don't even know why we come here if he wants to sit over there the whole time."

"I told her we'll go in a minute."

"Well I'm going to the bar to order a drink," she said. "I need a change of scenery."

He rolled his eyes at her before looking at Isaac. "I told you I had something for you," he said, with a smug smile and a glance at me.

Isaac shook his head. "I can't believe you did this," he said. "I swear when you gave me thumbs up out there I didn't even know it was her. I was dancing with her because of the way she smelled."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, we had a whole conversation before I turned around," I said.

Shane put a fist over his mouth and laughed.

"I thought I was losing my mind. She reminded me of Becca, but it seriously never even crossed my mind that it could actually be her."

"I almost had to get in a fist fight just to find a spot close to him." I said.

"Yeah, somebody tried to tie us up on the way over here."

"I'm talking about making it over to you in the first place," I said.

"Can I please get a picture with you, Nicky?" someone said. We turned and could see that three girls were lined up with their phones clutched to their chests expectantly and wearing huge smiles.

"I'm going to the bar," Mindi announced.

"I'll head that way with you," I said. "I need to use the restroom."

Isaac seemed a bit skeptical about the spur of the moment plans, but it made sense for me to go ahead since he was being forced to play meet and greet for a minute.

"I'll be right back," I said.

He smiled. I could feel everyone else staring at us, but Isaac only had eyes for me. "Come right back," he said.

Mindi and I took off, but before we got very far she told me we weren't really going the same direction and pointed me toward the ladies room. I carefully made my way through the thick crowd, and was relieved to find it was fairly empty. I didn't need to use the restroom, but I thought I might have caught a sweat with the effort it took to approach him, and the nerves surrounding the whole thing. I was wearing a sheer, tan-colored top I'd borrowed from one of Naomi's roommates, and I wanted to glance in the mirror and see how it was holding up.

I was relatively sure my face would require some attention as well, and I was glad that the restroom wasn't packed. There were a few girls already in there and a couple who were coming in behind me, and it was for their sake that I went into a stall even though I didn't need to. I'd never been fussy over my appearance, and it felt odd for me to go to a bathroom for the sole purpose of looking in the mirror. I stood in the stall and dug a compact out of my purse. I was staring into the tiny mirror when I heard a delirious sounding girl's voice.

"It's all good," I heard her say.

"You're right it's all good," another one said, sounded just as silly and delirious.

I smiled a little, thinking I'd been ridiculous to worry about what they thought about me checking myself in the mirror. It sounded like they'd had a lot to drink, and wouldn't even notice me out there.

I stuck my mirror into my bag and zipped it. I unlocked the door and began to open it. Before I had the chance to duck out of the way, a heavy, quick force came upon the door, and it swung into me violently. I wasn't sure what hit me actually. I assumed it was the door, but it was hard to tell with the way everything spun in those seconds. The impact that hit my face had me stunned, and I began stumbling backwards as I instinctually straight-armed the door to try to keep whoever it was out.

"Shit, she's holding the door!"

"Open it!"

"I can't!"

"Somebody's coming! Dump it over the top."

I heard the words, "Let's see how he likes you now, bitch," as a shockingly cold burst of something fell onto my chest, taking my breath away. I gasped and stared up, wondering what the hell had just happened to me. I was stunned, and I stared blankly at the stall door absentmindedly wondering what was causing the ringing in my ears.

I knew I'd been hit in the face with something, and thinking about it made me touch my cheek where it hurt. I could see out of the corner of my eye how badly my hand was shaking when I touched it to my face, and I made myself take a few deep calming breaths while I tried to compose my emotions and think of what to do next.

I touched my hair, hoping the bright blue drink that had been hurled over the door was contained to my chest. I'd already glanced at my shirt and knew it was a catastrophe—and to think I came in here worried about touching up my powder.

Now I was stuck in the bathroom with a blue stain all over my shirt. It was at that point that it crossed my mind to check my reflection in the mirror again. I locked the stall again even though I was sure the girls were gone and had been replaced by others who had nothing to do with it.

I dug through my purse in search of my mirror, having all sorts of random, paranoid thoughts about girls wanting to cause physical harm to me. I focused my mirror on the area of my face that burned and throbbed, and was mortified to realize that there was a red whelp on my cheekbone where the door hit me. I squinted into the tiny mirror and poked at the bruised area on my face, wishing I could make it go away.

I repositioned the reflection so I could get a look at my shirt. It was at least as bad as I dreaded. There was an ugly streak of sticky liquid across my right shoulder and down the front of my shirt. My shoes and jeans were also wet from the drink hitting the floor and splashing onto them.

I stayed there for what must have been a few minutes before deciding that I needed to make myself move. If I would've had a jacket, the whelp on my face wouldn't be that big of a deal but walking around with both would undoubtedly draw attention.

I couldn't just sit in a bathroom stall the rest of the night, so I decided to go out to the sink where I could look in a real mirror. There were more people in the restroom by that point, and I did my best to keep my head down and go to a mirror that was out of the way. Trying to seem natural, I turned on the sink. I knew it was bad, but one glance told me my cheek was indeed red and my shirt blue. I was tempted to stare into the sink in an effort to forget about it, but somehow I had to walk back out there and face the club—face Isaac. I cringed at the thought. I was mortified at the idea of explaining to him what had just happened. Even though none of it was my fault, it was still really embarrassing that I let it happen.

"There you are," I heard. It sounded like the person was directing her words to me, and I glanced toward her instinctually. It was Mindi, and she gasped and took a step back when I turned around.

"Oh shit, what happened? Did you fall down or something?"

She moved toward me with open arms to give me some support, and I realized she thought I was so drunk that I'd come in here and wrecked myself.

"Somebody did this," I said, putting out a hand.

Her expression was one of sincere concern as she looked me over. "Who?"

"I don't know," I whispered, trying to draw as little attention to myself as possible.

Her eyes were huge as she continued inspecting me. "Well, I'm gonna report this," she said.

"No, please don't," I said. "That would just make it worse."

I'd been glancing down the whole time but she bent down and moved in front of me to get a good look at my face. "Did you get punched in the face?"

I touched at my cheek. "Somebody pushed open the stall door—that's what hit my cheek. Then they poured a drink over the top. I didn't even see who it was. It probably wasn't even meant for me." I added that last bit just because I was embarrassed. I glanced into the mirror again. My hair had escaped the blue drink, but it wasn't much of a consolation.

Mindi just stood there not knowing what to say and I finally turned to face her. "If you wouldn't mind getting my jacket from the coat check, that'd be a big help."

She nodded and took off, and I resolved to sit there and wait for her. There was nothing else I could do since rubbing off the gigantic stain with a wet paper napkin was out of the question. I found an out of the way spot where I could go somewhat unnoticed while I waited for Mindi to return with my jacket.

I heard the sound of a man's voice yelling before I could make out what he was saying. "I'm coming in," I heard him say as he got closer. "I'm sorry if anyone's not decent, but I'm coming in here."

I saw Isaac the second he entered. I was on the other side of the bathroom, and his eyes locked on me instantly. His expression was murderous as he stalked toward me.

"Tell me who did this," he said, almost roaring.

A couple of girls stepped back with stunned expressions to let him walk by, but he never took his sights off me.

"Who?" he pressed.

"No one, I mean, I don't know. They just poured it over the stall." I looked up at him and not knowing what else to say, I said, "You can't be in here."

He didn't respond because just then Mindi came in with my jacket in her hand. She handed it to Isaac who held it open for me. I shrugged into it, and when I did, I leaned near to him. He used the back of his hand to touch my cheek. "I feel like I want to kill somebody right now, Becca. How did this happen to your cheek?"

I offered him a little smile. "I think they tried to open the door and my face was in the way."

He turned angrily to the other girls who happened to be in there. "Did you two have anything to do with this?" he said, through gritted teeth. It was obvious by the tone of his voice that he wasn't messing around and they both stared at him and shook their heads with frightened expressions.

"It wasn't them," I said. "Whoever did it is long gone, and it doesn't really matter anyway. I'm not hurt, and I'd really like to forget this ever happened."

"I swear, if I find out who did this—"

"You wouldn't do anything, Isaac," Mindi said. "Because it was just a couple of stupid girls trying to ruin her night for dancing with you."

"Well, screw that," he said.

"That's exactly what I was thinking." I smiled even though I was forcing it slightly.

Girls continually came into the restroom. All of them looked at us curiously but none protested his presence.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" Isaac asked stretching out a hand for me to take.

I smiled. "I thought you'd never ask."

He turned to Mindi. "Tell Shane I'll text him later and I owe him one for making this happen."

"I will." Mindi said. She smiled sweetly at me, and the side of me who sees the silver lining thought at least I'd gained a friend out of the whole thing.

Isaac took me under his arm and we made our way out of the club in what I'd look back on as a surreal blur.