The Road Ahead of Us

"He seriously asked you to go to dinner with him?" Kara asked, laughing slightly as she watched Isabelle pace back and forth across the hotel room that Isabelle and Alex would be sharing that night. It was currently 7 and Alex told her to be ready by 8 before he slipped off to Jack's room, letting her have the room to get ready alone in. "Like a date?"

"I guess so. I mean he kissed me right after, so I'm guessing so." Isabelle sighed and went over to her suitcase, pulling it open. "What should I wear? I mean... should I just wear this or should I dress up?" She questioned Kara who sighed and stood up from her seat on the large bed.

"You have to look totally gorgeous. Make Alex basically grovel at your feet. You go take a shower, shave, lather, rinse and repeat, do all that stuff. I'll pick out what you will wear and then do your hair and makeup." Kara told her, coming over to push her gently towards the bathroom.

"I'm not supposed to want him groveling though. I want him to back off." Isabelle told her, but Kara rolled her eyes.

"No, that's not really what you want. You will wear what I give you and you will thank me later for it, now go!" Kara urged, shoving her more forcefully towards the bathroom. Isabelle grumbled but went into the room anyway, quickly stripping herself of the outfit she had worn that day and stepping into the shower. She did just as Kara instructed. When she was done, smelling like flowers and freshly shaved, she stepped out and wrapped a white fluffy towel around her body before stepping out of the bathroom to find Kara riffling through a large make up bag on the counter.

"Is that your makeup?" Isabelle asked, not recognizing any of the contents of the bag.

"Yes, it is. I went to Rian and I's room and got it. Along with the dress and heels you will be wearing tonight. I couldn't find anything that suited the needs for tonight in your wardrobe so you are borrowing something of mine. I found a cute pair of undies in there though with a matching bra. It's all on the bed so get changed." Kara instructed, not looking up from her makeup search. Isabelle did as instructed, slipping on the blue strapless dress that waited for her on the bed. She had to admit, it was a very cute dress and looked good on her. "You look hot, now come over here so I can do your hair and makeup. We have half an hour."

As soon as Kara pushed Isabelle into a chair in front of the vanity mirror that the hotel room had she lathered Isabelle's damp hair with some sort of product. It was for volumizing purposes, Kara explained. She then blow dried Isabelle's reddish brown hair. She let it flow around Isabelle's head in its natural straightness, but now it had much more volume to it. Isabelle had to admit that she already looked good, and Kara hadn't even started on her face yet.

Kara then plucked Isabelle's eyebrows, taming them into perfection. Isabelle's makeup consisted of a ton of foundation, a little blush, black eyeliner and bright red lipstick.

"Good, now put on this jewelry and the heels. Alex should be here any minute." Kara placed a pair of earrings, a necklace and a bracelet into Isabelle's hand. Isabelle did as she instructed right as there was a knock on the door. "I wonder who that could be." Kara joked, her eyebrows raised as she walked over to the door. Isabelle took this time to look at herself in the mirror. Her brown eyes popped underneath all the makeup, her hair framing her face perfectly. The dress gave her just the right amount of cleavage and showed off just enough leg, and the heels made her the perfect height, her legs looking long and endless. "Why hello, Alex. You're date is just finishing up."

"Why thank you, Kara." Alex responded as he stepped into the room right as Isabelle stepped away from the mirror, turning to look at him. "Wow..." He gasped, looking her up and down. "Izzy.... you look... gorgeous." She blushed and looked down at the ground, scuffling her feet a little.

"Thanks, Alex." She responded quietly.

"So... shall we go? I have the perfect place picked out." He told her, making her smile and nod. She crossed the room to stand beside him.

"You two have fun now, but not too much fun." Kara told them, following them out of the room.

"We'll try." Isabelle told her, smiling at her gently. Kara turned and went in the direction of her and Rian's room while Alex took her hand, gently pulling her towards the elevators.

"So, are you ready for this?" He asked her as they stepped into the elevator.

"Sure. Where are we going?" She questioned him, making him smirk.

"Do you remember our two year anniversary date?" His question made her frown. The elevator came to a stop, signaling with a little ding that they had arrived at the lobby.

"Yes. Why?" Alex simply smiled and shook his head.

"Come on, we have a little bit of a drive." He told her as they walked in the direction of the van. He unlocked the vehicle and helped her into the passengers seat, closing the door after she was seated before making his way over to the drivers seat. With that they set off, in silence with nothing but the radio breaking the silence. Isabelle found herself thinking back to the anniversary date that Alex had mentioned.

"So what does Alex have planned?" Kara questioned her only female friend who was currently curling her hair. Kara was lounged out across Isabelle's bed, a magazine in her hand.

"He wouldn't tell me. He said it's a surprise." Isabelle responded, finishing with her hair. She made sure her makeup was still perfect before turning to look at Kara, running her hands down the skirt of her white dress. "How do I look? Think he'll like it?" Kara rolled her eyes and sat up, tossing the magazine to the floor to join all the others that Isabelle kept on her floor.

"I think he'll love it. Alex would love you even if you were wearing a trash bag, though he would prefer it if you were wearing nothing. He's crazy about you, Iz." Isabelle couldn't help but smile. "I hope that Rian and I are together for as long as you and Alex have been. It's only been six months for he and I but... he's so amazing. I can really see myself being with him for a long time." Kara told her best friend, who smiled and came to sit next to her, patting her arm.

"You and Rian will be together as long as me and Alex. We'll have double weddings and our children will be best friends, we'll have houses next door to each other. It'll be perfect." Isabelle told her, making her smile.

"That does sound good." Just then there was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Isabelle, Alex is here." Isabelle's mother's voice called from the other side of the hard wooden door.

"Be down in a second." Isabelle took a deep breath and stood up, reaching for the white flats she was going to wear that night. "You sure you'll be okay here tonight? I don't know what time I'll be back."

"If you'll even be back tonight. And I'll be fine. I'd rather be here than at home with my arguing parents." Kara told her, making Isabelle nod.

"If I stay at Alex's tonight I'll text you to let you know." Kara stood up and pulled her best friend into a tight hug.

"Have a good time tonight. Give me all the dirty details tomorrow or later tonight if you come back." Isabelle nodded and walked towards the door. When she got down the stairs, she was greeted with a large smile from Alex.

"Ready, my gorgeous girlfriend?" He asked her, making her giggle and nod. "Let's go then." He offered her his hand, making her rest her much smaller hand in his large, callous covered hand. He led her to his range rover, helping her into the passengers seat.

"So where are we going, Alex?" She asked him, looking over at her boyfriend as he drove. His dark brown hair was flying wildly around his head, he had on a grey flannel shirt and black skinny jeans, converse on his feet. It was his normal attire but Isabelle could never get over how good he looked. He was the love of her life. She may be only sixteen years old but she knew that she had found the one. Sure they had their fair share of arguments and differences but at the end of the day all she wanted was to be with him and no one else.

"It's a surprise." They spent the next fifteen minutes in silence until finally Alex pulled up at the deserted beach, pulling into one of the many available parking spots.

"The beach, Alex? It's eight at night." She told him, making him shrug and get out of the car, coming around to help her out.

"Come on, this way." He led her to the right, towards a back of rocks. She knew that there was a small cove in them. Her and Alex had discovered it when they were ten years old and their families used to take beach trips together. Even still it was their spot, they returned here frequently just to be alone.

He led her in the direction of their spot, when they got close to the small opening she could see light pouring out. She frowned, wondering how that was possible. As soon as they ducked through the entrance, she knew. The place was covered in candles. Every possible ledge had a white candle resting on it. Even the floor was littered with them. There was a small path that led them straight to a blanket set out with a basket on top.

"You did all of this?" She questioned, turning to look at Alex who was watching her, a small smile on his face. He was afraid she'd think it was too cliche and not like it.

"With the help of the guys. Do you like it? You don't think it's too much?" Isabelle grinned, turning to wrap her arms around Alex's neck, pressing her lips to his fiercely.

"I think it's perfect." Alex grinned and pecked her lips once more before leading her through the candles over to the blanket where they both sat down. "I made all of our favorites." He told her, pulling the basket towards him. He then began to pull out the food, making her laugh as he did so. He pulled out two turkey sandwiches, two cans of sprite, a box of lucky charms, a Tupperware container of macaroni and cheese, and a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips.

"Very romantic, Lex." She told him, making him smile.

"I know, I put a lot of thought into it." He grinned at her before passing her a paper plate. "Help yourself." She nodded and both of them began to pile their plates full of the foods that they both loved.

"I have to admit, this is not what I was expecting but I love it." She told him as they both finished eating. He nodded and put all of the stuff back into the basket before pushing the basket off the blanket, giving them more room.

"I'm glad." He reached over and pulled her into his arms, laying them both back, her head on his chest. "Happy two years, my love." He whispered, his nose pressed into her hair before he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. She lifted her head up to smile at him, reaching up to place her hand on his soft cheek.

"We'll be together for a long time, right?" She asked him, staring into his brown eyes.

"I couldn't imagine being with anyone else." He told her honestly. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Iz."

"Then don't ever leave me."

"I never will." He reached down to connect their lips. "Ever." She smiled and moved so she was resting on top of him, their lips connecting once more while his hands ran down her sides, resting on her hips while hers got lost in his hair. She never wanted to lose this man.


"Izzy?" Isabelle jumped and looked to her right to see that Alex had parked the car at what looked like a park. He had even gotten out and come around to help her out of the van.

"Sorry. I was lost in my thoughts." She told him, making him smile and nod, holding his hand out to her, which she took and jumped out of the van.

"What were you thinking about?" He asked as he began to lead her along the path into the park.

"Our two year anniversary date." She told him truthfully. "That was the greatest night of my life, probably."

"It was a pretty fantastic night. Maybe when we get back to Baltimore we can go back to our spot. I haven't been there in years. After you left I used to go there every day. Eventually though, it just got too hard and I stopped going." He said, making her nod.

"I'd love to go back there. We have so many memories in there and just on that beach in general."

"We sure do." He agreed, smiling as he remembered all the times they went there together or with their family or even with the guys. "Come on, almost there." They walked for about two more minutes in silence before they turned a corner and everything unfolded in front of them, making Isabelle gasp as they stopped to look.

"Oh Alex, it's gorgeous." In front of them was something very similar to what he had done all those years ago. There were candles everywhere, lighting the area. There was a blanket, one that looked very similar to the one that they had used six years ago and there was a basket next to it.

"It's not exactly the same, I made a classier dinner, and of course we aren't at our spot but it's the best I could do being thousands of miles away from home." He told her, shrugging but she shook her head.

"I love it, almost as much as I loved that night." She said, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

"Why are you crying, babe?" He asked her worridly, thinking he had done something wrong.

"You.... you are just so amazing and... I can't believe you did this. Thank you." She told him, making him break into a grin.

"Come on, before our food gets cold." He led her to the blanket where they sat down before he passed out two places full of food. Pasta and breadsticks. "I didn't make this, I ordered take out from some Italian restaurant." He informed her, making her nod.

"It's delicious so its alright." They smiled at one another before they continued to eat. "Thank you again, Alex." She told him after they finished and he had put the plates back into the basket.

"Dance with me." He messed around in the basket before pulling out some portable speakers and his ipod. Soon the sounds of You've Got A Way by Shania Twain began flowing through the air. "Remember this song?" He asked her as they both stood up.

"Of course I do. It was our song." She said quietly, wrapping her arms around his neck. She rested her head on his shoulder while he swayed them back and forth slowly.

You've got a way with me
Somehow you got me to believe
In everything that I could be
I've gotta say you really got a way

You've got a way it seems
You gave me faith to find my dreams
You'll never know just what that means
Can't you see you got a way with me

It's in the way you want me
It's in the way you hold me
The way you show me just what love's made of
It's in the way we make love

You've got a way with words
You get me smiling even when it hurts
There's no way to measure what your love is worth
I can't believe the way you get through to me

It's in the way you want me
It's in the way you hold me
The way you show me just what love's made of
It's in the way we make love

Oh, how I adore you
Like no one before you
I love you just the way you are

It's in the way you want me
Oh it's in the way you hold me
The way you show me just what love's made of
It's in the way we make love

It's just the way you are

As the song came to an end, Isabelle lifted her head to look up into her eyes.

"All of that is still true. With me at least." He told her, his arms still wrapped around her tightly. "I know that you told me you wanted to be sure you were over Adam before we did anything but... I just can't wait any longer. I am so head over heels for you still, Isabelle. I can't just be in a room with you and not kiss you or hold you. I just -" Isabelle cut him off by pressing her lips to his.

"It's still true for me too." She whispered, barely pulling away from his lips. She felt him smile before his lips were forcefully back on hers. He lifted her up by the waist, spinning them both around. This was like something from a romance movie. And she wouldn't change one detail about it...