Snapshots

23. The Big Ifs

One year after Age Your Age.
Sexual situations.

"Isabella? You here?"

Isabella froze. He couldn't be here already, she wasn't ready yet. Leaning closer to the mirror, she inspected her lipstick one last time. "I'm in the bathroom!"

"Oh, I didn't-I'll just wait out here-"

"Wait in the bedroom!" Isabella yelled back before flinching. She'd expected the yelling to start a little later in the evening. Pulling back, she checked her hair, making sure it flowed over her shoulders the way she pictured. "I'll be right there."

"Okay!"

Lowering her voice, she continued, "Do can do this, Isabella. If he's not going to make the move, it's up to you."

For the last few days, she'd been planning this. They'd been dating for over a year, and Phineas still wouldn't do more than kiss her. She'd even gotten her own apartment off campus in the hope he'd move in with her, but when she bought it up, he offered to pay the rent for her if she needed a roommate to cover half. Not what she meant, but it was a sweet gesture nonetheless.

What would Phineas say when he saw her? She felt herself slipping into a daydream of him taking her on the spot, but after so many years, she knew she was getting ahead of herself.

Isabella opened the door.

Phineas looked at her and grinned. Not the awe-struck smile she'd glimpsed in her daydream, but she'd take it.

Then he spoke, "New nightgown?"

And everything froze.

Nightgown? Was he serious? Her grip tightened on the door handle still in her grip. It was lingerie. Expensive lingerie at that. She'd put effort into finding a lacy pink one that would accentuate her figure in the right places. And he thought it was nothing more than a nightgown? Did he think nightgowns were this sheer?

Some less obsessed part of her mind pointed out that he did notice it was new, a sign progress was being made.

She closed her eyes for a second. Time for plan B.

Sashaying over to where he sat on the bed, she smiled. "Do you like it?"

"I gues-I mean, yes, yes I like it." Phineas' grin turned nervous for a split second. He must have been told to agree with her or compliment her by someone.

"Good. Because I bought it for you." Isabella climbed onto the bed, and his lap, one of her legs on each side of his.

"Uh, thanks?" Phineas stumbled slightly over the word. "But I don't think it's, um, it's not really-I don't think it'd look good on me?"

If she wasn't trying to be sexy, Isabella would have facepalmed. How could he be such an idiot about these things? Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Not like that, sweetie."

"Oh, right." There was a tint of red in his cheeks as his bright smile came back. "What are we doing tonight? I thought we cou-"

"Phineas." Did she have to do everything? "Kiss me."

He followed through. She didn't concentrate much on the kiss, instead waiting for him to pull back, when he started to, she moved a hand from his neck to his head to hold him in place. Under her other hand, his muscles tensed for a moment.

Isabella pushed the kiss deeper, waiting for the tension to leave him. But even as he tried to follow her lead, he didn't relax. Biting back a groan of impatience, she slid her body closer to his.