Burning Touch

Chapter 41

Izzy got home with a heart that weighed a ton but also felt a certain kind of relief that she had gotten everything she wanted to say to him off her chest. She no longer had regrets, she had tried and failed and now she was moving on.

Or at least try to move on. It wasn't going to be easy.

"You ok?" Josie asked.

"I'm fine Josie." Izzy smiled. "And don't ask me that again."

"It's just scary how well you're handling this."

"If it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be," Izzy said. "But of course, it hurts and I can't do anything about that."

"You are one strong woman," Josie said. "What time is your flight tomorrow?"

"10 AM."

"I don't understand why you're in a rush to leave."

"I just don't think I can handle being in the same city as him. I'd have the constant urge to go see him and I don't think that's how getting over someone works."

"Nopes."

"So, I'm leaving."

"If you're sure."

"I am."

Josie nodded.
"Alright." She said. "Goodnight then, I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight."

Izzy went to bed that night thinking of him. She lulled herself to sleep which was later that night.

The next morning, Josie dropped Izzy at the airport and said their goodbyes before Izzy left. She made her way towards to check-in; she was handed her passport by one of the attendants. She turned around and came face to face with him.

"What are you doing here?"

Andre stood there out of breath.
"I needed to catch you before your flight left."

"Why?"

"Sir, you're blocking the line." The attendant said.

"I'm sorry." He said before he took hold of Izzy's hand and walked her to a more private place.

"Andre, what are you doing here?"

"To stop you from leaving."

"Why?"

"Because I am still so in love with you." He said. "Two years isn't enough to get rid of my feelings for you not to talk of two months."

Izzy let out a breath.
"I thought you were happy."

"I was trying to find any form of happiness without you and it didn't work."

"You're not mad at me?"

"I could never be mad at you. Just heartbroken."

"I am really sorry."

"If you apologize one more time, I am going to break your other ankle."

She chuckled.
"You don't want me to leave?"

"I don't want you to leave."

"But the dance team is in Leicester."

"You still want to be on the dance team?" He asked with a frown.

"Of course."

"I thought you said you had time to see things from a different perspective."

"I have but that doesn't mean I have to leave the team."

"It's the reason things ended between us."

She frowned.
"So, you want me to just leave something I love doing."

"If you truly loved me, you would."

She stared at him in shock.
"Would you?"

"Would I what?"

"Quit running AFTech just to be with me?"

"It's something Fred and I started; you can't ask me to just quit running it."

Izzy frowned, she was confused as she pushed away from him, taking a step back.
"What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong Izzy."

"Izzy." She said. "You never call me that."

Andre sighed.
"C'mon, let's go home."

"I'm not going anywhere with you Andre; I'm going back home."

Andre seemed really mad.
"No, you aren't. I'm taking you home."

Izzy sighed and picked up her bag.
"Goodbye, Andre." She moved to walk away but Andre grasped at her hand.

"You. Aren't. Leaving me."

"Let go, you're hurting me."

She watched as his rage turned into a cynical smile and...beep beep beep.

Izzy snapped up from bed with a deep frown as she took in her surroundings. She groaned.
"Bloody hell!" She cursed.

Her hand reached for her head, her fingers resting on her temple as she rubbed in a circular motion trying to calm the mild pounding. She groaned again.

"Fucking nightmare."

She let out a breath and got out of bed heading to the en suite bathroom to freshen up. She checked the time on her way out of her bedroom. She had an hour before she had to head to the airport.

"Josie?" Izzy called as she stepped out of the bedroom. "Jo?"

Josie had decided to head to work after she dropped her at the airport. Izzy walked barefoot to the kitchen in a pajama tank top and short shorts. She reached up and packed her hair in a bun on the top of her head.

"Josie?" Izzy called again when she got a whiff of pancakes. "You're making me pancakes." She smiled as she got closer to the kitchen. "Either you're trying to keep me from leaving or you want me to miss you more." Izzy arrived at the kitchen with a smile and stopped short at the scene before her.

In Josie's kitchen, Andre put the last batch of pancakes on the plate and smiled up at her.
"Morning, Belle."

She stood there in silence trying to make sense of the situation until she understood.
"Oh, I'll probably wake up in a second, give it time."

Andre looked up at her from the two plates of pancakes he was fixing for them.
"What are you talking about?"

"First a nightmare and now a dream. I don't know what my consciousness is trying to tell me but I got the message loud and clear, I'm leaving." She sighed.

Andre walked towards her not taking his eyes off her. He stopped when he was toe to toe in front of her.
"I assure you this is not a dream." Andre said before he bent and picked her up.

"Andre! What are you doing, put me down!"

Andre walked towards the kitchen island and set her on one of the seats.
"There you go." He said taking the one next to hers. "Now eat."

Izzy gave him a suspicious look before she looked down at the pancakes. He had mastered Josie's recipe, maybe even better. She reached for the cutlery and dug in. She'd deal with the man sitting next to her in a while.

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One more chapter before the Epilogue.