Burning Touch

Chapter 18

"Thank you." Izzy said after the waiter placed the food on the table then left.

Andre couldn't get his eyes off her. It was almost like asking him to hold his breath.

Izzy picked the cutlery about to dig in when she looked up from her plate to find Andre watching her with a smile on his face.
"What?" She asked getting self-conscious.

His smile grew as he shook his head.
"Can't I just look at you?"

"Not with that smile on your face." She said, "Tell me, what is it?"

"You're just simply amazing." Izzy's brow quirked at his response. "Being around you is refreshing and I'm not sure if you'll approve but I might become an addict."

The corner of Izzy's lips twitched as she stopped herself from launching into a full-on grin. She cleared her throat and looked at her plate.
"You should eat." She said, "When was the last time you ate?"

"Hmm..." Andre paused with the cutlery in his hands as he tried to remember. "I had coffee in the..."

"Coffee isn't food." Izzy watched him as she chewed on her food.

"There was a bagel." He said as he dug into his food.

"Oh." Izzy said, "And did you eat it, or was it just there?"

Andre smiled at how she had caught him.
"You caught me." He said.

"No talking until you're done with your food." Izzy said as she watched him eat.

"Josie told me she's leaving by the end of the month." Andre caressed the back of Izzy's hand which was in his in the center of the table.

"Yea," Izzy said. "Her being here has been amazing. We're planning a girl's night on Mia's choosing because she's studying for the bar exam."

"Right." Andre said, "Fred mentioned something about that."

Izzy smiled.
"It's weird, right?"

"What's weird?"

"Me and you." She said "Mia and Fred."

Andre smiled.
"It's not." He said, "It's perfect." He gave her hand a squeeze and she returned it with a smile.

"Let's get out of here." Andre said as he called the waiter for the bill.

"Where are we going?" Izzy asked in the car.

Andre looked at her.
"My place." He said looking back at the road. "For dessert."

Izzy sighed.

Andre walked into the penthouse with Izzy behind him, her hand in his. He shut the door after her and was about to grab her when he stopped at the voice.

"Drey?" Her voice called. "Is that you?"

Izzy turned to him with a frown.
"Josie?" She asked in a whisper.

Josie appeared in the living room.
"Hey, guys." Josie smiled at them. "I didn't know you'd be together but that's perfect."

"What are you doing here?" Andre asked her.

"Nice way to say hello after arriving back here douche." Josie said as she approached them and gave him a hug. "I called your mum to check up on Aubrey since you weren't answering your phone, she told me you were back here."

"I had to come back." Andre said as he smiled at Izzy who smiled back at him.

Josie couldn't help but feel happy for two of her friends.
"Well, I made your favorite chocolate cake." She said as she grabbed her bag. "You two enjoy it; I'm out of here."

The door slammed behind them as Josie left them alone.

"Want some cake?" Andre asked Izzy as he led her to the kitchen.

"Yes please," Izzy said tossing her bag on the nearest couch in the living room. "It's been a while since I had cake."

"Why is that?"

"Just never had the time."

Andre looked at her like she had grown a second head.
"For cake." He said as he focused back on cutting slices for them. "How can you not have time for cake especially chocolate cake?"

Izzy watched him with a smile on her face and that was how Andre caught her.

"What?" He asked with a smile.

Izzy's smile widened.
"You really love chocolate cake."

"I do." He said giving handing her a plate with a slice then picking his they walked into the living room. "My mum used to bake a lot when I was little, she still does to lure me away from work and it works every time."

They were seated on the couch opposite the tv. as they ate their cakes.

"How often is that?"

"Oh, like three times a week," Andre said and Izzy began laughing. "She bakes once a week but the other times, I go because I want to see her."

"You are such a mama's boy." She said with a smile

Andre smiled.
"I love her so much. She's done a lot for Aubrey and I since my dad went to work in another continent when we were little. Then she had to take care of two kids, and the news came six months ago."

Izzy placed the plate on the table and shifted closer to Andre with her hand on his knee. Andre smiled at her for the comfort she was willingly providing.

"She's been through a lot and I want to take care of her now." He said sighing. "I've never told anyone that before."

Izzy gave him a small smile as she leaned into him. Andre placed the plate on the side table and pulled her closer with her legs across his lap and her arm across his midriff, he wrapped his hands around her as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm glad you told me." She whispered.

"I'm glad I did too." He said. "You make it easy to talk about."

A silent moment passed and Izzy felt it weigh on her chest.
"I'm sorry."

Andre frowned. There it was again, the apology. He waited for her to continue.

Izzy sighed into him.
"When you didn't call after that night, I thought you had a change of heart and decided I wasn't worth it after all." She said. "That's why I didn't call. Then Josie told me what happened I felt so guilty for thinking you could do that. I knew you weren't that kind of person but the situation made you seem that way and I was so mad at myself that I couldn't call to check up on you." Izzy lifted her head to look at him. "I'm sorry."

"You did nothing wrong." He said, "You couldn't have known and I should have at least sent a message or something instead of leaving things like that."

"You had things on your mind." She said, "I was just...scared that things were going south with someone I kind of like."

Andre frowned.
"'Kind of like'?"

Izzy laughed.
"Ok, maybe not kind of." She said, "Whom I like like."

"I kind of like like you too."

Izzy smiled.
"You better!"

Andre leaned in and kissed her softly and sweetly, his tongue mingles with hers he groaned when she tasted of chocolate. "Hmm." He said when he pulled back. "Chocolate cake and you, I think it's officially my favorite thing."

Izzy laughed and smacked a kiss on his lips before burying her head in his neck.
"This feels nice."

"It feels better than nice." He said and they stayed that way for hours.