I nod and he smiles. We both stand.
When we walk outside to my car, Ace is standing there having a cigarette. When he sees me, he smiles and nods his head in hello. “Isadora.”
I stop outside of my car and turn back to face Jasper. “Don’t be late. I look forward to seeing you.”
His eyes roam over me. “Dressed in less.”
I blush, I know I do. So, I quickly hop into the car, shutting the door, and driving off.
It’s as I remember it, the mansion hasn’t changed, but it’s not as busy. Or maybe that’s just tonight. Walking up to the front door I knock twice before it’s opened. Jasper stands there dressed in a suit, looking hot.
His eyes roam me up and down in my red dress. I went and purchased it especially for tonight. I’m nervous, so fucking nervous. It’s been ages since I’ve seen him, and even longer since we’ve been on a date.
Is that what this is? Fuck! I don’t even know, I’ve never dated.
It was always sex for me. Sex was what I liked, so why play around with the small talk and dinner or movies.
“Well, fuck.” He offers me his hand, I place mine in his. He pulls me inside the house, his hand staying in mine as we walk. “You look…” He looks to me, shaking his head before turning back around. “You look real good, Isadora.”
I smile as we walk through the mansion and out the back to where his house is located.
“You look good, too,” I say. The suit he’s wearing looks incredible on him, showing all the right curves of his body. Black does everything for him, with a touch of white only on his tie.
“It’s for you, to impress you into never leaving.”
I chuckle at his words, and he spins around to look at me. “I like the sound of that.” His fingers drop from mine as he steps over to his fridge, and that’s when I look around. The place appears the same apart from the table which is set up for just the two of us. A candle sits in the middle with two white plates and rose petals scattered all over the floor.
“You did all of this?” I smile, walking over and sitting at the table. He steps over with a bottle of wine in his hand, and a smile I’ve missed so badly.
“Yes, for you.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“Yes, I know. But you and me, well, we have history that’s not good. So this… this is our way of starting afresh.”
“Do you think we can ever forgive and forget?” I ask him.
“I’ve already forgiven you, Isadora. I did that the minute I tied you to my father’s bed. It’s the forgetting we both will have trouble with, and if we didn’t, we should probably be tied to that bed again.” He steps closer and pours me a glass of wine then looks down at me. “You are quite perfect for me.” The bottle of wine is put on the table, his hand comes under my chin lifting it, so he now has my full attention. “I’ve worked out that I can kiss these lips…” and he does just that, with a brush of his own, “… for the rest of my life, and still be a happy man.” He pulls away and takes a seat across from me.
“The question remains, can you be happy with me? Knowing full well what I do and who I am?”
“If you would’ve asked me that months ago, my answer would have been a firm no. Everything you are is what I’m against. But I realize now that those thoughts were controlled and not my own. So, yes, Jasper… I could kiss those broken lips of yours for a very long time.” He pulls the lid off a large tray and beneath it is pasta and bread. I smile as we start to eat.
Our conversation comes easy and natural, and not once does he ask me what I’ve been up to. I have a feeling he already knows that anyway.
“I have something for you.” Jasper stands, walking away to his room, then he comes back and hands me something. Taking it from him, I turn it over and see my parents. It was the only photo of them I kept, and I kept it in the room above the garage at my uncle’s. So I assumed it was gone.
“You burned it down.”
He merely nods.
“Thank you for this. Really. I know you didn’t have to, so I thank you.” I get up and wrap my arms around his neck holding him tight. He does the same, holding me to him and I even hear him breathe me in.
“I would pretty much do anything for you, Isadora. So, burning that place down was for you, not for me.” I squeeze a little tighter and he pushes back without moving our hands away from each other. He looks at me, and I feel like he can actually see me. The real me. The person. Who I am. The one who’s still trying to figure myself out, without the world I’ve become accustomed to.