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Chapter thirteen

I grin as I wait for my eager greeting to sink in.
"Hmmm?"
I laugh at the sleepy mumbled voice on the other end of my phone.
"There's my girl, you awake honey?" I ask Izzy.
"No" she tells me low and husky and with a smile.
"What time is it?" I ask with a chuckle.
"I don't know, what day is it?"
"For me it's Tuesday, just after eight in the morning, c'mon Izzy wake up I need you"
"Fuck, kay I'm wake. Fucking jet lag is a fucking bitch, it can kiss my ass" she grumbles as I hear her moving about, probably sitting up.
I hear Coop mumble in the background.
"Fuck, it's two a clock in the afternoon. It's still fucking Monday, it's been Monday for days" she sighs.
"Enjoying your honeymoon?" I laugh
"Is that what you woke me up for? Dude I'm gonna kick your ass" she laughs back.
"No I need to talk to someone before I go crazy and there's no one here to talk to"
"Are you okay? You haven't been drinking have you?" She sounds like she is mostly awake now.
"No, no drinking. I'm not sure if I'm okay" I sigh.
"Jace, you can talk to Beth, she is good at listening and she is in the same time zone as you"
"No I can't, not about this. Not yet. Izzy I'm in love with her, I fucking love her like crazy" I blurt out, it feels good to tell someone that knows us.
"Oh Big Man, wow. That's awesome" I can hear her smile.
"I bought her a ring, is it too soon? It's too soon isn't it?"
"Fuck Jace! Yes it's too soon" she shouts fully awake now.
"Baby girl what's wrong?" Coop says in the background.
"Jace is asking Beth to marry him!" She squeaks.
"Way to go man, good for you" Coop chuckles.
"Jace, baby steps. Don't push her or you will push her away" she groans.
"She has been my girlfriend for two days already, last night was the first night since the wedding that we spent apart but I was at her place till late. She has met my family, I have a key to her place. Fuck Iz how much longer do I need to wait?" I pout like a kid that's been told he can't have a cookie before dinner.
"Whoa slow down, hang on I'm putting you on speaker. Girlfriend? Parents? Keys? Fuck she's not pregnant already too is she?" Iz laughs shocked.
"No don't be ridiculous, we haven't slept together yet. Well we've slept we just haven't slept." I blush.
"Performance anxiety?" Coop laughs.
"Something like that" I grumble.
"Jace, have you talked much?" Izzy asks pointedly.
"Have I told her that I'm an alcoholic? Yes. Has she told me about Jack? Yes. Izzy I can't repeat what she told me, I don't think I could get the words out and because Beth has asked me not to but you need to brace yourself for how hard I am going to hug you when I see you" fuck my voice is cracking at the thought.
"Oh Big Man, are you okay?" She asks upset herself.
"I will be when you tell me where to find that motherfucker"
"Ah, no. Not before I get back. The two of us can tag team his ass"
"Izzy you're not fighting anymore, you are done fighting" Coop tells her flat.
"Listen to your husband Izzy, let me repay his punch to the head for you" I tell her.
"Baby, did this guy hit you?" Coop asks serious.
"Thought you weren't supposed to talk about it Jace?" Izzy growls. "It was just a little tap lover, it's fine. Didn't even hurt" she soothes him.
"Jace" Coop says.
"Uh huh" I agree.
"So Beth met your family? How did that go?" Iz asks to distract us.
"Mum loves her, everything was fine till she met Lilly"
"Oh no, they don't get on?" Iz asks
"No they really do, so much they practically live together. My Lilly is Beth's Lilly pad" I tell her.
"What?! No way?"
"What's a fucking Lilly pad?" Coop asks
"Who's a lily pad, Beth's little sisters best friend is Jace's little sister, she lives with Beth on the weekends" Izzy explains.
"That's cool, right? Wouldn't that make meeting the in laws easier?" Coop says.
"I guess so, Beth and my mother are having lunch without me today" I groan
"Ha, sucks to be you" Izzy laughs.
"Dude back to the ring, you bought it and everything?" Coop asks.
"Yes, one minute I was doing Beth's dry cleaning and the next I have a diamond in my hand. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing but when I'm with her or thinking about her I just stop thinking if I should do things and just do them. I'm in over my head here guys, you sure you need a honeymoon?" I hang my head on my palm and close my eyes.
"Oh baby girl, our boy has it bad" Coop teases me.
"How does Beth feel? Is she...coping?" Iz asks.
"When she's happy she is so happy, when she's not she's not, you know?"
"If she gave you a key to her fortress she must trust you Jace, how did you get her to agree to being your girlfriend so quick?" Izzy laughs.
"Hey she asked me thank you, I may have persuaded her to ask but that doesn't matter" I laugh.
"I'm happy for you Big Man, so you think you might wanna sleep with her before you ask her to marry you?" Coop says.
"Doesn't really matter much, I already know she is who I want. I know we have the right chemistry, I know I love her"
"Then fuck, what are you waiting for? Go make your woman fall in love with you" Coop tells me like it's that easy.
"I have this little thing called work that is keeping me from seeing her all week, boss. You want me to leave Cole unattended?" I grumble.
"Uh no, I really don't. Sorry big man, you know what they say absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that shit" he chuckles.
"Says the man that has his woman by his side twenty five hours a day"
"Eight days a week" Izzy giggles and I hear them kissing.
"Alright, you two are old and married now, back to me" I laugh.
"You must be doing this right Jace, just keep doing it. I'll call Beth in a little while to get the juicy bits. If you're really blowing it I'll call you back, if not I'm not telling you shit" Izzy tells me.
"Oh that reminds me, I'm changing my number today. I'll text you when I get my new one"
"Why do you need a new one?" Coop asks
"This one is nothing but trouble, I nearly blew it last night. Oh and I'm using your gym for a while"
"Sure man, if it's locked the key is on the fridge" Coop agrees easy.
"Are these a related matter?" Iz asks suspicious.
"Yes Isabel. The fact I was a man whore is, surprise, biting me in the ass. It's not like I didn't see it coming but Beth didn't, I give her complete access to my phone at all times. I have nothing to hide from her but she saw something very incriminating, a photo of a woman with my shirt, a shirt that had Beth's lipstick on it from breakfast. The woman works at my gym and got my shirt from there the same time she was slipping me viagra, Coop don't even go there it's so not funny. Beth was trying to end us and I'm standing there with a fucking hard on" I grumble at Coops laughter as I tell him.
"Oh poor Beth, is she okay? She must be going insane without me to vent to" Iz sighs.
"Yeah she misses you a lot, Izzy she believed me. I told her what happened and I know the pictures showed another story but she believed me. If it was the other way around even I would have my doubts"
"You are the most honest person I know, it's hard to doubt you Jace. Trust is everything to Beth"
"Hey, what about me?" Coop grumbles.
"I don't know, what about you Mr. I'm just your best friend no I don't want to kiss you and love you and steal your panties and no you're not the love of my life Bentley?" She giggles.
"Hmm, fine! Jace wins" he sighs.
"Seriously though guys, if I just turned up at Beth's office today and proposed, would that be bad?" I sigh, I want to so bad.
"Have you told her you love her yet?" Iz giggles
"Not exactly, no" I admit.
"I'd lead with that and take it as it comes, you will know when the times right" Izzy tells me.
"Coop how long after you told Iz you loved her did you pop the question?"
"Well it was a while, almost a full minute I'd say" he laughs
"Seemed to work out okay for you" I chuckle
"Yeah, not too bad" he teases.
"Not too bad? I'll give you not too fucking bad" Izzy growls and then squeals and laughs.
"Oh guys I'm sorry, go love each other and enjoy your alone time. Next time I'll just text" I apologise, it's obvious they are shaking off the jet lag.
"Thanks man" Coop calls out laughing and it sounds like his voice is muffled by clothing.
"No worries Jace, I'm glad you called. Be good to my girl"
"Thanks Bentleys, love you, have fun and stay safe"
"Bye Jace, love you too" Iz laughs like she's being tickled and the line goes dead.