Perfectly Star Crossed

by Victoria Rose

  I was tempted to see if he was at the club Saturday, to get him to sleep with me so he'd be out of my system. But that would have seemed desperate, and ruined my plan to build a relationship and break him worse. So to occupy my time I went shopping, just because I could. I didn't really need anything, but got some really nice clothes, things I thought would attract Isaiah to me even more.

  Monday, I went to school late, just because normal teenagers do it sometimes. I could feel Isaiah watching me, but I didn't say anything to him. I didn't know if I should, or what he expected after Friday.

  Finally in history (after a sort of awkward Biology) he talked to me. "Am I always going to have to be the one to start a conversation?" He whispered as the teacher spoke. I looked at him like I didn't know what he was talking about.

  "I didn't know you wanted to talk. I thought things were going back to normal. I proved to you I could dance, didn't I?"

  "And you thought that is all I wanted?" I nodded. "What about everything that happened after we danced? Like the talk, the kiss, did you think it meant nothing?" I gave him my full attention. I didn't think he'd be the type to think much on those things.

  "I don't know Isaiah. I don't know you or what you want… What do you want?" He was silent.

  "I'm not sure," he trailed off, lost in thought.

  "Well, I'll be around when you figure it out," I turned back to the teacher and Isaiah didn't say anything for the rest of that class. Sometimes boys are so indecisive.

  I was half-way through sixth hour when he came up to me. "I figured it out, what I want I mean."

  "And?" He grabbed my hand and I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

  "I want to go on a date with you," I smiled. This was what I needed.

  "What do you call what we did Friday?"

  "That doesn't count, I was tricking you into a date," I laughed lightly.

  "I wasn't fooled, but alright. Where are we going?" He frowned.

  "Where do people usually go for dates? I've never been on an official date before, I usually skip that part. Honestly, it's just too much work," I laughed.

  "And what makes me any different? Why, all of the sudden, do you want to take me on a date?"

  "You said you didn't know me, well, it is a chance for us to get to know each other," I smiled seductively.

  "We don't need to go on a date for that," I was satisfied as I felt him shiver.

  "Maybe that will come later. But I think you may be special, someone worth going through the trouble of dating for. I want to know about you before I get to know you physically. Which is a change that I don't quite understand yet," this was good. This was what I needed. Not necessarily what I wanted, but what needed to happen.

  "So, all you have to do is figure out what we are going to do on the date," he frowned.

  "Do you have any ideas?" I smirked.

  "Yes, but it's up to you to decide, at least the first time. I want to see how creative you can be," he sighed.

  "So dinner and a movie is out of the question?" I laughed.

  "If that is what you call creative, you need some work."

  "Alright, I'll figure something out. Tonight?"

  "Are you that anxious to get to know me or do you just want to get the work part over with so you can 'get to know me'?" He gave me a look, telling me he was not amused. I laughed it off. "I think tonight is possible, what time?" He groaned.

  "Dating is going to be hard work!" He said it a little too loudly because all ten or so heads in the library looked at us, shocked. I rolled my eyes and ignored them. "Five 'o clock?" I nodded.

  "That works," I found a piece of paper and a pen and wrote my address and number down for him. "How much dating etiquette do you know?"

  "Enough to know it is not polite to honk and wait for you to come outside," I smiled at him.

  "Good, because I would be disappointed, but we really need to get back to work, this isn't social hour you know," he grinned boyishly.

  "Right right. Five 'o clock, go to your door. Will I have to worry about good impressions on parents?"

  "No," I could feel his relief.

  "Alright, I'll see you then," he did something then that I totally didn't expect. He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. I felt myself unwillingly blush. Blush? I don't remember ever blushing, what an odd feeling.

  "Yeah, then," I watched as he walked away, he moved so gracefully. I shook my head, I didn't want to notice those things about him! I hated the fact that I was actually excited for tonight, and then a second thought hit me… What was I going to wear?

  Chapter 8- The Date

  I stood in my living room, looking out the window. It was 4:53 pm, I wondered if he would be on time, on time was key for me. I despised being late and didn't like anyone else being late either.

  I didn't know where he was taking me, and therefore did not have any idea how to dress. Should I dress up or dress casually? I settled for black pants and a black and green striped button up dress shirt, kind of the middle of the two. I put half of my hair up and left the other half hanging down. I wore comfortable, but classy shoes. I figured Isaiah would tell me if I needed to change.

  I was looking for a red ninja, but was surprised to see a black car pull up instead. I figured it was for one of the neighbors, but then I saw Isaiah step out looking really good, as usual. He was dressed casually, jeans and a button up shirt, he seemed to really like those, this one was blue. I quickly went to my closet and switched my black pants for dark denim jeans that were tight fitting. I slipped on some green converse, which were my favorite. I was giving myself a look over in the mirror when the bell rang. I looked at the clock and smiled, 5:00 exactly.

  I answered the door and the smell of him washed over me. He smelled so good. "Perfect timing," he grinned.

  "I had a feeling you would be watching," he held out his hand to me and I realized it held a dozen roses. I was taken back for a moment. Nobody had ever gotten me flowers before, ever. I took and smelled them. I smiled at him.

  "Thank you, they're beautiful. Come on in, I'll put them in a vase," I took a step back and let him in. I closed the door behind him and went to my kitchen, pulling out my favorite glass vase. I put water in it, cut the ends of the roses off and put them in. When I was done admiring them I turned to see what Isaiah was doing and realized he was standing behind me, very close.

  "You know, those roses have nothing on you," he was so close, I wanted to reach out and pull him to me.

  "Are you rethinking the date, Isaiah?" He sighed.

  "No. I am wondering though, how does a young woman afford a place such as this without her parents around? How old are you anyway?"

  "Eighteen, and are we going to talk about all of this before we even leave my apartment?" He chuckled.

  "No, I guess not. If you have a camera, you might want to bring it, I remember you saying you like photography," a new feeling presented itself that I'd never felt when he remembered. I felt… Touched.

  "Where are we going?" I said as I went to get my camera, wishing so bad that my new one was here.

  "It's a surprise," I walked out with one of my cameras and watched his eyes get wide. "That camera is worth at least a grand!" I laughed at how shocked he looked and snapped a picture of it.

  "Wait until you see my next one. I'm well off, the benefits of my grandma kicking the bucket."

  "I'll ask later, we need to go or we will miss the sunset," he took my hand, he seemed to like doing that, and we walked to the door. I grabbed my purse and keys and locked the door behind us. He opened the car door for me. I realized then, that I wanted him to be mean to me, to do something wrong and cruel so I could find a reason to hate him personally, because so far he was way too perfect and I could not handle that.

  Once he was sure I was in, he shut the door and walked around to his side. He started the car and took off. "Why didn't you bring your ninja?"

  "I didn't know if you liked motorcycles, most girls love to look but are to
o scared to ride," I laughed.

  "Not me. I could probably drive it better than you," he raised an eyebrow.

  "I doubt it. I race for extra cash sometimes, I'm pretty good," he was anything but modest.

  "You should take me sometime, I would like to see that."

  "Maybe sometime. It's highly illegal though, if we get caught you can get in some serious trouble," I rolled my eyes.

  "I have friends in high places."

  "You don't strike me as the type to have friends," he was right about that.

  "I guess 'friends' is the wrong word. More like, people who fear me."

  "Fear you? Besides your beauty, there is nothing intimidating about you," again he used beautiful in a sense and I was stunned. Would I ever not be shocked by that?

  "You don't know me. Plus, you have the advantage of not being on my bad side, yet."

  "Yet?"

  "I get pissed off easily. Forewarning. I don't put up with people's shit," and when I was unhappy, everyone was, I didn't mention that though.

  "I believe it," we drove for a long time until we got to a massive hill. It was fall, so the trees were gorgeous reds, yellows and oranges. The hill was so high I could barely see the platform on top. "I hope you're up for climbing," he turned off the ignition. "Don't move," he said before getting out and running to my door and opening it for me. He held out his hand and helped me out even though I didn't need it.

  "Thank you," his eyes got wide.

  "I didn't know you were capable of such politeness," he teased, I think it was teasing at least.

  "Shut up. I'm capable of being very nice, thanks," he laughed and we started up the stairs. I started counting them.

  "You can't be serious," I shushed him.

  "Don't make me break concentration or I'll have to start all over: fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight," he sighed.

  "Look at the railing, they mark the steps by fifties."

  "What if they're wrong?" He didn't say anything and I continued counting. "Seven hundred and sixty-eight steps. They were wrong, only by three steps, but they were still wrong!"

  "Thank you, I don't know how I would have been able to go through the rest of my life without knowing that useless bit of information," his voice dripped with sarcasm.

  "Hey, it could come in handy," I insisted as we continued walking. I snapped a few random pictures, getting some good ones.

  "Leaving all counting behind, where are your parents?" I sighed.

  "I don't know, I emancipated myself when I was sixteen. They were never around much, and when they were, it was not pretty," he had a concerned look on his face and I wished that he didn't. Why should he care? I sure as hell didn't care about him, though I would expertly pretend to. "I don't need or want your pity. Sure, I've had a rough life, seen and done a lot more at my age than most people ever will, but what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger."

  "So, what happened to your grandma and why did you get all the inheritance?" He went on as though I hadn't said anything.

  "She was hit by a car, the man didn't even stop to check on her. She was dead before she reached the hospital. As for the inheritance, she knew I was struggling on my own, and knew what douche bags my parents were, so she left it all to me," the story came easily even though none of it was true, besides the part about my parents. They really were douche bags.

  "Were you close to her?"

  "No, I've never been close to anybody. I don't like people, everyone just looks out for their own and will do anything to get on top," we wandered through trails as we talked. I snapped more photos as we went.

  "I didn't think you would be so open about everything, honestly."

  "Does it turn you off? The lack of mystery, I mean. Because if it does; I know how to turn you right back on again," he tensed. I didn't let him answer. "Anyway, what about you Isaiah? What's your story?" He shrugged.

  "I never knew my parents. I got moved from foster home to foster home. No one wanted to keep me, and I didn't want to stay. Some people never should be allowed to have kids. I went through some abusive families. At fifteen I had enough money to support myself from taking money from families who treated me like shit. I got myself out of the system and have been on my own ever since.

  I went through a lot Delilah, but I never let it rule me the way you do. I don't hate people, everyone is trying to do the best they can, most just don't know how to deal with things correctly."

  "You seem to hate people the way I do."

  "There is a difference between hating them and not wanting to get close. Plus, most people bore me," I knew then that I was right about his wall.

  "Now that you know more about me, do I bore you?" Not that I cared. He stopped and put his hand on my arm.

  "No. You make me want to prove to you that not all people are bad. Not everyone is out for their own and not everyone is going to hurt you," I sighed. Why was he so kind? I hated how much sincerity was in his eyes.

  "I'm not worried about getting hurt Isaiah. I'm a big girl, I can handle it," he pulled me close and brought a cold hand to my cheek.

  "You say that, but I don't believe it for a minute. But I'll show you, I'm the one person you'll never have to worry will hurt you," at this he kissed me. It started out gentle like the night at the club, but as it continued it got urgent. He crushed me to him, his tongue begged entrance that I granted and the hand that was free from my camera went to his hair, pushing his face harder to mine. In that moment, I forgot about the hate and that I shouldn't be enjoying his mouth on mine so much. I forgot the mission and Derek, I forgot that I was supposed to be building a relationship with him, I forgot about everything except for his lips on mine and his hands on my back, his arms like burning cords around my body. I didn't want to wait to have him completely mine. I forced myself to pull away.

  "You know, a fantasy of mine is to have sex in the woods," he sighed.

  "I don't want things to move too fast, Delilah," I could see the battle in him between wanting to take me there and wanting to wait. I growled.

  "My body has been so frustrated ever since I saw you! I don't like it, it's never happened to me before!" His eyebrows raised, before he got a mischievous look in his eyes.

  "I don't have to have sex with you to satisfy the frustration," my body unwillingly got excited. "I also don't want you to get sick, and though I will warm you up, it's pretty cold out here, so we'll have to wait," I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing to calm my body down.

  "Well, sunset is almost here, we can watch it and go back to my place," he smiled.

  "That sounds great, I wouldn't want you to miss photo opportunities," so he took my hand and we walked back to the platform.

  The sunset was gorgeous and what made it better is that Isaiah never stopped touching me. He was a gentleman about the places he touched, but he still touched and it worked wonders on my body. The only thing that distracted me from him is when the sun hit the edge of the horizon and the world was suddenly vibrant pinks and purples, oranges and yellows and so, so beautiful. I got a few pictures before I was turned to Isaiah and he was kissing me in a toe curling way. I raised my arm and took a picture of us without breaking the kiss, that would be a great one.

  "Are you ready to go?" He asked huskily.

  "Past ready," I was breathless as we walked down the stairs and drove fifteen miles over the speed limit to my house.

  When we got inside his lips immediately found mine. I set my camera on the counter and wrapped my arms around his neck. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

  "Which way is your bedroom?" He asked between kisses.

  "Up the stairs, last door at the end of the hall," I said it quickly before attaching my lips to his neck. He tripped once as I worked my magic on him. I worked on his buttons as he found my room. He laid me down as I undid the last one and slipped his shirt off. I was frustrated to see he had a wife beater on underneath and I quickly got rid of that. I took a moment to look at his tors
o. It was smooth and toned with some sort of tribal tattoos along it. My hands followed my eyes and I felt him shiver and suddenly his lips were on mine again. He took my hair down and grabbed a fist full of it, pushing my face to his. It wasn't enough. He unbuttoned my shirt swiftly and threw it next to his. I started to undo his pants and he pushed my hands away.

  "No. No sex, this is about you, I don't want anything in return or I won't be able to resist," I nodded. His hands roamed my torso like mine had done to his earlier. He undid my jeans and slipped them off. He looked over my body and muttered something under his breath that sounded like beautiful. I moved back on the bed and pulled him with me. I loved the feel of his weight on me. I sighed in contentment as his hands and lips moved.