Gentlemen Don't Ask Questions

I was a typical seventeen year old male, with your typical seventeen year old hormones. She was wearing a tank top that night after the gig. I don't know what type it was, women always say that it's not just a top, there's a million different silly names for them just because they have different sleeves on them, but all I know is that on that night I could see practically see her breasts through the tight blue material, my eyes glued to them as she breathed in and out, making her chest rise and fall.
She shifted in her seat, and only then did I manage to pull my eyes up to her face, terrified that I had been caught. She was looking out of the passenger window, much to my relief, and she let out a light sigh.

"I should go before daddy has to come out to us again," she smirked as she looked back over at me,
"You're still coming to the party tomorrow, right?"

I nodded with a tight smile, not trusting myself to speak, and she noticed the sudden shift in my demeanor.

"Are you okay?"

And for the first time in my life, I figured fuck it.
I swallowed thickly, my heart starting to race as I leaned forward and brought my face close to hers. She didn't pull away from me, she allowed us to sit with our lips a mere inch apart, and that's when the little courage I had decided to leave me. I felt like I was paralyzed, I just continued to sit there and stare at her lips, one half of my brain telling me that I may as well do it already, I had already gotten this far, the other half calling me an overambitious fool.

"Just do it, already," she breathed out.

I shifted awkwardly in my seat, bringing my hand up to the back of her head as I finally made the final leg of the journey and kissed her. I fucking kissed Isabelle Clarke. Isabelle Clarke, the girl who all of the jocks were after, the girl who could have had any guy in our school. And she chose me.
The only way I can articulate to you how much that meant to me, how much she meant to me, is by saying that almost a decade later and that moment still brought a silly grin to my face.
She tilted her head slightly to the side, letting our lips mesh together better, and she was pure perfection against me. I lost control once she gave me the green light to kiss her, my hands tangling in her thick hair as I pressed her closer to me. We rapidly moved from just kissing to making out, our breathing growing heavy and we tugged and pulled at one another, and she never once stopped me, never pulled back told me that it was getting too passionate, or that she had made a mistake.
We pulled apart when the porch light came on, it casting a yellow glow in through the car window.

"That's the warning light," she smiled against my lips, reluctantly pulling away from me.

From me, of all fucking people. I gently grabbed the sides of her face and pecked her lips one last time, making her laugh lightly, sending goosebumps up and down my arms.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she opened up the car door and got out, quickly running her hands through her long hair before she walked up the steps of her porch.

She turned to wave once she was at the front door, and I waved back before I drove off, that stupid smile stuck on my face for the rest of the night.



I woke up feeling on high doe the next morning, but as the afternoon wore on, and the Clarkes' housewarming party grew closer and closer, my stomach stated to knot and churn with nerves.
What if Isabelle acts like nothing happened? Or worse, tells me that it was just a once off thing?
I felt like a damn teenage girl as I pulled every item of clothing out of my wardrobe, trying to find something with a bit of colour to wear, not wanting to arrive on their doorstep looking like Count Dracula.
I finally got dressed and went downstairs to wait for Isabelle and her dad, and I swear, time started to move backwards as I waited. My mom walked through the sitting room, throwing a glance my way, before she walked back into the room and frowned at me. She stared for a few seconds, before she placed her hand on my forehead.

"You're not running a temperature..."she mumbled to herself, and I lightly shook her off me.

"Why would I have a temperature?"

"You're pale, are you feeling okay?"

"Fine," I shrugged, snapping my head over to the door as the bell rang.

Mom beat me to it and answered it, smiling when she saw Isabelle standing on the doorstep.

"You must be Isabelle," she cooed,
"We've heard all about you."

I felt my cheeks flushing with embarrassment as I quickly moved to the front door, throwing a warning look at her over Isabelle's head. She just gave me a knowing look, and told us to have a good time.

"You look nice," I mumbled bashfully as we walked down the driveway, giving her a subtle once over.

She was wearing a light purple summer dress, it was the first time I had ever seen her wearing a dress or a skirt. I liked how it hugged her hips before flowing freely down to her knees, accentuating her curves.

"Speak for yourself, Way. You scrub up pretty nice," she smirked at me.

Their house was already full with their neighbours and some work friends, and my heart stalled for a second when I saw Krista standing in the corner of the kitchen, talking to Megan. Megan's eyes darted over to mine and she gave me a bright smile, causing Krista to turn at see me.

"What's he doing here?" Krista hissed at Megan, speaking as if I wasn't standing two feet away from her.

"He was invited."

"Does he not realize that pity invites are not meant to actually be accepted-"

"Watch your fuckin' mouth, Krista," Isabelle jumped in,
"He's a guest here, just like you. And in case you haven't noticed, this is my house, so if you're not happy, feel free to leave. And don't forget to bring those silicon tits with you."

Megan and I stared at one another with wide eyes, Krista's face growing red, though I couldn't tell whether it was from embarrassment or rage. Isabelle stared back at her fiercely, and only pulled her gaze away when Megan started laughing. Krista's head snapped back over to her, and Megan held up her hands in the universal sign on surrender.

"Oh, lighten up. It's funny."

Isabelle grabbed two cans of soda from the fridge before she pulled me out to the lounge, giving me an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't be," I cut her off,
"No one ever stands up to Krista, especially not for me."

She stared at me for a few seconds, her green eyes searching my face, before she turned away.

"I want to ask you a favour."

"Sure."

She tilted her head in the direction of the stairs, and I followed her up them. The house was pretty spacious, a lot bigger than mine, and I couldn't help but try to get a look into some of the rooms as we walked down the hall. She stopped outside of a closed door, her name written on it in fancy black cursive with a star above it. She opened the door and let me in, letting me get a little sneak peak of what her life was like behind closed doors. She had a double bed in the middle of the room, with yellow and lime green bedsheets, and a purple moose teddy. She had a few photo frames crowding both of her beside lockers and study desk, along with the numerous bookshelves.
Christ, the amount of books she had. That's one thing I never expected from her, to be a reader. You take one look at Isabelle, at her beach bunny appearance, and expect her to be like the others, as dumb as a plank, but she was one of the smarted girls I knew. While I helped her with her Art, she helped me with my Math, getting all of the calculations within a matter of minutes.

"The walls," she murmured, flicking her hand towards the white walls,
"I don't know what way to paint my room. We usually move town every two or three years, because of my parents' contracts, but we'll be staying here for a good few years. I want a room I like."

I stared blankly back at her, not understanding exactly what she expected off me. Did she want me to tell her what colour she should paint it?

"I think I'm gonna paint it yellow, but I want something on that wall," she tilted her head towards the wall her bed was pressed against as she started looking through papers on her desk.

She found what she was looking for, and handed me a sheet of paper with a wall design on it.

"I want something like that, but in black. Would you be able to paint it? I'd pay you-"

"You don't have to pay me," I smiled at her as I nodded,
"Yeah, I should be able to do this."

I could feel myself practically glowing, feeling giddy over the fact that she thought my Art was that good. She smiled brightly at me, and I knew in that moment that I would give her absolutely anything to see her smile like that.
We could hear muffled voices downstairs from the party, no one was upstairs, and the two of us stood staring at one another for a few moments.

"Jessica isn't coming for another hour," she spoke quietly.

All I could do was nod, hating myself as my eyes kept darting down to her mouth. I took a step towards her, and she turned as she put the sheet of paper back down on the desk. My heart sank a little, thinking that I was taking that kiss a lot more seriously than she was, when she turned back around and snaked her arms around my neck. I dipped my head down to connect our lips, my hands moving down to her waist.
This was pure bliss.