Kael had always been puzzled by girls, but this really did seem to be a step too far. Why on earth would Isis burst into tears at the sight of her mother? For a moment, he stood stock still, frozen with surprise.
Isis seemed frozen too, but he moved to her side, and put his hands on both of her shoulders, looking into her tear filled eyes with concern. ‘Isis? Are you alright?’
Isis tried to speak, but tears were slipping down her face in shiny streaks. Using his thumb, Kael gently wiped them away, smiling confusedly at her. ‘Give me one second,’ she said, her voice husky with tears, and, nodding, he brushed a kiss to her temple and headed out of the door, sitting on the dingy carpet outside.
‘Mum!’ Racing over, Isis flung her arms around her mother. ‘You came out of your room!’
Her mother smiled, actually smiled, and gestured to her lap. ‘Well, I realised something. You can’t wear your brother’s cast offs and your old jeans on dates with that new boy- who, by the way, seems absolutely lovely- but, if I adjust some of my old dresses, I think they’d suit you.’
‘But you came out!’ Isis repeated. ‘You’re not in your room!’
‘Of course not. The sewing stuff was in here.’ Her mum looked round the room with a smile. ‘It’s nice to be out. It was scary at first, but I did it.’
‘I’m so proud of you,’ Isis said, meaning it. ‘That’s fantastic.’
Her mum actually blushed. ‘I was silly not to do it months ago.’ Her eyes flew to the door. ‘Anyway, I shouldn’t keep you from your man. Has he come round for a chat, or…?’
‘Well, he invited me out, but I thought I’d better check,’ Isis explained. ‘Is it alright for me to go?’
‘Of course!’ Handing her the flowery material, her mum grinned. ‘You’re just in time; I’ve literally just finished this.’
‘You have?’ Isis held up the material, shaking it out so it formed into the shape of a dress; a simple day dress that had survived the generations by being a timeless, classic cut which Isis actually liked. ‘Thanks, Mum.’
Quickly slipping into it, grabbing a cardigan, she brushed through her hair and gave her mum a hug. ‘I’m not sure when I’ll be back.’
‘Take your time,’ her mum told her, her eyes brighter than usual. She looked like a different person, Isis couldn’t help but think. ‘And enjoy yourself. You deserve some time off.’
Reaching up to kiss her on the cheek, Isis grinned at her. ‘I definitely will.’
Kael looked up as Isis came out of the living room, a huge beam plastered across her face, all trace of crying vanished. She looked stunning. Dazzling.
Dressed in a pretty flowery dress which stopped just above her knees, revealing a pair of very beautiful, slender calves, Isis looked completely different. Kael’s eyes travelled upwards, skimming over the subtle curves which the dress revealed, up to her chest where the cut of the dress, while not revealing any cleavage, hinted at the curve of her breasts, making Kael’s jaw go a little slack with surprise.
Standing up, he took both of her hands and beamed at her. ‘You look gorgeous,’ he said, noticing that the dress made her eyes appear bluer. She was like a breath of fresh summer air in the wintry evening with the dress and her hair and her freckles. He just wanted to hold her.
She flushed. ‘Thanks.’
‘So, what’s the deal, then?’ he inquired, tearing his eyes away from her legs. He was a boy, after all. ‘Are you coming for Date Number One?’
Isis grinned. ‘Why else would I be wearing this?’
He cocked his head, mischievously. ’To impress me?’
She gave him a light shove. ’Don’t be silly.’
He looked at her. ’You are coming, then?’
‘Of course I am.’ She looked so adorable that he had to kiss her, right there and then.
By the time they’d got into the car, the sun had come out. Isis smiled up into the warm rays, blissfully beaming in a way that sent Kael’s pulse racing. To stop the unholy thoughts running through his mind, he started the engine.
‘So,’ he began. ‘Forgive me if I’m being nosey, but that wasn’t the normal way to greet your mum, was it?’
Isis laughed. ‘No. I don’t usually burst into tears.’
‘I’m glad to hear it,’ he replied. ‘May I ask why you did?’
Isis looked at her fingers. ‘My mum’s been going downhill ever since my dad’s death,’ she explained. ‘It started with her having to leave her job, then she was too scared to leave the house… and then too scared to leave her room.’ She bit her lip. ‘Maybe scared is the wrong word. She just didn’t want to, she said she couldn’t.’
‘But she did today?’
‘For the first time!’ Isis looked at him, her eyes shining with excitement. ‘That’s why I cried. I thought she’d never leave her room again, and I was just so happy.’
He grinned at her. ‘You’re always happy, it seems.’
She giggled, and then shrugged. ‘To be honest, a lot of the time it’s a façade,’ she admitted. ‘If I’m miserable, it’ll bring Freya and Seb down. If I smile, and act as if everything’s rosy, it helps them.’ She looked out of the window, contemplating it. ‘I think it helps me too.’
Kael moved his hand to cover her own, meeting her eyes and smiling. The more he spent time with this girl, the more he found out about her, the deeper he fell. Who knew that she had such dark things in her past, and had had to cope with things that were so difficult for a girl her age to cope with. She was only seventeen, going on eighteen for crying out loud. He felt all the more determined to give her the perfect first date.
As they drove up a narrow, tree lined avenue, Isis peered out of the window, feeling rather awed. The properties along this street all looked extremely expensive.
Kael turned off, speeding up another road, until he reached a massive set of imposing gates, ornately decorated with metal spirals and curls. They opened automatically, and he cruised up the main, white paved drive.
Isis gaped. ‘This is your house?’ she inquired.
Kael nodded bashfully. ‘Yes.’
It was huge. Sprawling before them, all white walls and glass windows, the house seemed endless to Isis. Kael pulled the car to a stop, and, taking Isis by the hand, led her to the main door. Climbing up a set of immaculate steps, potted plants spilling green leaves artistically over their rims, Kael opened the door with his house key, and stepped inside.
It was huge in there too. In a reception room that was three times the size of the living room Isis slept in, a sweeping staircase caught Isis’s eye. Lined with red carpet, the stairs led upwards in a curving arc to what looked like another reception room. Each of the rooms had several doors leading off of them, and Isis, though itching to be nosey and explore, looked to Kael in bewilderment, wondering which one she was meant to go through.
Kael smiled self consciously at her, as if he was ashamed that he was so wealthy, and that she was so poor.
Heading through the first door on the left, Kael showed Isis through to the kitchen, inquiring if she wanted a drink or anything. She was too awed by the shiny perfection of the kitchen utensils, the appliances, everything that was all so very perfect, shiny and new to say anything.
‘You must be very rich,’ she murmured to him.
He ducked his head. ’Mm. I guess we are.’
Suddenly, someone wandered into the room, glaring at their mobile phone. Isis frowned. She was tanned, with long, black hair and heavily made up eyes. She was dressed extremely poshly, with what looked like a designer cocktail dress on, and she was very beautiful. She looked quite a lot like Kael. But he’d said he didn’t have any siblings, and she seemed far too young to be his…
‘Mum!’ Kael said, reaching out to slip his arm around Isis’s waist.
His mother glanced up, and smiled at her son. Then, looking at Isis, she frowned. ‘Kael, we have a dinner party today, you can’t have people round.’
‘What?’ Kael asked. ‘I didn’t know about a dinner party!’
His mother rolled her eyes. ‘You don’t have to actually go to it; you just need to stay out of the way, alright? I can’t deal with people knowing you were kicked out of school.’
Her voice was finely clipped and she perfectly accentuated every syllable. Isis wondered if she ever dressed in shabby clothes.
‘Can Isis stay if we both keep out of the way?’ Kael asked, with a sigh.
‘Isis?’ Kael’s mother turned, and looked at Isis. With one sweep of her long lashes, she looked her up and down, making Isis suddenly feel as if her dress was a particularly smelly old potato bag. ‘Oh.’
Kael could have slapped his mother. He knew she was funny about the girls he brought home, but he’d brought home barely any before. He thought she might be able to over look the fact that Isis wasn’t dressed in designer gear the way that his mother always did. Looked like she couldn’t.
‘We won’t get in the way at all,’ Kael promised. ‘Please, Mum?’
His mother looked extremely fed up, but she rolled her eyes and nodded her head. ‘Fine.’
‘Thank you,’ Isis said, shyly.
His mother gave her a brisk nod of the head, and turned on her heel, marching out of the room.
Kael looked at Isis; she looked a little downcast by his mother’s reaction. ‘Don’t worry about her,’ he told her, putting his other arm around her waist too. ‘We’re going to have a fantastic time.’
Isis grinned cheekily at him. ‘Are we now?’
‘Yes,’ Kael replied. ‘I’ve decided to be as sickeningly romantic as I can to try and make this the best date ever.’ He kissed her temple, in a casual way that made Isis want to just stay there in his arms forever.
‘Well, I look forward to it, then,’ she answered. He let go of her, taking her hand instead, their fingers interlacing.
‘Ready?’
‘Of course.’
As he led her from the kitchen, through to a room with large glass windows that went from floor to ceiling, Isis’s eyes widened in amazement. This room held a great deal expensive looking furniture and, in the corner, a beautiful grand piano, the keys shiny and perfect.
The view from the windows was astounding. The green grassed lawns stretched far out away from them, endless flower beds and paths enticing her eye to look further. As Kael opened the door, the calming twitter of birdsong made its way to her ears, and, as they stepped out into the fresh air, the sun was hovering above the horizon, sending the clouds around it flushed with a red gold colour.
He led her down through an archway, through a terrace filled with twining plants and flowers, down over a little hill… and then Isis stopped short, her mouth falling open.
‘You have a lake?!’
Kael chuckled. ‘Yep.’
It was huge. The flat surface of the water was only broken by a few ducks splashing around, trees by the side of it dangling artistically down. The sunlight reflected off of the water, making it look as if large sections of the lake were glowing bright gold.
Leading her down, walking backwards so he could hold both of her hands and witness her expression, Kael beamed at her reaction. He was hoping she’d like the lake.
He pulled her through the draping branches of a willow tree, so they were inside a leafy cave. Then, dropping a gentle kiss on her lips (he couldn’t resist), he turned her so she was looking at a small wooden boat, two oars sticking out.
Her eyes went wider. He chuckled. Giving it a push, he heaved it through more overhanging leaves, and, with a gentle splash, it slid into the water. Helping her in, he followed himself, sitting knee to knee with her, his arms in the right position to man the oars.
With firm, powerful strokes, he set the boat off, moving smoothly across the water. Isis was looking around as if she couldn’t quite believe her eyes. ‘This is incredibly romantic, Kael,’ she told him, giving him a gorgeous smile.
That made it all worthwhile to him. ‘Well, you know me,’ he responded. ‘Romance is my middle name.’
She snorted, and looked up at him, bright eyed with laughter. The evening sunlight cast her hair in a golden-red glow as she quickly ran her tongue over her lips, a casual gesture that sent Kael’s pulse racing.
She looked adorably kissable, he realised, with a start. So kissable, that he was struggling to keep himself under control. Just one look from those eyes, and he was starting to feel as if he couldn’t live much longer without feeling the touch of her lips.
Moving forwards, he lifted the oars out of the water, and caught her lips with his. She let out a little squeak of surprise, and, as he moved his lips against her own, she responded eagerly, so eagerly that soon, she was lying in the bottom of the boat, her hair fanned out around her, Kael’s arms tight around her waist.
His lips moved from her own, brushing feather soft across her cheeks, her jaw, up to her temple. She giggled. ‘This is scandalous, Kael.’
He chuckled back, making his lips reverberate a little against her skin. ‘Fun though, isn’t it?’
‘Mm, if you say so,’ she said, attempting to hide the laughter in her voice, and, rather cutely, failing.
He lifted his head, looking at her with his eyebrows raised. ‘Do I need to convince you, then?’
Her eyes widened. ‘Um…’
He pulled her into a sitting position, and looked at her. ‘Ready?’ he asked.
She shook her head. He just laughed. ‘Close your eyes.’
Wincing, she obeyed. He left it tantalizingly long, making her anticipate the feel of his lips long before they came. When he did move his mouth to her, she flinched in surprise. His lips gently brushed against her ear lobe, his teeth softly nibbling the edge. She gasped, and felt him smile into her cheek. Her every defence came crumbling down, and she turned, giving up all ideas of resistance.
Their lips met like a thunderclap, Kael pulling her securely into his arms, her palms pressed against his chest. The kiss was more than just passionate, it was everything; Isis felt so light-headed that she wasn‘t sure of anything anymore, only that Kael was kissing her, and that she never wanted him to stop.
His lips skimmed across her skin, dropping down her neck. The gentle touch of his mouth sent shivers down her spine, and she arched her neck, granting him better access as his tongue explored her collarbone, giving her feelings she‘d never known existed.
Then he returned to her mouth, and, as she tentatively slipped her tongue through his lips, he abandoned any ideas of holding back, and delicately, he began to suck the tip of it.
She gasped again, the sensation making the hair stand up on the back of Kael’s neck. The tiniest things she did just had that affect on him.
It had grown dark by the time they rowed back in. Kael pulled the boat up onto a tiny little stone beach, only visible due to the lights which had come on. Sitting down, he pulled her into his lap, noting with satisfaction that her lips were rather swollen, her cheeks flushed pink.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a lighter, and set fire to a small pile of sticks in front of them. It burst into flames. Isis jumped, and almost fell out of his lap.
Kael chuckled. ‘Marshmallow?’ he inquired, producing a pair of skewers with marshmallows stuck on top.
Isis licked her lips. ‘Definitely.’
Toasting the marshmallows in the hot flames which danced around them, Isis looked up at Kael, the firelight making the darker shadows of his face contrast more sharply with the lighter areas. She kept discovering all these new sides to Kael, and she seemed to like each side more and more. This romantic, tender side was one she especially liked.
‘So,’ Kael said, turning the skewer expertly to toast both sides of the marshmallow, ‘how’s this for a first date?’
Isis beamed. ‘Not to swell your ego, but it’s perfect.’
Kael looked adorably pleased with himself. ‘Perfect, huh?’
Isis nodded. ‘The rowing was particularly romantic.’
‘I thought it would be!’ Kael cheered, triumphantly. ‘I love the lake.’
‘It is beautiful,’ Isis said, wistfully looking out over the lake lit only by moonlight and the garden lights across the grounds.
Kael lifted the skewer, experimentally. Tapping the marshmallow with one finger, he fed it to Isis, laughing as the pink goo smeared itself all over her lips.
‘Hey,’ she mumbled, through a mouthful. ‘That was cheeky!’
Kael kissed the goo off of her sticky lips, grinning at the way that she now tasted of marshmallow. As soon as his mouth left hers, she pushed her own marshmallow into it, chuckling as he struggled to eat it without ending up with the same fate that she had suffered.
‘Not so easy now, is it?!’ she asked, giggling at him.
He lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender. ‘My apologies.’ His eye lighted upon a little blob of marshmallow that had somehow got onto her neck, standing out against her pale skin.
Her eyes followed his gaze, and she rolled her eyes. ‘How did that get there?’ she asked, moving to wipe it away, but Kael’s hand stilled hers.
‘Allow me,’ he said, in his most seductive voice. Bending his head, he gently licked the marshmallow from her neck, making goose bumps break out across her skin. He couldn’t help but smile at that, and continue his path down, quite unnecessarily. Moving over the material of her sleeve, he kissed all the way down the length of her arm, over her elbow, to her wrist. Kissing the back of her hand, over the top of her fingers to then press one last kiss to the centre of the palm of her hand.
He stopped, and looked up at her. Her pupils were dilated, as she looked at him, wide eyed, even more beautiful by fire light. ’Sorry,’ he murmured, unable to stop a smile. ’Got a little carried away.’
She grinned. ’It was a pleasure,’ she said, reaching for another marshmallow to toast.
‘How is it,’ Kael began, watching her concentrate on toasting the marshmallow, ‘kissing Callum?’
Isis chuckled. ‘Jealous, Mr Willoughby?’
‘Not at all,’ he replied.
‘It’s amazing,’ she replied, looking at him sincerely. ‘He’s the best kisser I’ve ever kissed.’
‘Excuse me!’ Kael swiped at her. ‘You’d better be joking!’ Reaching out, he began to mercilessly tickle her, until she squealed for forgiveness.
‘I’m kidding, I’m kidding!’ she promised. ‘It’s not terrible, it’s just… nothing special. How’s that?’
‘I’m still not sure I like watching it,’ Kael admitted. ‘But as long as I can take the taste of him away afterwards, it’ll do.’
Isis raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re more than welcome to. Just off stage, if you don’t mind. I don’t think it’s really in Mercutio’s character to kiss Juliet.’
‘We could write it in!’ Kael suggested.
Isis laughed. ‘You’re too eager, mister.’
He shrugged. ‘Only when it comes to you, baby.’
Baby. He’d never have called anyone else that, but with Isis, the pet name just came naturally to him. It just sort of, well, slipped out.
They stayed out in the dark for an immeasurable amount of time, chatting about everything and anything. Kael felt like he had never gotten on with someone so well, he couldn’t imagine chatting to any of his friends before, let alone for this long. There were no awkward silences; conversation just came easily to them. Perhaps it helped that Isis was a chatterbox, but he was actually interested in what she had to say, and felt as if he was talking just as much as she was.
She told him more about her father, getting a little teary eyed, and he told her about his family, about how he didn’t really know either his mother or his father thanks to being away at boarding school for such a large amount of time.
When they finally wandered back to the house, the guests were sat in the dining room with his parents, drinking out of crystal wine glasses and eating what was probably some sort of expensive local meat in a rich sauce the cook had most likely spent hours on previously in the day.
‘I’d better take you back home,’ Kael said, looking at the clock as they walked into the hallway.
Isis nodded reluctantly. ‘This has been so much fun,’ she told him, gratefully. ‘I’ve really enjoyed myself.’
Kael grinned. ‘That’s great. Date Number Two will have to be even better.’
‘I don’t see how it can be!’ Isis said. As they walked past the dining room, Kael heard a snatch of conversation. Whilst his dad was talking to someone about business, he heard a woman with an extremely posh voice tell his mother all about her horticulture.
‘Sounds fascinating,’ he murmured to Isis, slipping his arm around her waist.
She giggled. ‘Scintillating.’ He realised something. Whenever other girls had giggled before, he’d found it incessantly annoying. Isis’s giggle never failed to make him smile: it was innocent, but adorable at the same time.
The way home went far too quickly. Chattering away, he didn’t quite realise they were there until Isis was undoing her seatbelt, and felt his stomach sink with disappointment.
‘Thanks so much,’ she said, pausing with her hand on the handle of the car door. ‘I really had a lovely time.’
‘Thank you for coming,’ responded Kael, leaning over for a kiss.
When she’d finally gone, and headed up to the flat, Kael sat still for a while, staring at the spot where she’d last been. She was just… perfect. Everything he’d ever wanted in a girl had gone out of the window, but he didn’t care. He hadn’t been looking for the One, he never had been, but somehow, he was coming to realise that Isis really could be the One for him. He was starting to come to accept something; something very surreal and strange for him. He was starting to realise that he could well be in love, in love, with Isis McKinley, and somehow, he could not be happier.