Imago

Chapter VII

Sunday morning I'm woken by a dog barking nearby. I can see a slither of sunlight through Izzy's curtains and I roll over to see Izzy still sleeping soundly. I try my best to silently exit the room, and tiptoe my way to the kitchen. The house is strangely quiet and I wonder if maybe it's earlier in the morning than I thought, but the clock on the wall says it's past ten. Then I see the note on the kitchen counter informing us that they have gone into town and will be home after lunch.

I'm bent over, head deep in the fridge looking for a bottle of water when I hear someone shuffle into the room. I stand up and turn to see Isaac leaning against the doorway, arms crossed and a wide grin on his face. He's wearing basketball shorts and no shirt. His hair is all mussed up and I find a small piece of solace in the fact that even Poseidon isn't perfect in the mornings.

"You wear that to bed?"

I look down at my pyjama shorts and tee ensemble, and then look back to him, puzzled. "Yeah, why?"

He approaches me, holding my gaze with every step. "I was kind of hoping those shorts would be shorter." He's so close that I have to look straight up to see his lopsided smile.

I close the fridge, and in the same instant, his lips are on mine. I pull away and put a hand over my mouth.

"I have morning breath," I remove my hand to explain.

"So do I," he murmurs, before kissing me again.

This time he pulls away, but then he makes his way to my neck, kissing my sensitive skin, letting his tongue slip out ever so slightly to tantalize and create a wave of goose pimples. I giggle and pull away slightly, making him stop and look at me.

"If this is what mornings are going to be like, I think you should stay every night," he jests, before picking me up and kissing me again.

I wrap my legs around his hips and he carries me to the kitchen bench. We kiss passionately for a short while before he pulls away and cocks his head to the side.

"Wait. Why is it so quiet?"

I reach over to grab the note, and show it to him. He smiles widely and looks at me with a new fire in his eyes.

"We've got at least an hour then."

I don't have enough time to ask him for what, before his lips capture mine and he moves us away from the counter. I realise we're heading for his room, and giddiness overtakes every single fibre within me. My excitement stalls however when he places me on his bed and it moves below me. I pull away from his lips and laugh.

"You have a waterbed?"

He chuckles into my neck and kisses my earlobe, before moving off me, to lay on his side beside me. He puts his head in his hand and looks down to me.

"Don't knock it until you try it," he jokes, before cringing at his crassness.

"Oh my God, you're terrible!" I laugh.

"Real smooth, hey?"

"Probably your best line yet," I joke.

We fool around for a while and cover every topic from school, to the top five things on our bucket list. As he talks about what breed of dog he wants to own when he finally moves out of home, my mind slips back to my first day of school. It feels so much longer than two weeks ago. I remember feeling like Isaac was out of reach, and just someone nice to look at every day. Yet, here he is, lying beside me, talking to me as if we've known each other forever. In two short weeks he's become so familiar to me and I feel like I know everything about him. From his favourite colour, to the way his jaw clenches when he's angry.

A pounding fist on the door makes us both jump.

"Dipshit! I can't find the step ladder!" The pounding stops and I barely hear Izzy mumble, "Ow, my fucking head."

Isaac snorts and moves off the bed, shaking his head as he walks to the door. When he opens it up, Izzy looks straight past him to me. I feel instant shame. I'm meant to be here for my friend, and here I am sneaking into her brother's room. Well, to be fair, he's the one that brought me here.

"Oh, you've still got your clothes on." She seems genuinely surprised.

"Izzy," Isaac warns. His body tense and his jaw clenched.

Izzy looks up to him with wide eyes. "Wait. You mean you haven't –"

"Do you want Panadol, or don't you?" he interrupts tersely.

She nods and they both make their way to the kitchen. I fight my way through the waves of Isaac's bed, and follow them silently. I watch as Isaac opens a cupboard above the fridge and pulls out a box full of medicines. Izzy is into it before it hits the table.

"Thank God," she mumbles, before making her way to the sink ,and filling her cup with tap water.

Isaac and I watch as she swallows down the pills, and laugh when she informs us that she's never drinking again. I can feel that Izzy wants to talk to Isaac about me behind my back, so I ask if I can use the shower and make a swift exit to the bathroom.

While in the shower, I think of all the questions Izzy could possibly be asking, which then turns into me asking myself a whole lot of questions.

What if people at school find out after last night's incident?
What am I even doing seeing someone four years my senior?
Why would I get with someone who's going to leave school in less than a year?
How is it that despite all the complications and the age gap, this feels so right?

After my shower I go back to Izzy's room, and smile when I open the door to see her sitting on her bed. She's flicking through a music magazine and I feel a rush of relief when she smiles back at me.

"How's the head?" I ask, hoping to steer conversation away from Isaac and I for as long as possible.

"Ugh! I can't believe I drunk so much!"

"You were pretty smashed," I add.

We spend the afternoon talking music and school and she finally updates me on the past week with Jed and how she got Damien's number last night. The new guy is, of course, a guy in one of the bands that played last night, and Izzy seems smitten.

Not long after her parents get home, Izzy walks me home.