Blindsided (7 page)

I laughed. “So it all worked out?”

“Yeah, I think so. I worry about people using her, but even at fourteen, she’s an excellent judge of character. She can look after herself.”

He spoke about his sister with such pride, it made me like him more. It was rare to find someone our age who would so openly admit to being close to his family.

We spent some more time talking about our families and friends, and I was happy to have the time to get to know him. Of course, there was still so much to learn about each other, but our time together was always going to be short. A week had already passed, and we’d only just started to connect.

You still have three weeks. Three whole weeks of spending time together.

We stayed in the coffee shop for an hour before starting the walk home. I was comfortable enough to reach for Jesse’s hand – a huge step for me – and when he looked down at me, I momentarily wondered if it was the wrong thing to do. But then he smiled. My heart gave a little jolt of joy. I felt it every time his lips curved upwards, and most especially when his eyes met mine. It was like a little ball of feelings growing between us, passing back and forth whenever we looked at each other.

How is that even possible? He’s only been in my life for seven days. Seven. We’ve been alone together three times, and we’re still learning the basics about each other. How can it feel this special so soon?

“Thanks for coming out with me,” he said, as we headed towards home. “I know with college, and Christmas and everything, it’ll be difficult but I hope we can do this again before I have to go home.”

“I think we can find some time. I don’t want to take you away from Hunter too much, though. I know you don’t get to see him much anymore.”

“No,” he sighed. “I don’t. That’s the worst thing about living in L.A. Don’t tell him I said this, but … I do miss him.”

“You must have made some new friends since you moved, though. What about the footballer Willow was talking about? What was his name again?”

“McCoy. He’s not really a friend. I’m good friends with his girlfriend, Leah, but him … he’s more of a work colleague than anything. There are a couple of other guys on the team I hang out with. It’s not the same as being around someone you’ve known your whole life, though.”

I nodded. “I know what you mean. That’s the good thing about being a twin. You’ve always got a best friend close by. At least for now, until we go to university. I think she plans to study abroad for a while.”

Jesse looked surprised. “What about Elliott?”

“Their relationship is solid. I think it can survive a year apart.”

“A year is a long time to be away from someone you love.”

“Yeah. But when two people love each other … they’ll figure out a way to make it work.”

Another look passed between us, and I gazed up at him with uncertainty. I hadn’t meant to imply that maybe we should consider a long distance relationship based on the one cup of coffee we had together. Although I was sure that was how it sounded.

“I think you’re right,” he said, stopping me as we turned on to my street. “And now I need to quit showing off my dorky romantic side, so you’ll think I’m cool again!”

“I like the dorky, romantic side,” I laughed. “And as for cool, well, I live here, in murky London. Compared to me, you’ll always be cool.”

Jesse pulled me into him, just like he had the night before, and my legs began to shake. “I think you’re pretty cool.”

“Thank you, but I’m really not.”

He shrugged. “I guess I’ll have to find a way to convince you.”

My heart started to beat faster as he put his hand to my cheek. It made me feel so safe when he did that. Like he was telling me there was nowhere else he wanted to be, and nothing could ever hurt me while he was around. Very slowly, he began to lean towards me. I so badly wanted him to kiss me, I could practically taste him, but panic surged through me and I pulled away.

He froze, his hand still in the air where, just a second before, it had been stroking my cheek. It would have been funny if I hadn’t been so embarrassed for freaking out.

“I’m sorry,” he said, stepping back. “Too fast.”

I shook my head. “No. It’s not. I just … Jesse, when I said guys don’t normally notice me, I wasn’t lying.”

I didn’t want to have to say it out loud.
My name’s Isabelle, I’m seventeen years old and nobody has kissed me before. Ever.
If that didn’t make him see how lame I was, nothing would. Jesse’s eyes widened as understanding seeped into his brain.

“Wow,” he said, staring at me as if I’d just told him I was from Mars. I thought he would be surprised, not horrified. I glared at him because there weren’t enough words to explain how much of an idiot his look made me feel. I turned to walk away, but he sped around in front of me, blocking my way.

“Stop.”

“Why? So you can keep staring at me like I’m some kind of alien species?”

Jesse took my hands in his. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to look at you that way, but … Isabelle, you’re so freakin’ cute. I don’t understand how nobody has ever kissed you before.”

I didn’t know whether to be annoyed with him for saying it, and making my embarrassment worse, or throw myself into his arms for being so sweet. So I didn’t move.

“We can slow down if you want,” he said. “There’s no pressure.”

It’s just a kiss, it’s not a big deal!

But it was a big deal. I’d waited this long for my first kiss, and the longer I waited, the more of a big deal it had become. Why hadn’t I got it over with during a game of Spin The Bottle when I was thirteen like everyone else?

“Let’s just go home,” Jesse said, squeezing my hands. “We’ll eat, and hang out with your family and we can go out again another time.”

“No,” I said. He didn’t move, I think he was afraid he might scare me away again. It was a valid concern. As sure as I was that I wanted to kiss him – God, I wanted to kiss him – I didn’t know if I trusted myself not to flip out again.

“You’re making me nervous,” he said.

“Me?” I laughed. “How?”

“I just … this is a big thing. You have a million expectations of how this should be, and I don’t want to ruin them.”

Silly me. I hadn’t even considered that Jesse was under pressure too. But if he was a rubbish kisser, how would I know? It’s not like I had anything to compare it to.

“Could we try again now, please?” I asked. “I’m ready.”

His fear helped calm my own, and this time I reached for him. His waist was firm. Lean, but muscly and I couldn’t help but wonder how he’d look with his shirt off. I imagined a perfect six pack underneath his blue t-shirt, and I allowed myself an internal swoon at the idea.

Calm down! You haven’t even kissed yet, and you’re already undressing him in your mind!

“Are you sure?” he asked, looking down at me with concern in his green eyes.

I nodded, even though my heart was banging so hard I thought it might leap right out of my chest.

Jesse smiled, and this time when he leaned in, I didn’t run away. My eyes closed, and as his lips lightly touched mine, everything else faded away. I couldn’t hear the cars, or feel the cold. I only felt him, warming me with his kiss.

Chapter
Seven – A Teddy Bear Disguised As A Player

Jesse

Lunch at the Mills’ house was … a little weird to say the least. Going out with Isabelle wasn’t just a big deal for us, it seemed to change the dynamic of the whole family. Georgia could barely hold in her excitement, and I just knew she couldn’t wait to drag Isabelle up to her room to discuss what happened. Janet and Andrew didn’t say or do anything to indicate how they felt about me and Isabelle, but I was sure if it was a problem they would have made it known earlier. Hunter was my biggest concern. He clearly had something to say, but I hoped for the sake of keeping the peace, he’d hold on to it until lunch was finished. Disrupting the family meal to discuss the death stare he kept throwing at me was not something I wanted to do.

After we ate, and I’d helped Janet with the washing up – because I’m polite, not because I’m a kiss-ass – Hunter hauled me upstairs, and into his bedroom.

Not for the first time, I wondered why he was given the masculine black and white room instead of the girly pink one, but I didn’t think my thoughts on interior design were what he wanted to hear.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked, as he closed the door. “Isabelle? Really?”

I didn’t know how to respond. What did he want from me? Was I meant to ask permission to date his cousin?

“When I told you not to hit on Georgia, I didn’t mean you should hit on Izzy instead!”

“Take it easy,” I said, as he squared up to me like we were about to have a fight. I knew he was protective of his family, but he’d never got up in my face before.

“Jesse, you can’t mess around with her. She’s a good girl.”

I took a step back from him. “Hey, who do you think you’re talking to? I don’t know who you hang out with at home now, but this is me. The guy who just got dicked over by a two-faced psychopath. I’m not messing around with Isabelle. I like her.”

His shoulders un-hunched but not so much that I was stupid enough to think his interrogation was over.

“You’re gonna hurt her,” he said. “Even if you don’t mean to, you will. She’s not tough like your last girlfriend, she’s -”

“I know what she’s like,” I interrupted. “I know I said I wouldn’t make a move on your cousins, but that was before I met Isabelle. I have no plans to hurt her.”

It sucked to hear Taylor mentioned in the same breath as Isabelle. There was no comparison. Part of Hunter’s concern, I was sure, had to do with him thinking I wasn’t over Taylor. It
had
only been a few months. Even to me, it felt a little crazy to think about someone new, but I couldn’t stop. I wanted to get to know her better.

Hunter sighed. “If we lived here, there is nobody else I would rather see her with. You’re one of those good guys who cares about feelings and shit, and I know you’d take care of her. But we
don’t
live here.”

It was pretty clear that he cared about “feelings and shit” too. Mentioning that while he was still getting to grips with the idea of me with Isabelle would have been a quick way to find myself with a black eye though, so I said nothing. Even though he was acting all tough and protective, and as much as he didn’t want to admit it, Hunter was one of the most big-hearted guys I knew. A girl friend of ours once described him as “a teddy bear disguised as a player.” That pretty much summed him up.

“Hunter, I swear I’d never do anything to hurt her, or you, or any of your family.”

“I know,” he said. “I just worry about the girls. Especially with that Leon creep around. Izzy got really weird when we talked about him at breakfast, like she was trying to play it down.”

“What did she say?”

“That she and Georgia can handle him. But she looked nervous. I think we should go to that party of Mischa’s and keep an eye on him.”

“You think he’s going to get an invite?” I laughed. “There’s no way Mischa would invite the guy who stalks her best friend to her party.”

“Sure, because invites matter when it comes to house parties,” Hunter said, rolling his eyes. “How many parties did we crash?”

He was right, we’d crashed many parties but none of them were held in places like Notting Hill. From what I knew of Mischa, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she hired doormen to keep out any unwanted guests. On the other hand, if Isabelle was going to the party, she might ask me to be her date and there was no way I was going to pass up the chance to be with her.

“Okay,” I said. “You’re right. We should be there. But … about Isabelle and me. Are you cool with it?”

To be fair, even if he said no, I probably wouldn’t have stayed away. I wasn’t willing to quit spending time with her before I’d really got to know her. But it meant a lot to me to have his support. I needed him to be okay with it.

Hunter gave me a small smile, and punched me lightly on the shoulder. “I’m cool. Just … be good to her, okay?”

“I will.”

On Monday, I thought I owed it to Hunter to prove that I wasn’t going to push him aside for Isabelle. He still hadn’t finished his project for school, so we spent the morning on the Mills’ computer, looking up facts and piecing together his assignment. Sure, he could have finished it on his own but it was quicker if I helped him. I used my smartphone to check facts while he typed up hundreds of words about the history of Buckingham Palace and the royal family. It was kind of interesting. The only thing we knew about the royals before the project was that Pippa Middleton had a great ass and technically, she wasn’t even a royal. By the time we were done, we’d learned far more information about them than we would ever need to know, but the assignment was complete, with the photos we had taken added in for good measure.

It was past lunchtime when we were done, so we had a quick bite to eat, then took the tube into central London.

Oxford Street was buzzing with Christmas shoppers. Since the first of December hit and we were officially in the holiday season, it seemed like everyone had started to panic, and were heading out in droves to buy their gifts.

I hadn’t experienced Christmas in L.A before so it was hard to compare, but in London, the festive spirit was definitely in the air, and not just because it was cold. The Christmas lights weren’t on yet but seeing them hanging overhead added to the atmosphere, and the displays in the shop windows were begging shoppers to come inside to spend their cash.

“Do you think we should buy some Christmas gifts while we’re here?” I asked as we walked past a huge book store.

“What kind of a guy are you?” Hunter asked. “Christmas gifts are always bought on Christmas Eve in a last minute panic.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I agree but we’re in London. Maybe we can try for something a little more thoughtful than gift certificates and chocolates.”

“Like statues of Big Ben, and models of red buses and black taxis?”

His words made me think of my friend, Leah. She loved tacky keepsakes. I was tempted to buy her one before remembering she used to live in London, and probably had a full collection already.

“Maybe not,” I laughed. “But I guess we should have something to take home as a reminder of the trip.”

“Besides an ever growing stomach from Aunt Janet’s cooking, you mean?”

“Dude, that woman is a domestic goddess. It would be rude to turn down those meals!”

Although Hunter was kidding around, I had been careful about my weight. I couldn’t afford to get too out of shape, even off-season, so I tried to avoid fried food and take healthier options when we ate out. In spite of my efforts, going back to the gym when I got home would probably still kill me.

“You might be right,” Hunter said. “It couldn’t hurt to look around for gifts. You know where I always wanted to go? Hamley’s.”

I grinned. “Hell yeah.”

London’s most enormous toy store was probably not an obvious place for two eighteen-year-old guys to want to see, but, what can I say? We were both big kids, and the chance to return to our childhood for a couple of hours was too good to miss.

We hopped on a bus, and a short while later, we were faced with the mother of all toy stores. The entire front of the huge building was sparkling with Christmas lights. It was kind of awesome before we even stepped through the doors, and I was instantly transported back to my childhood. The look of joy on Hunter’s face made me laugh out loud as we stepped through the entrance.

“Is this actually Santa’s workshop?” Hunter asked. The store was alive with activity as shoppers bustled through the aisles. A real sense of happiness filled the air, with many friendly apologies and laughs heard when people accidentally knocked into each other as they tried to squeeze through the crowds. Boxes of toys were stacked high, and many were out on display for people to see. Staff were answering questions and directing customers to different places in the store.

“You know, I think it might just be.” I laughed.

I had honestly never seen anything like Hamley’s. Not in real life, anyway. There’s this really old movie called
Big
, where Tom Hanks gets to work for a toy manufacturer, and spends time in a similar store, playing with the stock. I always wanted to go there, and this was as close to it as I’d ever been.

We made our way to the boys’ toys, most importantly to the train sets and radio controlled cars where I had to talk Hunter out of buying himself a radio controlled helicopter. We did, however, pool our money together in a very childlike way to buy a small Lego set. It was an impulse. We were so high on the buzz of the store, we didn’t want to leave without giving Hamley’s some of our money.

As we wound our way through the crowds, I grabbed Hunter’s jacket to stop him. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a queue of people watching an enthusiastic store worker stuffing a teddy bear. I walked towards them, with Hunter following me and as we got closer, I noticed there was a selection of bears and rows and rows of clothes to dress them in.

“Legos were fine,” Hunter said. “But I draw the line at soft toys.”

“It’s not for me, you idiot,” I laughed. “Kayla would love one of these.”

She would too. As cool as she pretended to be, my sister still loved anything fluffy and girly. What caught my attention about these bears was that every time the staff member added stuffing to the bear, she had the customer choose a silky material heart to put inside it. It probably would have meant more to Kayla if she could pick her own heart, but since she couldn’t, I’d step up and do it for her.

“Hmm, now you mention it,” Hunter said, “I have a five-year-old cousin back home who might like one too.”

“Let’s get in line!”

Any sense of manliness left both of us as we spent forever choosing the right bear colour, heart colour and clothes for our purchases. I settled on a dark brown bear, with a pale pink heart (which you couldn’t see when the bear had been stuffed, but it still seemed important), and a pink tutu. Kayla had been doing ballet since she was six, so I knew it was a good choice.

With our shopping done, I looked at my watch and said, “Holy crap. We’ve been in here for four hours!”

“It felt like thirty minutes,” Hunter laughed. “Can we come here every day?”

“I think we’d be broke pretty quick if we did. We should think about getting back. It’s almost dinner time.”

Plus, I was dying to see Isabelle.

Hunter nodded. “Yeah, let’s go.”

On the way home, we made a plan to bolt to our rooms and hide our shopping before anyone could see. Unfortunately, the plan failed when we walked through the door just as Isabelle was heading out of the living room. Catching sight of the bears peeking over the tops of our bags, she burst out laughing.

“Good day?” she asked.

Under normal circumstances, I’d have been embarrassed, but the sound of her laugh distracted me from humiliation. Her smile was beautiful, and I was tempted to take out the bear I’d just bought and give it to her, like I was hypnotised into showering her with gifts.

Man the hell up!

She was making me uncool.

“Oh, come on,” Hunter said, “Is there anything sexier than guys who are in touch with their feminine side?”

“Being in touch with your feminine side is fine, but teddies? I think you might be taking it too far.”

When she smiled again, her eyes resting on me, Hunter took the hint and went upstairs, leaving us alone in the hallway.

“It’s for my sister,” I said, nodding towards the ballet bear.

“No need to explain,” Isabelle giggled, and I put the bag down at the bottom of the stairs. We stood awkwardly for a moment, neither of us sure whether it was okay to kiss in her home. After a minute of unbearable tension, I smiled and took her hand.

“How was your day?” I asked.

“Not as much fun as yours by the looks of it,” she said, “Just got a new ‘fun’ photography assignment to take shots of seasonal things so we can make Christmas cards. Oh, no,” she corrected. “
Holiday
cards. Christmas is a bad word because of all the politically correct nonsense. I don’t know why we can’t just say ‘Christmas,’ that’s what it is and everyone knows it.”