Chapter 11
Ishika
They got tickets for a matinee movie for Saturday. I don’t know the name of the movie and I don’t even care.
Sadie styles my hair for me, adding curls only to the bottom of my hair but leaving the rest straight. She does my makeup next; I tell her to keep it natural and she nails it. She uses very little foundation and dabs my lips with strawberry lip balm.
“Thong or no thong? I say go commando.” Sadie considers a black silk thong.
“No, thanks. I’ll stick to my cotton undies. I’m not flashing him on our first date with his friends.”
“Would it kill you to live a little, Ishy. What if your bad boy wants to get a little frisky in the theater?”
“Then he’ll have to work for it.”
Will he want to touch me there?
“At least wear lace.”
I bite my lip. “What if he thinks I’m trying too hard?”
“Go hard or go home, girlfriend.” Sadie hands me the lace lingerie set. Examining the fabric, I decide to try them.
My C-cup breasts do look bigger in this push-up bra and the lacy boy shorts make me feel sexy. I like the feel of lace on my skin. Maybe Ryan will like it too.
A few minutes later, I am dressed in a short sunflower yellow skirt with frills and a sleeveless white top. Sadie and I did the hundred squats a day challenge for one hundred days. While I hated doing it back then, today I am grateful I finished that challenge.
My glutes and thighs look toned and my legs are long and defined. Placing my tan crossbody bag over my shoulders, I stare down at my white Converse shoes.
Sadie smacks my bottom. “Get him, babe.” She laughs.
“I really want him to like me, Sadie,” I exhale. There are a million thoughts running in my head right now. I am so nervous about this date.
I started this relationship all wrong. I asked Ryan to be my pretend boyfriend and now I am confused with all the sexual chemistry that zaps around us whenever we are in close proximity.
I don’t want to walk away from whatever this is. I don’t think I can. I want to see where this takes us. I want us to take a chance. But I don’t know if Ryan feels the same way as me.
“He likes to fuck women. He likes variety and no strings attached,” Owen had said about Ryan when he was going to introduce us for the pretend boyfriend act.
I had told Owen I needed a man who could walk away without causing any drama.
Owen told me Ryan never did relationships.
He has never had a girlfriend before. What if I pour my heart out only for him to reject me.
Ryan’s text arrives, jolting me out of my thoughts. He lets me know that he’ll pick me up in about ten minutes.
“He likes you already or he wouldn’t be taking you out to meet his friends. You have nothing to worry about. You look so smokin’ hot, babe. If I were into women, I’d totally do you right now.”
“I love you, Sadie.” I giggle, hugging her.
“Love you too, bestie.”
As I spray on some perfume, the doorbell rings.
“He’s already here,” I squeak nervously and do a quick glance at the mirror one last time.
We both head down and as Sadie opens the door, Brent smiles back at me from the patio.
“You girls heading out somewhere? I can give you a lift.” Brent gives me his easy carefree grin.
“Great idea. You can drive me home. Ishika’s waiting for her date.”
I watch Brent give me an overall look. The way he looks at me is different today. “I need to talk to Ishika. Why don’t you sit in my car?” Brent hands Sadie his car key.
Sadie, Brent, and I, we became friends because our parents go to the same country club.
The same club where Ryan’s father worked as a kitchen staff.
Where Ryan worked part-time as a dish hand.
I remember everything like it was yesterday.
The weekends when Ryan used to come work for his dad for the country club luncheon.
The late afternoons when after the end of his shift he sat at the steps of the kitchen patio and stared at me for hours from his side of the fence.
There was always something fierce and bold in the way he looked at me.
Like he wasn’t afraid to be caught looking.
Like he wanted me to know, his eyes were on me.
“Brent, I need you to leave. Ryan will be here any minute,” I say.
“You’re seriously dating that motherfucker? Your dad know about him?” Brent barks.
“Why are you suddenly so concerned about who I date?”
“Don’t you ruin her date, Brent. I swear I’ll punch your face if you make her cry,” Sadie stands up for me.
“She’ll end up crying if she continues whatever the fuck this is with Harper. He doesn’t do long term, Ishika. He fucks around. Ask anyone at the South Bar if you wanna know what his reputation really is. I’m saving you...”
“I don’t need saving,” I retort.
“Look, I wanted to ask you out,” Brent blurts out. “That’s the reason I’m here. Our parents always wanted us to be together.”
“You want to date her because she is dating someone else?” Sadie asks in mock surprise.
Her eyes tell me the ‘getting Brent jealous’ plan is working.
But I have a sinking feeling about that plan.
I don’t want Brent’s attention anymore. His put-together persona, gel-styled hairdo, and polo shirts, his latest model Porsche 911 sports car, and attention-seeking attitude doesn’t do it for me anymore.
He doesn’t make my heart dance and my heartbeats sing.
Come to think of it, he never did.
My past attraction to Brent feels like a dim flickering light bulb, about to meet its end, in comparison to what I feel for Ryan.
My reaction to Ryan mentally and physically feels like standing face-to-face with the blazing hot sun, like molten lava igniting something sinister and heating up the blood in my veins.
“I think we should date, make it a permanent thing. We will be seeing a lot of each other once you start dental school,” Brent continues and it irritates me.
“I just told you I’m dating Ryan. This conversation is not appropriate, Brent. I’m not going to date you just because we’ll be in the same dental school.”
“Are you in love with him?” Brent asks coming off a little desperate.
I frown at him. “I definitely like him more than I like you, right now. Especially since I saw the way you behaved with him.”
I don’t want Ryan to see Brent. I am about to go wait by the gate when Brent grabs my arm.
“Do you love him?” he asks again, pulling me closer to his body and his arms caging me. He sounds distressed.
I hear the rumble of the motorcycle closing in.
“I want to find out if I do,” I say, trying to withdraw myself.
“Ishy,” Brent calls. How I used to wait for him to call me that. “He’ll break your heart.”
“He won’t.” I smile at Brent because he has helped me see something. I need to be brave and take a leap. My heart knows Ryan will not hurt me. And if he does, then it’s on me.
“Okay, have it your way. Go ahead with your date. I’ll even apologize if it makes you feel better about the prank we played. Promise me, if you ever need me, if you need me to pick you up from somewhere or you just need a shoulder to cry on, you will call me.”
I hear Ryan’s motorcycle screech to a halt. I am about to turn but Brent holds my arm tighter.
“Ishy, first promise me we’re good. That we are still friends. I don’t like fighting with you. I’m sorry for crashing your date the other night. I will behave from now on, Ishy.”
“Yes. We are still friends.”
He bends and places a kiss on my cheek. Brent has given me hugs and pecked my cheek on occasion. I brush it off as nothing as he finally lets go of my arm.
“He is hot,” Sadie chirps from my side and I turn to the driveway to greet Ryan.
Holy Hell!
Ryan is pissed.
Again.
He is dressed in black from top to toe. His pants are black and so are his combat boots. He has a black T-shirt on that shows off a sliver of his ink on his perfectly bulging biceps.
“Hi, I’m Sadie. Ishy’s best friend.” Sadie runs to offer her hand to shake. Ryan takes her hand while his dark gaze is glued on me.
Brent bends to my ear and whispers conspiratorially, “Stay safe, Ishy.” I watch Ryan’s jaw tighten as Brent drapes a hand over my shoulder and walks with me.
Is he jealous? Or is he angry with Brent because of the other night?
“Hey, Ryan. Sorry about the other night, bro. It was supposed to be a prank, but things escalated. In my defense, I was drunk but I should not have said things about your family. My sincere apologies. I hope we can look past that.”
Brent is trying, I will give him that. Whatever rivalry they have, Brent is trying to cease fire. But Ryan is in no mood to end this.
Staring at Brent, he pulls his hand out of Sadie’s hand and grabs hold of my arm, yanking me closer and making Brent’s hand fall off my shoulders. With swift moves he buckles my helmet in place. He still hasn’t uttered a word to Sadie or Brent.
“Have fun, Ishy. I have my night shift this evening but I want all the details tomorrow,” Sadie says excitedly.
Brent comes over and gives my hand a squeeze. I watch Ryan’s eyes land on Brent’s hand, his lips snarl, his grip on the handles hardens, turning his knuckles white.
Ryan puts his own helmet back on, ready to take off.
“Take care of my favorite girl. Won’t you?” Brent tells Ryan. I swear I hear the sound as Ryan’s teeth grind. But then he kicks off the kickstand and off we go.
He whisks me away at high speed, leaving behind the burning smell of rubber. His bad temper is radiating off his body. It’s probably not a good idea to touch him so I grab on to the seat instead.