I Wish

Taking Chances

Mac:  Good morning, beautiful ☀️Hope you slept well

I text Izzy as soon as I wake up, just like every other day since we met.  No, we aren't dating, but tonight is Homecoming and I'm going to ask her to be my date.  We're seniors this year so this is my last chance to ask.  I'm out the door in a flash, barely catching the  bus.  I sit down next to Izzy who is asleep against the window.  I lean on her shoulder, and she wakes up for a second before falling asleep on my shoulder.  This is how life should be.  

"Izzy," I murmur to her as we pull up to the school, "Up. We're here."

She sits up, completely awake and alert.

The whole day passes quickly until gym.

Izzy finds her way to my side as we walk out behind the school for "team building exercises" during gym. I resist the urge to hold her hand when her arm brushes mine.

Focus, Mac. One thing at a time.

Our group's first activity is climbing over a beam that is balanced between two trees. The beam is about a foot high and three feet off the ground. The whole group makes it over the beam easily. Then, we raise the beam so I can reach the top of it with my arms outstretched. We make it over with a few people struggling, but it's mostly just upper body strength. Finally, the beam is raise another two feet. Now, I'm not a huge fan of heights, but I don't want to look scared. I turn around to see if there are any volunteers. A very athletic girl, Danielle, makes her way to the front of the group haughtily.

"I'll need a lift," she adds, looking around expectantly.

A few of us guys sigh a bit, but my friend Bozer and I cup our hands and give her a leg up. Bozer goes after Danielle with only a little help from me. I pull myself up and over the beam next and hesitate for a second before jumping down. I turn around to see the other boys giving Izzy a leg up. She swings her right leg over the beam, then her left. She's facing me, sitting on the beam with a look of pure terror on her face. I can hear Danielle giggling behind me, but I ignore it. Izzy needs my help.

"Izzy," I call to her, "Izzy, look at me. Don't look down, just look at me. Look me in the eyes... There you go. Bozer and I are going to help you down." I look over, and Bozer's right there. "I'll catch you, I promise.  Okay, slide forward a little bit... Yeah, just like that. Lower, lower."

She drops down to the ground in a crouched position. She stands up carefully before walking over to lean against one of the trees. I follow her there afraid to break the silence. Eventually she whirls around and buries her face in my chest. I put my arms around her and just hold her there.

"You caught me," she whispers, almost surprised.

"I promised didn't I?"

She nods slightly, and I notice that she is shaking.  

"Iz, you're trembling. Are you alright?"

She looks up at me, her eyes filling with tears, "She was laughing. Danielle was just laughing at me, Mac."

I pull her close again before holding her at arms length.  She looks at the ground and mumbles something under her breath.  

"What?"

"I can't go to Homecoming tonight.  That's what she wants, and I'll probably just make a fool of myself if I went anyway, and it's not like I have a date or anything because who would ever want a girl like me?"  

I look at her in shock.  Is that how she really felt?  I can't quite wrap my brain around the fact that she thought that she wasn't good enough.  

"Would you change your mind about going if you had a date?"  I ask, suddenly feeling shy.

"I'm sorry?" her head snaps up to look me in the eyes.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go with me, but if you're not going..."  I trail off as she wraps her arms around me so tightly that I can't breathe.  I squeeze her back just as tightly.  

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That night, I knock on her door at exactly 6:00.  Her aunt opens the door, and calls up to Izzy when she sees that it's me, "El, Mac's here!"

Izzy comes down the stairs, the epitome of grace, almost tripping down the last stair in her heels.  She's wearing a turquoise lace dress that came down to her knees.  Her hair is up in a low bun with a curl escaping on either side. ^^see picture^^

"Shall we?" I ask as formally as possible.

"We shall," she giggles as she takes my arm.

I help her out of the car at the school, and we walk in together, holding hands.  

The whole night is a blur, except for the last dance.  The DJ played Today Was a Fairytale by Taylor Swift.  I ask Izzy to dance which she readily accepts.  She smiles at me and looks me in the eyes, and I realize that she is as tall as I am because of her heels.  I decide that I like it better when she's smaller than me, so I can protect her.  

I am pulled out of my reverie, for I realize that Izzy had said something that I missed.

"What are you thinking about?" She asks slyly.

"You," I tell her with a grin. 

"You'd better wipe that look off your face, or I'll do it for you," I warn, seeing her smirk.

"How do you plan to accomplish that?"

"Like this."

I lean in to kiss her and suddenly the whole world disappears.  I'm lost in the feeling of her in my arms.  I pull away to see the sparkle in her chestnut colored eyes.

"Well," she whispers breathlessly, "I was wondering how long you could wait."

I look at her in shock.  The dance ends, and I drive Izzy home.

As I move to leave the porch, she hugs me and gives me a kiss on the cheek.

"I love you too, Mac."

I drive home with a smile on my face.