Following Isaac (11 page)

Chapter 18

Isaac

I wanted to let Tucker know we were leaving, but I couldn't find him at first glance onto the dance floor, so I decided that texting would have to do. I wasn't about to drag Becca through the club after what had just happened to her.

I didn't feel right about leaving without finding the girls who did this, but I knew she needed to get out of there more than she needed to track those girls down. I'd seen girls trying to nudge her out of the way on the dance floor, but never dreamed someone would try to cause her this kind of harm. I was sick with anger from it, but had no way to fix it other than getting her out of there.

I held her under my arm as we walked out of the club and onto the street to hail a cab. I raised my hand just as we approached the street, but she tugged on my arm. I looked down at her.

"I thought I saw a restaurant a couple of blocks from here when we got dropped off at the club."

"Who's we?"

"Shane and Mindi came by my hotel to pick me up. We rode in a cab together."

"Why do you have a hotel?" I asked.

She hesitated as if I was missing something obvious. "Because I got here last night, and I needed a place to sleep."

"Last night?" I asked in disbelief. "You mean you could have been with me
all day
today?"

She smiled but then made a pitiful, shivery face. "I'm not used to this weather," she said. "I was hoping we could stop by that diner I saw on the way here so we could talk a little bit."

I hated that phrase. When someone felt the need to say there needed to be a talk instead of just coming out and saying what they need to say, it usually meant they had bad news. I instantly turned her around by the shoulders and set off with her under my arm for the diner she was talking about. I'd been there lots of times, and was happy to sit down with her even though I was now dreading the talk she mentioned.

I assumed it was about the past she'd referred to in her letter. I'd thought about her letter quite a bit, and decided I no longer believed she was a convict. My new theory was that she was or is married. Maybe she was going through a divorce. I contemplated that being the case, and honestly didn't change the way I felt about her. Rebecca Gibson was my counterpart in a way I couldn't describe. The attraction I had toward her was so ingrained in me that I had no option but to pursue it.

"I got lost in the coolest bookstore today," she said as we walked.

"I can't believe you just hung out in New York all day. You should have just called me."

She smiled. "Shane said the plan was to surprise you at the club, and I didn't even think about straying from it."

"I'm glad you got to go shopping."

"I need to go one more time. I still have a couple of souvenirs to pick up."

I gave her a squeeze and she smiled up at me. Her innocent face seemed content even though it was bruised. We walked quickly, and it only took us a minute to get to Mel's. It was busy, but there was a small booth available, so we got to bypass some larger parties and take a seat right away.

I heard a few whispered comments about me as we walked in. One girl even yelled out that she wanted a picture with me. I would have normally gone out of my way to stop for a photograph, but tonight I got by with acting like I didn't hear them and kept right on walking.

We sat in our booth and adjusted, making ourselves comfortable. She had on a beautiful brown leather coat that hugged her curves, which she left on of course, to cover her shirt. It was well lit in the diner, and the color of her coat brought out her eyes. I stared into their golden depths wondering if I'd ever be less entranced by them.

"You were right when you said you thought you recognized me in L.A.," she said.

"How so?" I asked.

"That's what I need to talk to you about," she said. "It's what I was trying to tell you in the letter."

"Yeah, that didn't make any sense," I said.

She didn't speak right away so I gestured with my hand for her to continue.

"Welcome to Mel's," the waitress said, coming to stand at our booth at the most inopportune time. She stared down at us from over her reading glasses and we both looked at her with cordial smiles.

"Two coffees, a large order of fries, and a slice of apple pie, please," I said. I handed her the menus and she put them under her arm before walking away. "You were saying," I said, focusing on Becca.

"I was saying you thought you might have met my sister, but it was me." She paused, and I gave her a confused look. She let her shoulders slump in what seemed to be a resigned gesture as she continued. "I didn't think it'd be this hard to spit it out, but the truth is you met me before. I was working with some flowers in the lobby of The Crestwell when you came up to me and took a picture with my phone. You didn't remember it because I was totally forgettable. I was fifty pounds heavier than I am now."

I remembered back. My first thought was of her working with the orchids, but that was only recently. I searched my brain even further and remembered a girl with her eyes in Los Angeles the first time I went there. "I remember that," I said. "It was the first time I went to Los Angeles. You were with a bunch of lilies."

She smiled but looked like it bothered her that I remembered. I opened my mouth to tell her I remembered being struck by her eyes the first time I saw her, but she put out a hand to stop me from speaking. She cleared her throat and regarded me sincerely. "I want you to know that I'm okay with you wanting to call things off after I say what I'm about to say."

I nodded.

"That first encounter with you all those months ago is what started me on this fitness thing." She stared at me, and I nodded for her to continue. She continued to look at me with an almost frustrated expression. "
You're
the reason I lost weight, Isaac. I'm just a fan who met you one time, and regretted that I didn't make an impression. I decided I'd lose weight, and seduce you. I'm really just a big girl with a crush."

"You were not that big."

She let out a little uncontrollable laugh. "That's not really the point, though."

"Then what's the point?"

"I mean, I guess it's part of the point, but mostly it's just weird that I'm just a fan who lost weight specifically to try to make an impression on you."

"Well, congratulations, Becca, your plan worked."

She let out a hopeless little laugh.

"What's the problem?" I asked.

"Please don't act like you're okay with this news, because it's just weird, and I know it."

I stared at her. She seemed genuinely fearful that things with us would end as a result of this conversation.

"Becca, I thought you were married or an escaped convict. I seriously can't believe you're so torn up about losing a little weight."

"It wasn't a little weight, Isaac. It was over fifty pounds."

I shrugged. "So you didn't know how to exercise and now you do," I said. "I don't see why you're so worked up."

"Because, Isaac," she said. "I'm not the same as you. I'm an imposter."

It was really adorable that she seemed to really think the situation was hopeless. I couldn't believe she assumed it was an issue. I was so relieved that there was no ex-husband that I couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. Our waitress set coffee in front of us, and I picked mine up to hide my amusement.

"Don't laugh, Isaac, it's true. I'm not used to being pretty. I don't even know how to act when guys talk to me."

"Good," I said, instantly able to stop laughing at the thought.

She gave me a measuring glare. "Isaac, you can't actually expect me to believe you don't think this is a big deal."

I threw my hands in the air and smiled at her. "I can't believe you thought it
was
a big deal." She gave me a skeptical stare, so I continued. "I seem to remember being the one who approached you
both times
we connected in L.A.," I said.

She nodded.

"So why would any of this be an issue?"

She searched my eyes. "I honestly thought the weight loss thing would freak you out."

I sighed. "Becca, all I can see is the person sitting in front of me right now. I'd be lying if I said I don't like how you look. I do. I like your body. I'm getting the impression that you want to punish me for liking the way you look right now, but that's just something I can't be repentant about. I love the way you look. It's what first drew me to you. But more importantly, I love the person you are on the inside." I searched her eyes, asking her to remember the hours we'd spent together knowing we were undeniably connected.

"I know, Isaac, I felt it too. I just thought you'd change your mind once you knew the truth."

"I can't believe you almost spent your life with someone else because you thought I couldn't forgive you for losing weight."

"It's true, though it sounds silly when you put it like that."

"Damn straight it sounds silly. That's ridiculous. Thank God Shane called you."

I could tell by the way her smile was changing that she'd really been upset about telling me the news and was relieved I was taking it so well. She had dimples next to her perfect mouth, and I stared at them wondering why I'd never noticed them before. Then I looked at her eyes again, and remembered that it was hard to notice anything else.

"Did you flip me off on Instagram?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at me. I smiled and dipped a handful of crinkle cut fries into ketchup then popped them into my mouth.

"I'm sorry about that," I said. "But what was I supposed to do? You had me all messed up."

"That's exactly what Shane said."

She put a fry into her mouth after she said it, and I couldn’t resist the opportunity to mess with her. I made a tisking noise and shook my head, and she stopped chewing with wide eyes, knowing I was talking about the bite she just took. I smiled. "I'm totally messing with you," I said laughing. I knew Becca well enough to know she had a quick, cunning sense of humor.

She closed her eyes and shook her head, smiling in sheer pleasure. "You're hilarious you big butthole," she said.

When she opened her eyes, there was a perfect bite of fries right in front of her—already dipped in ketchup and everything. She smiled and grabbed onto my hand so she could aim the bite into her mouth. She chomped down on the bite, being careful to miss my fingers. I watched her mouth close over the handful of food, imagining it closing over other things.

She let her hands linger on mine for several seconds. I'd spent the last few days thinking I couldn’t have her, and now that I knew I did, I feared it might be difficult to take it slow. All I could think about was claiming her in every way possible. I was obsessed with having her. If there would have been a ring and a priest sitting there in Mel's, I would have forced her to marry me.

We talked for about thirty minutes before deciding to take a cab to her hotel to pick up her things. I'd been sitting across from her in the diner, and loved having her next to me in the cab. I couldn’t keep my hands off of her, and was decidedly unhappy that the ride to her hotel was such a short one. We asked the cab driver to wait since we'd be in need of a ride to my apartment, and he agreed.

Although it was late, the lobby was packed, and about five other people got in the elevator with us. One of them knew me from the Dior ad, and asked if I'd pose for a photo with her. I didn't mind, but I wished she could've waited since Becca already had some fan related shit to deal with.

"I'll take it," Becca said, surprising me. She took a photo with a gracious smile and handed the lady back her camera.

The elevator made one more stop before it was our turn to get off on the eighth floor. There was no one in the hallway when the elevator door closed behind us. It was the first time we were completely alone, and I had no other choice but to pin her against the wall and kiss her. I knew we were close to her room, but I couldn’t even wait to get in there. She let out a surprised yelp when I picked her up, but instantly settled into the kiss. She was as hungry for me as I was for her, and she held onto me tightly, pulling me closer as our tongues explored each other's mouths. The kiss was dark and sweet—urgent yet tender.

"I'm not gonna make it till we get to my apartment," I said.

She smiled, and then began pulling me toward her room. "You have to."

Chapter 19

Becca

Isaac got recognized everywhere he went. He'd recently done work with a few major brands, and people noticed him constantly. Not everyone tried to stop and talk to him, but some did, and right then, we didn't feel like socializing. It was for this reason that we took the stairs down instead of the elevator when we left the hotel.

We almost decided to stay in my room for the night instead of going to his apartment, but he said we'd be more comfortable there and, besides, he wanted me to see it. Both of us were decidedly desperate to get back to his place, so we gathered my things in a hurry. Isaac effortlessly carried my bag by the handle instead of rolling it, and we headed down the hall. He walked to the door that led to the stairwell.

"I thought we could take the stairs since the lobby was busy," he said. "This will let us out near the front door and we can just hop in the cab."

I smiled and agreed easily to his plan. I was so wild for him that I would have agreed even if I thought it was a terrible idea. He carried my suitcase in one hand, and held my hand with the other as we climbed down the wide staircase. He was right, the staircase let us out right next to the front door, and there was only about ten feet between us and our cab when we got on the first floor.

Isaac opened the door to the cab and asked the driver to pop the trunk as he helped me get settled in the backseat. He put my suitcase away and was sitting next to me before I knew it. Then he gave the driver his address, and we set off to his place.

"Did you get a one way ticket?" he asked.

I smiled, feeling happy that he would even say such at thing.

"I have to head back," I said. "I have finals next week."

"When do you have to go?"

"Monday."

"This Monday?" he asked, as if that was ludicrous.

"I wasn't sure what would happen with us and I need to be back for school anyway."

"You'll come back when finals are over." It wasn't a question and I nodded because I wanted to be there as badly as he wanted me.

"I have another semester after the break, but I graduate in May," I said.

"I’m already dreading you leaving."

I didn't respond because part of me still couldn’t believe Isaac Charles would say something like that to me. I tried not to let him know I was obsessed with this whole thing being too good to be true, but sometimes I just didn't know how to respond when he said really sweet things that sounded long-term.

I'd given him ample opportunity to run, though, and it seemed as if he wanted to stay put. He held me at his side and we talked the whole way to his apartment. The more time I spent in his presence, the more I fell for him. It was impossible not to. He drew out the best in me, and we had funny, meaningful conversations in unlikely places like diner booths and backseats of cabs.

I played with his hand while we talked, and tried not to be distracted by the electric, fizzing sensation that touching him gave me. I inspected his fingers, wondering how simply touching them could affect me this way. My body was alive with a desire that felt somehow like more than physical attraction. It felt like the real deal—the L word.

I measured my hand to his. His was larger than mine by far, and I sandwiched it between mine before turning it over and checking out his tattoos. They extended out onto his hands and even onto his knuckles. He had the word
stay
on his right knuckles and the word
true
on his left so it could be read as a phrase when his hands were together. I was holding the hand that had the word true. There were beautiful black and grey designs on the backside of his hand, and I traced their lines, enjoying the feel of his skin.

The driver got out to open the trunk, and Isaac took the suitcase from him in exchange for the fair. There was an impeccably dressed doorman at the entrance to Isaac's place who greeted him by name and asked if we needed help with the luggage.

Isaac thanked him for the offer but said we'd manage just fine. He introduced us, and I smiled and shook Pat's hand as I went through the threshold. It was an old building designed with an art deco feel. Sleek, backlit metal sculptures of sunbursts and grapevines lined the walls.

His apartment was on the twenty-third floor, and we rode up hand in hand. He led me to his door before turning to look at me. "Stay here for a second," he said. "I want it to look good when you see it for the first time."

He unlocked the door and stepped inside, taking my suitcase with him. I stood in the hallway trying to imagine what was on the other side of that door. He had explained the layout of his apartment to me in a previous conversation, but I still couldn't picture it.

Within a minute or two, the door opened and he came into the hallway wearing a huge smile. Without warning, he scooped me up, sweeping me off my feet to hold me in his arms. I squealed and was tempted to wiggle and squirm to make him let me go, but I didn't. My eyes were closed, and Isaac was looking straight at me when I finally opened them.

"I can't help it," I said shyly. "I can't relax when I'm being picked up like this."

He didn't move to set me down as I thought he might. He just stood there as if he had no place else to be.

"Isaac," I said, beseechingly.

"Becca," he said.

"Please."

"Please what?"

"Please put me down."

"Becca, I'm perfectly capable of carrying you. The fact that you doubt that is rude to both of us."

I smiled. "Well, I'm not trying to be rude."

"Then stop."

I rested my head on his chest. "It's really hard." I felt his chest shake with laughter.

"You have no idea." It took me a second to get his joke, but I finally did. I smiled up at him. From my perspective, I had a good view of his jaw, and I let my eyes roam over it.

"Are we going in?" I asked.

"When I feel like it."

It felt indescribably weird to be carried like that. I'd seen other girls get picked up and carried in both real life and movies, and none of them seemed to mind—it might have even been pleasurable to them. He must have sensed my hesitation because he squeezed me a little.

"All day," he said.

He was referring to how long he could stand there, and I smiled and sighed as I rested my head on his chest again. I couldn't imagine loving someone more than I loved him, and at that moment, the words almost came out of my mouth. I decided to hold them in my heart, and instead just relaxed into his arms.

"That's better," he said. The door was still cracked, and he kicked it open. I clung to him as we walked.

His apartment was neat but comfortable with an eclectic sense of style that mixed patterns and colors. "My friend Mae is a designer and she helped me pick out most of this," he said. "Shane said it's a glorified bachelor pad." He kissed my forehead before setting me on my feet. "What do you think?"

"I love it!" I said. I meandered to the other side of the room so I could get a better look at some of the things he had sitting around. The main living area was roomy with high ceilings. There were two leather couches facing each other and a few chairs spread around. It was masculine and comfortable, and I wanted to hole up in there and never come out. I'd wandered around a little while checking the place out, and I looked over at Isaac to find that he was watching me. His mouth raised in a half-smile when I glanced at him, and a jab of desire hit me instantly.

"Do you mind if I take a shower?" I asked, thinking about the blue beverage that was all over my clothes.

His smile broadened which made me smile as well. We stood there and looked at each other for a long minute. It was totally obvious that we were both going insane with desire, but that was silently communicated with just a stare from across the room.

He pointed past my shoulder. "I already put your suitcase in the bedroom," he said. "It's right there."

I turned to glance where he pointed. "I won't be long," I said.

"If you stay in there, I'll just be forced to go get you."

"If you make threats like that, I'll be forced to stay in there," I said from over my shoulder as I went to the bedroom.

The bed was the first thing that caught my eye when I entered the room. It sat on a thick, wooden platform that was about a foot off the ground. The platform was made of a type of wood that had a two-tone, marbled quality to it. The bed was covered with a fluffy white comforter that brought the deep tones of the wood. There were no lack of pillows, and my first thought was,
forget holing up in this apartment, I specifically want to stay in that bed
.

I could hear Isaac in the kitchen, and my shoulders slumped feeling relieved about getting out of this stained shirt. It only took me a few minutes to take a shower and put on a cute set of P.J.'s I bought specifically for the trip. I had a piece of sexy lingerie with me, but considering my confessions at the diner, and the whelp on my cheek, I thought it was more of a cute pajamas kind of night. I did wear pretty panties underneath, though.

I was already dressed when I heard the sound of voices in the living room. I went to the door and listened carefully, trying to decide if it was the TV, or if there was actually someone out there. The door swung open without warning, and if I had standing any closer, I would have gotten hit for the second time.

"I'm sorry," he said, seeing that he surprised me. He did a quick scan of my appearance, smiled, and picked me up again. This time, he was lifting me around the waist, which put his face right at my chest level. He nestled into my chest comfortably. "I didn't know they'd come by tonight, or I wouldn't have sent a text."

"Who?" I asked, tilting my head so I could look at him.

His eyes were closed and he wore a contented expression. He stayed like that for a few seconds before deciding to sit down, and when he did he said, "Eric and Ivy. They're my neighbors and two of my best friends. I told them about you when I came back from California, so I text Eric a few minutes ago to tell them you were here." He gestured toward the living room. "And they came over to meet you."

My eyes got big. "Seriously?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

I hesitated, but then resolved to make the most of it since I couldn't really refuse. "Just let me get changed."

He didn't. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out there without any regard for my statement. Before I knew it, I was in the same room with two of the cutest little hipsters I'd ever seen. Judging by their proximity to each other I assumed they were a couple.

"Isaac was heartbroken," was the first thing that came out of Ivy's mouth. I glanced at her and she looked at me with a guarded smile. "I hope you're planning on taking care of this boy's heart, because I think he's given it to you."

Eric turned to face her as if he hadn't expected her to say all that, and Lord knew I hadn't either. I couldn't see what Isaac's expression looked like because I was too scared to face him. I felt terrible for hurting Isaac, and I didn't know what to say to make up for it. Suddenly, I felt his big arms around my waist. He caught me up, supporting me just when I needed it.

"It wasn't her fault," he said.

"Did we mention that Ivy says what's on her mind?" Eric asked.

Isaac squeezed me, and I smiled. "All right, you guys know she exists," Isaac said, "so now you can leave us alone."

"You can leave us alone," Ivy said. "This is our apartment. Yours is next door."

"You wish," Eric said, dragging her to the door.

Everyone was smiling like they were joking around which made me not feel so bad about her comments that I hurt him.