Once he had finished cleaning up the downstairs Isaac had to make one more stop to make before heading back to his Aunt’s house to pick up Vera. Because he had called Imara to help him basically quick travel home, his car had been left on base overnight. Thankfully Vera didn’t mention anything the night before about it being missing when he had helped her into his other vehicle; perhaps she simply didn’t notice it was gone or did but chose not to say anything. Either way he was thankful to not have to explain.
However, that was not where his worries ended. As he sat in his blue Honda Civic Isaac’s mind continued to process if not rationalize his actions the night before after he had gone upstairs to make sure she was still alive. More so the point when he had kissed her; it wasn’t an act he was ashamed of rather he just hadn’t quite come up with an answer for when the inevitable question was asked.
“Why,” he whispered to no one other than himself.
When his buddies at the bar had mentioned coming over to meet Vera he had gotten defensive if not protective of her then as well. It was an unusual emotion he had not felt before, which is why, even now while he sat outside by himself, he could not put a finger on the three words that was probably obvious to everyone but him.
He liked her… Not just as a roommate but perhaps as something more.
~~~
The night had been nearly sleepless and the new day quiet. The Carringtons had given her some space and not pushed too hard on how she felt after the ordeal. She hadn’t been ‘alone’ in their house but something had felt oddly empty all night. As if a part of her could never settle down.
Something about being in that house tugged at her mind. Attached with the events that had happened the day before and she just wanted to go home.
Home. No. That was not what she wanted.
Fingers slowly rising to her lips, Vera could still feel the warmth, the slight tingle on them from where Isaac had kissed her. She didn’t know really what had made her heart race slightly as she remembered it: the kiss or his vow to her. Did it matter? The very thought of it made her heart flutter in her chest and the butterflies come alive in her stomach. She couldn’t deny that she had been attracted to Isaac for some time but it had always just been a silly fantasy fueled by those romance novels. No one could blame her for that…
But this had been real. This had been so much more and she was finding it harder and harder to tell herself it had been nothing but the heat of the moment, him worried about her, and the entire situation. Logic was fighting her but her heart.
Standing up from the couch where she had been glancing through some of the photo albums again, Vera was about to head to the bathroom when she looked out to notice the familiar blue Honda only to feel the air in her lungs catch. Reality was setting back in and everything she had told herself, every reason she made up flew right back out the window.
“Isaac.” His name whispered off her lips as she closed her eyes. Three deep breaths as she changed her direction heading back upstairs to grab her bag. Only after a quick goodbye and a promise she was alright did Vera even attempt to open the door. The nerves she knew they saw had nothing to do with the break in and EVERYTHING to do with the man she was about to face. How much had changed? Had anything changed? Would he bring it up? What if he acted like nothing happened?
Thoughts raced in her mind as she made her way to the car doing her best to put a smile on as she caught sight of him in the window.
~~~
Isaac had just resigned himself to getting out of his car and going inside when he finally looked up and noticed Vera standing just a few feet away. What’s worse is that it took him a moment to even process the fact she was smiling at him, she seemed nervous if not shy while he… likely looked like a blank faced idiot.
In order to pull himself out of this stupor he had fallen into, Isaac cleared his throat as he reached for the door handle and stepped out of his car. “I’m sorry I took so long, there was more damage than I realized.” He lied… Kind of...Granted it had been dark out and with the power out he had to wait until daylight lit his home to really get an idea of what happened and what needed to be fixed.
He knew that he could have called some of his buddies back on base to come help repair the door and a number of them would have shown up without question but in all honesty he needed time to think. A lot of good that did though because the moment he arrived, all thoughts just seemed to disappear
“How are you doing?” Isaac asked. True concern written on his face, a part of him wanted to reach out, to hold her just to reassure himself that she was in fact safe.
~~~
As she approached the car, she watched as he slipped out and gazed across it at her. Vera might have suddenly had the urge to stop in place but she kept going, holding the bag tightly against her as she stopped only with enough space to be able to open the passenger door. “No I understand. I didn’t see the damage but with the storm and the…” The words didn’t come out of her mouth as she quickly looked away, licking her lips. “I’m sure there was far more thanks to the wind as well.”
Red eyes flickered a glance at him before looking away. She felt like an awkward chicken even with how she was slowly playing with the end of her hair as she tucked it behind her ears.
“I’m...okay. Didn’t get much sleep but I figure strange bed and all.” That was partially true in a round about lying way. “It will be nice to get home.”
“But what about you?” Now her gaze finally looked up and held onto his face, worry and concern all over it. “You didn’t get hurt did you? I mean I assumed...I didn’t ask...I… I was so afraid I completely forget to even check and make sure you were alright.” It was a large breath as she tried to stall a moment to regroup.
“I’m glad you are here.”
~~~
Isaac let out a light hearted laugh, “I was honestly in more danger of being shot by you through the door.” Thank god she had dropped the weapon or else one ill timed lightning strike would have prompted a impromptu bathroom renovation which didn’t factor in the possibility of her accidentally shooting the plumbing.
“Don’t worry about it though ok?” His expression softened considerably, it seemed he wasn’t the only one unsure of what to make of last night. In one step he cautiously closed the distance between them and reached out to offer to take her bag. “Are you ready to go home or would you rather go somewhere else for a while?”
~~~
At his laugh, Vera felt a bit taken aback, her face going into a frown of annoyance when he brought up the shotgun. “I told you I hate that thing.” She mumbled, sticking her tongue out at him. As much as it made her feel a bit red, the laughter put a sense of ease back in her shoulders. This was Isaac. She had nothing to fear with him.
No that’s right. Isaac was Isaac. Nothing more.
“Just don’t make me use that again and I won’t worry.” She smiled softly in return, offering him her bag as she began to consider the question. Somewhere else? “Like where?” she asked, wondering if he had a place in mind since he brought it up. Truth, she knew if they went home she would either crash or have to finally face the small nerves in her stomach. Problem was that through all the confusion with Isaac, the image of the handprint on his window….
She couldn’t help but shiver.
“If you don’t, maybe we can go for a walk? Get some air. The storm brought in some nice weather and well, it may help settle my nerves a little.” Nerves, right. That was the butterflies in her stomach. Nerves about what had happened with the house. Nothing to do with him...nothing to do with.
Vera found herself glancing towards his lips as her mind wandered and she quickly looked away. It hadn’t been anything right? Nothing at all. Just concern. Worry.
So why did she want him to do it again?
~~~
“Vera,” Isaac’s arm fell to his side. Assuming it was because of him she felt so unsure if not uncertain, he took a step back to give her some room. “The last thing i want is for you to feel nervous, or scared, around me or in out home.”
“I apologize for what happened last night, I overstepped my boundaries.” Holding her was one thing but making a move while she was in a vulnerable position was never his intent. “I care a great deal about you Vera, and I’m sorry I had to ask you to do things that you were uncomfortable with. But please keep in mind, your safety was my number one priority over anything else.”
He understood if she would prefer to move out, perhaps to a place that had a security system. Or perhaps distance herself from him for a bit to clear her mind and think things though. She deserved both if that’s what she wished. He would not stop her or try to sway her mind.
~~~
His words caught her off guard and Vera had to do a double take. “Isaac, what are you talking about? If it wasn’t for you...” She asked, realizing what he meant as soon as she said that. So it had been on his mind too. That though brought color to her cheeks as she quickly had to look away.
“You…” Her voice shook. She needed to go ahead and tell him otherwise this was going to escalate into one giant misunderstanding. She could see it coming quickly and that was the last thing she wanted. Vera did not want to be pushed away from him. “You are the reason I made it out of last night alive. Shaken but that isn’t your fault that I spent time scared for my life. My, my only comforting thought was…” Flickering her eyes at him, Vera lifted her hand to her chest. Resting over her heart, it balled into a fist.
She could feel it racing. The tightness growing with each passing moment as she willed herself to speak, to tell him truly what she thought of everything that happened. “Was that you were coming. I was terrified, still am of what I saw when I opened your bedroom…” Yet again the image of the hand print flashed in her mind and she shivered. Had the person gotten in through his bedroom, how different things might have been. “That is going to haunt me for awhile. But you have nothing to apologize for.”
~~~
“You know that’s not what I’m talking about.” Isaac’s body seemed to sigh, his gaze drifting down to where her hand pressed against her chest. Although he was a guy, he wasn’t dense like some of the men in his unit.
~~~
She knew. She had hoped to either be wrong or that he might bring it up if he wanted to discuss it but it seemed as if her attempt at self protection from the panic and anxiety within her was going to explode in beautiful fashion. Real life was never as lovely as the romance novels after all.
Vera’s hand slowly rose from her chest, brushing up into her hair and pushing it back behind her ears. “I had a feeling but I didn’t want to assume. I mean, if I had said something about it and you had meant the break in I worried you would think I was either upset or crazy.”
~~~
“Or both,” Isaac shrugged his shoulders, a half smile on his face.
“I’ll be honest, I’ve had feelings for you for a while now.” A few months at least, “But out of respect for everything you’ve been going through and with how hard you’ve been trying to reclaim your life, I didn’t act on it. But last night…” He reached up to scratch the back of his head, not really knowing how to explain why he chose that moment to kiss her.
~~~
The first words out of his mouth made her finally look at him, a look saying ‘really? Jerk.’ though teasing as ever when she saw the smile appear on his face. Weakly, she returned it.
“But last night?” She finally offered, prompting him to continue. Truth was she wanted him to say more, to explain to her just what he felt and see if it was the same thing she had been feeling for him as well. But she wasn’t cruel, at least not when they both seemed to feel as if they were dancing around one large elephant in the room.
“Isaac.” So Vera decided to make the offer to maybe put him at ease. “If you want to kiss me again, I…” Of course now her cheeks flushed and the words caught in her mouth. It seemed so easy in her mind. “I...would like that.”
~~~
In the matter of seconds Isaac’s expression shifted from surprise to embarassment to questioning before he even had time to blink. For the first time in a long while his mind went completely blank.
His stupor, however, thankfully did not last long and without quite realizing his own actions Isaac moved forward until the only thing between them was their mingling breath. One hand rested on her hip while the other, despite the calluses, cupped her cheek gently. For a second he hesitated, blue eyes locked with red in a wordless conversation.
Only when Isaac was sure Vera would not pull away, he closed his eyes and dipped his head forward to brush his lips against hers. “As you wish…” He whispered those three words as if he were confessing his feelings to her again.
For as composed as he may appear to be, Isaac’s heart was beating wildly against his chest, not unlike the times he and his unit had been under heavy fire. However, the emotions that accompanied this reaction felt far different if not foreign to him.
~~~
It felt like an eternity from the time the words left her mouth to the time he moved again. A clock would say almost no time had passed but to Vera, it was too long. Fear began to take hold. That he had wanted to speak about it for another reason. Had she guessed wrong? Had she assumed something completely...oh!
That deep concern began to melt away when he finally did move. It slipped through her body, racing past the new growing feeling within as he slipped his hand to the back of her hip then his other to her cheek. She felt herself lean into his touch, softly taking a moment to rub the side of her face against that callused strong hand taking in how gentle something so strong could be. It was a peaceful feeling mixed with the racing heart of unexpected hope.
Vera felt her chest tighten as he leaned forward, stopping only a breath away to whisper three simple words. Three words that held the world to her as her own lips began to tremble in expectation. His warmth began to swallow her so deeply that Vera didn’t know if she ever wanted to come up again.
Slowly her own hands raised, stopping half way up in their climb to wait, unsure if this was real, unsure if she really could touch him. Hold him. But her desire surprised the fear and she lifted them up, resting one on his shoulder and the other landed just near his heart. She could feel it racing, as fast as her own seemed to be going. Somehow, knowing that little bit calmed the butterflies threatening to bloom within her and she stepped forward, closing any remaining distance between them.
~~~
The world beyond the two of them faded into a comfortable nothingness.
Outside of the woman he held in his arms, nothing else mattered because for the first time in what felt like an eternity Isaac felt complete. Time itself ceased to exist, that was until the sound of someone closing a car door snapped him back into the present.
When he pulled away from Vera, Isaac turned around to see his cousin, with a coffee cup in hand, skirting around the front of his vehicle.
“Sorry, don’t mind me, I didn’t mean to interrupt!” Hannah looked between the two of them, making a mental note of the sweep of pink that rushed across Isaac’s face. In all honesty, she would have driven around the block again but after pulling a sixteen hour shift, that bed upstairs was calling her name.
Isaac was about to say something but the amused grin on his cousins face caused him to snap his mouth shut. Why was it he felt more like a child who got caught with his hand in a cookie jar than an adult sharing a moment with the woman he cared for? Oh, that’s right, because to their knowledge he had never had a girlfriend and them, like the soldiers in his unit, probably wondered if he had any interests outside the military.
“Congratulations,” She placed a gentle hand on his arm and gave his bicep a light squeeze.
~~~
Everything was right with the world. Everything felt just perfect as she felt him close to her. Even as they kissed softly, Vera wanted to show him just how happy this made her. She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and truly kiss him.
Those thoughts snapped away when she heard the car door and jerked her head around to see the young woman looking as if she had been on her feet all night, walking past them. “Oh.” Vera mouthed, watching Hannah as she felt her entire face suddenly go bright, bright red. Could humans become light bulbs? She felt like one. Or at least sunburnt.
The grin what went on Hannah’s face and then the single word made Vera suddenly wish she could crawl into a hole and die. Their first real kiss, no questions asked, and they end up with an audience. Lightly tucking her hair behind her ear, Vera stole a glance at the woman then back to Isaac.
“I guess that’s approval?” She asked meekly.
~~~
Isaac watched Hannah as she walked down the path and up the stairs towards the front door and after fishing her keys out of her purse, his cousin waived at them before disappearing inside.
“I suppose so?” He shrugged his shoulders, rolling them forward to loosen the tension that had built up.
He looked down then, ice regarded fire as he leaned forward to steal from her another kiss.
Inside, Hannah offered the two the respect they deserved and dutifully tugged on her mother's sleeve to pull her away from the blinds. Let the two have their moment, questions could come later.
Sirene Naiads
Mega backlog
