by Mia Ford
Isaac wasn’t lying about being a regular at the restaurant. The moment we walk in the waiter standing a podium with a sign. “Good evening Isaac.” The front manager greets him with a wink and a smile. Isaac responds with the same friendly gesture.
“We haven’t seen you for a few days.”
Isaac smiles, “Yes, I had to spend time with my granddad on his ranch.”
The Front Manger smiles at me, then back to Isaac, “Do you want your usual table?”
“Yes, and we’ll like a bottle of Cotes du Rhone wine.”
I start to ask what kind of wine that is, but as I follow him to the table, Isaac smiles and says, “You’ll love the wine.”
An older waiter who looks Italian bring us some breadsticks and a small shallow dish with olive oil.
I glance at Isaac because I’m completely lost and feel pathetic that as much as I love lasagne, I’ve never eaten it in an Italian restaurant. Only when they’ve had an Italian night in town at the local bar. That’s when I first sampled it and ever since then I checked out the recipe on the net and made it once in a while.
He smiles reassuringly, “You dip the bread in the olive oil.”
“Damn, is it so obvious that I haven’t got a clue what to do with everything?”
He laughs,“That’s what I like about you. You are sort of unspoiled like the air in the country.”
“I guess that’s a nice way to say I’m a country bumpkin.”
We both chuckle. I like hearing Isaac laugh.
“Ah, was granddad upset yesterday when I moved back to my apartment,” Isaac asks, suddenly turning serious.
“A little, but I think he understands, but he just wants what’s best for you.”
“Yeah, well I’m a big boy living in the city. Not the boy that he raised so many years ago. Sometimes he has a hard time distinguishing between the two of us,” he lets out a sigh as he pours us glasses of water. “He needs to let go, and maybe I do too.”
“I’m confused, what you mean about you need do the same?”
He doesn’t answer as the waiter interrupts and brings the bottle of red wine. He pours Isaac a little in his wine glass, and it’s just like in the movies. Isaac takes a small sip and nods his head at the waiter who then pours wine into my glass before give more to Isaac. I taste the wine, and I raise my eyebrows thinking that I would love to say that I hate it. Just for the sake of it, but it’s not in my nature to do that.
I put my glass down and say, “I could get used to this type of lifestyle.”
He smiles at me in a way that he never has before.
The rest of the meal is delightful. I realize as I set the table from Isaac that I don’t want the magical moments to end. I’m afraid that when we walk out, we’ll end up bickering like we did at the ranch. But the mood follows us out in the hot, humid Houston night air.
“Now, I get to show you my apartment. I think you’ll be impressed. It’s decorated in Johnnie Versace.”
“Was he gunned down on the stoops of his house in Miami?” I ask suddenly recalling an old new report.
“Yes, and the world lost a great designer.”
“I remember that he was expensive,” I’m thinking about one day having my home. A place that I can have for my own and decorate it the way the way that I want to have it.
“I guess so,” Isaac replies, “Right here we are!”
He says as he parks outside an apartment block, and I don’t know if this is a good idea. Not only is it late, and I have no underwear or any clothes, but this place is chic. Back on the ranch, I’m in my comfort zone, as we enter his apartment I’m afraid to walk on the white carpet. I start to take my shoes off, but Isaac shakes his head.
“Don’t worry about it,” he says.
The tour of the apartment leaves me overwhelmed. Once the tour is over, he stops at one of his two guest bedrooms. “This one is yours, don’t worry there’s things a toothbrush, bathe robe and towels.”
I laugh, “Do you have underwear in there too?”
He shakes his head, “Sorry, I don’t.”
There’s an awkward silence between us as if he doesn’t know what to say, but I know how I feel. I want him to tell me that he doesn’t want this night to end. Not to just drop me off at my bedroom.
“I don’t think I’ve ever slept in bed as big as that,” I say nodding toward the huge round bed. Then he grabs my arm and spins me towards him. His lips are on mine, in a kiss, he did what I expected him to do all day and gave up hope. I didn’t think that Isaac was interested until now. I thought that he was thinking of me as a little sister, one so inexperienced that he had to give instructions to in a restaurant.
He crushes his face against mine, sandwiches my body between his chest as his tongue explores my mouth greedily while darting in between it. Whereas his fingers prowl my shoulders, back and the nape of my neck. I’m trying to kiss him back, but I can’t as he’s so powerful and determined that I feel as if so helpless compared to Isaac.
I feel the throbbing building against my stomach, and I feel confident that I’m not going to be sleeping in this bed tonight.
That’s when he takes me by surprise and pulls back.
“Shit! I’m sorry I shouldn’t have done that. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Why?
Why does he back away now, the first time that I’ve known that he’s been interested and he leaves me hanging. I can’t get to sleep now. I decide that I’m going to need a cold shower, one that will stop me from going to the room next door and begging Isaac to finish what he started only a few seconds ago.
Chapter 7
Isaac
God, I bet he sent her! Granddad’s trying to manipulate me! Do this! You should do that. It’s for your good!
My lips still tingling from the passionate kiss and I shake my head as I enter the bedroom. I didn’t realize she was so hot blooded. I pause to rearrange my cock. It’s pressing painfully against my zipper. I need to have a cold shower, I’ve resisted touching her all this time. I’m not about to give it all up now, especially when granddad’s pushing me into a corner.
Fuck it!
Cold showers not even going to do or get rid of the anger that’s boiling inside of me right now. I pick up the phone and decide to have it out with him.
“Hello,” Granddad answers after the second ring.
“It’s me, Isaac! Did you send her to get me! And don’t lie to me, Granddad. I’ll find out the truth!”
I decide that with my painful hard-on and knowing that Olivia’s next door. I’ll just have it out with him. I can’t deal with any of this pussy footing around.
“Isaac, no, I didn’t even know she was there until she called me this afternoon. I thought she’ll change her mind about coming to Houston. She’s tried a couple of times and each time she chickens out. I couldn’t believe it when she said that she actually made it.”
“You didn’t tell her to come see me? Are you sure?”
I’m still not convinced that he’s telling me the truth. He hasn’t done it until now, why should it be any different. Besides this conversation’s useless. He’s not going to tell me the truth on the phone. I’m not sure why I’m even calling him.
“No, I wouldn’t even want her to drive on I-10. That road’s hell,” he sounds out of breath as if maybe he was in bed or something and the phone call woke him up.
“Well, she showed up at the office this morning and asked me if I wanted to go for coffee. I was sure that you sent her.” My voice softens a bit as I start to calm down, “So why did she come?”
“Isaac, haven’t you guessed the truth about her yet, that she’s a decent girl, country girl. Hell, she’s a cowgirl and the reason that I wanted you to get married. She's the type that’ll stay with you through thick and thin. Olivia’s so damn reliable that you can put a clock behind her and she’ll stick at the right time.”
“So you think that I need a clock to get on the straight and narrow?”
“No! What you need is someone to bring you out of the darkness, so that you can stop punishing yourself for the past. She reminds me a lot of your grandma. That’s why I like her so much.”
“More than Dede?”
Granddad says, “That’s not fair. I’m not going to compare the woman that you loved and lost to Olivia. But I will say this; she’s different. Dede decided to keep from you that she was carrying your baby. She knew the risks, and she was willing to take them.”
I cough, feeling the need for a drink as he relives my life. The part that I’m trying to keep deeply buried, “Dede was keeping our child to bring us together. I was too busy working and trying to get over mom’s death to see what was going on.”
Granddad sighs as we’ve had this decision so many times, “Son, we don’t know why she did it. All we know is that with her genetic heart defect, she shouldn’t ever be pregnant let alone attempt to have babies. She was offered the chance to have a hysterectomy, and she chose not to have one. That has nothing to do with you or I. That was her decision.”
There’s a moment of silence as I manage to find my whiskey bottle and debate whether to start drinking it. My erection that I had thinking about Olivia has turned my cock into a limp one. The same it does every time I talk about the past. I don’t even care about getting it on. All I can think about is talking to Dede. Telling her that it doesn’t matter if she can’t have children. I love her and getting down on one knee and giving her the one thing that she wanted, marriage. Grandad’s right no one knows what Dede was thinking, all I know is that I saw her when she was seven months pregnant on our bathroom floor begging me to help her up. By the time I did and took her to the hospital, it was too late. Our baby had died before then, and Dede did shortly after our baby.
Granddad clears his throat, “So, did you two have fun?”
The hope that I hear in his voice irritates me. I try to keep in mind that he’s an old man. One that’s supposedly dying, but the more I think about it. The more I doubt that even that’s true, but he knows what I’ve been through. He wouldn’t dare lie about that.
“Yeah, it was nice. Nice.”
“Where is she now?”
“In the guest bedroom, next to mine.”
“Really?”
“I didn’t realize that you were such a dirty old man, Granddad. I know what’s going through your mind.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Right. Okay, I’m going to bed . . . Alone!”
“Have a good night, son and I’ll see you at the ranch tomorrow.”
“’Bye!” I say and hang up.
I put my cell phone away. As I climb into bed and leave the bottle by the side. I decide to take Olivia to the office with me tomorrow morning. If things go well, I’ll take her out to lunch and drive her around town to show her more of Houston. I did enjoy today for the first time in a long time I had the opportunity to relax. Maybe granddad’s right, and she’s a welcome distraction, for the first time I never thought about Dede and our baby until tonight, but I don’t feel guilty about moving on. If anything, I think of it as a welcome relief.
Chapter Eight
Olivia
I hear a loud knock on the door. It's so loud that it scares me and I jump up the moment I realize that it’s Isaac thumping at the door, "Olivia wake-up!
“Go away!” I want to shout out, but I don’t I just whisper it while covering my head underneath the covers. I don’t want to get out of these silk sheets. Doesn’t he know that the bed coverings that I have in the cottage are nothing compared to this, I could sleep here all week.
“We’re going for breakfast, get up.”
Now, he’s not on the other side of the door. I have no clothes on, and I’m naked underneath the covers. If I were confident enough to seduce him, then I would just take off the covers and stand naked in front of him. But I can’t even if I knew how to do it.
Like a mouse I whisper, “I have no clothes on.”
I’m waiting for a reaction from him. Instead, he just blurts out, “Well get in the shower and get ready. We’re going to breakfast.”
I’m so damn confused, one minute he’s just kissing me and the next he’s talking to me as if we’re friends. We’re not. He should want me, but then he doesn’t. Damn it Isaac, what do you want?
I think as I take off the covers and pop my head out wondering if he’s still in the room. When I see that he’s gone. I should be relieved, but I’m not. I was hoping that he’ll still be around.
I didn’t sleep; the pounding headache doesn’t escape me as I try and stand up to figure out what I’m going to wear. That’s when I see neatly laid on the side, a new set of underwear. Wow, he must have gone to buy it while I was sleeping. My old set is next to it, so that’s how he knew the size. That was thought of him as well as the jeans and shirt next to it. It’s as if he’s thought of everything. Anything. But being with me.
I should be happy; I think as my toes sink into the cream carpet and I stretch out in the room. Then I see that he’s drawn the curtains and someone could see me, so I hurry into the bathroom and have a shower. Just like he said there's a robe and everything that I need to freshen up including a toothbrush. I quickly shower and pin my hair back. I could dry it, but that would take ages and the way that he was trying to get me to get ready. I’m assuming that time isn’t on our side.
As I put my clothes on, it doesn’t take long for me to find Isaac. He’s standing just outside my door. I wonder if he was debating whether to come in or not this whole time? Why does he keep backing away?
“You were waiting for me by standing outside my door?”
He shakes his head not saying a word, he’s not looking at me, but more at my feet.
“Did something happen?”
Again, he shakes his head, but says, “We need to get going.”
He says it so quietly automatically I feel the need to comfort him. What happened? Why does he always do that?
I grab his hand, “Isaac have you been drinking again?”
This is the only time that his mood changes, whenever he’s had a drink. That must be why he’s acting like this.
“No, I’m just thinking that we should get going. I haven’t touched a drink, but if we stay here any longer. I might just do that.”
On that note, we move quickly to the elevator and head to his car. Black suits him; I thought that with his dark hair that it’ll absorb into one. But no, with his polo shirt and black pants he looks completely different to when we’re on the ranch.
“What are you smiling about?”
He asks as we stand in the elevator.
“Oh, just how different you are here compared to in the ranch.”
He nods, “That’s because the ranch is my place of insanity.”
“And here your place of sanity?”
“Yes.”
Then we head out of the elevator, and I follow him like a puppy. It doesn’t make any sense if here is his place of sanity then why does he drink when he’s here.
“So how comes you’ve been drinking whenever you’re here?”
He opens the car door, and I stand to wait for him to reply, “Because there’s been so much pain on the ranch.”
He motions for me to sit down and I follow suit. He closes the car door, and he doesn’t wait for me to prompt him. He turns to face me, “My mom, grandma, and my dad all died at that ranch.”
“I thought your mom and grandma were sick?”
He nods, “They were and when they found out that there was nothing more that the hospital could do for them. They opted to die at home. Part of me wishes they hadn’t. The selfish part of me and I hate it at times, so I do the one thing that I’m good at, I just avoid the ranch.”
“I sometimes visit the place that my parents died; they died in a car crash.”
“I know you told me Elle; they say that time heals all wounds eventually. I don’t want the wounds to heal. I just want to forget it most of the time.”
&nb
sp; “About your parents and grandma?”
He shakes his head, “No. Not about them.”
He’s quiet for a moment, and it’s as if he’s thinking about something, but then he changes his mind, “We need to get there soon otherwise, we won’t enjoy our day out.”
“Are we not going to the ranch today?”
He laughs, “You do love that place?”
“No, I just miss Autumn.”
“The horse?”
I sigh, “She’s not just any ordinary horse. She’s my horse. I’ve never owned one before. I don’t own anything now. Even the car I’m driving is Neil’s. He just gives me free access to it. Anyway, where are we going?”
"We're going to the Common Bond Cafe & Bakery. You are going to eat too much chocolate, doughnuts, and all sweet things. Because it's my treat and in between that when you feel like sleeping. I'll pump you up with some coffee to help you eat some more,” he starts the engine and then backs out of his space.
“There goes my diet!”
As we get to the door, to leave the building. He smiles, “Your diet. You don’t need to be on one. Your body’s perfect.”
Then he winks at me, and his hand touches my leg. I want to hold it, but then he moves it away quickly and starts focusing on the road. I feel like a teenage girl that’s got a major crush. It starts and ends with Isaac. I want him so bad, that I can’t think of anything else right now, but tonight the pair of us sharing the same bed. He can take me all he wants, because if this is a taste of his true personality, then I don’t want to go back to the ranch. I love the old Isaac. The one that Neil’s been talking about when he asked me to give him another chance. It just feels natural doing it now compared to when we were together at the ranch.
“What are you smiling about?”
