Counterpoints (Counterpoints #1) Page 27

  They should have told her about their affair. Friends, good friends, shouldn’t even date their friends’ exes, to be honest. At least Angela and Salvo should have had the decency of coming out and be honest with her. Unless they are hiding something.

  “What a cunt!” Hillary shrieked and Isabella did a double take.

  Over the past three months she had never, ever heard her boss say anything that nasty. She liked nasty on her, Hillary was badass. She was scary.

  “Anyway, I believe that when something smells fishy, it rarely ends well. May they always be together, the two shits deserve one another, forever. I said always and forever in the same sentence, I’m such a bad writer” Isabella covered her mouth and then they cheered to that and laughed, pushing sadness away again.

  “That’s not true. You are great. That’s why I hired you” Hillary cried out.

  She put down her glass and watched Isabella take a canapé in silence, as if she was thinking of what to say next. “You are just tipsy”

  “You are tipsy” Isabella held out an intimidating finger at her and giggled. Meanwhile, they were half way through bottle number two.

  Hillary laughed, too. She pushed her short hair back and took a canapé herself. They ate in silence, the only noise they could hear was coming from outside and it was from the pub below Isabella’s flat. It was one of those nights, everyone was outside with their beer, chatting the night away.

  “Well, I am no saint either” Hillary dropped her own little bomb like that, waiting for Isabella to ask for explanations. Her face looked incredibly serious all of a sudden.

  “I never said I was a saint. Anyway, what’s up?”

  “I’m seeing someone who is still legally married” Hillary bit her lip and closed her eyes for a second, like she didn’t want to look at Isabella, after having said those words.

  There it was. The secret Hillary had been keeping from the world.

  Isabella eyed her and waited for her to explain more. “It’s not as bad as it sounds” Hillary added.

  “I’m not judging you. I want you to know that” was the first thing that Isabella had to say. And it was true. Who was she to judge, without hearing her out first.

  “Thanks. Thing is when I met the guy, he told me he was divorced or I would have never of even accepted to go to dinner with him. God, I would never do that to a family. Then the divorce became separation, then it wasn’t even a legal separation, it was informal. When I was already deep into it and madly in love with him, one day he comes to me and says that his wife wants to try again, but he wants out”

  “Your story is way worse than mine. What did you do?” Isabella’s mouth dropped open.

  “Nothing. I am still in this limbo. I have to figure it out” now that it was out, Hillary looked a little worried.

  It had been bothering her, probably she hadn’t even told anyone before and as the words had come out of her mouth, the feelings had done so, too.

  “I am sure you will do the right thing, you are a smart woman. You’ll figure it out” Isabella reassured her. They smiled and clanged their glasses together.

  “You know you are a great boss” Isabella admitted.

  “Thank you, you are a great assistant” Hillary complimented her.

  Then Isabella’s phone rang. She stood up instantly and grabbed it from the kitchen sink, where it had been charging, and unplugged it immediately when she saw the name on her screen. Christopher.

  “Hello?”

  “Ciao Isabella” his voice gave her the shivers just then. How could her name be so sexy on his lips? How??? She had heard the same name for thirty-two years and it had never made her feel like that.

  “I’m home with my boss, doing a little housewarming with two bottles of champagne” she grinned, feeling a little dizzy she so wished she could sit down, but she was afraid Hillary would recognize Christopher’s voice on the other end.

  “Oh, Hillary is there?”

  “Exactly” she looked at her boss. She was there alright, looking, curious and giggling.

  “So, you are probably blushing right now…Anyway I am calling because I desperately need to lay you down somewhere and drive you crazy”

  Her cheeks flushed immediately, impossible to resist the sound of his voice.

  “Maybe later” was all she managed to say and she heard him laugh on the other end. Isabella closed her eyes for a second and put a hand through her hair.

  “I’ll hold you to it. Can I come pick you up for dinner?”

  “Okay, I’ll see you later” she hung up in a hurry and returned to her seat, next to Hillary who was now giving her a funny look. Without saying anything else, she tipped her head back and laughed.

  “What?”

  “Well, look at that face. I guess you are seeing someone new, now”

  Isabella grinned and her cheeks reddened again. How am I going to get out of this one?

  Chapter 24

  When she heard the buzzer, Isabella jumped as if she hadn’t been expecting anyone. On the contrary, she had been checking her watch continuously over the past hour, hoping to have enough time to get ready.

  Hillary had left around six pm- two empty bottles of champagne later- with a cheeky smile on her face. She had wished Isabella a good night out with the guy she was seeing – Isabella couldn’t deny she had just started dating somebody, who she had met in the city weeks before, because lying after that phone call was unconceivable- and had left, saying she had to meet someone, too. Isabella really hoped for her sake that it wasn’t Mr. Jenkins.

  Before answering, Isabella checked herself in the mirror. She had washed her hair that day, so she was wearing it down. The black, long sleeves shirt was loose on her hips and fitted on her chest. It was long enough to reach her hips, where a pair of light blue, skinny jeans made her legs look perfect. That attire made her feel good, confident.

  The only thing she had changed, when Hillary had left, was her makeup. She had gone from none to mascara, eyeliner and dark red lipstick, to accentuate her full lips.

  “Yes?”

  “It’s me” Christopher’s voice sounded on the other end.

  Isabella bit her lip, feeling butterflies in her stomach. She wondered how many seconds could she resist before kissing his lips, that sexy voice was already making her throat dry.

  “I’ll be right down”

  “Can I come up?” he asked.

  “Are you going to make fun of my flat?”

  “Possibly. Why?” he sounded ready to tease her.

  “Then no, I’ll come down”

  “How bad can it be?” he laughed a little.

  Christopher leaned on the wall, as he spoke to Isabella. He had seen her a few days back, but it felt like a long time. He needed her, like she was some sort of a drug.

  He couldn’t understand how that was possible, she had truly bewitched him. Christopher had never really needed anyone in his life before, a part from his family. If he were to bump into himself, he wouldn’t believe his own eyes. Christopher Taylor wants to spend time with a woman, with the same woman with no expiration date. Impossible.

  But there he was, waiting to see her, feeling the need to see her.

  “I never said it was bad” she said but her voice faltered a little.

  The flat wasn’t a total sham, Isabella had put all her effort in making it look nice, but still it wasn’t Christopher’s house. More like Christopher’s garage. Actually, it might be smaller than his garage.

  “Are you going to let me in or shall I start saying here, where everyone can hear me, all the things we did together over the past month?”

  The door buzzed and it opened immediately. Christopher laughed to himself and stepped in the building, as Isabella’s heart started racing. Knowing him, how bold he was, she never doubted his word a second.

  He was not only capable of it, he actually enjoyed it. Besides, Isabella had just moved in. There was absolutely no need to have her private life on the intercom. Even if b
y doing so, Christopher would offer the old lady, living in the flat above her, a very interesting soap opera, that would definitely butter up her lonely days.

  He reached the top of the stairs with a smile on his face, a smile of victory, he had had it his way. To Isabella, that smile of satisfaction made him look even hotter.

  “Hi” he came up close to Isabella. They stared at each other for an instant before Christopher put his hands around her waist and down her back and, with the same smug expression on his face, he closed the distance and kissed voraciously, while Isabella reached for his jacket and pulled it off.

  The strong connection was always there, the same that made it so frustrating to spend so much time together, having barely the chance to touch one another.

  He kissed her lower lip and then moved down her neck. When Isabella arched her back a little, he made his way on to her bare shoulder and brushed his lips against her skin. Isabella closed her eyes and pulled him in the house.

  Suddenly, it was all about balance. They moved around the studio in a sort of slow dance, constantly holding on to one another. As he threw his dark green jacket on the floor, he looked into her honey brown eyes and cupped her face.

  Isabella was so beautiful, that light that was always there in her eyes, ignited something in his veins. It was so similar to an adrenaline shot. He had to have her, to feel her body into his arms.

  Isabella leaned on the small wooden table and let Christopher take off her top, her bra and helped him out of his shirt. They looked at each other’s half naked bodies, a knotted feeling in their stomachs, and smiled as their hands made circles on their bare skin.

  “You are so beautiful” he whispered in her left ear, as Isabella pulled down his pants and wrapped her legs around his torso, making him moan.

  The warmth of her skin and her sweet intoxicating scent, drove him totally crazy. He leaned her on the table and kissed her breast and then all the way down to her bellybutton.

  “Christopher” she moaned and just hearing her call out his name, made him want to kiss her body even more.

  He undid her jeans then, stopping to linger around her long, smooth legs for a while, and then lifted her up, only to lay her down on the carpet, so deeply into one another.

  “Thanks for taking me here” she said, as she looked at the stunning view “It’s wonderful, what a fantastic city” she turned to look at him and smiled.

  There were only three other people in the capsule with them on the London Eye, all of which were Japanese and busy talking about the view.

  “I like to come up here” he joined her near the glass wall and leaned on the bar handle with his elbows. Their shoulders were touching. “I love the smell of your skin. It’s so distracting” he leaned towards her, smelling her hair and then kissed her neck. Isabella closed her eyes, welcomed his lips on her skin and sighed.

  “Christopher” she began to say but stopped, forgetting what it was she wanted to say to him, seeing him smile at her. That smile and those eyes are going to be the death of me.

  As the capsule went higher and higher, Christopher moved to hug her from behind and indicated every building or monument he recognized in the dark mist.

  Isabella did her best to stay focused, but It was so hard to even remember what her name was, being so close to him, in his arms like that.

  She leaned her head on his shoulder, finally free to be herself in public, without having to worry about others around them. For the next half an hour it was just them and the Japanese family, busy taking pictures of London.

  “You should really go out in disguise. Wear a rain coat and a hat or something” she made a funny face and he laughed seeing her reflection in the glass. He brushed his lips on her right ear and it made her jump a little.

  “Actually, I always walk around with a pair of fake glasses and mustache in my pocket” he joked. “Only they must have fallen out, when I was busy undressing a gorgeous Italian girl…” Isabella saw his reflection on the glass window. He was smiling to the side.

  The thought of them making love in her studio, ignited every little inch of her skin.

  As they silently went higher and higher in the gloomy London sky, it suddenly seemed all so clear to Isabella. Just as she detached herself from the city grounds’, being able to see the buildings from above and to view it all from a different perspective, she saw their relationship more objectively, from the outside.

  There they were, two people clearly opposites in so many ways, who had nothing more in common than a sense of humor and the attraction for one another. And maybe the fear of falling in love with the wrong person.

  Deep down Isabella had always known it wasn’t going to work, even when she heard herself tell the lie. A person like Christopher was toxic for her, she wasn’t a one night stand or a fling. Maybe he thought she was fantastic now but, she kept thinking, as time went by he was bound to do something that would hurt her.

  She didn’t even know if he was sleeping with someone else, if he had gone out with another woman lately. She sighed, her realistic thoughts bringing her mood down all of a sudden.

  “What are you thinking about?” his voice sounded from behind. He put his hands on the railing, one on each of Isabella’s sides.

  “I thought you said you knew people, you knew what they were thinking…like that day in the airport lounge” she teased.

  “That thing I said? I only use that to get girls in bed” he teased back, hitting a soft spot.

  Isabella cringed, even though she knew Christopher was joking, it still hurt a little. “Well it worked”

  Christopher leaned forward and said in her ear “I am joking, miss”

  “I know that” she replied, a little defensive “I was just thinking that up here, far from it all, we could pretend to be someone else. If you could chose, who would you like to be?”

  Without even thinking for a second Christopher answered.

  “Me”

  “You wouldn’t want to be anyone else? Or maybe change something about yourself?” she turned to look at him. “You could be anything, anything you ever wanted to be”

  “Still me. I like my life, I like the kind of man I am. I love my job, it’s not even a job. It’s my life. I am a privileged person and I am very grateful for it. Why should I want to change?”

  Isabella listened to his words very carefully.

  It must feel wonderful to be completely happy in your own shoes. Not that she wasn’t, she was most of the time but it never crossed her mind that someone would be so confident and serene like Christopher. And never arrogant, despite it all.

  “Why? Would you want to be someone else?”

  “Yes” she nodded and laughed a little. “I am a woman remember? I am happy and then two seconds later I don’t know what I want anymore”

  Christopher grinned and nodded. He agreed entirely with that.

  Like when in the past he had set things straight with the women he was seeing, being up front and telling them he wasn’t relationship material, that he wasn’t interested in them like that and that he liked to live his love life day by day.

  One minute they had all agreed and had gone for the ride, then they had resented him for it. He just didn’t get how he could have been more honest than that.

  “Who would you like to be then, let’s hear it”

  “Well, to start with I’d like to be thinner. Don’t you dare make a joke” she warned him with a fake angry expression on her face.

  Then she went on “But mostly I’d like to be less responsible, to think less about the future and to just go with the flow”

  “I don’t think your body needs changes” he lowered his voice and looked sideways “If you don’t want to think, than just don’t” he made it sound so simple. Isabella took a deep breath. “What are you afraid of?”

  Isabella thought about what scared her so much. There were so many things she wanted to say to him.

  “I am afraid to take a step forward and… miss the gro
und beneath my feet. You know, that awful feeling that you are going to hit the floor hard”

  “Who says you’ll miss the ground?” she could hear him smile.

  “What if I do, though?”

  “You’d fall down and then get back up again” he said, without thinking twice.

  “Don’t you ever think twice?” she said, really speaking her mind.

  What made Christopher so sure, what made him so unstoppable?

  “I can’t stop to think”

  “Why?” she wondered, a little worried now.

  She got a glimpse of his reflection in the glass wall of the capsule. Christopher looked serious.

  “I’m afraid that If I do, I’ll fall down and never get back up again” so there it was, the words that were so hard for him to speak. Right there, sealed in that capsule, Christopher had opened up to his truth. His was self-preservation, a way of life, to help him make it through.

  He put a hand on her shoulder and moved her hair to the side. “Anyway, If you miss that step and fall down, I’ll fall right behind you” and then kissed her skin, right where the neck ended and the shoulder began.

  “All I can see is a beautiful, strong woman. And I wouldn’t change her one bit” he added and looked back up at the view.

  They watched the city lights shine, as they reached the highest point of the wheel and Isabella had to close her eyes for a few instants. It made her a little dizzy.

  Seeing how high they were, surrounded from top to bottom by glass, made her a little sick but she kept it together, without embarrassing herself in front of Christopher.

  “There is just one thing I’d change. My father’s death” he said, his voice flat because he knew it sounded obvious and totally impossible. It was the only thing that he believed had been unfair in his life, not to be able to grow up with a father.

  He knew so many people had it so much worse than him, it almost made him want to take the words back and just push his feelings deep down, like he was used to.

  Isabella reached for his hand and squeezed it.

  “That would be something incredibly awesome to wish for” she kept her eyes on the glass, not wanting to make this moment more difficult for Christopher.