Hey guys!
Yep, this is it. This is the LAST CHAPTER before I do an epilogue. I know, it's crazy right? I'll do a whole speech after the epilogue!
Before that, I hope you like this chapter!
I LOVE y'alls responses to the past two chapters! Seriously, they are making my day!!!:D
Anyway, other than a lot of thank you's, there's really not a lot to say so... here you go! Chapter 25!
LOVE<3
PS: I'd also like to point out that... uh... sorry this chapter sucks. Now that all the excitements dying down, and so is the story, I'm reaching that point of "I don't want it to be over, so I won't write!" vs. "NO! WRITE WOMAN!". Which means I'm arguing with myself over writing. It's not fun. Especially since I end up writing but the other side is like "HAHAHA I'M GOING TO MAKE IT SUCK!" xD
Anyway, hope it doesn't!:P
DEDICATION IS FOR @HurricaneElly FOR MAKING THE AWESOMENESS ON THE SIDE!!
Chapter Twenty-Five
~Isabelle~
"Care, what the hell am I supposed to wear?" I asked, staring at the pile of clothes that lay on my bed.
She groaned. "You've been saying the same thing all week. Ren probably wouldn't care if you showed up in your underwear. Actually, that might be what you end up going in at this rate." Care rolled her eyes, and I sighed.
"Sorry, but this is our first date! This is the one that I'm going to remember forever, and I don't want to look back and think 'what the hell was wrong with me?'."
"Well, do you want to look back and think 'why the hell did I spend so much time on my outfit? We spent the entire night making out anyway.'?" Care countered.
I tilted my head in a nod of agreement. She did have a point there.
"Besides, you've been thinking about this all of Spring Break, and it's not like you guys have really stopped hanging out. You wore sweats to his one time. He won't care what you wear tonight."
I sighed again. She right, again. Me and Ren had been dating for a month now. An entire month. Only, we were just now finally getting the chance to go on our first date. Mainly because we actually had school for about three weeks, and during Spring Break we spent our time in his dorm making out. We hadn't really left to go on dates, or even thought about it, the entire week. Until yesterday, on Thursday, he asked if I wanted to.
So here I was on a Friday night, panicking because this was our first date. I knew we'd end up going to see a movie so it shouldn't matter, but the only other first date I'd had was with Alex when we were fourteen, and my mom had been sitting beside me at the theater.
Me and Alex had gone on dates alone later, but by then we were so used to hanging out alone during school it was no big deal.
This time was different. Me and Ren were leaving his dorm and being seen in public by people we might know from classes, and knowing our luck we'd run into an ex-fling of his...
"Care, what if we run into an ex of Ren's?" I asked, starting to panic again. Why wasn't I okay with this? Why couldn't I just be normal and wear jeans with a nice, slightly low-cut, shirt?
"You can handle them. Ren loves you, not them. Italy, breathe. Are you really that freaked out about going on a date with him?" Care asked, and I looked at her. She was looking back, worried.
"I don't know... I think it's really hitting me that I gave up Alex for him, and I haven't even been on a real date with him. Does that make sense?"
Care nodded. "Yeah. But now you just have to remember why you said yes to Ren. You hadn't been on a date then, either."
I glared. "Maybe I said yes because you and Ren talked behind my back about it?" I suggested, faking anger.
Ren had told me about the plan, looking very guilty I might add, about a week into us dating. He'd told me everything, including Care's involvement in it.
I was mad, really mad, at first. Almost mad enough to storm out and just be single for a while while I figured out everything. I couldn't believe he'd manipulated me like that, and even all the times I'd gone to him for help he'd been working on me, convincing me to like him more.
But then I'd yelled at Care about how she clearly wasn't my friend if she thought interfering was a good idea, and she'd yelled back that me and Alex were already drifting apart, and that no matter what I'd have fallen for Ren, all she did was help make sure he stayed in love with me long enough for me to catch up.
It had been a long lecture, and by the end of it we'd both been crying and apologizing. So, of course, I'd called Ren and cried and told him I loved him.
His first response was, "How much have you had to drink, and will I get laid if I come over now?"
It had been a weird day, but I didn't regret it. Now there were no secrets that I could think of between me and Ren, and we could really start being together.
Like Care suggested, I thought about all the reasons I'd chosen Ren.
He had a sweet side, he listened to me, he gave me exactly what he promised; he gave me emotion, passion, lust, love all in one.
It was amazing, this past month. The whole thing was just crazy, like something out of a movie. The player falling for the new, taken girl. It felt surreal, but I could tell it was reality. Me and Ren would never have that perfect movie relationship. We'd get mad sometimes, yell and scream at each other, but I knew I loved him, and I knew he loved me.
He said it enough, that was for sure.
I took a breath, in and out, calming down as I thought about Ren. All the times he'd been there, all the times he hadn't. I'd probably fallen for him the first night I hung out with him, only it had taken a while to overtake my love for Alex.
"Yeah, sorry about that," Care said, referring to the comment I'd made. She didn't sound sorry though. "At least it worked out!"
I nodded. "You better be lucky it did. It would be awkward if it hadn't. Especially since me and Ren would love each other and have no idea unless you forced us into it."
Care shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past me. Anyway, do you feel better now?"
I smiled. "Yeah. I'll just wear..." I pulled out a pair of loose jeans and a tube top. They weren't as fashionable anymore, but they were cute.
"Good idea. Now how do you expect to get this back into your closet?" Care asked, looking at the clothes pile.
I sighed, already starting to change. It wasn't like Care hadn't seen any of it before. "Magic? I don't know, I'll probably just go through all the clothes until I have to do laundry."
Care frowned. "As long as I don't smell it, I don't care. Now, didn't Ren say he'd be here at 6PM?"
"Yeah, why?" I asked, unclasping my bra straps so I could wear the tube top without having to worry about my bra.
"It's 6PM now, and if I know my brother..." Care paused, held up a finger, and not even a second later there was a knock.
I shuddered, slipping out of my sweats and into my jeans as fast as I could. "I don't know if that's a twin thing, or if you're just really weird."
Care laughed and went to open the door as I silently freaked out about the fact that I hadn't thought about what shoes I should wear.
"Hey, is Isa ready?" Ren asked, and when I looked up from the pile of shoes, I noticed Care had just poked her head out.
"One second!" I told him, grabbing the first pair of flats I could find and choosing those. They'd work, they were black.
"Can I come in and wait at least?" Ren asked.
"No!" Both me and Care shouted, but the effect was ruined when I started giggling.
"Okay, guess you don't want the date then..." Ren trailed off, and I rolled my eyes, taking the door from my best friend and opening it a little more.
"Trust me, you don't want to be in here right now. Clothes are everywhere and there's not even any underwear," I told him, knowing that would put him off a little.
Ren sighed dramatically. "Fine, guess I'll wait out here all alone and..." His eyes met mine, and he stopped talking. He took a step back, and I frowned.
"What are you doing?" I asked, but he just waved his hand at me, motioning me to be quiet.
I looked back into the room at Care, but she shrugged. Okay, so Ren was just being weird. That worked too.
When I turned back around, a smile on my face because I clearly had a crazy boyfriend, I was greeted by a flash.
"Whoa, okay, want to explain now that I'm blind?" I asked, blinking quickly to clear the spots dancing in front of my eyes.
Ren grinned. "You look amazing. So I took a picture."
I rolled my eyes. "You're crazy," I confirmed. "Now can we go?"
"I've been wanting to for five minutes," Ren said.
Care handed me my purse, saving me the trouble of having to keep the door ajar to grab it.
"Thanks, see you later!" I told her, stepping out into the hallway.
"Make good choices," Care replied, making me laugh.
As soon as the door shut behind me, I felt Ren's lips on mine. I wasn't going to complain, not when his kisses could make me forget everything, even my own name.
"I have something for you," Ren muttered against my lips.
I wanted to reply, but words seemed unable to form. I felt his smile, and knew he knew how much he was affecting me.
He pulled away though, which I appreciated. I did want to see the movie.
But he stayed where he was and pulled out a little box.
I frowned. "What's this for?" I asked, taking it slowly. Were we supposed to get presents?
"I feel like it's fitting, considering it's our first date together. Open it," Ren encouraged. I was curious, so I did.
It didn't help. In the Swarovski box lay a little pumpkin charm made of diamonds. I looked up. "It's cute! But... I don't get it," I admitted, sadly.
"It's okay, I figured I'd have to explain it." Ren took the charm out and took my wrist, the one with the bracelet he'd given me on, and clipped the charm to it. "It symbolized Halloween, because that's when everything really started. For me, at least." He gave me a nervous smile, something I'd never really seen on him before now, and just held my hand. I knew he was wondering if I liked it.
"I love it, and you're right, Halloween is when everything just kind of changed. I really do love it, Ren." I looked up at him. "And I love you for remembering," I told him, leaning in to brush my lips against his quickly. It had to be quick, otherwise we'd never get anywhere.
"You're not just saying that?"
I smiled. "I mean it, I promise. Now let's go!" I stepped back and pulled him along, laughing when he stumbled a little.
"I'm so going to make you pay for that," he said, trying to sound menacing, but the effect was ruined when he grabbed my waist and tickled me, making me scream.
This time, when he leaned in and kissed me, I let go for a while. It was fun, exciting, and I loved it. I loved him.
"How did we just get banned from there..?" Ren asked only an hour later. We'd gone in to see the movie, got bored and started making out, only our hands had gone a little too far south so it was safe to say, we were banned for life.
"You just had to get in my jeans. Not over them, in them," I reminded him. Sadly, I didn't even care. I felt crazy, but in a good way. Like I could do anything right now.
"Well, you're hot, and I was caught in the moment," Ren argued, grabbing my hand and pulling me into him as I tried to walk.
I let out a scream of surprise, feeling him close against me as his arms circled my waist. "It's not my fault your so damn irresistible, Isa," Ren said, breathlessly. I had no idea why he was out of breath, but the mood changed drastically from those few words.
Without any warning, his lips were on mine, rough yet smooth, hard yet soft, leaving me in a position where all I could do was grab his hair and kiss back. I forgot my name, where we were, who I was, everything. I kissed him back like the world was ending, like nothing I'd ever done was this important. I needed him right now like I needed air to breathe, which actually seemed less important at this second. I couldn't breathe, but I didn't care. I wanted to keep going, keep his lips on mine for hours, days, years. I didn't want this to end, not ever.
I tried to pull him closer, but all that happened was my legs ended up around his waist. It wasn't enough. It wouldn't be enough.
"Isa," Ren groaned, sounding so hot I moaned back.
"Ren, I need..." I gasped when his mouth left mine to kiss down my throat.
"I know, trust me, I know." His actions countered his words though, and he pulled away, looking into my eyes. I felt something at my back, and realized I was pressed against a wall. How hadn't I noticed that part?
"But..?" I prompted, trying to control my breathing.
Ren smiled, sadly. "But I think we need to wait. At least until you're more over Alex. I want to be sure you want it too, and that you won't even once think about him."
I wanted to argue, but I could see where he was coming from. I'd never done anything with anyone that wasn't Alex; who knew how I'd react?
"I'm not agreeing that I'll think about him, because I don't think at all when you kiss me," I told him, hitting his arm when he smirked. "But you're right. I don't want to rush into anything with you."
I didn't want to get down, I was comfortable in his arms, but Ren moved to start walking, and I unwound my legs, slipping down his body a little so I could touch the ground.
Ren groaned, suddenly frozen. "Yeah, Isa, don't do that again any time soon." He sounded pained, and when I looked at his face, his eyes were clenched shut.
I laughed. "That's what you get for building me up then not getting me off."
Ren's eyes snapped open, disbelief in them. "Like you didn't just do the same. Come on, Isa, give me a break here. I haven't had sex since before Christmas break."
That should have made me mad, but instead I just laughed harder. "Keep it up and you won't have sex until next year."
He glared at me. "Love you too," he grumbled.
Oh, shit. He actually sounded annoyed.
I sighed. "Ren, I get it, okay? I get that you're sex deprived or something. I'll stop teasing, promise."
Ren hugged me. "Can you make it up to me?" He asked, holding me tightly.
I hugged back, confused. What the hell was up with him? "Depends on how."
"Can you please make us Facebook official? I'm getting arguments on the thing that says I'm in a relationship over who my girlfriend is, and I really want to prove to my parents that you exist," Ren practically begged.
I pulled out of the hug, biting my lip so I wouldn't laugh. "Poor you, having girls fight over you," I joked. When Ren didn't say anything, I sighed. "Ren, I was just giving everything time to settle down. So yeah, okay, I'll make it official."
"Thank you." Ren huffed, trying to be mildly annoyed.
And then he laughed. Loudly.
I rolled my eyes, grabbing his hand. "Let's go, crazy. I think you have issues right now."
He laughed again, walking beside me and swinging our arms. "I'm not just crazy, Isa. I'm crazy on you."
I let that go with a smile. He really was perfect for me.
"I can't believe you're actually coming with us for over a month!" Care squealed.
I laughed, sitting on one of her suitcases as she attempted to zip it up. "I know, I'm excited!"
It was May, and we were officially done with college for a few months. I was spending the first couple of months with Ren and Care at their home so I could meet Ren's parents, then he was coming up to mine for a month or so to meet my parents, and then we'd go back to college.
I couldn't wait. It was going to be the best summer ever.
"Are you girls ready yet?" I heard Ren ask, seeing him walk in. He'd started doing that about a month ago, using the excuse of "well, there's my sister, and our parents made us bathe together when were babies, and I'm going to see Isa naked at some point so why does it matter?"
That was my boyfriend. It was hard to believe we'd been dating for three months now.
"Almost! Care's on her last suitcase," I said, watching his face go from a smile to shock in a second.
"What the hell is this?" He asked.
I glanced at Care, who put her hands on her hips and faced her brother. "This is what all of our stuff looks like when it's together and packed."
He looked around, terrified. I couldn't blame him. There were so many boxes it looked as though our entire lives were in them.
They kind of were, if we thought about it hard enough.
"So, should I start putting stuff in the car?" He asked Care.
She nodded. "But we're going to do it differently. You and Isa are going to drive up together so we're going to put a lot of the boxes in our car. We'll stick the flatter and heavier stuff in the back of her truck."
Ren just nodded. "Fine by me. Want to tell me where I'm putting everything or are you going to go ahead and start?"
It took us a few hours. And by a few, I mean we started putting the boxes in at around 11AM, and we left around 6PM.
It took a while, especially since every time I bent over to put something away or pick something up, Ren made a comment and we ended up making out.
Over the past couple of months since our first date we'd been getting closer and closer to just giving in, and the sexual tension between us was so obvious, it was like a freaking neon sign saying we hadn't done it yet.
Now we were finally almost at Ren's home. I'd driven most of the way, but we'd switched about an hour back so I wouldn't get us lost.
We'd driven through the night, stopping for snacks often so that Care could get a break, but we'd decided it was better than dealing with the day drivers. So now it was way too early, we were all tired, but we were apparently just a few minutes away. His parents usually worked until late, Ren had told me, so we wouldn't be waking them up.
That made me feel better.
I tried to act like I wasn't terrified, but I couldn't help it. According to a side note from Care, his parents had only ever seen girls leaving. They'd never seen him bring one home with the intention of them knowing.
"Are you okay?" Ren asked.
"Yeah, just tired," I told him. The yawn I gave wasn't fake, I really was tired.
"You're scared to meet my parents, aren't you?" He asked, and when I glanced over at him, I saw the laughter on his face, illuminated by the light from the dashboard.
I rolled my eyes, even though he didn't see that. "Maybe I am, what's it to you?"
"It's weird. You're meeting my parents. Don't worry, they'll love you."
I sighed, shifting to try and get more comfortable. I'd changed into sweats for the journey so it wouldn't be too bad, but I couldn't deny that a bed sounded good right about now.
"They better. I'm not giving you up any time soon," I muttered, sleepily. I could feel my eyes threatening to close, but I knew we had to be close. The area was too suburban and quiet, and we were turning into neighborhoods.
"Good, because I'm never going to love anyone else," Ren said, so quietly I wasn't even sure he'd really said it. At least, until he stopped the truck and I saw him smile at me. "I mean that."
I smiled back, leaning against the passenger door. "I love you, too," I told him, and looked up at the house we'd parked beside. It was an average sized house, one I could imagine a high-school version of Ren sneaking girls in and out of every so often.
"Are you ready?" He asked, and after a seconds hesitation, I nodded.
"Yeah. Can we just grab the stuff tomorrow? I don't want to get it right now..."
Ren laughed, hopping out of the truck. He was at my door quickly, opening it for me. "Sounds good. Come on, let's go."
He didn't even give me a chance to groan and complain about having to walk. Instead, he reached into the car, unbuckled my seat, and somehow managed to pick me up bridal style.
I let out a small sound of surprise before shrugging and settling in his arms. He was comfy, I was happy.
"Don't you two look all cute," Care's voice intruded on the little moment, and I groaned.
"Sh, inside voices," I grumbled, snuggling a little closer to Ren.
Care laughed. "Not happening. I bought some of those Starbucks drinks from the store. You know, the ones in the can? And now I don't think I'll ever sleep." She was hyper. Just great.
"You should call Adam and tell him that story. He'll either calm you down or wear you out," I said. He had one more exam so he was leaving tomorrow.
Or was it later today?
Either way, he'd be here eventually. After all, he did live close by.
"Can we go meet your parents so I can go to sleep?" I asked, when no one else said anything.
Ren and Care laughed.
"Not tonight. You'll probably end up blurting out something about wanting to do me," Ren joked.
"Make more jokes like that and you won't be able to do me," I responded, feeling myself being lowered down. "Hey, when did we reach a bed?" I asked.
Ren just kissed my forehead. "Go to sleep."
I didn't have the will to argue.
I woke up feeling something heavy on my waist. A quick glance over my shoulder revealed Ren, his arm pinning me down as he snored quietly.
I smiled to myself. We'd slept together like this once, two nights before we'd left. He'd told me we'd be sleeping in his room, so we needed to prove to ourselves that we could actually sleep together with nothing happening.
We'd made out for hours before finally falling asleep.
This time, I liked waking up first. He looked so... calm. I turned over in his arms to face him, knowing that there was only one way I was getting out of his arms. I had to go to the bathroom, so this better work.
I pressed my lips to his, keeping my mouth closed because of morning breath. It only took a few seconds before I got a response.
Ren groaned, pulling away. I think that was a first for him. "What?"
"I have to go to the bathroom, so get off me," I told him.
"Why are you so happy?" He complained.
I pecked his lips again. "I have no idea. Now let me go."
He did, and I made my way to the closest door. It was a closet. I tried the second door and found the hallway. The third, and final door, revealed... another closet?
"Ren, where the hell is your bathroom?" I asked.
"First door on the left in the hall."
I sighed. "Why do you have two closets? I figured that would be in Care's room."
He chuckled. "She wanted this one, so I had to get it instead. She responded by taking the room with the bath tub."
I rolled my eyes but didn't comment. They were so weird. I wasn't sure if how they acted together was normal or not, but it didn't seem normal.
I finally located the bathroom. Once I was done, I left the room, only to come face-to-face with a woman.
"Hi! Ren said you were in here! It's nice to meet you, I'm his mother, Andrea," the woman said, holding her hand out.
I took a nervous breath. "Hi, I'm Isabelle. Care calls me Italy, and Ren calls me Isa," I told her, shaking her hand. She seemed nice, that was for sure.
"That sounds like my kids. We have a lot to talk about. Want some lunch?" She asked.
"Lunch?" I frowned.
"You slept in. It's 12:30PM right now, Isabelle. Don't worry, I know it was a long drive up here."
I nodded. "Thanks. I was planning on meeting you last night but..." I trailed off. She already knew I'd been sleeping, what else was I supposed to say?
"Understood. Come on, I'll make you some toast or something."
I smiled at her, happy she didn't seem to hate me. Why had I been even a little worried? She didn't seem like she really cared too much about the fact that I was dating her son, so why should I act any different?
However, that thought was altered when I reached the empty kitchen, and the first thing she asked me was, "Why did you say yes to Ren?"
I should have known that was coming. I sighed. "How much do you already know?" I asked.
"I know you were in a relationship that had lasted four years, and that you started dating Ren almost during that relationship." She didn't even sound like she was judging me. She just sounded curious. In a way, that made this worse.
I winced. "Yeah, it sounds bad. I said yes to Ren because me and Alex, my ex, we were drifting apart. We changed, mostly me I'll admit, and our new selves just weren't compatible. It reached a point where I seemed to be picking fights with Alex over the smallest things because I wanted an excuse for us to end it," I admitted. I'd figured that out the same day Ren had told me his and Care's plan, and hated that it was true. But in a way, I was grateful I'd been a bitch to myself; it worked out better this way, it seemed.
"How do I know you won't do that to Ren? He's my son, and I've never seen him like this over a girl. When he mentioned you over Christmas break, I knew he loved you. I don't want you breaking his heart after making him a better man."
After that, I knew I had to be honest. More than honest, I had to open up to an insane degree. She seemed like the kind of woman who would kill to defend her children, and if I hurt Ren I'd be target number one. "I won't do that again, because Ren's different. The problem with Alex and me since the beginning has been there's no real passion. It was always more chemicals in the blood than actual emotion, only I didn't realize that until I met Ren. He's good for me, Mrs. Michaels. I really love him, more than I thought was possible."
She was silent for a minute, just staring at me as though trying to tell if I was lying. Like I'd ever lie about this.
"Okay, you seem fine. So, toast?" She instantly turned around and began getting the bread.
My mouth fell open. "That's it? I was honestly expecting you to hate me," I said without thinking.
Mrs. Michaels put the bread in the toaster before facing me again. "I can't hate you, my son loves you too much, and you just proved you love him as well. So that's it. I will say that if you do end up hurting him, it better be because of something that you had no control over," she warned.
Who knew moms could pull that off and make you want to pass out with fear?
I nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I promise."
Ren chose that minute to stumble in, running a hand through his hair. Somehow he managed to pull off that perfect bed-head look without even trying. It was sexy as hell.
"Hey, Isa. Hey, mom," he greeted, giving me a quick kiss. "What's going on?"
I glanced at his mom, who answered for me. "Lunch. Want some?"
Ren nodded and sat down. I moved slightly so I could lean into him, and saw his mom smile.
She'd trust me with him completely one day, I knew she would.
For now, I let what she thought of me slip out of my mind and enjoyed the feeling of being close to Ren.
So... there's the last chapter! Ugh that ending sucked, I just had no idea how else to end it!:/
Oh well... just the epilogue left and then I'm done:')
It's very bittersweet...
LOVE<3