Marilla knocked on the door to the penthouse that Isaac was staying in. She tapped her foot lightly, waiting for him to answer the door. Finally, it opened.
"Hey!" Isaac greeted her. He kissed her on the forehead. "Come on in. I'm almost through getting ready." She walked into the hallway, then into the living room. She sat down on the small, uncomfortable couch. Isaac went into the bathroom and began to brush his teeth.
"So, what are Taylor and Zac doing today?" Marilla asked.
"Well...Zac is spending the day with Abby, and I have no clue what Tay is up to. He was really vague about it. He said he was going for a walk in the park or something. But there's no park nearby, at least not that I know of," Isaac replied. "He's been acting weird since that whole elevator incident last night." Isaac leaned over and spat toothpaste into the sink.
"Hmm...Andrea's been acting weird, too. You think maybe something happened in there that they didn't tell us about?" Marilla asked.
"I don't know. Tay just seemed really out of it this morning. Like his mind was somewhere else," Isaac replied, turning the faucet off. He came out of the bathroom. "Ready to go?"
"Sure," Marilla said, standing up. "So, I told you about my ex. Tell me about yours."
"There's not much to say. She dumped me for someone else. Right before we left to come here. Her name's Aisleagh," Isaac responded.
"Did you love her?" Marilla asked. She pulled some of her long, loose hair over her shoulder.
"Yes...why are you asking me about her?" Isaac replied, giving her a suspicious look.
"Just curious," Marilla said. She reached over and took Isaac's hand in her's. Suddenly the phone rang. Isaac ran to answer it in the bedroom.
"Hello?" she heard him say. "Aisleagh? Hi!" Her heart sank. It was his ex. "Oh, yeah...I miss you too." Her eyes welled up with tears. Nothing had ever hurt as badly as this did. I should have known better than to trust him. He's a guy, what did I expect? And besides, he just broke up with her, Marilla thought. Fresh from a breakup...I was right about not wanting to date anymore. If I hadn't let this happen, I wouldn't be hurt right now. She felt like curling up in a ball under the covers of her bed at home. Tears spilled over her onto her cheeks as she listened to him talk.
"Yeah, Aise, I know you made a mistake. A big one," Isaac said. He was rather surprised to be hearing from her. She missed him and wanted to get back together. But he wasn't so sure about it. He wanted to be with Aisleagh, but he wanted to be with Marilla, too. "I know you miss me. I miss you, too, but I really don't know if I want to get back with you." He heard the door slam. "Aise, hold on a sec." He put the phone down and ran out into the living room. "Dammit!" he mumbled. Marilla was gone.
Taylor sat on a park bench, waiting for Andrea. He looked at his surroundings. People were to the left of him, playing frisbee. There was an older couple having a picnic. He yawned loudly. He hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. He'd ended up playing on the Playstation in the living room all night. He was beginning to doze off. Then he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around.
"Hey you," Andrea said, sitting down next to him. She was wearing a black dress, with a red fleece pullover over it. She smelled heavenly to him, like apples and cinnamon. "No one caught on to us, did they?"
"Nope. I told Mom I was going for a walk in the park. She didn't even think twice about it," Taylor replied. "I didn't get any sleep last night."
"Me either," Andrea replied. "I couldn't stop thinking about you..." She trailed off. "We can't tell anyone."
"I know," he said. He put his arm around her. "No one can know about this. No one."
"But why?" Andrea asked. "It's not like we're doing something bad. We just...well...I don't know what we are." I just want you...I want you so badly, Andrea thought.
"We can't let anyone know, because of who I am. Do you realize what would happen if this got out?" Taylor asked. "The press would bug the hell out of me...and you. This thing is purely a physical relationship. And besides, this is only going to last until we leave. Then it's over." Andrea laid her head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head.
"Do you want to go back to my aunt's house?" Andrea asked. "No one's home right now."
"Are you sure no one's home?" Taylor asked in response. Andrea nodded. "Alright, then. Let's go." They stood up and left.
"Whee!" Zac yelled, playing a virtual reality game against Abby. "This is awesome!"
"I told you this arcade rocked!" Abby exclaimed back. Time up began to flash on the screen. Zac groaned, taking the helmet and gloves off. He stepped down off of the podium that he had been standing on. Abby came up behind him and tickled him, making him laugh.
"Stop, stop!" Zac said, laughing. He turned to face Abby. Her face was glowing pink, she was smiling. "You're not at all like what I expected, you know that?"
"What did you expect?" she asked, out of breath.
"A snobby little rich girl who didn't like to do anything but shop," he replied.
"Well, you're not what I expected either," she said. "I expected you to be this big headed, cocky celebrity. And you're not. You're this goofy, amazing person, who makes me laugh. I really like being around you."
"Well, I like being around you, too," Zac said. He was feeling an overwhelming urge to kiss her, so he leaned forward. Abby leaned forward at the same time. They bumped heads. "Sorry," Zac said laughing. "Hold on." He took her chin in his hands and tilted her head slightly. Then he kissed her gently. Magic.
"Marilla!" Isaac yelled, chasing after her in the hotel lobby. She was walking at a lightning speed trying to get away from him. Finally he caught up with her and touched her shoulder.
"Leave me alone!" she exclaimed, spinning around. It was obvious to him that she had been crying. "Just leave me the hell alone!" She began to cry again. "I thought I could trust you. That you would be different. But I was wrong. So, goodbye, Isaac. I don't want you be your rebound girl. Second fiddle just doesn't work for me. So, go back to your precious Aisleagh. Don't speak to me or call me again. I don't want to see you."
"Marilla...," Isaac trailed off, speechless. She turned and walked away, angrily, her long, wavy hair swishing as she went. Isaac felt like bursting into tears himself. He had just lost the best thing that had ever come into his life. He trudged over to the elevators, and pressed the button. One opened, and he stepped inside.
He walked into the room and picked up the phone. He took a deep breath, thinking for a moment of what to say. Then he spoke.
"Aisleagh?" he said.
"Oh, Isaac! Where did you go?" Aisleagh asked. "I was starting to get worried."
"Aisleagh...no," he said.
"No what?" she responded.
"No, I don't want to get back together," Isaac said.
"What?" she responded, surprised. "Why?"
"I just don't want you," he responded. "I want to be with someone else...I mean...I met someone else here. And she's wonderful...she's smart, and funny, and beautiful. She's not you." He could hear her crying over the phone. "I have to go. Bye." He hung up the phone. He sunk down into the love seat that he was sitting in, placing his head in his hands. How was he ever going to get Marilla to forgive him?
Andrea laid her head on Taylor's bare chest, sighing in contentment. They were at her aunt's house, and no one was home, so they had taken advantage of the situation. Taylor was half asleep, having had no sleep the night before, while Andrea was still wide awake. She was watching the snow fall lightly through the window across the room.
It was hard for her to believe that anything that had happened recently was actually happening. It almost seemed like it wasn't happening to her, just for her. She also couldn't believe that she had let her guard down and slept with him. After he had insulted her like that. It had just started out as them being scared as the elevator fell a few stories, but now it was a full blown attraction. It had become that way overnight almost. But for her to say that wasn't still attracted to him after he insulted her was a complete lie. It just made her all the more attracted to him, oddly enough. She felt kind of bad that she couldn't tell Marilla about it, but that fact that she and Taylor had a secret, especially one that big, made the whole thing fun. The only problem was that she was beginning to fall for him, hard. She just hoped he was feeling the same. Taylor began to stir, interrupting Andrea's thoughts.
"Hey, sleepyhead," Andrea said softly, propping herself up on her elbows. "Did you have sweet dreams?"
"Who needs a fantasy when I have a real dream right here in front of me," he said. She leaned up and kissed him on the forehead.
"I never told you thank you for being so patient with me last night. I know how hysterical I can get when my claustrophobia kicks in. Thank you, Taylor," she said.
"You're welcome. It was no problem, really," Taylor replied. He got out of the bed and began to get dressed. "What I don't understand is why you're claustrophobic . . . why are you?"
"Well . . . when I was about three years old," Andrea began, "my older brother locked me in the basement. I couldn't see, I couldn't find the light switch. I was stuck in there for about five hours before my mom found me. My brother got the whipping of his life when she found out what he'd done. Ever since then, I've been extremely claustrophobic," Andrea finished. "I also used to be deathly afraid of the dark because of that, but I got over it." She got out of bed and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. She got dressed, pulling some fresh clothes out of her suitcase. Then she came back out into the bedroom. Taylor was sitting on the bed, tying his shoes. She walked over and sat down next to him.
"I guess I'd better be going," Taylor said. "You're wonderful, do you know that?" He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, then got up. He left the room. Andrea heard the sound of the front door shutting as he left.
"Great, I'm wonderful," she said sarcastically. "I don't want to be just wonderful to you, Taylor. I want you to love me. Because I think I love you." She burst into silent tears, curling up on her bed. She fell asleep again, still crying. "I want you to love me," she whispered.
