"Hmm, you're warm." Zach says.
I whip around in my seat to look at him in a nano second. His head is resting in Lea's lap, and he's got his boot on the seat. Just as I suspected.
I start , "Zach!-"
"Zachary Vasquez!" Isaac interrupts. "Get your wet boots of Lina's seats right now or she will terminate you and I won't stop her."
I look up at him and smirk, "The girl who wins your heart will be so lucky."
"Honestly, I think it's the other way around."
Okay, that one is on me. I should've known not to get Isaac to say anything cute in front of his brother, my bad.
"The heck does that mean Isaac?" Zach says from his place in Lea's lap. "As in the girl will be unlucky? Cuz that;s twisted man... considering that Lina is legit sitting right there."
Lea smacks him. He shuts up. But she leaves her hand on his face and he grabs hold of it, keeping it there. I guess her hand is warm too.
Isaac is currently driving my jeep back into town. The roads are snowy and it's getting darker and the four kids in this car are getting increasingly hungrier. So we head home, were Lea and I have prepared all the ingredients for pizza and hot cocoa. After all, it's not everyday that you have to say goodbye to someone you love. Oh wait, not today. Not supposed to talk or think about that today.
---
"Did they not leave like, half an hour ago?" I put my arms on my hips and look up, and I mean up up, at Isaac.
"Lina, she's got Zach with her, they're fine." He walks over from his place washing tomatoes and gives me a hug from behind. Although I can't see him, him with rolled up sleeves makes me swoon like the first time I met him.
"I should call her again."
"Okay. We can call her again."
I turn around, still in his arms, and call Lea again. I get her voicemail. I call Zach, and get his voicemail too.
"Hey," Isaac says. "Look at me," I tilt my chin up. "Let's give them another ten minutes, and if they aren't back from the store by then, we'll figure something out."
"Okay." I nod, knowing that Lea probably just forgot to charge her phone again. Isaac goes back to washing the veggies. This happens a lot, my worrying for her. It's our unspoken agreement since we were kids that Lea is the one who will protect us in the water and in medical emergencies, while I protect us in anything else. This has proven to work multiple times. For example when I saw a kid chocking in the mall and I just yelled for Lea and she ended up saving the kid's life. Or when we were replacing the doors in our house and I saw one start to fall over and ran to catch it before it hit Lea in the head. We've looked out for each other for as long as I can remember, and it's hard to suddenly let someone else take care of her, even though it's been a whole year since we met the Vasquez brothers.
And then I hear her car pull in, and I watch as the two of them walk into the house, laughing as if they haven't just been gone for triple the necessary amount of time it should take to go to the corner store and buy chocolate. And I decide to forget my worries. Because watching Zach grab her coat for her and steadying her while she takes off her boots and holding her hand as they walk into the house, makes me so happy for her that I just laugh and chose to forget about my feeling from ten seconds ago.
Isaac notices the choice and comes up behind me. He doesn't have to say anything, I understand it all from just a squeeze of his hand.
"Is the pizza not done yet?" Lea sarcastically asks.
"Well, remember that time I tired to make pretzels and I burnt the pan? And remember that time Isaac used the blender and forgot to put the lid on? We figured we'd wait of the backing champion and her assistant." I throw them each an apron, and we get to work.
We sing to Christmas carols, throw a lot of flour at each other and have four respectably looking pizzas in the oven by the time the clock strikes seven. And if anyone was wondering, yes we totally are standing in front of the oven watching the cheese melt and the dough cook.
"You know, you're the perfect height for me to rest my chin on." Isaac says. Indeed, his chin is resting comfortably in its usual spot on top of my curls.
"OMG, Zach! You're the perfect height for me to rest my chin on too!" Lea yells. And then she proceeds to jump on his back, piggy style, and indeed she is the perfect height. The only problem is that when Zachary Vasquez laughs, he bends forward, and he's definitely laughing now, and Lea is definitely being launched forward. They both tumble to the ground in a heap of giggles and possible bruises.
"If you two do this at the wedding, Mom will throw you out." I joke.
"Not if Cait doesn't throw us out first." Zach says as he stands.
Caitlin is my older sister, who is getting married Christmas day. All four of us are in the wedding party.
Twenty minutes later, we've scarfed down burning cheesy goodness and Lea is making us her signature rolo hot chocolate, Zach is contributing by evenly diving the last of our mini marshmallows.
Isaac and I are waiting on the sofa, Home Alone 2 cued up on the TV.
"You're hands are really cute." He suddenly says, as he compares mine to his.
"You're eyes look like mini forests."
"I'd kiss you if my brother wasn't two meters behind me."
"Oh my gosh, Isaac, imma throw up!" Zach yells from the kitchen, having apparently developed super human hearing.
We laugh at his brother. God, I'll miss them so much. I'm about to get up and help Lea carry over the hot cocoa when Isaac takes my face in his hand and gives me a tiny kiss on the forehead.
"Did it anyways." He smirks.
And oh my gosh my heart feels too big it might just explode. When I get to the kitchen and stand next to Lea, she bumps her hip to mine and smiles.
"It's not that hot in here Lina, tone down that blush a little."
I laugh at her sarcasm and gently sit back down on the sofa, careful with my hot drink. We turn off the lights, and Isaac presses play, and I snuggle into the arms of my first love.
