Chapter 8: Rebound
I'll see you again, my lovely Belle.
Over my dead body.
My body shook with rage as I stared at the door which had slammed shut.
On cue, a flustered Genie came running out the living room and stumbled before me.
"Did I hear you right or did you just say that I'm supposed to call the cops? Why? Did the pizza delivery boy get upset because you didn't tip him again?"
"I always tip them!" I snapped, extremely annoyed in the moment.
She held up her hands in surrender at my outburst of anger.
Her eyes were shaking as she approached the topic once again.
"Okay...let's say you did tip him. Why do you want me to call the police? I couldn't hear the rest of what you were saying because the TV was so loud."
"You know what? Forget it." I sighed defeatedly.
She looked at me, as if I was losing a few screws before timidly pulling at my arm. "I think it's about time we call it a night and you get some rest. I think you've over-exhausted yourself enough for the day."
Running a hand through my hair, I nodded in compliance.
She was right.
Maybe after a good night's rest I could wrap my head around what was happening in my life and how I could put an end to it.
That night I hadn't gotten any sleep.
I tossed and turned in the bed beside Genie until I finally got out of it and headed to the bathroom. Washing my face with the warm water, I braced my hands against the sink and stared at my reflection. I looked undeniably troubled. The bags underneath my eyes spoke for my lack of sleep and the dead look within them were telltales to my troubles.
I just couldn't understand what was going on in my life after stumbling upon Angelo.
Maybe it would be easier to sort everything out in chronological order and see if there could be a light bulb moment.
First and foremost, I had flirted with the mysterious man in a bar after he had approached me because of how insanely good looking he was.
No harm done there.
Which woman in her right mind wouldn't reciprocate the feelings of a hot guy who wanted her?
I winced, however, when I recalled how I had totally freaked out after a moment of him blanking out before me.
Okay, maybe that could have been the first strike for me.
But that wasn't enough for him to purposely try and make my life hell. There's no way.
After I had fled from the scene, that potential killer had freaked out about me smelling like Angelo so he wanted to hurt me, for a lack of better words.
Angelo came to my rescue and...
I gulped as I remembered what he said he had done to him.
Angelo had "sent him to where he belonged" which was his version of hell.
He killed the guy, my subconscious spoke up at me trying to tip toe around it.
My eyes screwed shut at the reality of it.
Maybe he really had killed him...
But the guy was trying to kill me too.
It wasn't justifiable because there were many other alternatives to punish him for his crime, but if it really had came down to that and Angelo had no choice but to do so...should I really be judgmental about it?
He did save my life at the end of the day.
Next, he took me to his place and catered to my wounds.
My fingers trailed the bandaid he put across my eyebrow which sported a cut. He had been kind enough to put it there when I was unconscious and even rubbed some ointment on my sore kneecaps from all the crawling I had done.
I felt my attitude towards him softening a bit at that.
But then I remembered how he practically seduced me and touched me without consent...but then again, I hadn't protested.
If anything, I liked what he had done to me.
I covered my face with my hand at that acknowledgment.
I really needed to get laid.
Because not only had I enjoyed what a stranger had done to me with his hands, I loved it so much that I came. Something that took a lot of effort by other men to make a possibility. He had gained that from me within the span of a few minutes.
After that, I left him hanging and insulted him.
My mouth twisted at the realization that maybe I had also taken advantage of him.
Imagining how he probably felt after trying to please me only for me to offend him much less not return the favor.
Way to go, Isabelle. You got off on the guy then trampled all over his pride in the next minute. All the while, making him look like the crazy one.
I released a groan at my guilty reasoning.
It wasn't like I asked for it!
If someone was handing out free food at a buffet, who in their right mind would deny the chance to have a feast?
Exactly, nobody!
But that didn't justify his reason to stalk me all the way to my apartment. I didn't even want to begin to imagine how he found out where I lived. Even more so why he was bothered by me entertaining guests at my own place. He was acting like a possessive boyfriend. And trust me, I didn't take very well to that. I've had my share of those guys in the past and they always managed to rub me the wrong way.
Showing excessive affection to your love one wasn't a bad thing but strangling their freedom to live and make their own decisions was not ideal.
It was sick to be honest.
Angelo was showing traits of that and even though he was hot, it was so not cute if it was to the extent of limiting my freedom.
Here I was talking about his bad habits as if it had anything to do with me.
Matter of fact, he had nothing to do with me.
So why was I up at three in the morning thinking about him?
I stared at my reflection.
A pathetic one she was; caring about a person like that so much that she was losing sleep over him.
Giving myself one last look of disapproval for what I was doing, I turned the light off and went back to bed.
â¢â¢â¢
Angelo hadn't kept his promise.
For the past week, there had been no sign of him. I had gone straight back into my mundane routine of work and little free time. My job at the publishing company had taken up so much of my time that I barely saw Genie since our sleepover on the weekend and I didn't feel as hurt by it when she confessed to spending more time with Eric. I was proud that she had put her insecurities behind her and decided to give her boyfriend the commitment he deservedâeven if that meant blowing me off in the process.
With the leisure time I had this Saturday, I planned on us checking out a cool place my colleague had told me about. It just so happened that he had invited me to go with him if I was free. Initially, I had turned him down but seeing as Genie was now unavailable, I figured it wouldn't hurt to take him up on that offer.
As a young girl I had hardly bothered with makeupâmy youth made me beautiful enough. But as I got older, I saw the need for it. Truth be told, I quite enjoyed the satisfaction I got from making a perfect arch with an eyebrow pencil and so forth. When I applied makeup I always wondered if I had gotten my mother's or father's eyes because they were of the same colour. A pair of cold blue; windows to the soul that gave away nothing if they really wanted to. I drew a thin line over the top of my eyelid and the layer below and finished up the final touches.
I gave a sad smile as my unique eyes shone within the mirror of the bathroom.
Too bad that they were never around for me to look at them directly.
Getting over my momentary self-pity, I wiggled into the little black dress I found in the back of closet from the section of others which served a purpose for nights like this.
I always knew my sexuality was like a weapon. I could twist men around my little finger and make them bend to my will. Others girls were always jealous of that. Unknowingly, it had become a part of my self expression and sometimes I got so lost in it.
So when my colleague, Stephen, came to pick me up and looked absolutely floored by my appearance I wasn't the least bit surprised.
Slightly flattered, but never unexpected.
"You look amazing," he breathed out, eyes unable to tear themselves away from me.
"Why, thank you. You don't look too bad yourself." The man blushed at the compliment.
Maybe he had gotten it from time to time being a natural cutie, but it had surely made him feel more appreciative of it because it came from someone looking like me.
I wasn't being narcissistic.
It was just the truth.
Men felt more of an ego boost from women who were excessively attractive.
Running to his red SUV, the man opened the door for me like the gentleman he was. I offered Stephen the smile of appreciation he deserved for that act and slid in safely. He jogged around the other side and got in.
He started up the car's engine and we were on our way to the little hot spot downtown that everyone has been raving about.
"I'm very glad that you decided to join me tonight, Isabelle." Stephen started light conversation, his eyes flickering to me for a second before a blush painted his face and he looked away swiftly.
"We've been colleagues for a year and you've never invited me out. I meanâI'm the one to always invite you out for coffee or dinner but you're always so busy, we never got the time to."
That's a nice way of putting it, Stephen but we both know I wasn't that busy for coffee. I just never found you attractive enough to go out with you.
Even in this moment, I wasn't entirely into him but he had offered to take me to this restaurant lounge for free and I was feeling a bit lonely recently so I had agreed.
Plus, Stephen wasn't what one considered to be "ugly". He was actually quite adorable. In the nerdy-college-guy-who's-always-stealing glances-at-you kind of way. With his shaggy hair, lean body and cute mannerisms, I was sure he was the type for many girls out there. Too bad he wasn't my type. But it wasn't time to be picky with the way I've been feeling recently. I needed to get laid and it had to happen now. At least before I got desperate enough and succumbed to psychos like Angelo and opened my legs for them.
I laughed lightly at Stephen's comment.
"You know I never meant to turn you down like that. I've just been trying to find the right time for us."
"Us?" He squeaked, obviously excited by the prospect.
"Mhm." I confirmed and slyly placed my hand on his thigh.
The man jumped at the touch, so much that he hit the steering wheel and made the vehicle's horn go off.
I flinched in surprise.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry!" He said, noticing my reaction to his clumsiness.
I smiled.
"It's fine."
He gave me one more hesitant look before paying attention to the road, his body stiff for the rest of the ride and no intention of making small talk again.
"Oooh...this place is nice!" I mused as I took in our surroundings.
The restaurant had a color scheme which matched that of vintage taste. The music which was being played through the speakers reflected the same sentiments as a classical piece filled the space. I hummed to myself as Stephen spoke to the hostess about our reservation and when we had been allowed inside, I continued to gawk. Even more so at the little lounge bar at the section a good distance away from us.
"Order anything you'd like. Today it's my treat." He said and those words were like a prayer to me as my eyes scanned the menu delighted.
Just as I was ready to make my order, I looked up and found a pair of silver eyes staring down at me.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me."
Stephen's eyes opened widely at my swearing.
"Isabelle, what is it?" He asked with concern as he leant towards me but I was more engrossed by the waiter who had came to take our order.
Stephen's eyes shifted to where I was looking and a frown made its way onto his face. He probably thought I was checking out our server, which was partially true because damn, a suit and tie really was a ravishing sight on Angelo, but that was besides the point. The point was what the hell was he doing here of all places?
Surely, this wasn't a coincidence too?
"Is this going to become a habit of yours? Showing up wherever I am?" I asked the gorgeous man who looked at me in confusion.
"Do I know you?"
I looked at him dumbfounded.
"You little fuck-"
"Isabelle!" Stephen hissed, gaining my attention.
I had forgotten he was even here for a minute there.
The sight of Angelo had made me disregard everyone and everything around me if I was being honest.
I blinked innocently at Stephen but even doing so was proving to be difficult. Playing the good girl he deserved was becoming tiresome and quite frankly, I wanted this dinner to be done and over with so that we could go back to either of our places for some kind of release.
Seeing Angelo again only made my skin itch with desire.
Screw him and his perfectly chiseled face, I thought angrily.
"Do you know him?" Stephen whispered, eyeing Angelo who continued to hover above us.
I gave him a hard glare before saying, "No."
Stephen looked at me weirdly because surely it wasn't an answer he expected after I had almost used a derogatory term at the guy.
"I'm sorry about that," he said to the man beside us who hardly reacted. "For appetizer, we'll have the crab artichoke dip. As for the main course, I'll have the outback center-cut sirloin steak. How does that sound, Isabelle? Would you like the same?"
"Yeah, sure."
My eyes were still glued onto the man writing down the order.
At that moment, I wished my gaze could bore holes in the side of his head.
"Is that all?"
My thighs squeezed together at the sound of his deep voice.
It had been a week since I had heard it and the effect it had seemed to have grown stronger.
Distance really made the coochie grow fonder.
My hands fisted at what he was doing to me and turned back to Stephen, trying to get this man out of my thoughts.
"Yes, thank you." Stephen politely dismissed and as soon as he did, my mouth got a mind of its own.
"Have I told you how handsome you look tonight, Stephen?" I queried, batting my eyelashes at him.
I felt the man above us pause in his departure and I smirked.
Stephen rubbed the nape of his head shyly and looked away.
"Uh...thank you. You're beautiful as well. You always are." He whispered the ending but I caught air of it and something told me, so did another person.
My hand slowly journeyed over to touch his own on the table and his eyebrows raised in anticipation.
Just as my hand was about to make contact with his, the clipboard slipped from the man above us and right onto it.
"Ouch!" I yelled out in pain.
Without any sort of remorse written on his face, Angelo took up the clipboard with a dry. "My apologies."
After that, he took ahold of my hand to examine it. "Are you okay?"
I snatched my hand away from his, feeling bitter for some reason.
"Why do I get the feeling that wasn't just an accident?" I hypothesized out loud.
Stephen gasped.
"Isabelle, don't say that," Then he turned to Angelo with an unimpressed face. "Just don't let it happen again."
Without so much of a promise, the man finally turned away to get our orders.
I watched him go, feeling as if I was witnessing a storm cloud gather over his head as he walked away.
***
Someone's a bit jelly.