59. Isaac
Chapter 59
Isaac
“ I ’m almost ready, I promise!” Jo’s voice echoes from the bathroom, and I just shake my head. It’s been nearly two hours, and she has barred me from seeing anything that she’s doing. It took fifteen minutes of begging, but she finally let me empty my bladder, only after she tiptoe ran into our bedroom with a towel wrapped around her torso.
My bedroom.
“It’s no rush,” I yell back down the hallway towards the sound of running water and hot hair tools. “Liam’s not getting there for another hour.” I check the time on the microwave. “And it’s only 6.”
“Agh, shit!” A scream accompanies the sound of something hitting the tiled floor. I shoot out of my chair and rush down the hall. “No! Don’t come in here. I’m fine!” My shoulders slump, and I turn back towards the kitchen.
“If you have any visible scars, bruises, or broken bones, we’re not going to this party,” I add before I sit back down at the dining table and continue my puzzle.
“Oh, shut up and make me some coffee.” The water turns off. “Please,” she coos. “It’ll be a miracle if I make it to midnight.”
I’m no night owl, but we’ve fallen asleep before 10 p.m. every night this week. My brain tells me that it’s the post-semester exhaustion, and that it happens every break. My heart tells me that having Jo here is the most calm I’ve been in my whole life. Are there any peer reviewed studies on the effect of love on sleep?
The coffee begins to percolate, and I pull two mugs out of the cabinet.
“Okay.” Her voice is closer. I spin around to see her standing in the hall. She is remarkable. “I’m ready,” she says with a hesitant shrug.
For the last twelve years, Jo has lived at the forefront of my consciousness. I’ve tried to shove her away. To replace her.
I’m a stupid fucking man.
“Oh my God, is it bad?” She asks, running her palms down the front of the sparkly silver fabric of her dress. “I knew I should’ve gotten black.”
Three large strides around the kitchen island and my hands are on her hips, pulling her towards me.
“You are perfect .”
I gently press my lips to hers before pulling away to study her face. “Okay, we’ve gotta go now.” I release my grasp on her hips and take off towards the bedroom. “I just need to get dressed,” I shout.
“What’s the rush?” She’s behind me in the doorway of the bedroom.
“I will break every traffic law to get you to this party and show you off.”
“Hey!” The bar explodes with yells and cheers when Jo and I breach the entrance. She wouldn’t actually let me drive here, so we took an Uber across town. Liam is the first to hand me a beer. “I hope you both don’t mind that I invited the girls.”
Jo and I glance at each other, confused. It’s not until we see Carmen and Chloe sitting at the bar that the big picture starts to emerge. Liam turns to walk back towards them, and Jo leans into me.
“I know he’s been talking to Carmen about London, but Chloe?”
I shrug, wrapping my arm around her waist and tucking her to my side. The music is loud, and the reflections of the disco balls hanging from the tiles of the ceiling are just a little too bright, but I’m grounded with her.
We take a few steps further into the bar as Liam alerts Carmen and Chloe of our presence. They both swivel around on their barstools, almost completely in sync, and wave chaotically at us.
Drunk already.
The bartender, who I swear I know from somewhere, drops five shot glasses off in front of us, and I cringe.
“There are still four hours until midnight, Carm. Can we cool it?” Carmen shakes her head, forcing the glasses into our hands.
“C’mon grandpa, life’s short.”
Liam counts down, and we down the lemon-flavored liquor. Chloe sputters and coughs, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Liam laughs at her before offering a napkin that he pulled from his jacket pocket.
“Chloe can’t handle her alcohol,” he teases, and she swats him in the chest with the back of her arm.
“Shut up, asshole,” Chloe shouts over the music.
Carmen stands from her bar stool and wraps her hands around both Jo and Chloe’s forearms. “Let’s dance.” The three women head towards the dance floor, leaving Liam and I to maintain our spot at the bar.
“Jo looks beautiful,” Liam says, nudging me with his elbow. I flag down the bartender for another beer, and he drops off one for each of us. I set my credit card down on the bar top and he nods, swiping and stashing it away for our inevitable next round.
The night is young and has so much potential.
“I think I want Jo to move in with me,” I say, my eyes following her across the room.
“It’s been like a month, bro.” Liam shakes his head, taking a long swig of his beer.
“I know,” I hesitate. “But also it’s been so much longer than that.”
The music switches to a slower-paced tune, and Jo’s shoulders drop in disappointment. She starts her trek back towards us, and Carmen and Chloe follow.
“When you know, you know,” I add quietly before they reach us.
Carmen’s hand shoots between Liam and I, flagging down the bartender once more. He’s going to absolutely hate us.
“Can I get a brandy old-fashioned, sweet?” Carmen leans between us so she doesn’t have to shout.
“Oh, me too!” Chloe and Jo throw their hands up in the hair simultaneously.
Liam and I look at each other, wide-eyed. We’re in danger.
The night proceeds as any New Year’s Eve party should. The liquor flows freely, and the smile on Jo’s face hasn’t disappeared for hours. Neither has mine.
“I miss Dick Clark,” Jo says, staring up at the television screens above the bar.
“Honestly, Ryan Seacrest just doesn’t do it for me,” Carmen adds.
The rush to midnight has begun, and couples collect on the main dance floor of the bar. The lights have dimmed, but Jo’s dress sparkles in the reflection of the neon signs around the room.
She grabs my arm and pulls me off the bar stool, wrapping her arms around my waist.
It’s time.
“Can I say something?” I whisper in her ear. She perks up, meeting my gaze.
“Sure, of course.” Her fingers graze the side of my face, and I let my eyes fall closed. “What’s wrong?”
I take a deep breath and open my eyes again.
“I’ve always loved you, Jocelyn. But I can honestly say that I am unequivocally in love with you. All of you.”
Her jaw opens and shuts, like she can’t decide if she has a response or not.
“You don’t have to say anything,” I add quickly. “I have just been holding this in for so long. I needed it out.”
“I have loved you for 12 years, Isaac,” she blurts out, running her palms up the sides of my arms before she settles them around my neck. “I am so in love with you it makes me nauseous.”
I press my mouth to hers, and she opens for me. No more hesitation. The crowd around us counts down, but it’s mostly a blur. My only focus is Jo, and everything that can and will be.
I will love this beautiful woman until the day I die.
The clock strikes midnight, and the crowd goes wild, a blend of cheers and shouts and love. I pull away from her, just enough to glance around the room. Liam and Chloe are standing awkwardly at the corner of the bar, each with a drink in their hand. Carmen is nowhere to be found.
She places a hand gently on my face and turns me back to her, kissing me again. And again.
“Isaac?” I lean my forehead against hers, refusing to open my eyes and let this moment go.
“Hmm?”
She wraps her arms around my neck and buries her face in my chest. “Is this real?”
I hoist her up off the floor and twirl her around in a circle. “The realest thing I’ve ever experienced in my entire life.”
I’m startled by Liam’s hand landing on my shoulder. Setting Jo back down onto her heels, I realize the bar has already started to clear.
“I ordered us an Uber, do you guys need one?” I look to Jo for backup, but she’s glaring at Chloe.
“He’s dropping me off at home, okay? Chill.”
“I’ll order us one,” Jo adds, pulling her phone out of her purse.
I follow Liam’s gaze until his eyes find mine, and I raise my eyebrows in question. He shakes his head, blowing off the question before I can even ask it.