10 | overcoming the fear

I nervously walked from one side of the room to the other as I waited for Isaac to text me that he's here to pick me up. I specifically told him not to ring on the door because I didn't want my father to answer it but now I didn't have to worry about that because he just left to drink with some of his friends again.

I visibly flinched when I heard my phone vibrate, signaling that I just received a new message. I stared at the phone and read Isaac's text saying that he's in front of the building and I grabbed my coat to go with the simple yet elegant outfit that I was wearing. I took a last glance at the mirror and actually liked the way I looked before I headed out to meet Isaac who was standing in front of his car, waiting for me to come out.

"You look beautiful" he said to me and hugged me when I was in his reach.

"Thank you so much. You look pretty good yourself!" I complimented him and I was actually glad that I decided to wear a little bit of makeup that day therefore he couldn't see how red I already was and the date hasn't even started yet.

"Shall we?" he asked and I nodded so he went up to his car and opened the car door for me making me give him a look full of surprise.

"I know I'm a gentleman no need to mention it" he sarcastically said and I thanked him while laughing at him at the same time.

He got into the seat next to me and seconds later he pulled out of the driveway to my apartment building and into the road.

"So what did you and Myra talk about yesterday?" I asked him as I watched him drive. Myra still refused to tell me what they were talking about and the only thing she said was that they're talking about something she already knew making me wonder what exactly it was that she knew because I didn't have a clue to what she was talking about.

"Nothing special" he said annoying me in the process. That's exactly what Myra said as well.

"You're just like Myra!" I pouted and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

"I take offence to that" he stated but still drove as calm as he did before.

"As you should"

"Someone's getting feisty" Isaac commented.

"Someone's getting annoying" I replied back and Isaac laughed.

"You know I really like the feisty and teasing side of yours. It's not like you could ever harm me or anything but it looks cute on you" he said and I rolled my eyes at him jokingly. This is how I used to be before everything happened. This is the real me barely anyone knew.

.....

"I sometimes forget who you are and how scared people are of you" I said as we sat down at the table the waiter brought us to. Once the people who worked in the restaurant saw Isaac coming in they left everything behind just to greet him but no one dared to look him in the eyes which I found quite amusing considering that I was the same when I first met him.

"For some reason money means everything to people. Once you have it they'd do everything for you without questioning it. Money equals power and therefore changes the way people treat you. It's not fair but that's the way it works. I don't know it any other way." he stated and I nodded.

"But don't you have to be kind of scared that people will use you because of the exact same reason? Money I mean" I asked and he just shrugged.

"My dad always told us to be cautious around other people. Doesn't matter how rich or poor someone is people always yearn for more no matter how much they have so I was always careful with who I let close" he said and right then I realized that being rich didn't solve every problem. You might never have to fear not being able to pay for something but you have to fear the people around you. You can't live carefree either because anyone around could just pretend to be your friend in order to get a piece of what you have. I'd rather be poor but know that the people around me are true friends who are there for me because I mean something to them and not my bank account.

"And how can you be sure that I'm not after your money?" I asked interested. He never seemed too cautious around me or at least I haven't noticed.

"I never questioned it to be honest and I don't feel the need to. The world would have to end before you'd ever take advantage of another human being. You're too pure for that. You even gave me back the 20 Dollar that I paid at the diner. So I'm pretty sure you don't spend time with me because of the number on my bank account" he said and I smiled at him relieved that he never doubted my intentions.

"But let's talk about you more. What about your family? You never really talked about them" he said right after the waiter hurried up to us to take our orders as quick as possible.

"There's not a lot to talk about really. My mother and my father got a divorce when I was ten. I haven't seen her since but I know that she remarried and is now the wife of some extremely successful Mexican business man" I said bitterly and the thought of her.

"That actually explains a lot" Isaac said and I looked at him waiting for an explanation. What was he hinting at.

"The anger you felt when I told you that Kaylee's mother left her back when we were in the diner. You were so angry because it reminded you of yourself" he said and I was surprised when I heard him say that. Even I didn't know where my anger came from back then but the way he put made sense. I connected to Kaylee so quickly because she reminded me of myself when I was younger.

"Anyway what about the rest of your family? Any siblings?" he asked changing the topic because he knew I didn't like talking about her.

"I have a brother who is older than me by six years. I haven't seen him in a while though because he's in the army" I said and forced a smile. I didn't like talking about my family members. I didn't like talking about any of them.

"Oh that must be hard for you to be apart from him so long. I couldn't imagine being away from my siblings for more than a few weeks. We hated each other growing up but I somehow still love them even though they're really annoying" he stated and we slowly drifted to another topic because he must have seen how uncomfortable I was when I talked about my family.

I'm glad that he didn't ask about my father because telling you date about your alcohol addicted father isn't the way to make a good impression. And I also didn't like to talk about my father not because of the things he has done but because of the things he didn't do.

.....

On our way back to my apartment we laughed and made jokes together like there's no tomorrow and it was clear that we both enjoyed each other's company. When we reached the building and I had to get out Isaac didn't let me stop him from getting out as well to accompany me on this long way to the front door. Note the sarcasm.

"I'm glad Kaylee asked me to go on a date with you today" I said as we stood in front of the door and Isaac laughed in embarrassment.

"I have to be careful with what I say around her now because she'll end up telling you" he said and now we both laughed and I saw him looking at my lips for a moment but he didn't made the move to try and kiss me again. I sighed and closed my eyes before I stood up on my tip toes and pressed my lips against his, catching both of us off guard because neither of us has expected this to come from me. When we both got used to the feeling of our lips touching he started to deepen the kiss and got a hold of my hips to press my smaller body tightly against his bigger one. After a minute or so we let go of each other and smiled as our eyes met.

"You're a really good kisser" he said and doesn't seem surprised at all might I add.

"You're not too bad either" I replied teasingly and he raised his brow at that.

"Do you need another kiss so that I can prove that I'm the best kisser you'll ever come across?" he asked and I pretended to deeply think about his question but he didn't hesitate to put his words into actions and his lips met mine again shortly after.

I sighed at the feeling of his lips because it felt better than the first time and to my surprise I didn't think of his lips touching mine like I thought I would before I first kissed him. The only man that surrounded my mind was Isaac who was holding my hips softly as if he was afraid I'd break if he wouldn't. And I probably would because I wasn't used to being kissed so softly and gentle. I was used to harsh, territorial kisses that were meant to keep me silent in order to prevent me from crying or shouting for help. He wanted me to keep my mouth shut about the things he has done not only to my body but also to my mentality. How he broke my piece by piece and enjoyed the show. At the thought of what he did to me when all he had to do was protect me, I wanted to push Isaac away from me but I fought the urge to do so because I know that that's what he always wanted. He wanted me to be as far away from any male besides him. And he was successful for the most part until now. This is my first kiss with someone I really wanted to share the intimacy with and this was also the first time where I wasn't forced to press my lips against someone else's without wanting it.