“Isabelle?”
“Yeah, hey Eric. How are you doing?” I ask, somewhat awkwardly.
“I am doing great and yourself?”
Rolling my eyes in exhaustion, I say, “Pretty good.”
“Awesome,” he replies. “Anyway, Jack and a bunch of us are going to Legend’s to have pizza and play mini golf. We were wondering if you would like to come. Jeremy too, of course, if he doesn’t find it lame.”
I think about it for a second. You know what, I need this. “Okay, Jeremy isn’t feeling well today, but I would love to come. The only problem is that Jeremy is sleeping and he is my money supply. He isn’t feeling well, so I don’t want to wake him up, and I refuse to go into his wallet. So, yeah, I don’t know IF I can go.”
“Oh, I can totally pay for you. No big deal what’s-so-ever. We are meeting up in an hour and half. If Jeremy is sleeping you will probably need a ride, right?”
“Yeah,” I groan. “I still haven’t gotten my license yet. I have to learn to parallel park and that’s it.”
“Well I can come pick you up. Where do you guys live?”
Trying to remember, I give him directions. “If you get lost,” I finally say, “Just call me.”
“I will honk the horn when I get there,” Eric says very happily. “So….I will see you in a little bit?”
“Definitely,” I reply, smiling. “See you in a few.”
We say our good byes and I hang up. I kind of stand there, for a moment, in shock. I know it’s not a date, but Eric called to actually do something with me. This is great. This is greater than great. This is epic! I quickly dart to my bedroom. Opening my closet, I stare at my clothes. I have no idea what to wear. Cassandra! I immediately dial her number.
It rings and rings and finally I hear her voice. “Hello Miss. Isabelle.”
“Hi,” I spit out. “I need your help.”
Sounding concerned, Cassandra asks, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong,” I sigh. “Eric just called me and asked me to do something. It’s not a date, there are going to be other people there.”
“That can still be considered a date,” Cassandra counters. “But that’s neither here nor there. What do you need my help on?”
With a groan, I say, “I don’t know what to wear!”
“What are you guys doing on this non date?”
“Mini golf and pizza,” I answer.
There is a moment of silence and then she says, “The black plaid skirt and your red button up. Wear the boots with them.”
“I am not wearing those boots mini golfing!”
“Fine,” she giggles. “Wear the black flats. You have to call me later and tell me how it goes.”
With a happy sigh, I say, “I will, but I am going to go get ready. Thank you for your advice.”
“Anytime, have fun!”
“I will thanks.” With that, we hang up. I quickly undress. When I pull out a bra, I pick one of my nice ones. Yeah, no way in hell he is going to see it, but it will make me feel a little more daring. I put on the skirt and shirt and look in the mirror. Using one of the smaller scarves, I cover my neck. I am going to be really happy when I have to stop wearing these.
When I go into the bathroom to fix my hair and make-up, Jeremy’s door opens. My heart drops down a little. I just continue to put on my make-up. He walks up next to me. “Where are you going?”
“I am going out with Eric,” I reply matter-of-factly.
There is an awkward pause, and then Jeremy asks, “Like on a date?”
“I don’t know,” I reply. “There are going to be other people there, but he is picking me up, and paying for me. So, I don’t know what that suggests.”
Crossing his arms, Jeremy suddenly gets a different air around him. “I can give you money if you need it. He doesn’t have to pay for you.”
“Jeremy,” I state. “You were passed out and hung over, I wasn’t about to wake you up. Eric offered to pay and I think that is nice of him. He is a good guy.”
“He better treat you well,” Jeremy snarls.
I look at him. “Behave yourself and calm down.”
Jeremy steps forward and puts his arms around me. He brings his lips to my cheek and kisses it ever so softly. “I worry about you.” That kiss sends shivers down my spine. I suddenly push back and shy away from him. Jeremy looks at me concerned, “What’s wrong Izzy?”
“Nothing,” I mumble. “I just need to get ready.” My chest is tightening at the thought of him forgetting. I will always remember what happened. The touches and what they felt like, but that isn’t even a concern for him. So now what do I do?
“There is something wrong,” Jeremy declares. “We always promised to be honest with each other.”
Nervously, I take out my lip gloss and start to put it on. My hand is shaking a little bit. “Nothing is wrong.”
“It’s because of Kaitlin.” He groans and turns away from me. “I shouldn’t have told you.”
“No!” I exclaim. “It’s a good thing you told me about Kaitlin. That is not it! Well, okay maybe some of it, but not in the way that you think.”
Leaning against the counter next to me, Jeremy asks, “So, what is it? What is wrong?”
“I just…..I feel slightly awkward. Like…..I don’t know. Forget about it, it’s no big deal. None of this is a big deal. I am glad that you told me. It’s a good thing for you.”
“Isabelle,” Jeremy says, stepping forward. “You are my friend and that has nothing to do with Kaitlin. Yes, in the first few days, I helped you because of her, but then, well, I started to care for you. You are a lot different than her, and that’s not a bad thing. I adore you. You are an incredible person and friend. I don’t want you to think any less of our relationship. Like I said, you two would have LOVED each other. I honestly think you both would have forgotten about me.”
I snort, “Jeremy, I don’t think there is a person on this planet that could forget about you.”
“Because of my devilish good looks,” he quips.
Now, I roll my eyes. “No, I was talking about your personality. You are so charismatic and funny. You make an impression on people, a good one.”
“Ah, you are so sweet,” he sighs, obviously content about my comment. “So, do I need to have a talk with Eric before you guys hang out today?”
My eyes turn and glare at him. “I swear, if you do that, I will become your worst nightmare.”
“Are we going on that again? Remember, I still owe you one for stomping on my foot at work. Oh yes, young lady, I did not forget about that! I am just waiting for the most opportune moment. It will come, I promise you that, and it will be masterful.”
Whining, I moan, “Jeremy! That totally isn’t fair. Don’t embarrass me!”
“You embarrassed me! In front of my coworkers none the less. I kiss a girl and then she hurts me. What does that say about my skills at seducing women?” Jeremy asks dramatically.
“Oh shut up,” I snap. “You do not get embarrassed!”
With a huge grin, Jeremy says, “You are right. I don’t get embarrassed, but there will be payback.”
“Whatever, I need to get ready. Eric will be here soon.” I go back to putting on my make-up.
“Will you promise me something?” Jeremy asks.
Hesitantly, I say, “What?”
“Just say you will promise me something.”
“Fine, I promise. Now what am I promising?” I inquire hotly.
Jeremy just grins. “That you will tell Eric that if anything happens to you, he will have to answer to me.”
“Jeremy! I will not say that!”
He crosses his arms. “You promised.”
Narrowing my eyes, I retort, “I loathe you.”
“You love me, don’t lie to yourself,” Jeremy laughs.
“Will you let me get ready? PLEASE!?”
Giving me a look, Jeremy replies, “NOPE, I am going to do everything to sabotage your D-A-T-E.”
&
nbsp; “What? Why would you do that?” I gasp. “I would never do that to you!” Then the memory of last night passes through my mind. I quickly turn my head and look away.
“I want to keep you all to myself,” Jeremy chimes. “No boys.”
Now, I am going to ignore him. “Whatever Jeremy.” I fix my lip gloss and then put everything away. He just continues to stare at me. I get out my flat iron to go over my hair again. I can feel the weight of him staring. It’s like we are dueling off. Who is going to buckle first? Finally, he crosses his arms. I can’t take it anymore, and start to laugh. “You are ridiculous!” I yell.
He just chuckles. “I really am an ass, aren’t I?”
“YES! Thank you for admitting it!” I exclaim.
“I just don’t want to give you up. Not enthusiastic about you going on a date.”
“It’s not a date, per say. We are all getting together as friends. They did invite you, too, so it’s not like a date obviously,” I emphasize.
Jeremy claps his hands. “I am going to go get ready.”
“No! Please, I want to do this on my own.”
He grabs his chest and gasps, “You don’t want me with?”
“It’s not that, but I think you would be a little intimidating to Eric, and if I want to get a date with him, you scaring him, is not the way to go,” I reply.
“What fun thing am I missing then?” Jeremy asks, pouting.
I sigh. “Pizza and mini golf.”
That seems to be humorous to Jeremy. “Seriously?”
“Yes, it will be fun, so keep your trap shut.”
He smiles. “As long as you have fun, it doesn’t matter what you do. I think this will be good for you, though I am wanting to give a stern talking to Eric.”
“Will you please leave him alone,” I whine.
“Nope, sorry, how am I supposed to protect you if I let some boy come traipsing into your life, and not give him the third degree?”
Setting down my flat iron, I turn to Jeremy. “Please, don’t ruin this for me.”
Jeremy stares at me for a minute. “I don’t want you to get hurt, and part of me doesn’t want to be thrown to the side because you got a new guy in your life.”
“I am more worried about that when you find a girlfriend,” I state. “You will have certain urges that I can’t fill.” As those words come out of my mouth, my heart drops. “I mean,” I stutter. “It will be different.”
There is a pause and then Jeremy quickly looks away. “I can promise you, it won’t change things between us.”
“That’s good to know,” I nervously whisper.
It is kind of awkward for a minute. I mean, if he doesn’t remember, why is he acting so weird? Finally, he says, “You look very pretty by the way.”
“Thanks,” I reply, looking down. “Cassandra told me what to put on.”
“You called Cassandra for help?” Jeremy asks, with a look of surprise.
I glance away. “Of course, I don’t know how to dress for these things. She is my friend now and a girl, her advice was appreciated.”
“I would have helped,” Jeremy says, almost pouting.
“You were passed out from being hung over. I wasn’t going to wake you to help me pick out an outfit.”
He walks over to me and whispers, “I like to know what is going on your body.”
Rolling my eyes, I shove him away. I don’t want to think about him liking anything with my body right now. “You just shush. I want other boys to want to know what’s on my body.”
Jeremy actually stops and says a little harshly, “Oh…..I guess that is true. Well then, I don’t want to get in the way.” He turns and walks away.
“Jeremy!” I exclaim. He walks down the hallway and out of sight. I groan and pick up my flat iron. When I am done getting ready, I do have to admit, I actually look nice, cute even. I straighten my skirt and walk out into the living room. Jeremy is chugging a glass of water. “Do you think you should be drinking that fast?” I ask.
He practically slams the cup down. “I think I know how to drink.”
“Well, sorry!” I snap. “Aren’t you a jerk hung over? Glad I am leaving, you can throw a temper tantrum while I am gone.” Oh dear lord, I did NOT just say that.
Slowly, he turns around and growls, “What did you just say?”
“Nothing, sorry,” I whisper.
“Oh no, you are SO in trouble,” Jeremy yells. He comes running at me and I dart out of the way. I jump over the couch and he follows me. Being pretty quick on my feet, I run to my room, jumping over stuff as I go. Not that far away from my bed, I am tackled. We land on the floor and Jeremy pulls me over to him. Throwing his leg over, he sits on me. “Now, what am I going to throw?”
Giggling, I reply, “A temper tantrum.”
Immediately, he starts to tickle me and I scream. “I am behaving like a what?”
“A jerk!” I gasp out. He just tickles me harder. “Stop!” I shout.
Leaning over, Jeremy whispers, “Never!”
With a little force, I do what Kent taught me and I roll Jeremy off my stomach. I reverse it and sit on top of him. Grabbing his wrists, I try my hardest to hold them tight against his chest. “I said stop. Now play nice.”
“You were the sassy one. So lippy all of a sudden, what has gotten into you?” Jeremy asks, with a huge smile.
“Maybe you are bringing out the naughty side of me,” I reply, laughing.
Jeremy’s eyebrows shoot up. “The naughty side, really? I didn’t know you had a naughty side. Does this go with any naughty lingerie?”
My mood suddenly shifts. I am sitting on Jeremy and we are kind of wrestling around. Memories come shooting back, especially, the feel of his touch on my skin. I want to bend over and kiss him. Kiss him with a passion that he has never seen before. That makes me falter. I quickly spin and get off of him. “There is no naughty lingerie. I have never been in a situation where I needed to have lingerie. I need to get my coat on.”
Propping himself up on his elbows, Jeremy asks, “What is wrong? You have been acting weird and different all day. I really think that something is amiss. It’s about Kaitlin, isn’t it?”
“No!” I exclaim. “She doesn’t have anything to do with it!”
“See, there is something! What is going on with you? You are acting so peculiar.”
I turn around. “You are acting just as weird. One minute you are joking around and the next you are all pissy.”
“I am hung over, what’s your excuse?” Jeremy retorts.
Standing up, I straighten my skirt. “Nothing is wrong. I am just nervous about going out with Eric.”
Jeremy looks at me thoughtfully. “I don’t believe you.”
“Please……just let it go. I am fine. There is nothing wrong between you and me.”
“I think you are lying,” Jeremy mumbles, as he rolls over to get up, “but I will leave it alone.”
There is suddenly a honk from outside. “Oh!” I squeak. “That’s Eric! How do I look!?”
With a deep sigh, Jeremy replies, “You look fabulous. Have fun, but be careful okay?”
“Yeah,” I say, going over to him. I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him. Jeremy just pulls me close. He gently kisses me on the head. “Alright,” I say, backing up. “I will see you later.”
“I will be here. No going out tonight, need… rest…lots of rest. Here actually looks good,” he mumbles, falling over onto my bed.
I laugh and turn to leave the room. With a quickness, I run and get my coat. I yell, “BYE!” The only response I get is some grumbling. I open the door and tear down the steps. When I actually get to the bottom, I slow down so I don’t look like an idiot.
Eric is sitting in his car tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to music. I walk over to the car and open the door. He turns and smiles, “Hey Isabelle.”
“Hi,” I reply, sitting down. I shut the door and take a deep breath. “Are we the only ones in your car?”
; “Yup, I told Jack he had to ride with someone else. I was afraid he wouldn’t leave until he got to talk to Jeremy about that stupid car.”
That makes me giggle. “He is up now. Not feeling so well, but he is alive.”
“Flu?” Eric asks, as he pulls away from the curb.
Slightly snorting, I say, “Sort of.”
“So, have you been to Legend’s before?” Eric asks.
“Umm, maybe when I was seven…..I think,” I reply, giving him a shy look.
With a grin, Eric says, “We kind of do this a lot. It sounds corny I know, but it’s actually fun.”
“No, it sounds great. I have never played mini golf though. I am probably horrible at it.”
“Everyone is horrible, except for Jack. He is just ridiculous. You can be my partner. So if we embarrass ourselves, we do it with each other. Jack is merciless,” Eric declares.
I roll my eyes. “Maybe he would get along with Jeremy.” Suddenly, my phone goes off. “What in the world?” I mutter, pulling it out.
There is a text. It reads: Remember your promise. Tell your boy Eric my message.
“Really Jeremy!?” I hiss.
Looking at me from the corner of his eye, Eric says, “What’s up?”
“I am going to kill him,” I groan. My eyes turn to Eric and he gives me a confused look. Wanting to cry, I whisper, “Jeremy wanted me to warn you that if anything happened to me, you would have to answer to him. Please, just choose to ignore him. I do.”
Eric just chuckles. “I will make extra sure that you are safe playing mini golf tonight.”
“He is ridiculous sometimes. There is no excuse for him.”
“Jeremy is protective of you. That is a good thing. Everyone needs someone looking out for them,” Eric notes.
It is a quiet for a little while. I finally say, “I am not really close to anyone. I am close to Jeremy. That is about it.”
“Kind of like having a big brother,” Eric retorts cautiously.
“Eek,” I squeak. “I sure hope not. I kiss him. Eww, weird and a whole lot of shades of nasty.”
Nodding his head, Eric replies, “That is probably true. So…do you guys….kiss each other a lot? I mean, it’s really none of my business.”
“We do actually,” I laugh. “We are extremely affectionate but it’s not what you think. We aren’t involved or anything. Jeremy and I are just close.”
The Art of Life Page 34