Bad Love Lingers (Book Three)

Chapter Seven

                                                                                             Isabel

            “Drive!” I shouted as I hopped into Olivia’s car. She sped off just in time for me to see Callen come out of the doors, looking around for me. My heart was nearly jumping out of my chest. Everything was going fine until it wasn’t.

            As Olivia drove out of the parking lot, she couldn’t hold it in any longer. “What the hell is going on, Isabel? You look white as a ghost.”

            I was still catching my breath, unable to speak at that moment. Everything happened so fast that the details of it all were replaying through my mind. Of course, I found Callen extremely attractive. Any girl with eyes could see how good-looking he was, but he crossed a line. He made me feel highly uncomfortable and a little surprised. I knew that he had this bad boy image about him, but what he did was too much too soon. Not only did he kiss me, but he tried to get me to sleep with him, in the bathroom, no less.

            “Um,” I finally stuttered. “He kissed me.”

            She turned to me with a look of shock on her face. “Who? Who kissed you, Isabel?”

            “Callen Reid, the new guy.”

            From the way that Olivia was smiling, I knew that she was all for it. She was probably cheering in her mind at the thought of me being with someone. Olivia had never seen me with a guy before. No one has. “Wait, wait a darn minute. Callen Reid kissed you? How did that even happen? I thought that you were supposed to be taking a defense class.”

            I turned in my seat toward her, ready to explode any minute if I didn’t get this off my chest. “I was in defense class. Callen is the teacher of the defense class. Something about he had a defense class in his old school, I’m not entirely sure. Anyway, when we were finishing up, things got a little heated when he took his shirt off.”

            “Well, no wonder. Look at you, Isabel. Your breasts are peaking through the top of that tank top. Any guy with a half a brain cell wouldn’t be able to resist you.”

            That was when I looked down, only noticing it for the first time myself. There were my breasts, perky as could be, begging to be set free. I placed my shirt over my head without giving it a second thought. “Anyway, he kissed me after that and tried to take me to the guy bathroom. I didn’t let it get that far, obviously. I pushed him away and made a run for it.”

            Olivia was staring at me, red from holding in her laughter. She unleashed a fit of laughter, unable to hold it any longer. Luckily, we were stopped at a stop sign, or else we would have crashed with her, unable to keep her head up. “Sorry, I’m sorry,” she managed to say through her continuous laughing. “It’s just that hearing you say that you ran away from him is hilarious. I know that you are a virgin, but you don’t have to act so much like one when around an attractive guy.”

            “What would you have suggested that I do then, Olivia? There was no way in hell that I was about to lose my virginity to a guy who could care less about me and in a bathroom of all places.”

            “But you like him, right?”

            The more I thought about that question; I knew there was no doubt in mind that I did. However, I knew the warning signs pushing me away from him. I would not get myself involved with someone like Callen, someone who had no regard for anyone other than himself. I have met guys like him before, who only have one thing on their minds, and I refused to be that kind of a girl. After hearing what my mom went through with my dad, I’ll be damned if I fall into the same trap all because I let my attraction for a guy blur my mind.

            “I did like him, but not after what happened in there. My gosh, Olivia, he was like a horny pitbull waiting to attack me. I was there for one thing and one thing only, and that was about getting help to defend myself. The last thing I need is some distraction.”

            Olivia began driving again. We were close to her house, which was only down the street from mine. Once we got to her place, I would walk from there, making it less suspicious. “You got to admit that he is a hot distraction. Besides, distractions are fun,” she teased, raising her eyebrows up and down.

            She was my best friend, but she would never be able to understand how I felt. Olivia had guys waiting at the door just to be next to her. She was used to this kind of attention and was in no way a virgin like I was. So many times, I have had to hear her s*x stories. Olivia parked her car in her driveway, and we jumped out at the same time.

            “What!” I threw my hands up at her as she stood outside of her driver’s side door, smiling widely at me.

            “Nothing. I’m just surprised to hear that you got kissed and almost taken advantage of by a guy. There is no way in hell any of those other guys at the school would be able to come anywhere near you. You would run off in the other direction before they ever got close. Why Callen? Why did you let him kiss you other than your obvious attraction for him?”

            Why did I let him kiss me? More importantly, why did I kiss him back and enjoy every second of it? “I don’t know. It was sudden, and he caught me off guard. Trust me when I say that it will never happen again. I’m hoping that by walking out on him like I did that, he got the hint that I wasn't interested.”

            I stayed and talked with Olivia a few more minutes, then took off toward home. What a day it had been. This day ended up being nowhere close to what I thought it was going to be, and a part of me was glad that it wasn’t. I knew that Callen and I could never kiss again, but I would be lying if I said it didn’t feel nice. It felt great knowing that someone liked me for exactly who I was, or it could be the complete opposite of that. Maybe Callen saw me as easy and proceeded only for the purpose of climbing into bed with me, or in his case, the bathroom.

            As I got inside, my dad was already there waiting to question me. “How was your study time at Olivia’s?”

            I grasped my chest from him, nearly scaring me half to death. “Geez, Dad, can I at least make it through the door first before you start your questioning? It was okay. All we did was study like we always do.” I rolled my eyes, adding to the drama.

            “Why are you sweating?” He squinted his eyes at me, trying to read my mind, I would say.

            “Calm down, would you? I was working out in their downstairs gym while Olivia talked to me.”

            “Since when do you work out?”

            “Since you told me that I couldn’t take defense classes,” I smarted off to him while crossing my arms. “If I can’t take defense classes, then I have to do something.”

            He stared at me suspiciously. Right as he was opening his mouth, my mom rounded the corner. “Welcome home, Isabel. You are right on time for dinner. It will be ready in five minutes. Go with your brother inside the kitchen to set the table, please.”

            “You have got to stop this madness, Levi,” I heard say before I turned into the kitchen.

            Justin was there with the table almost set. He smiled when he saw me, giggling to himself. “Do they know that you are lying to them?”

            “Excuse me?”

            “Don’t worry, sis. I won’t say anything. Olivia already warned me that she would make sure to take me down with the both of you if I did. I won’t mind taking some of the blame, but I could be bought out.”

            The little guy had this down to a science. He knew exactly how to play people. I couldn’t even be mad at him for trying. I smiled at him, rubbing his hair, making it all messy. “What do you want?”

            He put his finger to his chin, thinking for a moment before speaking. “Once a week, you and Olivia have to take me to the skate park. I would ask dad, but seeing as how hard he is on you, I don’t think I stand a chance. If you do this, then we both get what we want without getting caught. Please,” he said, holding his hands together in a praying motion.

            “Fine,” I said right as mom and dad entered the kitchen. I winked at him before sitting down in my usual spot.

            Mom had made chicken parmesan and noodles, my favorite. She only ever cooked this when something great happened at work. “I have some news to share,” she said as we all grabbed a forkful of food. “Your father and I are looking into finally expanding the clinic. We want to add another section to it for the convenience of our customers. That means that we will be creating many jobs for people in the area that need it. Your father has some good news to share too.” She pushed her head forward, urging him to spill whatever it was.

            “Umhm,” he cleared his throat. “As you know, I have been writing short stories for a few years now. I got contacted by a publishing company that is willing to contact me for a few years. This weekend, I have a meeting with them out of town and will not be back until late Tuesday evening. This means if everything goes well, we are looking at possibly moving.”

            “Moving? Moving where?”

            “Don’t worry, Isabel, not anywhere far. We were thinking of getting a bigger home. I also was talking to your dad about the possibility of getting your first car. If we do agree, there will be very strict rules about using the car. With his and my schedules, we will need your help with transportation for your brother to and from school.” My mom turned her head to my father, smiling brightly.

            A car? No way did I believe that she talked him into getting me a car. The more exciting news for me was that he was going out of town. That meant that he wouldn’t be here for the school dance. I let out a sigh. At least that would be one less thing I would have to worry about. Mom wouldn’t let me stay out later than he would, and I wouldn’t have to worry about the strict talk before and after. I was more excited now for the dance than I was before. Maybe, just maybe, I could actually have fun.