Chapter 16
CHAPTER 16
Izzy
Izzy lay sprawled across the hotel bed, one arm draped over her stomach, phone balanced loosely in her other hand. The room was dim, lit only by the bedside lamp and the faint neon glow from the city skyline outside. The sheets were cool against her skin, but she felt warm, buzzing with restless energy. She had spent the last twenty minutes flipping between apps, pretending she wasn’t waiting for a reason to text Kiera. She didn’t want to pressure Kiera into anything after their phone call the night before.
That conversation had played in her head all day, distracting her as she prepared for talks with potential partners in Denver, replaying on a loop in every free moment.
The excuse she landed on was nothing special, just a simple check in after reading the latest group chat.
Izzy
Hey, how was your day?
It took a few minutes for Kiera to respond, and Izzy was trying not to analyze what that meant when her phone buzzed.
Kiera
You’ll never guess what I did.
Izzy smiled, sitting up against the headboard. She sent back a silly reply, hoping to keep the mood light.
Izzy
Ate some very good cheese.
Kiera
I wish. Try again.
Izzy
Trained a chicken to do the bunny hop.
Kiera
Alas, untrue. They’re just completely uncoordinated when it comes to rhythm. Terrible students.
Izzy
Noted. Okay, sorry to bring the chickens into this. What’d you do today?
Kiera
A pole fitness class.
Izzy stared at the screen, grinning. The mental image of Kiera pole dancing hit her hard.
Izzy
I am very much in favor of this.
Kiera
Oh?
Izzy
For your personal growth, of course.
Kiera
Of course.
Izzy
So, should I start calling you Magic Mike?
Kiera
More like Tragic Mike. I was terrible.
Somehow Izzy highly doubted that. Kiera’s curves and confidence and just the way she kissed and moved beneath Izzy’s hands… No, there was no way that Kiera could be bad at that.
Izzy
But did you have fun?
Kiera
I did, actually. Which is weird. But I think I’m done being so scared of trying new things.
Izzy
Hell yeah, look at you. Next thing you know, you’ll be performing in Vegas.
Kiera
Give me six months. Maybe a year.
Izzy
I’ll start making flyers now. "Introducing Kiera, the Pole Dancing Queen."
Kiera
Oh god.
Izzy’s smile softened as she pondered the idea. Kiera was venturing into new territory. Stepping out of her comfort zone. A warmth bloomed in Izzy's chest, a feeling of unexpected pride for her.
Izzy
New things are good. Sometimes terrifying, but good.
Kiera’s response came quicker this time.
Kiera
What do you know about terrifying things?
Izzy
Well, Pete asked me to head up the new Denver project, which is absolutely terrifying, if you ask me.
Kiera
That’s exciting! You’re going to kill it.
Izzy
I don’t know. I’m just a bartender from San Francisco, you know? I don’t… help run foundations.
Kiera
It would seem everyone knows you’re definitely wrong and underestimating yourself. Including me. But I’m always here if you need an unemployed middle school science teacher’s opinion.
Izzy
I thought this was your cheerleading session for trying a new thing.
Kiera
I think we’ve established that mutual appreciation can be a very fun thing.
Izzy’s pulse picked up, and before she could talk herself out of it, she typed:
Izzy
So… about last night… Any thoughts?
The typing bubble appeared, then vanished. Izzy held her breath, cursing those three little typing dots. Then her screen lit up with an incoming call.
Kiera .
Butterflies cartwheeled in her stomach. She hesitated for half a breath before swiping to answer. “Hey.”
Kiera exhaled a quiet laugh. “Hi.”
They sat in silence for a long beat, filled with unspoken things, like they were both picking at the edges of something delicate and unspoken.
“So,” Izzy started, fingers toying with the hem of her shirt, “you called.”
“I did,” Kiera said, a smile in her voice. “Seemed easier than texting.”
Izzy huffed a laugh. “Debatable.”
A pause. Then Kiera sighed. “I don’t know what to say about last night. Or the night before.”
Izzy swallowed. “Me either.”
Another stretch of silence, but it wasn’t as suffocating as she’d feared. Finally, Kiera spoke again, her voice quieter. “I don’t regret it.”
Izzy closed her eyes, relief blooming in her chest. “Me either.”
Kiera hesitated. “But I don’t know what it means.”
Izzy’s grip tightened on the phone. “We don’t have to know what it means right now.”
Kiera was quiet for a beat, then exhaled. “Okay.”
Izzy could picture her then — probably pacing, or maybe sitting on the edge of her bed, her brows drawn together. Izzy felt a pang of such deep affection that her chest tightened, a painful but lovely sensation.
Izzy let out a breath, settling back against the pillows. “So, what was harder? The pole class or talking about feelings?”
Kiera let out a startled laugh. “They’re both brutal.”
Izzy smiled, letting the warmth of Kiera’s laugh settle into her bones. “Maybe we just take it slow. Figure it out as we go.”
Kiera was quiet for a moment, then said, “Yeah. I think I’d like that.”
Izzy was in uncharted territory. She knew how to burn fast and pull away quicker. She knew the rhythm of want without being wanted in return. But this? Slow could mean messier. It asked more of her. Kiera wasn’t rushing toward her or away from her — she was just there . Steady. Waiting. And it was both the kindest and most disarming thing Izzy had ever experienced. She didn’t know how to hold still in love, but maybe she wanted to try.
They weren’t solving anything tonight, but they weren’t running from it either. That was enough.
The conversation drifted after that, shifting into lighter territory — Kiera recounting a chaotic bedtime routine with her daughters, Izzy talking about a new smoothie place Pete had dragged her to that afternoon. The easy rhythm between them returned, familiar and comfortable, like the best parts of their friendship had never wavered. But underneath the jokes and tangents, something had shifted — a quiet current neither of them named, but both of them felt.
When they finally said goodnight, Izzy lay in bed staring at the ceiling, her pulse still a little too quick. She tried to pretend she wasn’t already thinking about seeing Kiera again. But she was. And for once, that didn’t feel like something she had to talk herself out of.
A few days passed, and Izzy threw herself into work with a level of focus she hadn’t tapped into in months. Pete had been right to push her — she needed to start acting like she belonged at Second Star, prove just how invested she was. So, she did. She sat in on every meeting, spoke up when she had ideas, and didn’t let Pete make all the decisions. It felt good. Like she was carving out a place for herself in something that mattered.
She barely had time to dwell on Kiera. Except, of course, when she did.
Every night, after the work emails had been sent and the spreadsheets reviewed, Izzy found herself staring at her phone. They texted every day, but that last phone conversation played over in her head, the ease of it, the warmth tucked between their words. They had left things open-ended, undefined, which should have made her feel unsettled, given how she was used to chasing unrequited affection. Now, instead of feeling unsettled, it had given her room to breathe.
Still, she kept waiting. For what, she wasn’t sure. Maybe for Kiera to talk about it first, to set the terms of whatever this was going to be. Izzy was so nervous about pushing Kiera too far, too fast, but her excitement made her want to take a chance. Like Pete had said, only Kiera could make that call for herself.
Izzy picked up her phone, pulled up her last text with Kiera, and typed.
Izzy
Hey. I have a serious question for you.
Kiera
Oh god. What?
Izzy grinned, tapping her fingers against the edge of her desk before responding.
Izzy
If I were to ask you on a date, like a real, actual date… what are the chances you’d say yes?
There. It was out in the world. No going back.
The response didn’t come right away. The typing bubble blinked in and out a few times, and Izzy could practically see Kiera hesitating, debating, overthinking — the exact same way Izzy had done for days. Had she asked too soon? Should she have let things sit a little longer?
Then, finally, Kiera’s reply came through.
Kiera
Are you asking me on a date? Or are you just gauging my reaction for research purposes?
Izzy huffed out a laugh, relief flooding through her.
Izzy
Hypothetically.
Kiera
I’d say… hypothetically, I’d need to know what the date entails.
Izzy
Oh, you know. Something classic. Candlelit dinner, wine, long walks on the beach where I try very hard not to be weird.
Kiera
So you’re planning on being weird. On the famous beaches of Denver.
Izzy
Can’t change who I am, Kiera.
There was another pause, then:
Kiera
Then yeah. I think I’d say yes.
Izzy didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath until she let it out in a slow, measured exhale.
Izzy
Good. Because I wasn’t just asking hypothetically.
She set her phone down on her desk, waiting, heart in her throat. The response came quickly this time.
Kiera
Then I guess I have a date with you.
Izzy stared at the words for a long moment, a slow smile pulling at her mouth before she even realized it. Warmth spread through her, low and steady, like something waking up. She didn’t know what this was going to turn into, but for once, she couldn’t wait to find out.