She decided in that moment that she no longer wished for anyone else to notice her. She tried to obscure anyone's view, as she removed her contacts, and put her glasses back in place. Feeling a little more comfortable, she chose to ignore Steve and focus on the class.
"Kayla, please just give me a minute." Steve pleaded, as the class ended.
"Why?" She asked, as she pushed her glasses up on her nose.
"I really want you to go out with me."
"Where did you get that idea? What... why would I?" She spluttered out, before turning away from him.
She saw Isaac in the doorway waiting for her, and she could breathe again. He raised an eyebrow at her, before sending a glare to Steve. Kayla felt torn with wanting to be with Isaac, and unsure how to answer Steve.
"Kayla, are you okay?" Isaac asked with a fierce edge in his voice.
"I have no idea," Kayla answered, before walking towards him.
"What did he say?"
"I just want to get to my next class." She interrupted him, and continued moving straight past him.
"C'mon," Isaac threw an arm around her shoulders, and made a change in direction, so he could keep up with her.
"What do you seen in him, Kayla? You know he's only going to dump you in a week. All he wants girls for is sex, and then he's done." Steve accused, as he followed them down the hallway. Kayla looked at Isaac, only to see him do an eye roll, but he kept on moving.
"Crazy stories." Isaac assured her.
"Hmmm." Kayla frowned at everyone looking at them.
"You know the truth, and I swear it was the truth," Isaac stated, as he turned to face her in the crowded hallway. "You're the only girl that knows." He leaned down to whisper the words in her ear, looking incredibly vulnerable.
His sincerity helped her to believe him. She wasn't sure if it was because of Steve's blatant words that embarrassed her, or how determined Isaac was, but she knew that he had told her the truth.
He had stopped in the middle of a crowded hallway to remind her that he was nothing like what Steve was trying to say he was. She smiled at him, secure in the knowledge that he hadn't lied to her. Just like he said, he had in fact been completely honest with her, and she couldn't be happier.
Chapter 16 - A truthful dinner
Isaac nervously adjusted his shirt, as he stood outside Kayla's door. He couldn't believe that he was here about to have dinner with a girl’s family. Maybe it was only her brother, but still he had never met any previous girls family, unless by accident.
He cleared his throat, as he raised his hand to knock on the door, before dropping it back down to his side. He told himself that it was time to man up. He finally wanted to take on a proper boyfriend role, so he had to do this. He had been coming up with excuses to avoid this dinner, until Steve began vying for Kayla's attention.
He had been seething with jealousy, as every guy noticed her today, which was hard to admit. He had never really cared enough about a girl to be jealous before. It drove him crazy that Steve was always in his face, especially making up rumours, so he sounded like some kind of sex fiend.
"Are you going to stand there all night, or are you going to come in?" Kayla's amused voice snapped him from his contemplative staring at the porch ceiling.
He took in her amused face, before letting his eyes drift over her. Tonight, she had opted for some jean shorts that showed off her athletic legs, and a rather tight t-shirt that showed off everything else far too well. For once, he was wishing that she continued wearing her baggy clothes, so he could concentrate. The only normal thing was her glasses, but he had decided that he quite liked how her glasses looked on her.
She smiled in a way that seemed to glow from the inside. He had no idea how he was going to make it through the night, as his eyes couldn’t help roaming over her body again. His nerves now fought with the need to hold her and kiss her, as if he never wanted to stop.
"Hey, Kayla, I guess you've been waiting for me," he tried to reintroduce his charming side that all the girls loved, but once again it fell flat with her.
"Are you freaking out?" She asked, as she reached out a hand to him. He let out a rough breath and a shaky laugh.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Yep, because you're trying smarmy Isaac on me, and you haven't let him out for weeks," she sent him an incredibly stern expression, before smiling that left him speechless.
"That's charming Isaac." He insisted, but she shook her head.
"It's what you use on the other girls, so to me it's smarmy. I would much rather just have Isaac thank you." She told him, and he could only stare at her, appearing flabbergasted.
How did she seem to see him in such a unique manner to the way everybody else saw him? He couldn't believe that he truly acted so different, but she always noticed and pulled him up on it. His nerves lessened, as he looked at her face. Maybe it was a good thing that she looked at him that way.
"Smarmy though? That sounds pretty mean." He sent her a pouty face, but her eyes simply narrowed at him.
"I'm just telling you how it is. You know I'm not one of those girls, Isaac, so don't treat me like one." She sent him a scowl, and he let out a breath.
Why else would he still be here? He wanted to shout. He knew that she was far more special than any girl he had ever met. He was yet to find her boring or stifling, which was a first. She continued to intrigue him, and he wanted to know more about her.
"I know that." He said regretfully.
"I'm sorry that didn't help me yelling at you. Now you look completely freaked out. I know you use smarmy Isaac in the same way that I use my hat and glasses. I'm sorry." She went to reach out her hand again to cement her apology, but he had frozen up completely.
"What did you just mean?" He asked seriously, as he tried to wrap his mind around her words. She frowned, winced, and looked away, as though she didn't want to answer.
"Which part?" She bit her lip at how blunt she had been.
"The hat thing." He managed to say through dry lips.
"How do you not notice? You use that charming thing you do to hide who you really are. I don't know why, because you're just as nice without that smarmy attitude getting in the way." She told him, as a blush spread on her face at how rude she had just sounded.
"That's the way you see me, as someone that hides?" He asked shocked and astounded.
"I hide, so I can see the signs." She shrugged, while wondering how to get off this topic.
Isaac considered her words very carefully. Had he really been hiding himself behind the guy with the reputation? He wasn't very keen on answering that question, it made him out to be a fraud in his mind.
"Are you ever going to let him in the door, Kayla?" Mitchell's voice echoed out to them, and Kayla scrunched up her face.
"Don't worry about what I said, okay." She told him quickly, as she stepped into the house and ushered Isaac through the door. Isaac couldn't reply when he knew the idea she had given him would never stop festering in his mind.
"Hey, Isaac," Mitchell gave him a wave. "Welcome to our humble abode,"
"Mitch, he was here the other day." Kayla said with a shake of her head, and a laugh at her brother’s silliness.
"Yeah, but this time he's staying for dinner." Mitch sent a diabolical little cackle towards Isaac, who gulped and felt his nerves return.
"Did he cook?" Isaac asked Kayla, remembering their conversation with Hayley that Mitchell wasn't the greatest cook.
"We're getting pizza. She refused to let me into the kitchen." Mitchell pouted at his sister, who huffed out a breath.
"I haven't got time to cook on a dance class afternoon, and you know that." Kayla said sounding rather aggravated.
"I said that I would cook." Mitchell pointed to himself.
"I think I'd rather skip the food poisoning," Kayla told him with a dry laugh, before turning to Isaac. "What pizza would you like?"
"You two are just like Hayley and me," Isaac grinned at them making Kayla g
rumble. "Any pizza you like is fine with me." He tried to appease her.
"Awesome! Let me go and order." Mitchell rubbed his hands together, before leaving them alone.
"I'm not sure that we should leave it in his hands." Kayla said, before following Mitchell into the kitchen.
Isaac trailed along behind, feeling his nerves on the increase once again. Kayla's earlier words were still haunting him. Was he really hiding? Was he no different to the way Kayla hid? She had been hiding for years to the point where he had never once noticed her. He rubbed his forehead, as he considered how he had been acting.
"Garlic bread, Mitch! Don't forget the garlic bread." Kayla's words had his focus returning to her.
She was grabbing at her brothers arm, as he sent her a grin and a cheeky wink. How did she manage to look adorable no matter what she was doing? When he noticed his reflection in a nearby mirror, he tried not to groan.
A dopey grin spread on his face, as he gazed at her with a soft look that he had never seen before. He really was in far too deep. The worst thing was that he had no idea how to dig his way out, or whether he even wanted to dig his way out.
"While we are waiting for the pizza, I think we should look at that English assignment," Kayla said quite firmly.
"Kayla, he's here for dinner. Stop stressing over some stupid assignment." Mitchell ordered, as he hung up the phone.
"No, it's important," Kayla insisted, as she sent a pointed look to Isaac. She headed straight to her room, and Isaac helplessly followed.
"Oh, now I get it! You're trying to get him alone for a make out session," Mitchell called out, but she chose to ignore him. "Kayla and Isaac sitting in a tree." Mitchell said in a singsong voice.
"Stop it, Mitch." Kayla interrupted him swiftly.
"You are no fun." Mitchell made a sad face, but Kayla kept determinedly walking away.
Isaac entered Kayla's room with a great amount of hesitation. It looked the same as it had on Saturday night, but for some reason he now felt awkward about being in there. Kayla just walked straight to her desk without noticing his reluctance.
"I've been going over what's required in this assignment. Did you realise that we have to do a presentation?" Kayla shuffled some notebooks aside, and picked up the photocopied sheet of instructions. "Isaac, are you listening?" She turned his way, and noticed that he was still standing in her doorway.
"Not really,"
"Come in here so I can explain," she waved a hand at him impatiently.
"Kayla, I don't think I should be going into your room." He shuffled his feet and Kayla stared at him. A smile spread across her features.
"Now, this is the Isaac that I like to see." She told him happily.
"Huh?" He looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"Do you even see how different you are right now to the guy I've seen over the years?" Kayla asked as she approached him. "You really don't, do you?"
"I guess not." Isaac shrugged, as he refused to look at her.
"Let me explain it to you. This Isaac," she reached out with a confidence that she didn't really feel, and cupped his face in her hands. "He is surprisingly shy."
"I'm not shy." He denied quickly.
"You have moments where you are, like right now. I can finally understand why girls keep coming back to you; they see this side of you too. Smarmy Isaac normally covers up this sweet, shy guy with being overly charming, and sometimes unbearably smug." She told him earnestly, as she dropped her hands back to her sides.
"You have been watching me." He said with startling realisation, making her blush.
"True, I can't deny that. I think the reason I have is that I looked out for those moments when the Isaac I liked appeared. It wasn't very often, but he's been there all this time." She smiled at him again, and Isaac felt himself go warm under her attention.
"I have no clue what to say to that." He admitted softly.
"You don't have to say anything, just keep smarmy Isaac away." She whispered, as she shuffled closer to him.
"I can't believe that you see me that way." He reached out a surprisingly shaky hand and clasped hers.
"Well, I do. Now, let's look at this assignment." She gestured back over her shoulder.
"So, damn bossy." He said with a humorous shake off his head.
She simply turned back to the assignment with a small laugh. She tugged on his hand, and he followed her into her room. They sat working on the assignment, until Mitchell called them from downstairs.
"Yum, pizza time." Kayla stretched, before rubbing her hands together.
She stood up and went to leave, only to find Isaac grasped her hand again. She glanced his way only to see that pink tinge gracing his cheeks once more. A soft smile crept across his features, before he yanked on her hand. With a small squeal, she tumbled onto his lap.
"I just wanted to tell you that the way you see me is... I wish I had noticed you ages ago. I got blindsided by the way people expect me to act," he stumbled over his words, as his cheeks deepened with red. "You do this to me. You make me less confident, but at the same time I'm somehow more confident,"
"Isaac," she interrupted his bumbling attempts with simply his name.
"I'm making an idiot of myself, aren't I?" He asked ruefully.
"Will you just shut up and kiss me." She demanded, and he grinned at her expected blush.
"So bossy." He said in the second before his lips descended on hers.
She ran her fingers through his hair, as his lips drifted lightly over hers with a fire that defied their gentle touch. She kissed him back just as ardently, which made him groan. His tongue flicked against her lips, and she responded with a passion that burned through her. How she lived for his intoxicating kisses.
"Geez, I knew your came up here for making out," Mitchell's voice had them springing away from each other.
"Mitch!" Kayla's voice croaked out.
"You're just lucky Mum didn't catch you." Mitchell clicked his tongue.
"Just get out! We'll be down in a minute," she swished a hand at her brother impatiently.
"I'm not leaving until I at least get a picture." Mitchell whipped out his mobile phone. In a panic, Kayla jumped up to grab it off him.
"No." She stated simply.
"You really are good at spoiling people's fun, sis." Mitchell sent her a perturbed look, before grinning wildly.
"The pizzas getting cold." Kayla reminded him.
"After you." Mitchell made a gallant bow, and waved her from the room.
"Alright, already," Kayla sent Mitchell a withering look. "And you think I'm the bossy one." She told Isaac, who simply grinned and shrugged.
"You are bossy; it must be a family trait." Mitchell agreed, as he headed towards the lounge room.
"Good job, Mitch." Kayla commended when she saw the spread on the coffee table.
Three scrumptious looking pizzas sat in their boxes smelling divine. Surrounding them were empty plates and glasses. Kayla grabbed a plate and filled it with garlic bread and Hawaiian pizza. Mitchell was doing the same, while Isaac just watched them.
"You can eat you know," Kayla told him, as she flopped back onto a nearby couch.
"This just seems rather..." Isaac trailed off, as Mitchell sat down and flicked on the television.
"What, casual?" Mitchell asked with a raised brow.
"It's not like any family dinner I've really been too,"
"True, your Mum and Dad always eat at the table, don't they?" Kayla asked around a mouthful.
"Most of the time."
"We tend to eat here." She gestured around the lounge room.
"Cool." He said, as he piled his plate high.
"I guess it's time for some interrogation." Mitchell said blandly, as he finished off a slice of pizza.
"Interrogation?" Isaac asked nervously, instant regretting the bite that he had.
"Leave him alone, Mitch." Kayla warned, as she patted the seat next to her for Isaac to sit.
"Are you kiddi
ng me Kay Kay? This is your first boyfriend, and he's a hottie. I need to get some serious background info here." Mitchell said it in a girly way, as he crossed his legs and smiled perkily.
"You can be such a girl sometimes," Kayla laughed, and threw a piece of pineapple at her brother. Isaac wasn't sure where he stood with either of them now. "Oh, and he's not my boyfriend."
"You were fully kissing him upstairs there. If he's not your boyfriend, then what is he?" Mitchell pushed his tongue into his cheek. "Oh, Lordy, Kay Kay, are you paying him?"
"Mitch, stop it." Kayla's face went bright red, as Mitchell continued teasing her.
"She's my girlfriend. My first proper girlfriend, that is. All the others have been practice runs." Isaac blurted out, making the siblings turn his way. Kayla felt warmth from his words fill her, but she had been avoiding calling him her boyfriend.
"Do I want to know how many there were before?" Mitchell asked, as he pointed a piece of pizza at Isaac.
"Mitch." Kayla's warning tone did nothing to dent the cheeky look on her brother’s face.
"Oh, hello, everyone," a new voice only added to Isaac's problems.
Kayla's mother, Kylie, walked into the room looking exhausted. She stared between her children, before she focused on Isaac with some surprise. The room went quiet, as all eyes turned to her.
"Isaac, I didn't know that we were expecting you." Those eyes so like Kayla's were keeping Isaac speechless.
"I invited him to dinner, Mum." Kayla piped up, and her mother's focus turned to her.
"I guess this is becoming a serious thing between you two?" The older woman pointed between Isaac and Kayla. Mitchell sniggered in the background, and Kayla sent him a glare.
"Uh, yeah." Kayla answered cautiously.
"Good. My only word of advice, use protection. I see way too many pregnant teens at work."
"Mum!" Kayla shouted out in supreme humiliation. Her Mum chuckled tiredly, while Mitchell fell off his chair cackling wildly.
"Save me some of that pizza. I'll have a shower and be back down."
After that one rather embarrassing comment, everyone, including Isaac was able to relax. Mitchell kept his rather devilish smile in place, so Isaac was never sure what he was going to ask next. Kayla kept coming to his defence, which relieved him.
How We Began Page 17