On Purpose

~22~

She stood in my living room, looking at me, making me more aware of myself.
"I'm sorry, Isabelle. I'm stupid, I know that."
I pause briefly, expecting her to interject or share her thoughts, but she remains silent. She patiently waits for me to proceed, and so I do.
"I was overthinking-mostly bad things-and I walked out. I know this is a shitty excuse, but it's all I have. And I am so sorry."
She glared at me when I finished, giving me the same kind of glare that Kyle had given me. Instead of sighing with defeat, I was surprised when she smirked and hugged me.
"I forgive you Dip-Noodle." She uttered it in a hushed tone, as if she was speaking with her heart. I embraced her firmly, my arms encircling her midsection. She withdrew and glanced at her watch.
"Are you busy?" I asked her.
"No, my show comes on in an hour."
"I know you still probably hate me, but can you come with me to dinner with my friend and his wife?"
Her eyes illuminate with joy.
"You have a friend?"
I give her a stern look, which elicits a laughter of amusement from her.
"Yes, it's a story I'll have to tell you one of these days. Anyways, I met his wife and she wants to meet you over dinner tonight."
She gave me a skeptical look as I said, "Please?" I held back a smile as she rolled her eyes and shrugged.
"Okay, sure. I'll go, but if she asks how we met, I'm making something up."
"What's so bad with getting hit with a door?"
"Everything."

][}{][

Kyle and I found ourselves in the kitchen, a space that suddenly felt suffocatingly silent. In that moment, I was at a loss for words, unsure of how to break the heavy tension that hung in the air. Questions swirled in my mind, begging to be voiced, but I held them back, afraid of adding to Kyle's distress. The weight of unspoken thoughts and unasked questions pressed upon me, but I chose silence, hoping it was the best choice, but he spoke up.
"Don't even dare."
His words were spoken in a deep tone, accompanied by the clenching of his teeth, which caused his temples to become visible and his jawline to tighten. As he spoke, a chill ran down my spine, sending shivers up and down my back. I found myself at a loss for words, unsure of how to respond. Although I had several questions I wanted to ask, all I managed to utter was a simple, "What do you mean?" My tone was innocent, soft, and gentle, but it seemed to only further fuel his anger, if that was even possible.
He looked at me, and in that moment, I could sense the tension building. I braced myself, expecting a punch, a slap, or some form of physical aggression. But to my surprise, nothing happened. Instead, he continued to stare at me, his gaze filled with disdain as if I were an idiot.
Without wasting another minute, he finally broke the silence and spoke.
"How you're flirting with my wife, that's fucked up man."
I was taken aback, my eyes widening in surprise. Was he truly being serious? No, he must be out of his mind. If there was any flirting happening, it was initiated by her. She was the one inquiring about my romantic life, as if she were collecting information about me for her own hidden motives.
"Kyle, you know I wouldn't do that. If I were after your wife, why would I bring a girl over that I liked?"
While I ignored my words about liking Isabelle, he seemed to take my words into consideration and then he sighed with defeat.
"I'm sorry, Olly, you're right."
He gently rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger and let out a sigh, which marked the almost hundredth time he had done so today.
As I was about to speak, Heaven entered while holding some plates.
"You guys ready?"
Her tone was gentler than it was when she and I last spoke.
Kyle placed his arm around my neck and pulled me into a headlock. Heaven primarily gazed at me as I attempted to free my head from Kyle's firm grip.
"Yeah, where's Olly's girlfriend?" Kyle asked with a little teasing in his voice.
Heaven averted her gaze from me and directed it towards Kyle.
"She's not his girlfriend."
She swiftly left the kitchen, carrying the plates.
I gazed at Kyle with a sense of curiosity, hoping that he was pondering the same notions as me.
Was Heaven jealous?

][}{][

While sitting at the table, we passed fries and more fish. Isabelle appeared confident and unreserved. She added more fries to her plate and leaned towards me, her eyes fixed on her food. I heard her speak, but I didn't understand what she said, so I leaned closer and asked, "What did you say?"
She glanced in my direction, her eyes locking with mine, and slowly leaned closer until her lips were near my ear. The scent of her perfume filled my senses, a sweet fragrance reminiscent of candy. It was intoxicating, drawing me in even closer, if that was even possible.
In that moment, we were so close that our lips could have met if I turned my head, a possibility that surprisingly didn't bother me. Despite knowing that our friendship was something that I treasured and us being here in Kyle's house was built on a lie, a charade of my feigned affection for her, there was a part of me that hesitated to reject the idea of kissing her. The internal conflict left me feeling unsettled, unsure of my own desires.
"I said, thank God it's fish and fries instead of tacos. I have a strong feeling you have some kind of problem with tacos." After a brief pause, she glanced up at me. It appeared that she was comfortable with our closeness. "What did Tacos ever do to you?"
I had prepared a clever response, but I was unable to deliver it as Heaven interrupted with a throat-clearing sound. It was intentional, as Isabelle and I were aware of it, we both sat up in our seats and looked at Heaven.
"Isabelle, right?" Heaven inquired, showcasing her radiant smile.
Isabelle starts chewing on a fry and nods.
"I'm so glad you joined us for dinner tonight."
Heaven smiled and lifts her wine glass and takes a sip. She doesn't put the glass down, but instead waits for Isabelle to speak.
"Well, thank you for having me."
I stared at my plate, unsure of how to react. I longed for the comfort of being back at my house with Isabelle. We had spent hours playing on my Xbox before heading to Kyle's house for dinner.
Here we are now, and while Isabelle remained calm, I appeared as if I could wet myself.
"Of course. So how did you and Olly meet?"Heaven inquired and took a sip of her wine once again. I stole a quick glance at Kyle. He was looking at me in the same manner, appearing uncomfortable.
"Well, it's a funny story," Isabelle stated with an embarrassed chuckle as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"I am certain we could all benefit from a good laugh." Heaven remarked, finally placing her wine glass down. As I turned my gaze towards Isabelle, I found her already looking at me.
Before I could offer a smile or avert my eyes, she reached under the table and intertwined our hands. I felt my heart rate slow down. It was such a relief, like quenching my thirst with water when I need it desperately. I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
"Well, I had borrowed a few books from my job." I watched her as she told the true story of how we met. I suppressed a smile and softly held her hand in my lap. She kept going. "My boss let me take them home since I like reading. I was late for work and couldn't find my bag so I carried them. When I was walking by a Starbucks a door opened and hit me right in the face."
Kyle snorted as Heaven smacked his arm to silence him. He stopped, but kept a smile on his face, which made me want to laugh too.
"Well, yours truly was the one who hit me with the door. And he didn't apologize. You wanna know what he did?"
Heaven looked indifferent while Kyle leaned in.
"What?" He inquired eagerly.
"He offered me coffee."
Kyle erupted in laughter as Isabelle carried on.
"I technically told him to go fuck himself. Then he said he didn't get to apologize at first because he had coffee in his mouth."
Kyle's increased laughter prompted Heaven to deliver another smack.
"Well, that's an unfortunate way to meet your partner." Heaven said, annoyed.
"I think it's romantic." Kyle smiled at me, then at Isabelle.
"Partner? Oh no, we ended up being great friends. I even met his dad."
Heaven gave me a stern look, but greeted Isabelle with a smile as she spoke, "You didn't know? He has a crush on you."
I felt my hands begin to sweat as Isabelle's eyes bore into me. With a trembling hand, I clutched the glass of water, its icy contents dancing and colliding like a symphony of sound. The condensation on the glass offered a cool respite, a soothing touch amidst my nervousness.
"So, how did you two meet?" I inquired, my voice trembling, as I redirected the conversation.
"Collage, but he took a while before purposing." Kyle playfully rolled his eyes as Heaven smiled at him.
I heard her words, but I wasn't paying attention. I held onto Isabelle's hand and looked over at her. She was smiling at Heaven as she spoke, but I knew she wasn't listening either. I think we both were thinking the same thing, and I was afraid of how Isabelle will react when we're alone.
She noticed my gaze, and my heart broke as she withdrew her hand from mine and rested it on her lap.
I feared the worst at that point.