Isla

Chapter 18

The next few days were quite busy. Callie had some sort of bug, and Isla was trying to be as helpful as possible without being in the way. She was happy to do a few things for Sierra and Caleb after everything they had done for her.

She was making herself a quick dinner, fully prepared to do absolutely nothing for the evening, when her main door opened. She wasn't prepared to see Aedric waltzing in.

"You've been avoiding me," he stated.

She blinked, unsure of what to say, because she had been a little bit. She just felt guilty overall, and she was unsure of everything. She didn't know if things were supposed to go back to the way they were or not.

"Not on purpose," she mumbled.

"Isla, princess, I am not upset about the way things happened."

"No?"

He shook his head. "No. Not one bit. We talked it through. Your reaction was more than reasonable, and I would never ever hold the things you said against you."

Isla breathed an inward sigh of relief. Of course she knew that, but hearing him say it was relieving.

"It's just - I don't know. What now?" she asked, peeking up at him.

He came around to her side, and she reached for him. He held open his arms, tucking her into his chest.

"What would you like to happen next?" he asked back.

She looked up at him. She loved his eyes. They were so warm and safe.

She shrugged.

He grinned, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze. He loved her shyness, it was so adorable and endearing.

"I want us to be official," she finally admitted. "I like the date we had, and spending time with you."

"Okay," he agreed.

He cupped her cheeks. His thumb gently skimmed along her soft skin, and her eyes fluttered at the sweet touch.

She had convinced herself that being touched in any way, even a brush, was equal to being hurt, but that wasn't true, especially when it came to Aedric. It made her feel tingly and special.

She held her breath in anticipation as he leaned closer, close enough that their noses brushed. She could feel him smile, before his lips gently brushed against hers.

Her eyes opened when he pulled back, until he kissed her again, with more pressure. It made her toes curl in her socks.

He straightened, and she went back to resting on his chest.

"The first one was to make up for our first date," he said. "The second was me making it official."

She smiled. "It was worth the wait."

"Good," he nodded.

Their moment was broken by the oven timer beeping. He released her, and she slipped on an oven mit to get her tray out.

"I made chicken tenders if you want to eat with me," she offered. 

"I don't want to take your food, baby," he said. "Eat your dinner. It's okay."

She protested, "I can make more. They don't take very long." She pulled out two plates anyway. She had mac and cheese leftover from the night before and she heated that up to add.

"Can we watch that show we watched? You don't have somewhere to be, right?"

He shook his head no. The smile on his face was a bit smaller, shy even.  Isla felt heat rush up her neck from such a sweet look.

He sat on her couch, and she sat down beside him, about an arms length away. He moved closer.

Isla pulled a blanket over her lap, placing some of the leftover on his lap, too.

"How's work?" Aedric asked.

She gave an adorable sigh. "It's a lot. Don't get me wrong, I do like it, and the pay is great, but with no degree, I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do."

"Do you like it enough that maybe you would want to get a degree in some kind of legal studies like that?"

Isla chewed for a second. Her eyes looked at his before moving back to the commercial that played on TV.

"Maybe," she whispered. "That feels like a big commitment."

He nodded. "It definitely could be. There are a lot of online programs now. I did my MBA online."

He set down his plate, content in her presence. He stretched out his arm over the back of the couch. When she finished eating, she leaned in closer.

He dropped his arm slowly, pulling her tighter against his chest. She smiled, and he adjusted the blanket so it was higher around her.