Sunkissed Serendipity

Chapter 50

Julian

I don't even need to look around to know that Isla is at my house. After dinner with my parents yesterday, I knew that she would be here after I came back from work. I'm glad that she is going to work almost every weekday, which is brutal. I get Friday off occasionally, but the weekend is something I can always count on. Isla being home makes up for the fact that I just put up with rich, spoiled old men for the last six hours. I hated my job, but quitting was not on the table.

I head over to the couch and slide into the spot between Isla and my brother. Jack groans when I accidentally hit him, while Isla only giggles in response to my leg accidentally hitting hers. It's nice to know that she liked my proximity, unlike my brother. "So we are playing or what?" I say when Jack gives me a blank look. Isla laughs, throwing the remote controller on my lap.

"Thank you," I say to her, turning around to finally get a good look at her. She has been in a good mood the last few seconds I've been here, and she even looks to be in a better mood. Her hair was pulled up in a bun but had a lot of hair coming out in the front. Whether it was intentional or not, I frankly didn't care because it made her look pretty regardless. Giving her a smile, I say, "Hi, by the way."

She nudges my shoulder with hers, a playful smile on her face as she says, "Hi yourself." I wink at her, knowing that she must be feeling as much as I was. If my brother wasn't here, I'd kiss her, but unfortunately, the kid was here. She places her leg in between them, and she tugs it closer to her. I keep a smile off my face as I look forward and try to focus on the game at hand.

But she is distracting, even though she isn't trying to. All she was doing was keeping her hand on my arm, and her head was resting on my arm as well. Not too much pressure, though, so I knew she wasn't messing up my game. But I do mess up the game, and when the screen declares that as well, Jack turns to me with a glare.

"You suck," he says to me with a disappointed shake of his head. I give him a light laugh as I say, "It's okay, man. There are worse things than losing a game."

"Yeah, sure," he says with a shake of his hand. I am unconvinced. I only then straighten up on my spot and say, "Okay, go again." Isla moves away from me, and finally, I feel myself getting my thoughts back. But with her moving away, I realized that she was packing up to go. She stands up and then says, "Well, I guess I'll be going."

"Woah, wait," I say and pause the game. Jack groans at that, and I only hope that I'll be forgiven by a ten-year-old and turn to Isla. She was giving me a look, and I said, "Leaving so soon?"

"Yeah," she says, hitching her bag onto her shoulder. She places a hand on the hook of her shorts and says, "I'm done here, so I should be heading back."

I wrinkled my nose at that, not liking the sound of it at all. "Done here?" I repeat in confusion. "What do you mean? That sounds weird. Just because I'm home and you don't have to watch over Jack doesn't mean I don't want you here."

She softens at that and says, "You want me to stay?"

I give her a grin, throwing a glance at Jack as I say, "Well, who is going to be able to beat my brother in his own game?"

"Hey, she's not that good," Jack says defensively, but I only watch as she decides to sit back down. She places her bag in the corner of the couch and then moves to sit back down. She sits next to me and moves up to face the TV screen better. Now, when I'm playing the game again, I'm just seeing her hair, and it's distracting. I mentally groan at not being able to play it cool in front of her. Why did I have to go and act nervous and shit? I was seventeen, not seven, with my first ever crush (who, by the way, didn't have any interest in me, and me throwing frogs in front of her apparently didn't help).