If It Gave Us Time

“Can I get you another drink?” Gerard asked as he shuffled back to his feet, moving to collect his own empty wine glass from the coffee table ahead of him. It had been a few hours, after Isla had arrived home, they’d quickly settled into what had proved to be a comfortable and fun first date, and Gerard wasn’t quite ready for it to end, even if it was quickly approaching midnight. A small part of him couldn’t quite work up the desire to call a taxi and bring an end to their date which had, much to his surprise, gone off without a hitch.

He had wanted to make Isla more comfortable, when he had made the decision to surprise her at her apartment, he had done it with the intention of ensuring that Isla feel at least a little less nervous, and he was pleased that it had worked, even if there had been a couple of moments where they’d both seemed a little less than sure of themselves. It’d felt no different to the many times that they’d hung out in the past.

Isla, who was finishing the last sip of her drink, smirked over the top of her glass before she pushed her glasses up her nose. “You’re planning on staying for another drink?” she quipped.

Gerard offered her a playful glare, something which made Isla let out a soft giggle before she reached her hand out, offering her empty glass up towards him. “I’d love one more” she mused “But really, it has to be just one. I’ve got to get some sleep, you’ve got to go home, and I should probably text Luna and let her know that she can eventually come home” she added.

Gerard nodded his head and took the empty glass out of her hand before he padded through towards the kitchen, returning moments later with two glasses of wine held in his hand. Flashing Isla a small smile, he placed a glass into her hand before he plopped down onto the couch more, frowning slightly to himself as he noticed a small scar on the inside of her wrist. Tilting his head slightly, he allowed his blue eyes to admire the scar for a couple of seconds before he reached his hands forwards, his fingertip ghosting over her skin.

Isla, who’d been watching him quietly, felt her cheeks warm a little before she shook her head, diverting her stare down towards her arm. “I broke it when I was 21” she announced quietly.

Gerard flinched a little, surprised by her speaking, before he looked up, offering her a small smile. “How?” he asked.

“I was on a bike ride with Rodrigo and I fell off” Isla replied, smiling embarrassedly “But it wasn’t all bad. The doctor who treated it, he was...” she trailed off as she looked up, her eyes meeting Gerard’s.

Gerard smirked as their eyes met. “He was what, Lala?” he chirped.

Isla shook her head, messing with her hair nervously. “Gerard” she mumbled.

Gerard let out a small amused laugh. “You do know that I know that you’ve dated before, right?” he quipped brightly “The doctor who treated it was...” he trailed off, trying to encourage her to talk.

He knew that it was a slightly awkward conversation, with the way that their friendship had ended, it was a topic of conversation that they’d avoided bringing up since they’d started to spend time together again, but Gerard didn’t want her to feel as though it was something she couldn’t talk about, even if his being jealous was a lot of the reason that they’d stopped talking in the first place. He wanted her to know that, despite their attempts at dating, his first priority was ensuring that they made their best attempt to repair a friendship between them.

Isla offered him a slightly unsure look, something which made Gerard grin at her, wordlessly assuring her that it was alright.

“He was gorgeous” Isla admitted bashfully “I mean, he was really dorky and he made all these bad jokes...Anyway, to cut the story short, because I am absolutely sure you’d rather I didn’t sit here gushing over him on our first date, Sergio...the doctor, he was perhaps the first guy I ever really...” she trailed off, a goofy smile on her lips.

Gerard nodded his head slowly, ignoring the slight pang which urged him to press her about himself, before he quirked an impish smile. “Dorky? Bad jokes? It sounds like you’ve got a type” he mused, his voice twitching a little.

Isla noticed the shift in his voice before she shook her head, letting out a soft groan. “I’ve messed this up, haven’t I?” she mumbled “I mean, mentioning Sergio? That was just...it’s so stupid” she muttered as she stood up, shaking her head in frustration.

Gerard watched her stand up before he reached his hand out, gently taking a hold of hers. Shuffling up to his feet, he gently knotted their fingers together before he tugged her a little closer to him, his other hand gently cupping her cheek. “You’ve not messed this up” he noted gently “I asked you to talk about the doctor and I don’t want you to feel bad about it. So you’ve got a dorky doctor ex? I bet his bad jokes are nowhere near as bad as mine” he added, grinning down at her boyishly.

Isla laughed despite herself, something which made Gerard’s smile widen before he leant down, lightly bumping his nose against hers. “I’m your friend” he mumbled “Whether I eventually become your boyfriend or not, I want to be that, and I want to know about your life in the years I wasn’t in it. Could I live without knowing that your doctor ex was ‘gorgeous’?” he gushed, playfully swooning

Isla lightly pushed his shoulder.

“I could live without knowing that” Gerard continued “But if he made you happy once? I’d like to know that. I mean, ultimately, I am going to make you happier, but...” he trailed off, his thumb lightly tracing the line of her cheekbone.

Isla let out another soft laugh, her blue eyes looking up into his, before she nodded her. “You doing Ok so far” she quipped.

Gerard arched a playful eyebrow, briefly contemplating teasing her a little more, before he leant into her, happily capturing her lips with his. Isla giggled a little into the kiss, her hands gently moving to mess with the hem of his t-shirt, before the sound of someone clearing their throat reached her ears, causing her to turn around, her eyes settling on Luna who stood in the doorway, a playfully glare on her face. “If you two are going to do that, you’ve got a bedroom you can use, Isla” she quipped.

Isla rolled her eyes. “We weren’t doing anything” she retorted.

“Sure” Luna replied, playfully rolling her eyes “Anyway, it’s nearly midnight and I need to get some sleep. If you two are going to...you know, try and be quiet” she added before she ducked out of the room again.

Isla scoffed before she turned back to Gerard, shaking her ahead apologetically. “I’m sorry for her” she mumbled.

“Don’t be” Gerard replied.

Isla looked up at him, allowing a couple of beats of quiet to pass between them, before she shook her head. “I need to...” she trailed off.

“Say no more” Gerard replied “I should probably get out of here anyway. Can I just wait up here for the taxi to arrive?” he asked.

Isla grinned. “I suppose so” she teased “But I am going to go and get changed for bed. You’ll come and say goodbye before you go?” she asked.

Gerard snorted playfully. “Like I’d miss our goodbye kiss” he teased.

Isla offered him another roll of her blue eyes before she leant up slightly, kissing his cheek softly. “You’ll text me soon, right?” she asked “I mean, if this wasn’t too much of a disaster for you, I think a second date could be...I think it could be fun” she fussed timidly before she stepped away from him, quickly making her way towards her bedroom.

Gerard grinned after her. “I think it’s inevitable” he mused to himself.