“Yeah,” I looked back over to make sure Z was still chatting with the guys. “I think I just broke it off with Mark…or maybe he did with me.” Melanie looked a bit cautious, yet the spark in her eyes told me she was thrilled.
“Well, is that what you want? I mean, I thought you liked him too?” I glanced back over at Z who was looking over at us. He smiled at us and gave me a nod, turning back to the guys.
“I’m not sure what I’m doing,” I whispered nervously.
“What do you mean? Clark told me he walked in on you guys again! Are you sure you want to pursue something with Z? I mean, I like you two getting together, but I’m not sure about you rushing into anything else right now.”
“I know and I keep coming back to the whole rebound thing,” I said, frowning as I placed the potatoes into the oven to roast them and this time remembered to turn on the timer.
Melanie took a deep breath, “You came out of a long, and I might add, weird one too. And I’m sure he feels just as worried about the same thing. So, if you two do decide to get together, you should really think about going slow.”
I turned to her. “Yeah, you’re right. Maybe I should just give him a shot and take our time.” I looked over at him again.
He turned, smiled at me making my heart flutter and walked over. “What’s going on over here? Girl pow-wow?” Melanie laughed and went to grab a beer.
“Just girl talk.” I smiled up at him. He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a kiss. “Yeah, girl talk, huh? What are you girls gabbing about?” He kissed me again.
“Get a room guys!” Clark yelled, “Come on Izzy, I’m starving!” I shook my head realizing he was always going to interrupt us, wasn’t he? Z released me and shot him another murderous look to which Clark laughed at. Clark, Melanie, and Flynn turned back to talk about their day at work.
The timer went off and I checked the roasted potatoes and started cooking the chicken. I thought I would go ahead and tell him about Mark, but I wasn’t sure if he wanted something more than what we were doing. What were we doing? Just fooling around, I guess? “I…umm. Mark, that was Mark on the phone. We…I,” I stuttered trying to get any form of sentence out of my mouth. “We’re not going to see each other anymore.” I continued staring at the chicken but glanced up at Z. He was smiling from ear to ear, which made my heart skip a beat.
“Really? That’s great. I mean, if you’re good with that.” He frowned when he said the last part.
I looked him in the eyes. “I’m good with that.” I bit my lip and looked at him. He smiled and bent down giving me a kiss. He gave me another one that led to a deeper kiss.
We heard cheering from the couch and broke our embrace, looking over to the living room.
“Finally,” Flynn exclaimed.
I looked away embarrassed and Z started laughing. “I better watch the chicken, I don’t want to burn them like I did the cake!”
He smirked. “Got it. I’ll get a plate.”
I took a deep breath realizing that I think we just discussed getting together. But all of a sudden I wasn’t sure how to act around him. He pulled my hair to one side, planting sweet kisses along my neck. I swallowed hard and knew I needed to concentrate on the chicken or I’d burn them. I giggled and told him they were done and that we need finish setting up for dinner. Although if I were cooking for just the two of us, I’d have let the chicken burn to have him continue kissing my neck like that.
He set out the salad and the chicken while I finished adding the roasted garlic to the potatoes. “It’s about time. I’m starving, Iz,” Clark said while laughing. “Z, you better leave her alone ‘til after we eat.” I just shook my head and set out the potatoes. Everyone grabbed a plate and their food and we all sat down to eat.
We had a great time talking about things that happened during their day at work. Flynn was excited about a new project he was given as his to take. Usually, his Dad was overseeing his projects, but this would be his first by himself. Melanie was thrilled for him and told him so. Clark said work sucks, there was nothing new at his job and that he couldn’t wait until Thursday, which was ladies’ night at Allure. Tuesdays and Wednesdays weren’t that busy so he didn’t usually work as a bouncer at the bar those nights.
As everyone started clearing their plates, I went back to the strawberries and began to shake the can for whipped cream. I started preparing everyone’s dessert, but when I tipped the can for the whipped cream, something happened where it exploded all over me. It was all over the cabinets. It was a mess! Laughter erupted just as much as the can of whip cream. Clark clapped and told Mel to cover herself with it so he could have a really good show. Z came over to try to help wipe some off, but wound up laughing so hard, he wasn’t very helpful.
“Really, I can cook, but this just hasn’t been my night,” I whined while laughing.
“No, you did great. It really was a fantastic meal,” he said trying to help me clean the cabinets.
Clark’s phone rang and we could all hear his conversation. “Yeah”…“Hey”…“Are you okay?”…“What’s wrong?”…“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be right over.”
“Who was that?” Flynn asked Clark after he hung up.
Clark smirked and clapped his hands, rubbing them together excitedly. “It was Tina. Her boyfriend just broke up with her. Time for me to swoop in guys.” He stood up and grabbed his wallet and keys. “She needs a shoulder to cry on and hopefully, I can get some while I’m consoling her.” He laughed.
“You are such a pig,” Melanie shouted. “How can you do that? She’s heartbroken.”
Clark laughed and stretched his arms out wide. “Really? Then why did she call me? She obviously wants some. Otherwise, she would have called one of her girlfriends.”
Melanie shook her head and rolled her eyes. Both guys shrugged and nodded their heads in agreement. I had to admit too, he had a point. I decided not to take sides in this and went back to cleaning. Clark headed out and shouted, “Later,” right before he left.
Melanie decided to pick a fight with Flynn. “Are you defending him? Why would he do something like that?”
Flynn just shook his head. “I’m not defending him, but you have to admit he has a point. Why wouldn’t she have called her girlfriend? Iz called you and not some fling when she left her ex.”
Great, thanks…bring me into this. I kept cleaning and decided to let them have it out. Z continued to help me clean, choosing the same option.
“Don’t bring Iz into this. She’s got a different situation than most,” Mel shot back.
“I’m right here guys. Can we not talk about me in your little argument,” I shot out.
“Sorry, right Iz…didn’t mean anything by that,” Flynn said.
Melanie continued, “I’m just saying that things are a bit different in your situation. You wouldn’t go running into another relationship right after what you’ve been through.” My heart sank. I thought that’s what I was doing. I mean, what else is Z? My ears were burning and I told Z that I needed to go wash up since I had whipped cream in my hair. I turned and jogged up the stairs. I closed the bathroom door and began to wash the whipped cream out of my hair and clothes.
I heard a knock on the door and opened it to find Z standing there with a somber expression. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” I swallowed hard not knowing what to say.
“You know we never really discussed what we’re doing together, have we?”
I looked away and sighed. “No, not really.”
“It doesn’t have to be anything more than you want. I’ll go as slow as you need to. I get that you came from a...different type of relationship. I’d really like to take our time, if that’s what you want. I don’t want to be your rebound any more than you want to be mine, okay?” His smile was so sweet and sincere. I knew then and there I made the right choice.
Relieved, I smiled. “Okay…I’d really like that.” I leaned forward and gave him a kiss. He wrapped his arms around me, holdi
ng me tight. I never wanted him to let me go.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Z
HOLDING IZZY FELT SO GOOD. It just felt like we fit together. I could have held her forever, but Mel and Flynn’s fight started escalating. I looked down at Izzy and wondered if she was game to play referee.
“How about a game of pool?” I asked her.
She snickered. “Well, I’m up for it, but I’m not sure if we should put a cue stick in their hands.” She had a really good point and I chuckled as I grabbed her hand to lead her downstairs.
We literally walked into a battlefield. They were yelling about who slept with whom and when and everything that had nothing to do with what they first started fighting about. I looked at Izzy and nodded toward the door. She grabbed her purse and phone and we headed out.
We got out the door and were both stone-faced. “What was that all about?” Izzy asked. Her gorgeous blue eyes wide and unsure.
“I don’t know, but at least they might finally figure it out.” Changing the subject, I asked, “Feel like heading to a great bar for some pool?”
She smiled brightly and her eyes lit up. “Absolutely.”
I swung my arm around her shoulders. I just wanted to be closer to her. I gave her a kiss on her cheek. I know I told her we’d go slow, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to hold up my end of the bargain. Especially when she looked so hot in faded jeans and tight t-shirt. I just wanted my arms around her all the time. The way she made me feel so excited when I was around her, it was incredible.
I hopped on my bike and I watched her smile bright as she climbed behind me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and held tight. I could really get used to this. I turned slightly and gave her a kiss on her mouth, then started up my bike and headed toward my favorite bar, where I used to hang out at before I opened Allure.
It was a dive bar on the outside of town where mainly locals hang out. We pulled up and parked next to a sea of bikes. Izzy smiled getting off the bike. Most girls would be a bit intimidated looking at this place, considering all the bikes here and how dingy the place looked. Not Izzy. She looked excited. I grabbed her hand and headed for the door.
We stepped up to the bar and she hopped on a bar stool while I ordered two AmberBocks. She looked around the bar and checking out the pool tables and who was playing. I hadn’t thought about how she would feel playing in a bar. I put my arm around her waist, pulling her to me and asked, “What are you thinking?”
She was smiling big. “I’m thinking I love this place. Reminds me of when I was young.”
I gave her a quizzical look, “You liked that? I mean I wasn’t sure if you had some bad memories.”
She shook her head as she took a drink from her beer. “No, I mean when it was time to go, that sucked.” She laughed. “You know, because sometimes I had to wait for my mom to return.”
What the…?
“Wait, you mean she left you there?” I shook my head not able to grasp a mom leaving her young daughter at a bar, let alone bring her there to begin with.
She smirked. “Well, I’d have rather been at the bar then have to listen to them go at it…which, I also had to do sometimes. That really sucked.”
I tried not to gape or have to huge of a surprised expression. How the hell did she survive?
Then she shook her head again. “No, when I was at the bar, I had about ten father figures watching over me and teaching me every trick to playing pool. I loved that. I always felt protected and safe there.” She shook her head laughing, “and I always had an endless supply of Shirley Temples.”
“Where was your Dad during all this? I think Mel told me he left when you were young?”
She shook her head. “No, he was never in the picture at all. My birth certificate doesn’t have him named at all.” Wow, this was way worse than I thought.
“Umm...wow, I’m sorry.” I had no idea what else to say. I can’t imagine not even having a name to go by to try to find him if she even wanted that.
“That’s okay. It’s done with and nothing I can change.” She quietly said while smiling. Somehow I found it odd that she could just be so carefree about saying all that. “Come on, a table just opened up.” She grabbed my arm excitedly, holding her beer in her other hand.
She set up and we started playing. I could tell after she broke she was missing some on purpose. Damn, she was good and definitely in her element. She danced to the music, eyeing her next move and lining ‘em up. While we played, we talked about her getting into college and her scholarship, which paid for most of her costs. She earned what she needed for other expenses by bartending.
“Yeah, I really loved college–just barely getting by but having so much,” she said, smiling.
“What do you mean that?” I was curious why she said that.
“All my friends, the bar. It was like I had my own little family and life going. I finally felt like I belonged.” Her eyes welled with tears, but quickly looked back at the table and seemed to shake off her feelings. “Corner left pocket,” she called out and took her shot. Of course, it went in.
“And after graduation?” I knew what was coming, but wanted to hear it when Mel wasn’t around. Her eyes turned sad again, but she continued to look at the pool table searching for her next shot.
“Well, everyone got on with their life. I tried, but working 9-5 in a cubicle, never hearing from your close friends gets pretty lonely. Side left pocket,” she said, with a slight pout. She lined up and began to take her shot.
“And that’s when you met him?” Her ball missed the pocket.
I watched her swallow. “Yep…that’s when I met him,” She said. Her gloomy expression wasn’t there for long before she burst out, “Beer me, baby!” I took my cue to stop the conversation and turned to get us another round.
I walked up to the bar to order, thinking about Izzy. She had such a strange childhood, I could kind of understand why she went for such a controlling guy. I wondered if she really was ready to move on to another relationship. The need need to care for her, protect her and hold her the rest of her life consumed my thoughts. I couldn’t imagine what she went through as a child.
I grabbed our beers after paying and turned to walk back to the pool table. Looking up, I watched two guys chat with Izzy, smiling and flirting blatantly with her. She didn’t seem to return the flirting, but was talking and flashing her gorgeous smile. Anger tore through me yet again. Shit. Is this the crap I’m going to have to deal with? Flynn is at home fighting with Mel because he can’t deal with it. Was that what I was going to start doing? No, I couldn’t let that get the better of me. She’s sexy as fuck and I just need to deal with guys wanting to talk to her. Unless she’s a fucking whore like Sheila and I didn’t realize that. I tried hold back my thoughts on that one as I stepped up, handing Izzy her beer. She took it and smiled warmly at me and put her arm around my waist. I relaxed a little knowing she awaited my return.
“Babe, they want to play us. I told them one game and then we were heading out anyway. Right?” Babe? I quickly glanced at the two guys, trying to figure out why she called me that and quickly realized she might want to try to hustle them. This I had to see.
I smirked. “Yeah hon, that’s fine.” I wasn’t sure where she was going with this. They weren’t big dudes and I could take them if I needed to. I was more curious than anything and it was funny hearing her call me “babe” as if we’ve been together for a while.
“Great then. How about we make a friendly wager?” The smaller guy said as he eyed Izzy’s tits. I tried to contain my anger, knowing she wanted to see where this would go with them.
“Oh, well, I’m not sure that’s such a great idea. I mean, you just saw us play, but we’re not so sure of how well you guys play.” Izzy said twirling her hair trying to come off girly. I just smirked and leaned back. Fuck this was actually turning into a fun night. Man, she’s turning me on even more. I looked over to the guys—she had them hook, line and sinker.
Izzy looked at me and bit her lip pretending to be nervous. Her eyes were shining and you could tell she really wanted to have some fun. “I don’t know. Honey, what do you think?” She asked me putting her hand on my chest. I resisted the urge to kiss her. She was turning me on with her little act.
“Well, it could be fun, sweetheart. I know how much you love to bet, although you do lose a lot when we go to Vegas all the time. On second thought, maybe we shouldn’t. We usually lose so much.” I tried to act resistant to her wanting to play. Her eyes were full of excitement now, which was only turning me on more.
“Aw, come on. Please? Just like Vegas, it’ll be fun!” She said bouncing up and down giving them a show. I had a hard time not laughing out loud. “All right, baby. Just this one time, but then we need to get going. We need to get the babysitter home.” She almost burst out laughing on the last part, but held it back.
“Thank you, honey,” she said clapping her hands. Turning to the guys she said, “Okay, we’re in. How much are we talking? Like $10?” She added, sounding maybe a bit too dumb. She was really playing it up.
“Oh, well, we were thinking more like $100,” the taller one said.
“Oh.” Izzy frowned looking up at me. “I’ll use my own money this time,” she pleaded with me.
I shook my head trying to act like I wasn’t happy with this. I exhaled a deep breath as if I were frustrated. “Okay, but just this once, honey,” I replied, and pulled a drink from my beer before I burst out laughing.
We put our money on the table and started the game. The tall one broke and called stripes. Izzy was up and tried to look like she was concentrating on where to go. “Side left,” she called. Aced it. One after another, she hit them all in. The guys just stood there with their jaws open. She finished, looked at them and shrugged. “Wow, I really played well tonight, huh, babe?”
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