Page 67 of Tempting the Goalie
“So what are we eating?” she asks. I open the basket and take out the fresh baguette I picked up from Eric’s bakery this morning.
“Oh, you didn’t, Luc.” She smiles wide.
“I did, Izzy. Oka and baguette to start,” I say. Oka is one of her favorite soft cheeses. It goes perfectly with a crusty baguette.
“You just get me,” she says, and I have to agree with her. I get her and she gets me. So why does our relationship still make me nervous? We’ve spoken about everything, and yet I’m still scared of disappointing her.
I take out the green grapes I brought with us, and I pop open a bottle of white wine and pour it into the plastic cups I brought.
We feed each other and I pop grapes into her mouth. I’ve never done anything like this with a girl. Even though Izzy wasn’t my first, I still feel like she is the only one who matters. The only one I’ve done so many firsts with.
We hear a rustle of branches and both of us jump and start to frantically grab at our clothes. The rustling gets closer, and we haven’t gotten fully dressed. When a coyote appears in front of us Izzy takes a step back and hides behind me. I’m only wearing a T-shirt, and my cock is swinging half hard in the air.
“Shit, Luc, this isn’t good,” she says. “What do we do?”
I lift my hands in the air and make some loud screaming sounds. It’s what we are taught to do in school if a coyote confronts us. At first it looks like the coyote may try to lunge at us but then Izzy comes out from behind me with her arms raised and both of us scream as we move toward the coyote. It takes off running. I grab on to Isabelle and hug her. My heart beating a mile a minute.
“We should pack up and get out of here,” I suggest.
“Hell no, we don’t know when we’ll have alone time again. I want to enjoy every minute.” My courageous girl.
I start laughing. “Look at you being all bold. I love seeing you like this. The young and sassy Izzy makes a return.”
“What do you mean?” she asks.
“This is how you were when we were kids. Fearless and unstoppable.”
A pout forms on her lips. “That changed, didn’t it?”
I nod. “Everything changed when Mom died and yours took off,” I say sadly.
Izzy sighs.
“We’re supposed to be having fun.” I take her hand in mine. “We’ve dissected that part of our life too many times.”
“But we’ve never discussed how I changed,” Izzy says.
“Come here,” I tell her. I guide her to the blanket and cradle her into my lap. “When your mom left it was heartbreaking; it would be for anyone. You guys were close, and she up and abandoned you.”
“Yeah,” she says with a quiet voice. “She gutted me. I was left to go through puberty in a house with five guys. I pulled away. I changed,” she admits.
“We all changed, Izzy. Apparently, I have a knack of burying the bad times. Elyna was saying how Dad was always a problem. That he behaved badly and drank too much long before Mom died.”
“I remember that,” she says as I stroke her arm.
“I don’t. I somehow buried the bad.”
“Yeah, it makes sense. I mean, I kind of got obsessed with having a big family but I don’t know if that’s what I want. I mean, I’m young. I want to live life and have fun. I want to finish my degree,” she says.
“And where do I fit in?” I ask, feeling vulnerable.
“You’re a part of me, Luc. No matter what I choose, I see you in the picture,” she states, making my chest expand. She makes me feel grounded, like I belong. To her.
Maybe that’s been my problem all along. Not having a family. Having to fend for myself. I felt like a flailing duck. Sure, I had the Thornes, but it isn’t the same as this thing between Izzy and me. It feels all-consuming, like I’m not alone anymore. I can trust in Izzy, and she won’t let me down.
“I feel the same, Izzy. You’re my everything. I’ll talk to you before I sign a contract. I’ll make sure wherever I end up, you’ll be happy with the decision. I don’t want us to be apart.”
“I don’t want that either,” she says, caressing my arm and looking into my eyes. “Make love to me, Luc, here on this blanket. I need you inside me.”
