Blindsided (8 page)

Her rant amused me. Her words became more clipped and British sounding. It was sexy as hell.

“What are you grinning at?” she asked.

“Nothing,” I said. “I was just wondering if you wanted me to dress up as an elf so you can take a picture for your card.”

“Ha, that would be brilliant until all of your football friends found out about it. Unless you don’t mind public humiliation?”

“I spend most of my life trying to avoid that,” I told her, drawing her into me.

Isabelle put her hands on my waist, and looked up at me uncertainly. The sensible side of me wanted to hug her to me and protect her. The other side wanted to kiss her until her innocence was replaced with experience.

May as well start now.

I lowered my head, touching her lips with mine. It was even better than our first kiss because there wasn’t as much pressure or fear. She tasted sweet. Like hot chocolate.

I loved how she just fit against me, every curve moulding against me. It was far too girly to say that it felt like she was meant for me but … it did feel that way.

Hunter’s footsteps thundering back down the stairs caused Isabelle and me to look up. We both twitched like we were going to break apart, but in the end, we stayed where we were. Hunter met my eye, smiling, and I knew everything really was cool between us.

Chapter
Eight – Not That Kind Of Girl

Isabelle

Being with Jesse was fast becoming my favourite way to spend time. Even though we were living in a house full of my family, we always managed to find an hour or two to be alone together. Usually at the coffee shop, or in my room. My parents insisted we keep the door open – which I found ridiculous – what kind of girl did they think I was? I’d only just been kissed for the first time, I wasn’t about to lose my virginity in the same week. Jesse was the only person I’d ever even thought about going that far with, but it was just that. An idea. More than anything else, I just wanted to get to know him.

“So, what
have
you and Jesse been getting up to in your bedroom?” Willow asked, winking as she bit into her tuna sandwich.

We had an hour to kill before our photography class, and as usual, we found ourselves in the cafeteria, cuddling mugs of steaming coffee to keep us warm.

I rolled my eyes. “Why are you so obsessed with that? Just because we happen to be sitting on my bed, doesn’t automatically mean we’re going to roll around on it.”

“I know, but … it must be tempting.”

My cheeks flushed as I thought about sitting with him, watching movies with him behind me, his arms around me, holding my hands.

Yup, very tempting, but not a serious consideration

“Well, he is gorgeous, and sweet, and everything I’d look for in a boyfriend,” I told her. “But, he isn’t really my boyfriend.”

“And?”

“And, I’m not planning to take things too far with him when I know he’s going home soon.”

“If you ask me, that’s even more reason to get on with it,” Willow said, her face serious. “You only have a couple of weeks with him, and you just said he’s everything you want. Is there really someone better than him you’d want to have sex with?”

“Why is everything about sex?” I asked, frustrated with having the same conversation over and over. “I didn’t come to college to sleep with a random guy from class just because everyone’s doing it. And just because I like Jesse, doesn’t mean I have to have sex with him. Why can’t things just … be?”

Willow put her sandwich down, and reached for my hand. “I’m sorry. I get it, and believe me, I’m in no rush to have sex either. But it feels like a weight around my neck. Seventeen years old and still a virgin? Telling a guy that makes them look at you like you’re a freak!”

I knew this to be true. At least, in her experience. A few months before she was seeing a really good-looking guy she met at a party. He had a bit of a reputation, but he was sweet to her at first. When she told him she’d never had sex before, he laughed. He actually laughed at her, then told his friends who, months later, still mocked her every time they saw her. I couldn’t understand what the big deal was. Seventeen is only a year over the legal age of consent. Maybe the fact that so many people start having sex at a young age was what made it so funny to some. When I was at high school,  that was the last thing on my mind. Literally. I was more concerned with getting good grades than how many boys I could kiss, and certainly not how many boys I could sleep with.

“What happened to you was horrible,” I said. “But I’d still rather have people thinking I’m weird than sleep with someone just to get it over with.”

“But Jesse isn’t ‘just someone’. He’s lovely.”

“Yes, he is,” I smiled. “But I still need to get to know him a lot better.”

I thought a lot about Willow’s words. I really could see her point about not wasting time with Jesse, but I also knew myself well enough to know that I wasn’t close to being ready for taking such a huge step. Sometimes I wished I was more like Georgia. If she was confused or concerned before she had sex for the first time, she never mentioned it. I suppose that could partly have been because she had more experienced friends to turn to. But even if that was true, she still talked to me about boy stuff. That’s probably how I got so paranoid.

In the lead up to the holidays, classes were always a little more relaxed, and aside from a very silly “Design a Holiday Card” assignment in Photography, we mostly sat around chatting. For me, that was the best thing about college. Lecturers were so much more laid back than school teachers. They worked us hard, but they also knew when to back off, and Christmas was one of those times. We’d been slacking off for the last three weeks, so much so that quite a few people stopped showing up. My parents would have been unimpressed if they found out I’d been skiving, so Willow and I kept going to class, and spent the time talking.

“I really think we should stop wasting our time coming here and spend the time drinking coffee,” Willow said, as we headed out of class after another work-free hour. “We could do the same thing we just did in the cafeteria, but with frequent drinks and an endless supply of snacks.”

“Yes,” I laughed. “But I would hate to ruin my perfect attendance record for the sake of some coffee and Kit Kats.”

“Oh, you know you love Kit Kats!”

I swatted her arm, and laughing, we headed down the corridor.

“Well, that’s disappointing.”

Willow and I jumped back as Leon rounded the corner, as if he’d been lurking there waiting for us. Knowing him, he probably was.

“What’s disappointing?” Willow asked, curiously.

I’d planned to keep walking, and Willow should have known better than to ask questions where Leon was concerned. The leer on his face made me shiver.

“It’s disappointing that Isabelle has covered up her legs and gone back to wearing her nun clothes.”

Nun clothes. I couldn’t recall ever seeing a nun in jeans and a thick winter coat, but whatever.

“Go to hell,” Willow said, linking her arm through mine and dragging me away.

“Wait,” Leon called after us. “I’m willing to give you a second chance, Isabelle. Just make sure you wear something that shows off your cleavage a bit more next time!”

I felt my cheeks flaming, partly with embarrassment, and partly with anger. How could he shout that out in the hall, where there were people walking around? Luckily, Willow and I had reached the doors to go outside so we didn’t have to see anyone staring, but that didn’t make me feel any better. It was bad enough he spent so much time making Georgia’s life a misery. I didn’t want to have to put up with him too.

“Urgh,” Willow said. “What is
wrong
with him?”

“I have no idea, and I don’t want to know. If there is one reason I’ll be glad to leave college, it’s because I won’t have to see him again.”

“Izzy! Wait up!”

Georgia and Mischa were running across the car park towards us. I’d forgotten their psychology class just ended. The idea of Mischa studying psychology always amused me. I was sure the only reason she took the class was so she could figure out the mechanics of the male mind in order to learn to seduce them more easily. Not that she needed the help. She managed well on her own.

“Hi,” Georgia said. “Are you heading home now?”

I nodded, and we all started to walk together. “Yeah, it’s too cold to do anything else.”

“Wimps,” Mischa said. “It’s never too cold for shopping.”

“I disagree,” Georgia laughed, rubbing her gloved hands together. “I just want to get a hot drink and snuggle under a blanket in front of the TV.”

“Me too,” I told her.

“Well, you have a hot boy at home waiting for you,” Mischa said, with a hint of a sneer. It was clear she was wondering what he saw in me. “I bet you two get up to all sorts of things under the covers.”

She winked to give the impression she was joking, but it was obvious that she wasn’t. I didn’t even feel the need to waste my breath answering her.

“What’s wrong?” Georgia asked, looking at me with concern.

“Run-in with Leon,” Willow explained. “He’s such a skank.”

“What did he do?”

“Asked me if I want to go out with him, as long as I show off my boobs.”

Mischa laughed. “The man’s got a point. You would be really cute if you just put a bit of effort into your appearance.”

“Mischa!” Georgia said. “I think you’re missing the point. Leon is disgusting.”

She shrugged. “I’m just saying, it wouldn’t hurt her to show a bit of flesh sometimes.”

“Some of us dress to be comfortable, not to be stared at by random guys,” I said. “And if dressing in short skirts with my cleavage showing attracts people like Leon, I’d rather not.”

“He didn’t … say anything else, did he?” Georgia asked.

I shook my head. “We walked away before he could get any more offensive.”

Georgia was usually tough, but Leon was the one person who really made her nervous. I couldn’t blame her for feeling that way. He had given her more than enough reasons to be afraid. The worst was when he followed her home from a club one night. She’d called me as she walked along the dark streets, and I’ve honestly never got out of bed so fast. I threw on some clothes and sped out to meet her. By the time I got there, she was trembling, and Leon only backed off when he realised she wouldn’t be making the rest of the journey alone. Even though he’d never actually hurt her, there was something threatening about the way he looked at her. I wasn’t sure I could handle it if he started stalking me too.

“Maybe we should … keep this between us,” Georgia suggested. “I don’t want Mum and Dad to worry. You know what they’re like.”

“I do. But I also said I’d tell them if anything happened with Leon.”

“Nothing happened,” Mischa said, rolling her eyes. “He’s male. He said he thinks you’d look hot with your knockers out. Big deal. Most guys think those things.”

“Most guys keep it to themselves,” Willow said. “I think it’s known as common decency. You’ve probably never heard of it, seeing as how you’re usually the one flashing your boobs at anyone who asks.”

I had to fight to stop a snort of laughter slipping out. She was absolutely right, but it was never a good thing when Mischa and Willow started bickering, so I pulled Willow away and we walked on ahead. Only then did I start giggling. Behind us, I could hear Mischa swearing.

“I never understood why your sister likes her,” Willow said. “She’s such a bitch!”

“I know, I don’t get it either. I think it’s partly because Georgia has always been in the popular crowd, and Mischa is definitely one of the more … admired girls here.”

“What’s to admire?”

“How about her long legs, shiny hair, pretty face and oodles of money?”

Willow made a face. “Still doesn’t make up for her being a superficial slapper.”

“That’s true. Are you coming to her party at the weekend?”

“Isabelle, that might have been the stupidest question you’ve ever asked. Do you think she’d even let me through the door?”

“Maybe I won’t go either. Elliott can take care of Georgia, and I can do something substantially more fun with Jesse.”

“No,” Willow said, shaking her head. “You have to go. If only to rub it in that you got Jesse and she didn’t!”

I grinned. “Is it wrong that I feel smug about that?”

“Not at all. In fact, if I were you, I’d be rubbing it in a lot more!”

“I’m not that kind of girl, and you know it. But maybe, just this once, I could make an exception!”

Chapter
Nine – I Hope She Can’t Read Minds

Jesse

I couldn’t believe half of my vacation was over already. It felt like just a couple days ago Hunter and I landed at Heathrow airport. In another two weeks, we’d be back there again, ready to go home. I was looking forward to being at home for Christmas, but leaving Isabelle behind was already starting to depress me in ways I was ashamed to admit. Isabelle had everything the girls I’d met in L.A. were missing. She was smart without being arrogant about it. And talented? Hell, that girl’s photos were exceptional. She was beautiful, shy, caring and funny without even trying. Being away from her was going to suck.

Hunter had told me, very firmly, that we were going to Mischa’s party, and I was cool with it because Isabelle already asked me to be her date. Elliott wasn’t going to make it because he’d already planned to celebrate his friend’s 21
st
birthday. That’s what he said, anyway. I got the impression he just wasn’t crazy about Mischa. So that was even more reason for us to be there. To make sure – if Leon showed up –he wouldn’t get near either of the girls and ruin their night.

Before that, we had an epic day trip planned. Isabelle and Georgia had excitedly approached Hunter and me during the week and asked us to go someplace called Winter Wonderland. In the lead up to Christmas, Hyde Park turned into some kind of winter theme park, with rides, market stalls and different kinds of food and drink from around the world. It sounded like a blast, especially the rides.

On Saturday morning, Janet drove us to Hyde Park, and at eleven a.m, the place was already buzzing. An attack of colour hit our eyes as we approached. From the sign announcing we were about to enter Winter Wonderland, to the rows of rides and stalls. It was a little overwhelming. The delight on Isabelle and Georgia’s faces made Hunter and me laugh. I was pretty sure it was the same way we’d looked when we were in Hamley’s.

“Okay,” Georgia said. “Because it’s freezing, I vote we get hot chocolate to warm us up!”

She bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, and Isabelle said, “We have to wait for Willow first.”

“Oops,” Georgia giggled.

Hunter and I exchanged an amused glance at the girls’ excitement. It wasn’t long before Willow arrived, dressed in her usual bright clothes. Her coat was red, her gloves yellow, her boots purple, and her jeans were an unusually boring blue. My concern was, she might get mistaken for part of the scenery.

I took Isabelle’s hand as the five of us entered the park, and she gave me a warm smile.

“So, are you going to be trying out all the scary rides today?” she asked.

“Depends. Will you be joining me?”

“Maybe. If I don’t, Willow will definitely be up for it. She loves them.”

“Really?” I laughed. “She looks like the kind of person who likes to keep her feet on the ground.”

Isabelle shook her head. “She’s a daredevil.”

She wasn’t kidding. We made the decision to try out the more daring rides before lunch, hoping to avoid any embarrassing throw up issues. I always thought I was pretty brave, but Winter Wonderland had some rides I couldn’t even look at without feeling nauseous. The biggest looked like a gigantic robotic arm, with four long rows of seats on the end of it in a cross shape. It seemed pretty harmless when it first started up, with the arm just swinging back and forth, but then it swung upside down, and each of the rows of seats also rotated, making the insane people who paid to go on it scream. Willow had grabbed Hunter and dragged him on with her. After what seemed like an hour of them spinning around, they returned to the ground, a little green, but laughing as they struggled to regain their balance.

“Oh my God!” Georgia said, linking her arm through Willow’s to keep her upright. “I can’t believe you just went on that thing!”

“It was awesome!” Hunter said. “I want to do it again, but I’m not sure my stomach can take it just yet!”

“I don’t know how your stomach could take it at all,” Isabelle laughed. “I really think I’d have died from fear!”

“It was a bit scary,” Willow admitted. “It feels like you’re going to fall out, but before you have a chance to take it in, it swings around again.”

“So, you ready for lunch, then?” I teased.

Willow and Hunter looked at each other and let out a groan. “Give us at least half an hour,” Willow said. “Maybe then my breakfast will have stopped swishing around in my stomach!”

We all laughed as we walked away, and Isabelle and I walked ahead, while Georgia tried to keep Hunter and Willow on their feet.

“This place is amazing,” I said. “I can’t believe that for the rest of the year, this is just a normal park.”

It was hard to imagine the amount of work it must have taken to get it all set up. It probably wasn’t so hard to get the market stalls and food vendors in, but there were much bigger things like the rides, and a huge German tavern where you could go inside and have German food and drink. Hunter and I wanted to sample some of the beers from around the world, but we both agreed that we needed to be at least half sober to keep an eye on the girls at the party later.

Isabelle was looking at some knitted hats in the shape of different animals, and while she was engrossed, I took a reindeer hat and put it on.

“What do you think?” I asked, tapping her on the shoulder.

When she turned to look at me, she burst out laughing. “You look cute. So cute, in fact, I think you should buy it and wear it for the rest of the day.”

“You want me to ruin my image by walking around with Rudolph on my head?” I asked, feigning coolness. “Woman, please.”

She laughed harder, and put her arms around me. “Don’t ever say that again.”

Her lips met mine, and suddenly, being cool didn’t matter. “I’ll wear one if you do.”

“Deal,” she said, turning back to the stand to choose a suitable animal for her.

“What are you guys doing?” Hunter asked, as he, Georgia and Willow approached.

“Buying hats,” Isabelle told him. “And now we’re all here, maybe we should all get one.”

“Yay, let’s!” Willow agreed, slotting in beside Isabelle to browse.

“Really?” Hunter laughed. “You are so whipped.”

“I am not! I’m just having a little fun while I’m here where nobody knows me.”

I wouldn’t have dreamed of wearing a ridiculous hat in L.A. Not only because it was usually too hot, but also because, wearing a reindeer hat in public would lead to confiscation of my man card.

“You gotta get one,” I said. “Be a dork with me, just for today.”

He grinned. “Okay,” he said. “Just for today.”

Along with my reindeer, Isabelle chose a black cat hat, Willow chose a bunny, Georgia went for a penguin and Hunter picked a lion. Before we left, Isabelle asked the stall owner to take a few photos of us, so we could capture the silliness on camera forever.

A little later, we finally grabbed lunch from one of the many kiosks, and sat inside a Christmas themed shelter. It was designed to look like Santa’s grotto, I think, with lots of decorations and a big tree with fake gifts underneath. There was a lot of laughter over lunch as we discussed which things we wanted to see again, and whether we could handle going on any more rides.

Isabelle really wanted to skate on the ice rink before we left. I was a little nervous because risking a break, or even a sprain wasn’t something I’d planned. On the other hand, the opportunity to hold hands with Isabelle like all the other skating couples was worth it.

“Have you ever skated before?” Isabelle asked, snuggling in to me. I wrapped my arm around her to keep her warm.

“Not since I was a kid,” I replied. “I went a few times with Hunter, but we were both useless so we stopped going.”

“Georgia and I always go at Christmas. It feels like a Christmassy thing to do.”

“It sure does. But I should warn you, I’m going to spend most of my time on my ass.”

“That’s okay,” Isabelle laughed. “I probably will too. I’m okay at skating, but Georgia’s the expert. She’s a natural on the ice. I’m a bit like Bambi learning to walk.”

“I guess we’ll have to hold each other up.”

She looked into my eyes, and a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran through me. Her cat hat made her look even cuter than usual, and instead of skating, I wanted to carry her somewhere away from people so I could kiss her the way I wanted to. Not that I couldn’t kiss her in public, but … I really wanted to be alone with her.

We hadn’t had enough alone time. I was glad for every second we’d had, watching a movie together, or grabbing a coffee, but it was rarely just the two of us. There was always somebody else around. I didn’t want to be alone with her to try and get in her pants. Not that I hadn’t thought about it. But mostly, I just wanted to have her to myself for a while.

“Jesse,” Isabelle said, grinning. “What are you thinking about?”

Shit, I hope she can’t read minds!

“I was thinking about how much fun we’re gonna have at the party tonight,” I told her, and she laughed.

“If you say so. Are you really sure you want to go?”

“Honestly? I would rather set fire to my own head than go to Mischa’s party, but Hunter wants to go and I promised I’d be there with him.”

“I know,” she moaned, burying her head into my shoulder. “If it’s really awful, I’m leaving early. It’s not as if Mischa wants me there anyway. She only invites me to places because I’m Georgia’s sister. Half the time, I think Georgia makes her ask me. It’s a nice thought, but I would much prefer to be left out of Mischa’s plans.”

“Maybe Georgia isn’t asking for your sake. Maybe she’s asking for hers.”

Isabelle looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, “You’re probably right about that. I just never looked at it that way before.”

Before we could delve any further into Georgia’s mind, it was our turn to get onto the ice. We paid for our tickets, got our skates on, and hand in hand, stepped onto the ice. Hunter, Georgia and Willow were right behind us and we carefully started to make our way around the rink. Well, Isabelle and I were careful. Georgia sped off like a rocket, and Hunter and Willow glided along beside each other.

“How come they’re all better than us?” Isabelle asked, clinging on to my hand so tightly I thought she’d shut off my blood supply.

“I don’t know. I think they’re just less afraid than we are. We’re taking tiny steps, but they’re less cautious.”

“Story of my life.”

I looked down at her for a second, wondering what else she meant. I didn’t push it though. I was happy with the pace we were going. Slow and steady.

We survived the skating, all completely unscathed. It was almost time for Janet to pick us up though, so we walked towards the exit. On the way, Hunter pulled me to one side.

“What are you doing?” I asked, as he ripped me away from Isabelle’s side and dragged me away from the others.

“Sorry, man. But I need some guy time after being with girls all day.”

“Oh come on, like you didn’t love it!”

Hunter laughed. “Shut up and listen. I’m bringing Willow to the party tonight.”

“You’re what?” I asked, my eyes bulging out of my head. “Wh … How did that happen?”

“Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but she is a kick-ass chick! So, I asked her to come with me. As my date.”

“I thought you wanted to hook up with Mischa?”

Hunter shrugged. “I did. But Willow’s more … I don’t know … I just like her better.”

I knew from Isabelle that Mischa and Willow hated each other, but telling Hunter would only have made him more determined to bring her. I chose to stay quiet, and let the fireworks unfold later.