In the Cards

Greetings, Join Isabelle in the modern world for a story about falling in love that could be your own. Be sure to let me know what you think.

When I got the flyer in the mail for my ten year High School Reunion, I laughed and threw it into the recycling bin without a second thought. When I got a Facebook message from an old high school friend that was harder to ignore. Eventually I responded to her and one thing led to another. A bunch of us ended up getting together on the weekend of the reunion to have our own mini-reunion. This will mark our sixth year of doing that and although not all ten or so of us make it for the once a year get-together, we do a better job of keeping in touch with each other thanks to Facebook, email and even the old standard of getting together for drinks or coffee. I had never lost touch with my best friend Frankie, but it was nice for us both, and for her husband , Drew, to see other friends from back in the day. This year I had to juggle a couple of assignments for work and I would be schlepping my gear with me since I would be going directly to a gig afterwards, but it was worth it. 

            Hi, I'm Isabelle, Iz to my friends, I have shoulder-length brown hair and light blue eyes (my best feature if you ask me) and I stand a respectable 5'6" in flats. I'm 34, never married, though I date regularly. I always seem to be trying to lose 10 lbs, despite my best efforts. I'm a special events photographer; weddings make up the bulk of my business and I've even had a couple of spreads in the bridal mags in the last couple of years so business has been good. It doesn't hurt that I get to set my own hours. When I'm not working, I like to indulge my hobby of nature photography. I've sold a few of photos in exhibits that way, but it's really just for fun.

            She dressed carefully today because although Isabelle had known these people for a very long time, she didn’t see most of them very often and wanted to look good. Because she had to work after (a fancy rehearsal dinner) she opted for her favourite purple brocade cropped pants, an ivory blouse and her trusty trench coat was in the car in case the weather guy got it right and it rained later. She slipped her feet into comfortable ivory ballet flats and after checking her make-up in the hallway mirror, she shouldered her photography bag and was out the door.

            Only Frankie & Drew were there when she arrived. They're the poster couple for high school sweethearts going the distance. They've been together since the tenth grade, have three children together and still act like they invented love.

            "Hi guys; how are the kids?"

            "Growing like weeds and eating us out of house and home. The twins are going to be eleven in a couple of weeks, can you believe it?" Frankie's question was rhetorical as she got up to embrace Isabelle. 

            "Sorry I missed you last time you came by the house to hang with Frankie. How have you been, Iz?" Drew asked, hugging her in turn.

            "Good, really good." Isabelle chose a chair at random where her back was to the door and she could easily converse with Frankie and Drew since they were the only ones there yet. "I've been so busy the last few weeks I haven't kept up with who is going to make it today. Any ideas?"

            "Last we heard, everyone is coming except Julia and Leanne." Frankie sipped her cranberry & soda. "Oh and I had an email from Andy, he's bringing a surprise with him."

            "Do you think he's bringing a boyfriend?" 

            Drew squirmed awkwardly in his chair. He'd never been completely comfortable with knowing one of his old friends turned out to be gay.

            "He didn't say. Guess we'll just have to wait and find out."

            "Here comes Mac and that looks like Jess just behind him." Drew said, glad to have a reason to change the subject.

            They barely had time for hugs and handshakes all around before Jo showed up and they started all over again. Of all of them, Jo had changed the most since high school. She had gone from a quiet, shy girl with mousy brown hair to a vibrant woman with a stylish blond cap of hair a tinkling laugh and a job as a Human Resources executive at one of the country's largest insurance firms. 

            "Is this all of us? I heard from Sarah that she's not going to be able to make it after all; she texted me last night. Her daughter has a fever."

            "Oh that's terrible!" said Frankie. With three kids she had a lot of sympathy for Sarah, especially considering Sarah was a single mom and didn't have the support of the child's father. "We're just waiting on Andy."

            "Speak of the devil and he'll appear!"

            "Andy, good to see you," Jo was the first one up to give him a warm hug. "How's business?" 

            "It's so good I'm thinking of opening a third shop next year."

            "Wow, that's great."

            "Yeah it is, but that’s not my surprise. Ah, here he is. Guess who I brought along?"

            Isabelle turned and her light eyes met the unforgettable deep blue of Steve Phillips'.

            "Steve!" Frankie was out of her seat and around the table before even those closest to him could get up to shake his hand or embrace him.

            When it was Isabelle's turn she suddenly felt shy and stuck her hand out rather than giving him the welcoming hug that would have been perfectly acceptable between old friends who’d been as close as they had once. Nonetheless, Steve dropped into the empty seat next to her.

            Over the next few hours the old friends caught up on each other's lives over the last year and the last decade plus of Steve's. He'd followed Maddy, his university girlfriend, to England, married her, and they had a son who was five and lived with her. She was still over in Birmingham and the two had been divorced for nearly two years. Steve had come back to the city with a promotion almost eighteen months ago. Mac announced that he was going to be a first-time father, which necessitated champagne all around, Andy showed off pictures of his prized Doberman, Fred and Jesse received congratulations at the news that his mother, who had really been a den mother to them all in high school, had beaten breast cancer.

            The leave-taking was slow but one-by-one everyone had to return to their lives. Steve, Frankie, Drew and Isabelle were the last at the table.

            "This was so great you guys, but I have to get to work," Isabelle said, standing.

            "We'll have to get together soon," said Frankie. "It's good for us to get out once in a while without the kids."

            Isabelle laughed, "I'll bet." She put a hand on Steve's shoulder. "It was really great to see you again. Bye everyone."

            As she was retrieving her coat from the girl at the desk Steve caught up with her. "Hey, Iz, wait up; I'll walk you to your car."

            Isabelle smiled warmly and waited with Steve while he got his own coat.

            "I try and Facetime with Josh before he goes to bed, but with the six hour time difference it makes it tough to schedule during the week. His mom lets him stay up on weekends, so it’s easier then."

            "That's sweet. It must be tough for you to be without him."

            "It wasn't an easy choice to come back. Maddy's family is back there and she's really built a life for them both in Birmingham, and there'll just be so much opportunity for Josh as he gets older.  I try and get there a few times a year and there's the Facetime as well. I'm lucky because the split wasn't unfriendly. We just didn't love each other anymore."

            "I'm sorry about that too."

            "Don't be," he said as Isabelle stopped at her car, clicked the button to unlock it. "Hey, we should grab a drink sometime, really catch up."

            "I'd like that," Isabelle said reaching into her bag for a card. "Here's my number. Give me a call."

            "I will," Steve promised and hugged her tightly.

            He smells good Isabelle thought. And then....he feels good. What am I thinking? This is my friend Steve...he taught me how to play euchre...he's seen me after days in the woods with no showers... 

            Then Steve released her and the moment was gone.

            "Talk to you soon."

            "Bye." Isabelle drove to the rehearsal dinner and tried to put the wayward thought out of her brain.

                                    *                                  *                                  *

            Tried was the operative word, but two days later the thought was still there as she was sifting through some shots from a recent wedding, looking for an un-posed one of the bride & groom that captured how completely and totally blissfull they looked that day, so when she answered the phone and it was Steve, she felt her cheeks pink a little,  as if he knew she'd been thinking of him.

            "Hello, this is Isabelle."

            "Hi Iz, it's Steve. How are you?"

            "Oh, hi, Steve. I'm good. You?"

            "Good. I called to see if you still want to get that drink."

            "I'd love to. When were you thinking?"

            "How about tonight?"

            Out of habit Isabelle looked at her watch. It was only a little after one o'clock and she had no events that night. You have no excuse she told herself. "I should be clear of all my paperwork around six, so what if we met up for seven? Would that work for you? I don't even know what part of the city you're in. I'm in the Bayview & Yonge area."

            "That's not far from me. I'm more or less at Yonge & Lawrence. There's this little hole-in-the-wall pub just south of Eglinton called The Unicorn. Do you know it?"

            "I've been there a bunch of times."

            "Ok, so I'll see you at The Unicorn around seven then."

            "Sounds great, Steve."

            "Ok, I'm looking forward to it."

            "Me too." 

            Steve hung up the phone and scrubbed his hands over his face a few times, realized he hadn't shaved that morning and calculated if he'd have enough time to go home and do that before he was meeting Iz. He hadn't known she'd be at lunch the other day, and even if he had, he wouldn't have been prepared for his reaction to her after all these years. Steve remembered Isabelle very well from their high school days; he'd had a crush on her for all for years they'd gone to school together. Be honest he admonished himself, you were in love with her. But Isabelle had only ever seen him as her slightly dorky, card-playing Outdoors Club friend. And that was fine, or at least he thought it was fine. But seeing her made him realize that maybe he wasn’t ok with being alone for the rest of his life after all.

                                    *                                  *                                  *

            Isabelle worked steadily until five. She catalogued photos, ear-marked a few to freshen up the galleries on her website, sent off files to a couple of clients so they could order prints, and when she couldn't put it off any longer, called Frankie to tell her that Steve had called.

            "Andrew Clayton Junior you stop picking on your sister this instant! Hello?"

            Isabelle cringed away from the screeching voice on the phone. "Jeez Frankie, you trying to make me deaf?"

            "Sorry, Iz. The kids are driving me up the wall today. How are you?"

            "I'm good, I'm good. Just thought I'd call to see how you and Drew and the kids are."

            "Mm hmm, and you're a liar because we both know our kind of domestic bliss is of very little interest to you,” said the stay-at-home mom to the business grad. What's really going on?"

            "Steve called today."

            "I thought he might call you. I saw the way he was looking at you last weekend."

            "Don't be ridiculous," Isabelle replied. "He just wants to catch up. I'm sure he just wants to catch up."

            "Iz, sometimes you can be so obtuse. He's looking to reconnect alright. He had a crush on you all through high school and now here the two of you are fifteen years later both single."

            "He did not!" Isabelle denied hotly.

            "Oh yes he did. You just never saw it."

            "Are you being serious?"

            "Deadly."

            "Oh," Isabelle said very quietly.

            "Does this mean you're interested or not interested?"

            "I don't know. I mean, we were friends in high school; I really liked him. You're right that I never knew he saw me as more than a friend. But now? I don't know. I mean, we don't know each other anymore."

            "So you'll get to know each other again - Andrew what did I just tell you? - Sorry Iz, I've gotta go strangle one of my children. Call me tomorrow and tell me all about it. It's been twenty years since I've been on a first date."

            Isabelle put down her phone and headed straight for the shower. She'd been up before dawn sorting through photos for a book concept she was developing and then had shut herself in her office all day, so she definitely felt like she could stand to freshen up a bit.

            Twenty minutes later she stood in front of her closet, clutching a tower closed and trying to decide between a skirt or jeans. In the end she opted for the jeans. Better to not make it look like she thought this was a date in case Frankie was wrong.

                                    *                                  *                                  *

            Squinting a little in the dim interior of the pub, Isabelle searched the tables to see if Steve had arrived ahead of her and saw him wave from a table in the pub's back corner.

            When she reached the table, Isabelle saw the remains of an order of chicken wings and Steve had drank about half of his pint of beer. So not a date she thought to herself.

            Steve rose from the table and embraced her warmly. "It's good to see you. Sorry I started without you. I got here a little early and I missed lunch so I was starving." He didn't mention that the reason he missed lunch was because he worked through it so he could run home and grab a quick wash & shave before coming out to meet her.

            Isabelle forced her smile a little wider. She could handle just being friends; after all that's all she and Steve had ever been to each other. She blamed Frankie for putting other ideas into her head. "It's good to see you too."

            "What can I get for you?" he asked as he released her and stepped back.

            "I'll have a rye and ginger please."

            "Be right back," he promised and went up to the bar to put her drink order in.

            When he came back the two sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity but was probably less than a minute....and then Isabelle burst out laughing.

            "What?"

            "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

            "What?" Steve asked with the same lopsided grin she remembered.

            "I was just wondering why this feels so awkward." 

            "It does feel a bit strange doesn't it?"

            "Yeah. No reason it should though. We were great friends once."

            "You're right."

            The waitress came by with Isabelle's drink and set it down in front of her. "Can I get you something to eat?"

            "Um, how about a menu?"

            "Sure." She slouched off and returned a moment later with a double-sided laminated menu.

            "Thanks. I'll need a minute."

            The waitress shrugged and returned to the bar.

            Isabelle rested a hand on the menu and turned back to Steve.

            "Why don't we make this easier on ourselves, skip the whole what-have-you-been-up-to-for-the-last-fifteen-years rigamarole and pretend we just saw each other last week?"

            Steve signed with relief. "It would be so great if we could do that."

            When Isabelle smiled this time it was a genuine smile and Steve felt his heart give a little kick. She signalled the waitress, ordered a burger with a salad, waited for him to order another pound of wings and then turned her full attention to him. "So how is work these days?" 

            "It's good, busy. I just got assigned a new account and we have a big campaign to put together for them with very little lead time."

            "Sounds exciting. Anyone I know?"

            "Probably. It's for one of the automotive manufacturers."

            "You've become awfully discreet in your old age."

            "I do try. They've done a complete redesign of one of their staple vehicles and we need to come up with the best way to market it. I've had the account for two days and I'm still trying to get my head wrapped around it. My team is meeting with the client in less than two weeks and we need to have some preliminary concepts sketched out by then."

            "Forget exciting, I should have said it sounds stressful."

            "Nah," he grinned. "I love a challenge."

            "You always did at that."

            The waitress came by with their food, set it down without a word and was gone. The Unicorn was not a place you came for the service.

            "What about you? Andy tells me that you're garnering quite the reputation for yourself these last few years."

            "I enjoy my work. I get to be my own boss, set my own hours and I get paid to do what I love. It doesn't get much better than that. I'd never survive if I had to put on a suit and go to the office everyday."

            "Something wrong with wearing a suit?" Steve gestured to his own.

            Isabelle laughed. "Not at all. A suit really works for you and I can tell you're happy. It just isn't a life that I could live happily is all and I decided long ago that I wanted happy."

            Steve's eyes narrowed. "Yes I heard from Andy that you had some unhappy along the way. I was sorry to hear about that."

            She knew he was referring to Luke and that was distraction enough for her not to wonder why he was asking about her. Whenever anyone got that tone they were referring to Luke. Isabelle dated Luke throughout much their last year of university and they moved in together just after graduation. Things had gone well until about six months later. Grad school was taking its toll on Luke; he’d gotten increasingly stressed out and began to take it out at her, first snapping at her for little things and then yelling at her for no reason at all. One night he hit her. Isabelle had been so shocked she just stood there with a hand to her bleeding lip. Luke said nothing; he just turned and walked away. The next morning Isabelle packed a bag and left. Frankie and Drew retrieved the rest of her things a week later and she never saw or spoke to Luke again. It was an unhappy chapter in her life that she'd rather forget. Luke had been her first love and it ended painfully. It was understandable then that ever since Isabelle had kept men at a certain distance. That fear-inspired distance was the primary obstacle preventing her from having a successful long-term relationship.

            "Yes well....let's change the subject. Tell me about your son."

            "Josh? Well, he's five, smart as a whip. Looks like his mom. Here I have photos," Steve pulled out his phone and showed Isabelle a myriad of photos of a young blond boy with Steve's eyes playing with a ball, waving to the camera, rolling around with a dog and smiling broadly in each one.

            Isabelle laid a hand on his arm. "You did good Steve. He's gorgeous and he looks so happy."

            "Yeah, he's a happy kid. Maddy is great with him and her parents are too. He wants to be Captain America when he grows up."

            "That's so sweet."

            "What about you? No kids for you?"

            "I never really thought about it. If the right guy comes along and we decided that it's something we both want then yeah, sure. Do you want more kids?"

            "I think I'd like to have a little girl, but if Josh is all I ever have that's ok."

            After talking about Josh for a little while longer they did end up going into their histories over the last decade plus after all, but without the awkwardness of earlier in the evening. It was after eleven when Isabelle regretfully brought up the topic of going home.

            "I really should get going."

            "Yeah, you're probably right. Be right back." Steve ambled to the bar, paid the bill and came back. "Ok, we're all set."

            "Next time, I'm buying."

            He made a non-committal noise. It was nice of her to offer, but Steve was old-fashioned enough to think that the man paid, especially when he asked the woman out. As he held the door open for her he wondered if he should kiss her, but seeing her fidgeting, decided against it. Instead he hugged her tightly and considered just never letting go.

            With Steve's warm hand cradling the back of her neck, Isabelle closed her eyes and inhaled his scent, content to stay right where she was as long as he wanted her there. After a minute or so, he released her slowly and the two parted reluctantly.

            "I hope we can do this again soon."

            "I'd really like that."

            Steve watched her for half a block before he turned to go, so he missed it when she turned back, eyes searching for him on the still-busy street.

                                    *                                  *                                  *

            Isabelle was putting together a package for one of her corporate clients when Jonathan from Green Earth gallery called her.

            "Hi, Jonathan. How's business?"

            "It's good. Listen, I'm calling to see if you have any new pieces you want to sell."

            "What kind of pieces?" she asked, thinking of her last trip to Algonquin in the first days of spring. She hadn't had a chance to do anything with the photos she'd taken yet, but she had some ideas for them.

            "You remember that buyer that purchased three of your pieces from your last exhibition?"

            "Sure.” Isabelle may not remember every buyer, but when they bought three pieces in one shot, she definitely made a note of it.

            "She called me this morning. Her husband pissed her off so she bought a cottage up north and now she needs some artwork for it and she wants some of your stuff. She's going to be in town next week. Any chance you can have a few pieces ready for me to show her by then?"

            "Hang on let me just check my calendar, but I think it should be doable," Isabelle opened the calendar app on her iPad, rubbed her forehead to smooth out the wrinkles she imagined she was creating whenever she frowned. "I can shift a few things around and get you something by Wednesday. How many do you want?"

            "As many as you can get me."

            "I have one or two right now that just need to be framed and I could maybe get you another four."

            "I'll take it."

            "Ok. I'll come by Wednesday morning with them."

            "Great, thanks. See you next week."

            When she hung up her phone Isabelle pouted for a moment, but only a moment. She'd have to put off working on her book to pull the pieces together for Jonathan. But guaranteed sales were well worth it.

                                    *                                  *                                  *

            "We had drinks earlier this week."

            "And?" Andy asked as he switched scissors for his electric razor to buzz Steve's sideburns.

            "It was great to see her."

            He spun Steve around to face him. "That's it? What is she your aunt? Tell me how it went. Is she into it? Are you?"

            Steve puffed out his cheeks. "Well, I'm not really sure. I'm just as drawn to her as I was in high school."

            "I hear a but."

            "But I'm not sure if she felt it or not."

            "Remind me where you went?"

            "To this pub called..."

            "Wait. You took her to a pub? A pub is not an appropriate first date."

            "It's not?" Steve protested.

            Andy shook his head. "Man, you were in the UK too long. If you want to know whether or not she feels the same way, you have to start by making sure she knows it's a date. Low lighting, candles, pick her up at her door. Why are straight men so dumb?"

            "I dunno," Steve grumbled darkly.

            Finished with the sideburns, Andy spun the chair back around and reached for the gel.

            "You think I should call her and ask her out, like on a real date."

            "Yes!" he threw up his hands, entreating unseen forces in the sky for patience at the lack of wits his friend was currently displaying. "I've always thought you and Iz would be great together." Andy gave Steve a final brush off before swirling the barber's cloth off him.

            "Maybe I'll give her a call and see if she wants to do something next weekend."

            Andy rolled his eyes behind his friend's back. "You do that. Sharon will ring you up."

            "Thanks man. See you Sunday for tennis?"

            "If I don't wipe the floor with you, how else will I keep my girlish figure? I'll be there."

            Steve gave a last wave before he left the shop, thinking maybe Andy was right and he'd gone about asking Iz out all wrong the first time. He'd been out of the game so long he hadn't even realized he'd forgotten how to play. "Time to step up to the plate," he muttered under his breath as he ambled down the stairs into the crowded subway.

                                    *                                  *                                  *

            He got her voicemail. He hated machines but he gritted his teeth and left a message anyway. "Hi Iz, it's Steve. Call me back. Bye." He looked at the phone in his hands like it was to blame for his lame message.

            Isabelle ignored the message light on her phone like she'd been doing for the last thirty plus hours. She was working flat out to meet her commitment to her clients and get the pieces ready for Jonathan to sell. As she ate a peanut butter sandwich over her sink Isabelle reminded herself not to complain that business was good. Her portfolio was coming right along and searching for the pieces for Jonathan had helped her refine her original idea for her book as well. It was nearly three Sunday morning before Isabelle was satisfied that she'd done her best on all fronts. She figured she could catch a few hours of sleep before she went over to have brunch at Frankie & Drew's with her and the kids.

            Dragging a little from several late nights in a row, Isabelle stopped to pick up the sparkling bottled fruit juice the kids loved because it made them feel like they were drinking wine like the grown-ups. For good measure she added in a flan. Frankie always put out a fantastic spread, but Isabelle hated coming empty-handed.

            She didn't even manage to ring the bell before one of the twins threw open the door. "Auntie Iz!"

            "Hi you. Think you can manage to carry this to your mom in the kitchen?" Isabelle deposited the flan in the boy's open arms and watched as he concentrated fiercely on his task. So fiercely he trod on the cat's tail. Incensed, the cat let out a screech and took off up the stairs like a bat out of hell which left Andrew Jr in a fit of giggles and in danger of dropping his precious cargo. To spare him the ignominy of dropping it, Isabelle ruffled his hair and then relieved him of the flan. "Why don't you go see if you permanently damaged Snowball and I'll bring this to your mom."

            "Ok!" the boy sped off after the cat.

            Frankie looked up from the plate of Madelines she was lightly dusting with icing sugar. "Was that the cat or a kid screeching a moment ago?"

            "The cat. Andy stepped on her tail carrying the flan for me."

            "That boy. I swear he can hardly breathe and walk at the same time," she said with a mother's loving exasperation.

            Isabelle laughed and snagged a Madeline when Frankie turned her back to flip the bacon she had frying in a pan.

            "I saw that."

            "What can I do to help?" Isabelle asked around a mouthful of pastry.

            "You can tell me about your date with Steve."

            "It wasn't a date."

            "What do you mean it wasn't a date? He called you, he asked you out, you went out. It was a date."

            "Well it certainly didn't feel like a date."

            "How did it feel?"

            "At first? Incredibly awkward but then after a while it was like we'd just seen each other last week."

            "How did you leave things? I know it was late when you texted me that you were home."

            "We hugged and there was some talk about getting together again but I haven't heard from him."

            "You're blushing!" Frankie accused, stabbing the tongs at her. "What aren't you telling me?"

            "Nothing. Honestly I told you everything that happened. We talked, we ate, had a couple of drinks and that was it. He hasn't even called me."

            "Uh huh, when was the last time you checked your messages?"

            "It's been a couple of days, why?"

            "Because I left you a voicemail and you didn't call me back. Wonder who else left you messages you didn't get?"

            Isabelle pulled out her phone as Frankie turned back to the bacon with a smirk. Sure enough she had three unheard messages. The one from Frankie was asking if she could sit with the kids for a couple of hours Thursday night so she and Drew could catch a movie. There were also others, one from her mother and one from Steve.

            "So?" Frankie asked as she transferred bacon onto a paper towel covered plate to drain.

            "Yes, I can come over Thursday so you and Drew can have some adult time."

            Frankie threw the half piece of bacon she'd just bitten at Isabelle. "I meant did Steve call!"

            The bacon hit her in the nose and dropped into the counter. Isabelle popped it into her mouth before responding. "Yes he did. He just asked me to call him back."

            "Well what are you waiting for? Go call him!"

            "Right now?"

            "No, next week. Yes right now!"

            "Ok, ok, Mrs. Bossy, I'll call him back."

            "Use the den."

            Isabelle walked down halls she knew as well as she knew her own loft, punched up Steve in her contact lists and hit the call button. He answered on the second ring.

            "Hi Iz, how you been?"

            "Great; super busy. Sorry I'm just getting back to you now. I haven't checked my messages in a couple of days."

            "That's ok. I just thought I'd see if we can plan something for next week, if you're not busy that is."

            "Next week? Let me think. I have a couple of gigs during the week and I just promised Frankie I'd watch the kids for her on Thursday night, but I could do Friday. The weekend is out because I'm heading out to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a wedding first thing Saturday morning. I won't get back until Monday morning."

            "So Friday then. Why don't you text me your address and I'll pick you up; we'll go for dinner."

            "Alright. Where do you want to go?"

            "Leave that to me, I'll think of something."

            Just then Frankie and Drew's five year old daughter burst into the room. "Izzy!" She crowed and wrapped her chubby arms around Isabelle's leg.

            "You sound busy. Why don't we talk later?"

            "Yeah, sorry I'm over at Frankie and Drew's having brunch and Bella just found me."

            "Ok. I'll talk to you later."

            "Bye." Isabelle clicked off the phone and scooped up her namesake. "Hello princess," she said, rubbing her nose against the little girl's in their private greeting ritual.

            Little Bella grinned and said, "Mama says lunch!"

            "Oh she does, does she?"

            The little girl in her arms nodded solemnly before squirming to get down.

            Isabelle set Bella on her feet and followed her into the bright, eat-in kitchen.

            "Where's Drew?"

            "Oh, he left just before you got here. Apparently a bunch of the guys are getting together to play tennis this afternoon. I think they'll just end up drinking beer and eating wings but hey, whatever keeps them happy right? So what about Steve?"

            "We're getting together Friday night."

            "You mean you're going on a date Friday night."

            Blushing furiously Isabelle didn't answer. "Pass the eggs please, Jace," she asked Andy’s twin brother.

            Frankie just laughed at her discomfort. "Ok, I'll stop pushing. But I want to hear details afterwards."

                                    *                                  *                                  *

            "Iz, hi. I didn't expect to hear from you before Friday. Everything ok?"

            Isabelle had just packed up her car and was on her way to meet Jonathan at his gallery. "Hi, everything's fine, except that I have to reschedule. I got a last minute request from a repeat client. The sister of the wedding I'm doing this weekend. They're throwing a surprise shower for her and asked me to take some photos of it since I’m already doing the wedding. It means I have to be there Friday. I'm so sorry."

            "That's ok, we'll do it another time."

            "Can I call you next week when I get back from Niagara?"

            "Of course, I'm not going anywhere."

            "Great, thanks. And sorry again. I've got to run; I'm just heading out to an appointment."

            "Ok. Good luck this weekend."

            "Thanks." Isabelle disconnected the call and even the impending sale of several photographs didn't make up for the feeling of disappointment over missing her date with Steve.

            In the back lane of the gallery Isabelle unloaded her trunk.

            "Hi Iz! Good to see you. Here, let me take a couple of those for you."

            Isabelle gratefully handed over two of the bulky packages. They weren't heavy but they were definitely a little awkward. "There's still two more in the car."

            "So you were able to get me six then?"

            "Yes. Four of them are black and white because that's what she took before and I took a chance on two other super saturated treeline shots from my last trip to Algonquin, thinking that she might want something different, more casual and with a punch of colour for the cottage."

            "Sounds great. Let's unpack them and see what we've got."

            Twenty minutes later Isabelle stood with Jonathan as he appraised the six framed photos leaned up against the gallery wall. "Even if she doesn't take them all, I'd like to keep them. I think they'll sell really well. Standard terms for all six?"

            "Sounds good. I'll wait to hear from you."

            "You don't want to wait and see for yourself?"

            "I'd love to, but I have appointments today," Isabelle lied smoothly. She didn't really feel like making nice with clients at that moment, even the kind who kept coming back to purchase more of her photographs.

            "Ok, I'll call you later and let you know what the verdict is. Thanks for bringing them in," Jonathan gave her a one-armed hug and a pat on the shoulder.

            "Ok, bye."

                                    *                                  *                                  *

            Isabelle spent the rest of the day organizing and filing her work from her most recent jobs, deleting shots she considered inferior and earmarking those she felt had potential to meet the clients’ requirements. She stopped briefly to have some soup at lunchtime but was right back at it twenty minutes later and worked steadily until after six. After that she convinced herself to spend thirty minutes on her treadmill and settled in for a rare indulgence: a night of binge-watching her latest favourite show on Netflix.

                                    *                                  *                                  *

            “Ok kids, I’m just going to answer the door and then we’ll order the pizza, so figure out what you want on it,” Isabelle called behind her as she jogged to Frankie and Drew’s front door to confront whatever salesperson was on the prowl. The last thing she expected when she opened the door was a familiar face.

            “Steve? What are you doing here?”

            “I saw Drew on Sunday and he mentioned that you were sitting with the kids on Thursday night and since we had to cancel our date for tomorrow I thought I’d just pop over and see if the kids were interested in pizza,” he replied as he breezed past her with two boxes of Dominos.

            Isabelle was left holding the door open wondering what just happened.

            The next half hour was a crazy mash up of pizza and soda and kids bouncing off the walls, showing off for the new guy. It was a little after nine when Isabelle and Steve managed to get all the kids bathed, teeth brushed and into bed. Whether they were asleep was doubtful other than little Bella who hadn’t even made it through story-time, but at last there was peace in the house.

            “I don’t know how you managed as a full time parent Steve. I might pull my hair out from the craziness.”

            “It’s different when they’re your own kids. Plus I only had the one.”

            “I’m going to make some tea, do you want a cup or would you prefer a beer?”

            “I think I’ll go for the beer. I can get it, you make your tea.”

            No longer having the kids there as a buffer, Isabelle was unsure of how to act with Steve. He had called their Friday evening plans a date, but he’d treated her as nothing but a friend the whole evening; she’d caught no attraction vibes from him at all.

            Steve waited until Isabelle sat down across from him at the kitchen table before pulling out the deck of cards he’d brought with him. He thought it couldn’t hurt to remind her of all the good times they’d spent together and their times playing euchre around the campfire after a day of hiking with the Outdoors Club were some of his best memories. Without a word he started to shuffle the cards. “Fancy a game?” Without waiting for her answer he began to deal.

            “I can’t remember the last time I played euchre.”

            “Good. Maybe I’ll be able to beat you then,” he teased.

            “What are you talking about? You won all the time!”

            “Oh that’s right,” Steve grinned.

            When Frankie and Drew got home just after ten they found their friends companionably playing cards with an open bag of potato chips between them.

            “What are we playing?” Frankie asked.

            “Two-handed euchre and he’s wiping the floor with me.”

            “Oh, don’t pout,” Frankie admonished rubbing his shoulder. “Why don’t Drew and I join you for the next hand, give you a chance to redeem yourself. Us against the two of you. Just let me check on the kids first.” Frankie was halfway up the stairs before she finished speaking, but seeing that her kids were sound asleep was back in less than a minute.

            “Works for me. I concede, Iz.”

            “Go sit next to your team mate, Steve,” Frankie took the chair he willingly vacated. “Honey why don’t you deal?” she said to her husband.

            “Let Steve do it, I’m after a quick snack.”

            “How can you be hungry? We just ate a couple of hours ago.”

            “Um, I have a hollow leg, obviously,” Drew said, knowing it would make Frankie laugh and grinned into the fridge as her laugh honked out behind him.

            “You heard the man. Deal the cards Steve.”

            By the time Steve had dealt the hand, Drew returned to the table with a beer for everyone and a plate piled high with cured meat some cheese and olives.

            “Don’t forget the napkins honey.”

            Drew reached behind him and swiped napkins off the buffet. “Ok, let’s show these two how it’s done.”           

            Three games later Steve and Isabelle came out the good-natured losers 2-1.

            “Well. As much as I’d love to stay and lose to the two of you some more, I have to work in the morning.”

            Isabelle suppressed a yawn. “I have to pack. I need to be on the road early in the afternoon so I can make it in time for the shower, which honestly I think is going to deteriorate into a bachelorette very fast, given the timing.”

            Frankie and Drew walked them to do the door and then there were hugs and handshakes, last minute plans. It was another ten minutes before the door closed behind them and Frankie said knowingly to her husband, “They’ll be engaged within a year.”       

            “Got nothing to do with me,” Drew protested as he threw an arm around his wife and nuzzled her neck. “Let’s go to bed.”

            Willing to be led upstairs by a husband she adored like they were still sixteen, Frankie let sleeping dogs lie, knowing that just because he didn’t say anything didn’t mean Drew wouldn’t be happy to see his friends together.

                                    *                                  *                                  *

            They stopped beside Isabelle’s car. She made no move to open the door and Steve made no move towards his own car, parked on the street behind hers.

            “I’m glad you came by tonight. It was nice to have company. And I’m really sorry about tomorrow night.”

            “I understand; it’s work. Let’s reschedule for one night next week.”

            “I’d like that.”

            “Ok, well, why don’t you give me a call when you get home from Niagara?”

            “I will.”         

            Steve pulled her into a lingering hug, felt her relax against him and decided they’d be having that date as soon as possible.

            When he pulled away Isabelle wished he hadn’t. “Good night.”

            “Night, Iz.”

                                    *                                  *                                  *

            By the time she got back to her room Saturday night Isabelle was beat. She’d been taking pictures of the happy couple and their family and friends since nine that morning. After trailing them to the waiting car, she’d returned to the reception after the bride and groom left for the night to make sure she got as many shots of the guests as she could before they got too sloppy from the open bar and at ten to midnight, she felt she’d earned her rest. Instead she pulled out her phone to continue her text conversation with Steve. They’d been texting back and forth all day, making plans to get together Monday night and arguing over the Blue Jay’s chances this summer. Steve felt they had a real shot this year but Isabelle was completely down on them, even though the season was barely a month old. They’d disappointed her too often in the last twenty years for her to have any faith left.

            Their current argument was about whether or not Encarnacion was a worthy successor to Isabelle’s all-time favourite Blue Jay, Joe Carter. At this point, she didn’t have the energy for a reasoned argument. Nuh uh. Joe Carter all the way, she typed. Night was followed by the snoozing emoticon and after washing her face and brushing her teeth Isabelle confirmed her eight o’clock wake-up call and was asleep two minutes later.

                                    *                                  *                                  *

            She had elected to leave Sunday rather than stay the night, so Isabelle was dragging when she let herself into her loft Sunday evening. She was looking forward to an early evening that consisted of nothing more active than a burger followed by a bath. By eight o’clock she was tucked up in bed with a book and by eight-fifteen she’d fallen asleep with the light on.

            Isabelle woke up refreshed and ready to go just after six in the morning, before her alarm even woke her, which was unusual for her. She decided to make the best of the burst of energy and dressed quickly and carelessly in leggings and a long t-shirt and fired up her computer on her way to the kitchen. She made herself a latte and waited while a bagel toasted, slathered it with chive & onion cream cheese before she went back to her desk to work.

            “Hello this is Isabelle,” she answered her phone without checking the caller ID and was only half listening as she continued to catalogue.

            “Hi, Iz.”

            “Steve, how are you?”

            “Don’t ask.” 

            Isabelle stopped working and gave him her full attention.

            “Everything ok?”

            “Yeah, it’s just this new campaign. I’m sorry, but I think I’m going to have to cancel. We’re going to be here late so we can do a dry run of the presentation before the meeting with the client on Wednesday and tonight is the only time we can get the whole team together.”

            Isabelle could hear the stress in his voice. “How late do you think you’ll be there?”

            “Probably til eight or eight-thirty.”

            “Well you still have to eat, so why don’t you just come over here after. I’ll make something.”

            “Uh.”

            Steve’s hesitation had Isabelle cringing with regret at her spontaneous invitation. “It’s ok if you’d rather not.”

            “It isn’t that; I’d like to see you. It’s just....since when can you cook anything more than a burnt hot dog?”

            “That was one time! You’ll never let me live that down,” she complained.

The summer after they’d graduated high school a bunch of them who had been in the Outdoors Club had rented a cottage for the last week of August and got together one last time before they all went their separate ways to university. It was the last time the two of them spent much time together. Steve had gone to Western and she had stayed in Toronto and they’d lost touch.

Steve laughed and Isabelle hoped it had improved his mood a bit. “Ok, how about this. I’ll send you a text when it looks like we’re wrapping up and if you’re still up for it I’ll come by. If I’m going to be later than expected I’ll let you know and if you change your mind and decide you want to eat without me, just send me a text.”

“Deal. I’ll see you later.”

Isabelle had never put significant time into learning to cook. She could make one or two meals well and she built a mean sandwich, but with the nature of her job and being single, she often ate takeout. Tonight she figured to just order from her favourite Chinese place a couple of blocks away.

                        *                                  *                                  *

“Come on in.” Isabelle backed out of the doorway so Steve could enter her loft.

“Wow, this is an incredible space,” he said, moving immediately towards the windows like most people did the first time they came over to her place. The light was one of the main reasons she’d bought the place five years ago.

“It’s home.”

“Hey, I remember this day!” he exclaimed, touching one of the photos on the wall. “You took this of all of us on our first Club camping trip.” He moved down the wall, seeing her life unfold before him in pictures, the first few were familiar to him and then as he moved along the clusters they became less familiar, more artsy but no less warm. “Wow, you’ve gone from a natural to a spectacularly talented photographer.”

Isabelle blushed and changed the subject. “How did the run through go?”

“As well as can be expected. We need to make one or two minor tweaks but I think the client is going to be pleased with the two concept options we’re presenting.”

“That’s great. Are you hungry?”

“Starved. What are we having?”

“Chinese. I ordered it when you said you were on your way. Should be here any minute....and here it is,” she finished as her cell phone rang.

Steve said nothing while she buzzed the delivery guy up, had a quick conversation with him and moved to the galley kitchen to unpack the boxes. He resisted the urge to tease her again about her lack of culinary prowess and instead leaned a hip against the counter next to her while she pulled down plates.

“You know, I remember more about that trip than you burning those hot dogs.”

“Oh yeah, like what?” she asked not looking at him as she dug cutlery out of a drawer.

“Wanting to do this.”

When she turned to him, Steve captured Isabelle’s face between his hands and laid his lips against hers in a soft kiss.

Isabelle’s hands came around his waist, forgotten cutlery still clutched in her fist as Steve deepened the kiss, giving her a hint of what he felt for her before drawing back to let her catch her breath.

“I----I never knew you felt that way,” Isabelle stammered.

Steve took the cutlery from her, shoved spoons uncaringly into cartons while he gave her a minute to consider how she felt about the kiss. “I should have told you.” He passed her a plate, “Now that I have you’ll have to decide what you want to do about it.”

Isabelle was silent while she filled her plate with fried rice, lemon chicken and moo goo gai pan. She said nothing while she filled two glasses with wine and carried them over to her breakfast bar.

Steve stood unmoving in her kitchen, waiting to see what she was going to do, going to say. She’d kissed him back, but beyond that she hadn’t encouraged his advance so he wasn’t going to push it.

Isabelle picked up her plate off the counter, set it down again. “Kiss me again.”

Deliberately Steve took his time. He circled her waist with his hands, drew her in slowly, looking into her eyes as he leaned down to claim her lips again, but there was nothing hesitant in his kiss, nor was there in the way she responded to him.

She thought she was more prepared this time for how it felt to be kissing her friend. It should feel weird, but it didn’t, it felt...good. Really, really good. Isabelle pressed herself against Steve, rising on her toes and letting her hands creep up the back of his neck to tangle in his hair. She’d always loved that he kept his hair a little longer than was fashionable.

Luckily Chinese food is good even when it’s cold because by the time the two of them got around to eating it, it was stone cold.

As he was sealing up cartons and passing them to her to put into the fridge, Steve broached the subject of their next date. “So, this weekend? Are you working or can we go on a real date?”

Isabelle smiled shyly. “I’m free on Saturday.”

“The whole day?”

She nodded.

“Good. I’ll pick you up at ten.”

“Ok.”

“I should get going though.”

“Alright, I’ll walk you out.”

At her door Steve kissed her good night and waited until the door closed behind him before breaking out into a huge grin. After all, it wouldn’t do for the woman to know what kind of effect she had on him.

Isabelle sent Frankie a text since she knew she’d be asleep by now. Saw Steve tonight. Call me tomorrow for details.

                        *                                  *                                  *

“Tell me everything!” Frankie demanded.

“Hang on one sec Frankie. I need to finish this email.” Isabelle continued typing for a full minute before she turned her attention to her friend. “Sorry, I had to finish off a proposal.”

“Busy girl, business must be good, blah blah blah. What happened with Steve?”

“First of all, business is good, thank you for asking. I sold six pieces just last week to a repeat client and Jonathan wants me to submit a couple pieces to an exhibit he’s planning late this summer.” Isabelle enjoyed torturing her friend. “We were supposed to go out for dinner but he had to work late so we had Chinese take out here at the loft instead.”

“Get to the good stuff already. At this rate I’ll have to go pick up Bella before you get there. Was there kissing or not?”

“Yes there was kissing.”

“Wow, way to paint a picture, Iz.”

“What do you want me to say? That he’s a great kisser and I wish he hadn’t waited all these years to kiss me?”

“That’s exactly the kind of details I want.”

“He told me that he wanted to kiss me when we took that trip after graduation. Actually, that’s what he said right before he kissed me the first time.”

“We all thought you guys would get together in high school and when you didn’t we thought for sure that week at the lake. You lost me twenty bucks by not ending up in bed together by the time the week was out.”

“Frankie! I can’t believe you would bet on that.”

“Why not? It seemed like a sure thing. Steve had a crush on you all through high school. He didn’t give up on it until he met Maddy in third year when they were both at Western. And since that didn’t work out, maybe he never really gave up on you.”

“Don’t say that. It’s too much pressure to live up to.”

“When are you seeing him again?”

“We’re getting together on Saturday. No firm plan but he said he’d pick me up around ten.”

“That’s a whole four sleeps away to use the kids’ counting method. What are you going to do until then?”

Isabelle blew out a deep breath. “I’m going to work and try not to think about him all week.”

“Good luck with that. Listen, I have to go pick up Bella. She made me promise her this morning that I’d take her to the park for lunch. I know she just wants to go to see that puppy we’ve seen there the last two times. The kids are working Drew over hard trying to convince him to get them a dog.”

“I think a dog would be a great idea for them. We should have coffee this week. I can’t do it today, but if you’re taking Bella back to the park tomorrow or Thursday let me know, I should be able to get away. I’d love to take a couple shots of Bella at the park for my book.”

“She does love to ham it up for you. Weather permitting I’ll probably take her to the park again on Thursday. Tomorrow I need to do a bunch of running around so she’s going to have to go with me.”

“Ok. Talk soon.”

“Bye.”

                        *                                  *                                  *

Steve made it until lunchtime on Tuesday. Then he had to close his door and call Isabelle.

“Hi you,” she answered.

“Hi, Iz. How’s it going?” He could hear the smile in her voice and was warmed by it.

“Not bad. Just getting caught up on some administrative details; never seems to end when you run your own business. How are you?”

“I’m good. Busy but good. Things are on track for that meeting tomorrow. My other accounts are in good shape. I only had a minute but I wanted to say ‘hi’.”

Isabelle smiled. “I’m glad you did. I won’t keep you though. Call me later?”

“I will. Have a good afternoon.”

Steve called her every day that week, just for a few minutes. Usually from work but on Thursday he called when he got home and they talked for nearly an hour. Isabelle was really looking forward to their date on Saturday and hoped that it would turn out as well as dinner at her place had. Now that he’d moved things from friend territory into something more, Isabelle didn’t want to go back to being just friends.

                        *                                  *                                  *

“Hi, I just need to grab my bag and I’m ready to go.”

Isabelle half turned before Steve caught her. “Not so fast,” he said and pulled her firmly against him to give her the kiss he’d been thinking about all week.

When he let her up for air, Isabelle made no move to get out of his arms so he kicked her door shut and lowered his head to nuzzle at her neck before leaving a damp trail evidencing his way back to her mouth. Isabelle’s little sound of surrender as she opened her lips to his onslaught would have made his eyes cross had they been open. Nonetheless, when he felt her press her hands against his chest, he took the hint and let her go.

“You’ll need this,” Steve said, producing a can of spray on sunscreen from his back pocket.

“Does this mean you’re going to tell me what we’re doing? I don’t even know if I’m dressed appropriately or not.”

Steve took in the skin hugging jeans, the long t-shirt and the curves underneath it all and smiled, “You’re dressed just fine for what I have planned for us. Wear comfortable shoes though, we’re going to do some walking.”

Isabelle slipped her bare feet into comfortable canvas sneakers and picked up her Kipling cross-body bag. Holding out her arms she squeezed her eyes shut and said, “Ok, spray me.”

Steve sprayed her exposed skin, even gently rubbing the sunscreen into her face before passing her the can so she could do him. As he looked into her eyes while she massaged the sunscreen into his face he said, “I bet if I looked in that bag you’d have at least one camera in there amongst all that mysterious girl stuff.”

She rewarded him with a smirk. “You’d be right. I’ve got a little Nikon in there, just in case.”

“Ready?”

Isabelle nodded.

“Ok then let’s go.”

It wasn’t until he parked at Queen’s Quay that Isabelle had enough information to deduce what they were doing. “Are we going over to the Islands?”

“Yup. I thought we’d walk the boardwalk, grab a little lunch and then maybe walk out to the Lighthouse and relax.” He took her hand as they cued up for the water taxi.

Isabelle beamed at him. “That’s a great idea.”

Steve smiled back and tried not to think about turning around and taking Isabelle back to his place and making love to her while she wore nothing but that smile.

They didn’t have to wait long for a taxi and were soon on the island. It was a beautiful day and Isabelle couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so happy just strolling hand-in-hand. She was so content she didn’t even pull out her camera.

“Getting hungry?”

“I could eat.”

“Let’s work up an appetite then.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Canoeing over to Ward’s Island. Lunch at the café.”

“Lead on.”

Once they casted off it took them a couple of minutes to get into a rhythm.

“I had no idea I was so out of shape,” Steve groused.

“Stop fishing for compliments,” Isabelle teased. “You’re in great shape.”

Pleased that she found his form appealing, Steve grinned and redoubled his efforts. By the time they beached the canoe and wandered up to the café they were both hungry enough to have the butter chicken special and eat in comfortable silence.

“That was really good, but I just can’t finish it.” Isabelle wiped her mouth and pushed her plate a small distance away so she wouldn’t be tempted to finish it off.

“It was good.” Steve paid the cheque the waitress had left a few minutes before and they made their way back to the canoe.

“Ready for a little shade?”

“Are you kidding? I’m almost ready for a nap. Between the exercise and the food it’s been an adventurous day so far.”

“Well I hope you can handle one more adventure.”

“And what might that be?”

“A surprise,” he said cryptically and took her hand once again, leading her eastward.

They only walked a few minutes when they were confronted by a path into the darkened topiary maze called the Amazing Maze.

“Oh, lovely, wonderful shade,” she enthused as the air around them cooled in the dimmer light. “I love the summer but it’s already so warm I think we’re in for a scorcher.”

Steve sat down under a large tree, pulling Isabelle down with him. When she settled beside him he kissed her for the first time since he’d picked her up this morning. It felt like an eternity since he’d felt her soft lips under his. It would have been easy to get carried away there in the semi-darkness, but Steve worked hard to remind himself that they were in a public place. Still, it took all his willpower not to roll Isabelle under him when he felt her tongue slide seductively into his mouth. Instead he contented himself with dragging her into his lap. They stayed locked together that way until they were interrupted by the giggling of some teenage girls. When Isabelle pulled away flushed then got up and brushed herself off, Steve could have happily killed the passersby that interrupted them but instead he got up, took Isabelle’s hands in his own and pulled her back toward him for a quick kiss.

“Shall we go back to the mainland for the last part of my plan?”

“There’s more?”

Although she’d been a bit embarrassed at being caught in such a public display, Isabelle was quite happy to be walking hand-in-hand with Steve again.

“After all this wilderness I thought a little manmade air conditioning was in order. Sound good?”

“Sounds wonderful,” she smiled.

True to his promise of air conditioning, Steve took Isabelle to a movie.

Being a real man, Steve was able to admit to himself that when Isabelle’s head dropped to his shoulder and she wrapped her arms around his arm, if his heart could have physically skipped a beat it would have. He didn’t even curse himself any longer for not asking her out when they were kids. It wasn’t meant to be then and if it was, he might not have had Josh and he might not have the woman beside him today. It was with a lot of regret that he left her on the street in front of her loft in the early evening.

                        *                                  *                                  *

She was amazed at how easy it had been to fall into a rhythm with Steve, and not just when they went canoeing. It had never been like that for her with previous relationships. If they didn’t see each other they talked on the phone several times during the day and other than when she had to work, they’d spent the last five weekends together, going to movies or dinner, getting together with Frankie & Drew for drinks and spending many evenings at her loft. They had yet to make love, but Isabelle sensed that Steve was waiting for a sign from her that she was ready for that.

“Hi Frankie, what’s up?”

“I just called to see if you’re available to sit with the kids for me Saturday night.”

“This Saturday? Sorry, no. Steve’s taking me to the drive-in out in Port Hope.”

“Maybe my mom can do it. I finally convinced Drew to take me to Wicked. The drive-in? Why the drive-in?”

“Steve and I were talking last night and I’ve never been so we decided to go this weekend. They’re showing Die Hard.”

“I wish I could say that’s weird, but I’m almost jealous. You two are obviously falling hard for each other. I can’t even remember what that’s like.”

“Oh, don’t give me that. You and Drew are the most in love couple I’ve ever known. You still act like you’re teenagers most of the time.”

Frankie honked out her distinctive laugh. “Yeah, I guess we do. Much to the embarrassment of the boys. I haven’t seen much of you these last couple of weeks, how are things going?”

“Work has been steady. I have all my pieces ready for the gallery and after this weekend I have an event every weekend from now until the last weekend in July when I go away. And Steve and I are doing great.”

“Mmmhmmm, have you slept with him yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Why the hell not?” Frankie shouted in her ear.

“I think he’s waiting for me to give him the green light.”

“So give it to him already.”

“I’m not really sure how to do that.”

“I can’t believe you’re thirty-four years old and you’ve never seduced a man. I seduced my husband just last night.”

“Stop bragging and help me then!”

“Ok, here’s what you do.”

The two friends spent the next twenty minutes crafting and rejecting plans to get Steve right where he’d wanted to be for weeks.

                        *                                  *                                  *

“I’m running a few minutes behind, sorry.” Steve said when he opened the door to Isabelle. “You look great,” he said, kissing her to emphasize his point.

“Thanks. You’re going to be more than a few behind schedule.”

“Why’s that?”

Isabelle closed the door behind her, let her bag fall to the floor with a thunk, put her arms around Steve and looked straight into his eyes. "Because that's an overnight bag I just dropped on your floor."

"An overnight...." he trailed off as his brain caught up with what she said.

Standing on her tip toes to kiss him, Isabelle smiled inwardly at his befuddlement. At first she was hesitant but when Steve responded enthusiastically to her advances, Isabelle tugged his shirt out of his jeans and began to unbutton it as Steve started to walk backwards down the short hall to his bedroom, drawing her with him.

Because she trembled as he slid the dress over her head Steve forced himself to go more slowly, but when she reached back and undid the clasp of her bra he was lost. All he could think about was her beautiful breasts in his hands, of burying himself inside her. He rolled her under him and thrust himself inside her with a hoarse grunt and began to move with her.

She'd had enough partners over the years to know what sex was like, but it had never been like this. She had never been with someone who wanted her this much, someone who took such pleasure from her touch. All she could do was hang on, eyes locked to his as Steve moved inside. The orgasm flowed through her just as he jerked one last time and was still, head resting against her shoulder, heart beating quickly against her chest. She had a sudden urge to laugh and to cry all at once. Instead she rolled with Steve when he shifted his weight off her and let him pull her against him in the darkened room.

Lips resting against her forehead, Steve closed his eyes and stroked his hand down Isabelle's back and let himself drift, reminded himself not to fall asleep because he wanted to do that all over again soon.

"Steve?"

"Mmm, yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

Steve pushed up to one elbow and looked down at her. "You can ask me anything."

Isabelle hesitated, not sure what to do now that she'd started the conversation. "Nothing, it was nothing." She lied. Why ruin a good thing? she said to herself.

"You forget Iz, I know you. What do you want to ask me?"

Isabelle puffed out a breath and gathered her courage. "I wanted to know if you'd consider coming with me when I go to Algonquin next month," she was talking quickly now, in a rush to get it all out before he had a chance to catch his breath to reply. "I'll be working every weekend from now until I go away and I know that means we won't have as much time together, but this thing we have between us is really good, at least I think it is, and I just, I want to make sure you know that and that you know I want us to keep moving forward and I don't know if you'll have the time to take since you're going to see Josh next week but I just....I..."

"Iz, Iz slow down," he laughed.

"You're laughing at me?" Stung, Isabelle gathered the sheets around her and prepared to get out of the bed to retrieve her clothes.

"Where are you going? Iz come back here!" he grabbed her, pulled her back against him. "I'm sorry ok. I didn't mean to laugh at you. I've just never seen these sides of you and I can't believe that I'm bringing it out in you. First you walk in here wearing that sexy dress and you practically tear my clothes off and then you tell me you want me to go away with you, after weeks of seeming hesitant. Not to mention the mindblowing sex in between. It was a laugh of relief." Steve turned her face toward him, kissed her once, twice. "I’m sorry. Please don’t leave. I'd love to go away with you."

"You would?"

"Yes I would. Now will you lay back down beside me?" he asked, tugging her down with him.

It took a few minutes but as he stroked her hair Steve felt her finally relax against him. "You should know that I'm planning to take a nap and when I wake up I'm going to keep you up for the rest of the night, so you might want to get some sleep too."

"Steve!" she slapped his chest lightly and he knew she was blushing in the dark.

Being a relatively smart man, Steve said nothing, just shut his eyes. True to his word when he woke up forty minutes later he woke Isabelle up in the most creative way he could think of and it was dawn before the two of them got anymore sleep.

Steve woke the next morning to the smell of coffee and found Isabelle in his kitchen, standing in front of the pot in a short silky negligee and nothing else. Nothing else except a familiar glint of silver on her ankle.

Isabelle was so focused on getting that first cup of coffee into her system she didn’t hear Steve come down the hall; she didn’t even know he was there until his arms came around her, pulled him back against her.

“You weren’t there when I woke up,” he said against her neck.

“Sorry, once I’m awake I need a jolt of caffeine.”

“Mmm,” he replied and kept kissing her until she turned in his arms so she could better receive his ministrations.

“Is that what I think it is on your ankle?”

Isabelle smiled, pleased he’d noticed and that he’d remembered.

“Yes.”

“I can’t believe you kept it all these years.” Steve crouched down in front of her, pulled her foot up onto his knee and fingered the silver ankle bracelet with the little dolphin hanging from it that he’d given her for her sixteenth birthday. Since he was down there anyway and Isabelle had such great legs he’d yet to explore he stroked her calf, kissed her behind the knee and What the hell? explored his way up her legs, sliding the negligee up and off of her body before he boosted her onto the counter where she promptly clamped her legs around him.

It was much later when Isabelle got her cup of coffee, but since it came with breakfast, she smiled across the table at Steve and bit into a slice of toast.

                        *                                  *                                  *

Thank all the technology gods for Facetime Isabelle said to herself as her tablet buzzed. It was Steve, calling from Birmingham where he'd been for the last week, visiting Josh.

"Are you ever a sight for sore eyes."

"Oh stop, you just saw me yesterday."

"True but I miss you. Hey, Josh wants to say 'hi', is that ok?"

"Sure."

The boy with Steve's eyes filled her iPad screen.

"Hi!"

"Well hello Josh, it's nice to finally meet you."

"Daddy says I can call you Izzy. Can I?"

"Of course you can. Can I call you Josh?"

"Uh huh, that's my name."

Josh looked left and then right and then said in a loud whisper, "Are you my daddy's girlfriend? He told mommy you are."

Steve snatched his phone back from his son. "Sorry about that, he must have been listening when I was talking to Maddy the other night after dropping him off."

"That's ok. I think Josh and I would both like an answer to the question."

"Of course you're my girlfriend!"

Isabelle couldn't resist the opportunity to tease him for a change. "Oh really? I don't remember having that conversation. I don't remember you asking me to be your girlfriend."

Steve grumbled under his breath before asking, "Iz, will you be my girlfriend?"

She grinned. "Yes, now you'd better give the phone back to Josh, I can hear him the background telling you how rude you are to interrupt his conversation. What a proper little Brit your son is."

"Hang on," Steve said, passing the phone back to his son.

The screen went fuzzy as it transferred from father to son, but Isabelle heard Steve telling Josh that he could talk for another minute but then they had to go because he had to get him home.

"Daddy says we have to go Izzy. Bye."

"Bye Josh."

Isabelle wasn't the list bit surprised to find that the child disconnected the call before returning the phone to his father. Children were getting comfortable with technology at an early age these days.

A minute later a text came in on her phone.

Sorry to cut that short Iz. Call u later.

Isabelle allowed herself a few minutes to feel that ridiculous, delirious happiness that came with falling in love. The realization that she was in love with Steve she should frightened her since she’d been avoiding it for so long, but it didn’t. Now all she had to do was wait for him to catch up to her.

                        *                                  *                                  *

As Steve rode back to his hotel after dropping Josh off, he thought of Isabelle. He loved his son very much, but he found that he was missing her more than he thought he would, even given that he was in love with her. Giving in to the urge, wanting to hear her voice again he called Isabelle but onlygot her voicemail. She must be in bed or in the shower he thought to himself, left her a message to let her know he was thinking of her and had a quiet dinner at his hotel.

                        *                                  *                                  *

“Why don’t you ladies go relax while Steve and I handle clean up?”

“Thanks babe,” Frankie gave her husband a quick kiss before she and Isabelle made their way to the comfortable outdoor living space in the back yard.

“That was a great dinner Frankie. I don’t know how you do it,” Isabelle said, dropping down into the loveseat.

“It’s not really that hard. I marinate the chicken in a sauce I bought from the store and then I�"”

“No, no, don’t tell me, you’ll ruin it!”

“Someday you’ll have to learn to cook something other than mac & cheese you know.”

“Why? Steve’s a great cook.”

“Speaking of Steve, the two of you look incredibly happy together.”

Isabelle couldn’t sit. It was like sitting forced her to contain her happiness and she just couldn’t do it. “We are. I’ve never felt like this with anyone before.”

“Oh Iz, you love him don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do.” She wiped away a stray tear.

“Well don’t cry about it,” Frankie said matter-of-factly.

“Sorry, I’m just so stupid happy these days I seem to be losing a grip on my emotions a little.”

Frankie laughed, overjoyed to know that two of her friends were in love. “Why don’t you tell me about the sex instead.”

“In a word? Phenomenal. I mean, off the charts,” she was whispering now, even though there was no one to overhear them. “I keep expecting it to settle into something more like...regular...but it doesn’t. At least it hasn’t so far.”

“Well, speaking as a woman whose husband is no slouch in the bedroom, I can tell you that it might not settle for years. And even when it does, it’ll still be a lovely burn you can stoke up whenever the mood strikes.”

“Cheers to that.”

The two friends clinked glasses and dissolved into giggles.

                        *                                  *                                  *

“So how’s Josh?”

“He’s good. Real good.”

“And Maddy?”

“She’s fine. Doing her thing. I’m really lucky that we were able to salvage a friendship when our marriage failed. It makes things easier.”

“I can’t imagine just being friends with Frankie. Speaking of which,” he started with a clumsy segue way, “You and Iz?”

“Yeah, what about us?”

Drew rubbed the back of his head, uncomfortable with the unmanly direction of the conversation, but knew to be a good friend that he had to go there. Or at least that’s what his wife told him and she was a smart woman, so he believed her. “Just....it’s going good?” he finished lamely.

Equally discomfited, Steve turned to load the plates into the dishwasher. “Yeah man, it’s good.”

Drew grunted. “Good, good. Just don’t ah, well treat her good, you know?”

Steve sighed. In for a penny, in for a pound, he thought. May as well tell him all of it. “I love her.”

“Oh, well, congratulations.”

Now he laughed. “Thanks man.”

With a final wipe to the counter of the kitchen Frankie kept pristine, Drew grabbed another beer for himself and one for Steve and they headed towards the back of the house and the sound of laughter.

                        *                                  *                                  *

In the weeks following their dinner with Frankie & Drew, Isabelle and Steve were both kept busy with work, Isabelle the more so because she was travelling off and on. But no matter how busy they were they found the time to call or Facetime each other at least once a day and more often than not they spent the night together, usually at Isabelle’s since she worked from home and all her equipment was there.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, their friends had begun a pool to see when the two would get married. None of them doubted it would happen. It was just a matter of getting the when right to win the five hundred dollar pot.

                        *                                  *                                  *

Steve let himself into Isabelle’s loft, glad they had exchanged keys so he didn’t have to wake her. He could have gone home to sleep, but he’d already gotten so used to her lying next to him that he hated to forego that small pleasure for himself if he didn’t have to. And to his mind he had to sleep alone much too often lately while she travelled for work. He left his bag on the couch, opened the fridge to find she’d left him some of the pizza he’d ordered and sent home to her when he knew he was going to miss dinner and ate a couple of slices cold while standing over the sink. He chugged a glass of water to wash it all down, put the dishes in the sink and cleaned up quickly in the bathroom before sliding beneath the sheets next to Isabelle. When he reached for her she came willingly into his arms and Steve couldn’t help but wonder if she knew what a gift her open heart was to him. In that moment he wanted desperately to wake her up to tell her that he loved her, but held his peace since she had to get up very early the next morning to catch a flight to Ottawa and contented himself with stroking her silky hair until he fell asleep.

                        *                                  *                                  *

“Are you packed?”

“Are you kidding? I’m packed, my out-of-office is on and I can hardly wait until tomorrow morning to put the city behind me for a week.”

“You’re smart to leave mid-week; you’ll miss a lot of the traffic,” Frankie said with envy. “Drew doesn’t have that much flexibility, we’re always stuck in the thick of it.”

“That’s rough with the three kids in the car.”

“Tell me about it. So what do you have planned anyway?”

“Nine days of sweet nothing.”

“I know you, Iz. You’ll be bored by the weekend.”

She laughed, “I hardly think we’ll be bored. There are trails to walk, we can rent a canoe, picnic.”

“Plus camping sex,” Frankie interjected

“There is that,” Isabelle agreed with a snort of renewed laughter that had Frankie going right along with her.

“You two have fun and call me the minute you get back.”

“I will. Tell little Bella I’m sorry I’m going to miss girls’ day and I’ll make it up to her.”

“You’ll make it up to her mama too. Imagine punking off to have sex in the woods with your boyfriend rather than helping me ride herd over a dozen nearly six year olds hopped up on kool aid and cake.”

“Bye Frankie,” Isabelle answered, ignoring her friend’s sarcasm, knowing she had been planning Bella’s birthday for months and would likely enjoy it even more than her daughter did.

“Bye, Iz. Have fun!”

Isabelle hung up the phone and then unable to sit still, decided since she had some time to kill that she’d head up to the rooftop terrace with her iPad and work on her book.

                        *                                  *                                  *

“Hi Iz. I’m all packed. Maybe we should hit the road tonight instead.” When he didn’t get an answer, not that uncommon when she was in the thrall of work, Steve walked down the hall and poked his head into her office. “Iz?” His voice echoed in the empty room.

Since she wasn’t anywhere in the loft and her iPad wasn’t on the desk, Steve figured she had gone up to the Terrace. After taking a few minutes to change into jeans and a t-shirt, he grabbed a couple of beers to go with the subs he’d picked up and followed her up, figuring his odds were good at convincing her to make out with him some before they ate.

Isabelle was stretched out on a chaise in the shade, tapping away on her tablet but she looked up when Steve came into her field of vision.

“You’re home earlier than I thought.”

Home. He liked the sound of that but said nothing, instead he lowered himself onto the chaise next to her, took the tablet out of her hands and set it on the ledge above them, clamped his mouth on hers in a hot, demanding kiss. When he felt her melt under him, he pulled back, almost groaning aloud with the effort it took to tear his mouth away from hers.

“Iz, we need to go inside or I’m going to make love to you right on this lounger.”

Isabelle’s eyes were clouded with desire. He loved to see her that way, to know that he made her feel that way.

Isabelle didn’t know what came over her, but instead of taking his suggestion, she dragged Steve’s t-shirt over his head and pulled his mouth back down to hers, rocking her hips urgently against him. Steve considered and immediately dismissed the idea of impeding her efforts and began to unbutton his shirt. The minute he touched her with his tongue Isabelle bowed up off the chaise, urging him to take more so he did. He took and took everything she gave and ten sweaty moments later they lay in a half dressed heap of limbs, hearts still racing.

“I’m going to come home early more often,” he vowed right before he drifted off.

Isabelle smiled indulgently before she got up to retrieve her iPad and wiggle and button her clothing back into place, just in case anyone else decided to come up and enjoy the terrace. Then she sat back down on the chaise with Steve and leaned against him, pretending to work while he napped next to her.

                        *                                  *                                  *

“Ah, not a streetlight or cell tower around for miles,” Isabelle said gleefully as she all but jumped out of the passenger side of Steve’s car.

Steve grinned at her over the top of the car. “Let’s get set up so we can go exploring.”

“Why don’t you do the tent and I’ll put up the kitchen shelter?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

They were both experienced campers and in no time the site was set up and everything stowed away neatly.

“I’ll go get us some water and then we can talk about what we want to do today.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“Ok,” Steve replied agreeably.

The held hands as they walked down to the public water spout, not speaking, comfortable with the silence between them.

Steve looked over at her while they were walking, saw her huge smile, hoped he was a part of the reason for it and realized he didn’t feel guilty for wanting to be a big part of what made her happy. Making Isabelle happy made him happy, it really was that simple.

“Beach first?” Isabelle suggested when they were walking back toward the site with the full, heavy water jug between them.

“Sure, beach first.”

Because it was a Wednesday, the beach was less crowded than it might otherwise be on such a gorgeous day, but because it was the height of summer, it was still quite packed. There were children laughing and running on the sand, splashing in the water and calling out to each other while parents watched, dozed in the early afternoon sun or made lunch. Isabelle took several photos of the scene, thinking they’d be a great bit of marketing if she could convince her contact at the Parks Ontario to revamp their website and other collateral. She could feel Steve watching her as she set up the next shot. He was patient and said nothing and she loved him all the more for his silent support. Because he respected what she did, Isabelle didn’t take as many shots as she might otherwise have done had she been there alone. This trip wasn’t about work, it was a vacation. Stowing her camera, Isabelle joined him again and linked her fingers with his.

They shed shoes and socks and walked the length of the beach at the edge of the water, weaving in and around playing children and teens, parents trying to catch wayward charges. When they had retraced their steps, they took the path that led back towards their camp site by mutual unspoken agreement, both hungry from the long drive and the exercise.

Steve got the little hibachi warming and stacked wood for a fire later while Isabelle cut up tomatoes and onions for the burgers and put together a quick salad from one of the bags of pre-cut lettuce in the cooler. By the time Steve placed the burgers on the grill she was done, so she retrieved two beers out of the other cooler, popped them both open and brought one to him.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“So what are you thinking for tomorrow?”

“I’d like to get out on the trails while they’re less busy and maybe we can get a canoe for the day on Friday and explore a couple of the more remote areas.”

“That sounds like a plan. We can pack some sandwiches for tomorrow and on Friday why don’t we take a full blown picnic lunch with us since we don’t have to carry it.”

“Alright,” she smiled, stretched her arms above her head and took a sip of beer, “Those look almost ready, I’ll get the buns.”

It got dark quickly, so after they cleaned up from dinner, they got the fire started before it was completely dark and were sitting in front of the crackling flames, enjoying the gentle heat as the day cooled off. When Steve returned from disposing of their garbage, he found Isabelle conked out in her chair. He set about to putting away the few bits of gear that hadn’t been put back yet, dumped a bucket of water over the fire and then kneeled in front of her, stroking her face gently.

“Wake up baby, it’s time to go to bed.”

Drowsily she opened her eyes, blinked at the darkness. “Did I fall asleep? I’m sorry.”

“No worries, come on, let me help you up.” Steve took both her hands in his and pulled her up, led her to their tent.

Isabelle could hardly find the energy to change into her pajamas. She was just so relaxed. She was all but asleep when Steve pulled her back against him and didn’t feel him kiss her ear in lieu of saying goodnight.

The next morning they were both up early. It was just after nine in the morning when Isabelle laced up her hiking boots and Steve hoisted the small backpack they’d loaded with sandwiches, apples and water.

“Ok, let’s go.” Isabelle took the lead. They were going to walk one of her favourite paths today, one that was very familiar to her after years of traversing on and off the paths of Algonquin Park.

Having not been here since he was in high school, Steve was perfectly happy to let Isabelle take the lead. The view was better from behind anyway.

It was a nice ten kilometer hike and by the time they got back late in the afternoon they were pleasantly tired but not exhausted.

After a quick swim to refresh themselves, Steve convinced Isabelle to join him in the tent for a relaxing massage.

She felt loose and almost like she was floating above the air mattress when Steve leaned down to kiss her cheek and said, “My turn.”

With a good natured groan Isabelle pushed herself up when Steve flopped down next to here but before she could straddle him at the waist, he flipped over so he was lying face up and toppled her down onto him. Isabelle knew where this was going and managed to wiggle herself out of Steve’s arms.

“It’s the middle of the day. Someone will hear us!”

“So what?” he pulled her mouth back down to his and kissed her, stroking his hands gently up her sides. It took some doing to persuade her, but after a while he felt her become pliant in his arms.

Isabelle decided to let herself be persuaded and locked her legs around Steve’s hips as he rolled with her, tugging at the clothes that kept them apart.

Pleasantly sweaty, Isabelle stroked Steve’s chest and took stock of her life from her position plastered atop him and quickly came to the conclusion it couldn’t get any better. She had a successful, satisfying career, a man she loved who cared for and desired her and she had the best friends in the world. After watching him sleep for a while, she slipped carefully out of Steve’s arms so as not to wake him, pulled her t-shirt and shorts back on and went to get the fire started for dinner.

Steve woke up in the dim interior of the tent and cursed under his breath when he discovered he was alone. He had been hoping to find Isabelle next to him so he could make love to her again. He just couldn’t get enough of the feel of her, the taste of her lips and the way she made him feel when he watched her eyes go sightless with the pleasure he was giving her. Because he could hear the sounds of quiet activity and the crackle of a fire he figured she had started dinner and hauled on his discarded clothes to give her a hand.

                        *                                  *                                  *

The next morning they were one of the first people to take a canoe out for the day. Certainly the teenager who helped them looked tired enough for it to be pre-dawn hours even though it was nearly nine. It took them a few minutes to find their rhythm in the river’s current, but once they did they were really moving and made good time, headed nowhere in particular, stopping finally on a deserted stretch of sand.

They beached the canoe and Steve held out a hand to Isabelle to help her navigate the slippery rocks of the shallow water. She looked at him and grinned as she took his hand and whether it was all the fresh air or just her he’d never know, but Steve tugged and she all but fell into his arms where he crushed his mouth down on hers with an urgency he’d not shown her before. Slowly so neither of them would trip and ruin his plans, he walked her backwards into the treeline and pressed her against a tree, heat to heat, encouraged when her short nails bit into the skin of his back through his t-shirt. Both of them were breathing raggedly when he tore his mouth from hers, jogged back down to short distance to the canoe to retrieve the picnic basket and blanket they’d brought along. He threw it over a grassy area shielded by trees and before he could grab her again, Isabelle was on him, fingers trembling with excitement as she undid the zipper of his shorts.

Where only the day before she’d been concerned that some passerby might hear them together, today she couldn’t have cared less if everyone she knew was gathered around to watch. All she cared about right now was getting Steve naked and inside her. She encouraged him with tongue & teeth, hands and the tiny gasps of pleasure she couldn’t hold in each time he touched his clever tongue to newly exposed flesh. In record time they were a half dressed heap, breathing harsh, hearts beating wildly and ecstatically happy.

Isabelle gulped down some air, shifted into a position that wasn’t on a rock and placed a moist kiss against Steve’s neck. “That was...” she trailed off, unable to articulate exactly what it was.

“Incredible.” He finished for her. “You are incredible,” he hugged her tighter to him and wondered how she couldn’t know how much he loved her. 

Sometime later her stomach growled and was echoed by his. Unaware of how completely and utterly the other was in love, they set out the picnic spread and afterward laid down on the blanket together, Isabelle’s head resting on Steve’s chest, his arm protectively around her as they both read from their ereaders.

On the way back to their campsite they talked about their plans for the next couple of days of their vacation.

“It’s going to be crowded at the park this weekend. The weather is beautiful and it’s primetime for family vacations.”

“Yes that’s true. Are you still planning on going to go down to the ranger station to get some WiFi and Facetime Josh when we get back?”

“Yeah, if that’s alright.”

“Of course it is. When you get back we should run into town, see if we can maybe get some fish to cook on the fire tonight and I’ll figure out what else we need to get us through the next couple of days.”

“I’m thinking we should just relax for the next two days. Get some junk food and beer when we shop tonight and sit around the campsite playing cards or go to the beach, read, just laze around for a couple of days and then we can think about hiking the big trail on Monday.”

“That sounds good to me. All that lying around and we’ll be ready for some exercise by Monday.”

“Oh I’ll make sure you get sufficient exercise,” Steve winked at her and was delighted when Isabelle blushed bright pink under her darkening tan.

                        *                                  *                                  *

“I think that does it,” Isabelle said looking at their two baskets loaded with provisions and the 12 pack of beer Steve held in his other hand.

“One more thing,” he nodded towards the paper bags of peanuts. “We’ve gotta feed the chipmunks.”

Obligingly Isabelle tossed a bag of the peanuts into her basket as they joined the short line. “So we’ll have the fish with a salad tonight, the hot dogs tomorrow,” she was going through the items in her basket, trying to make sure they had everything they needed. She hated shopping without a list. “Oh, we didn’t get buns.”

“I have the buns, Iz.” He said, hefting his basket onto the conveyor belt after the beer and taking the one she held from her.

“Oh, ok then.”

He kissed her temple and put an arm around her as they waited for the person in line ahead of them to count out exact change. “If we don’t have something, we’ll come back for it, no big deal.”

“You’re right,” she smiled.

                        *                                  *                                  *

It was probably not much after ten when Steve yawned, exhausted from the day’s exertions.

“Tired?” Isabelle asked.

“Depends on what you had in mind. Definitely too tired to go for a night hike, but I could go in for some other night-time activity,” he suggested.

“And just what do you mean by that?” she asked and delighted him by dropping into his lap in the camp chair.

“Well...” he kissed her, skimmed his hands lightly over her breasts, then more firmly when she made an affirmative sound and shifted into his hand.

“You know, I suddenly feel tired,” she said with a feigned yawn. “I think I’ll turn in for the night.” Isabelle got up from his lap, stretched ostentatiously and forced herself not to look back as she walked the short distance to their tent.

Steve made sure the fire was well and truly out and hastened after Isabelle to take advantage of her playful mood. Just when he thought he knew all sides of her she surprised him. It surprised him even more when he found her in the tent, naked but for a lacy lingerie she’d secreted in her luggage in case she felt brave enough to wear it.

Steve didn’t tell her, but that night Isabelle definitely let the neighbours know what they were up to.

                        *                                  *                                  *

She woke up feeling warm and cold all at once. Cold because Steve had pulled the sleeping bag down and it was still dark outside, warm because his mouth seemed to be everywhere at once.

He took his eyes off the curve of her breast when she gasped. “Awake are you?”

Isabelle pulled his face down to hers for a kiss and Steve thrust himself inside her deeply, groaning as she closed around him and they began to rock together in a slow, steady rhythm that beaded the sweat on both their brows as the urgency increased.

Barely awake and intensely aroused, Isabelle dug her nails into Steve’s bare back as he thrust again and again, heedless of anything that existed beyond the feel of him inside her and the taste of his tongue on hers.

When he collapsed on top of her, Isabelle stroked Steve’s back, soothing the welts she’d made with her nails as he nuzzled her neck.

“I’ll move in a minute, I swear,” he promised unconvincingly.

She tightened her arms around his back. “Don’t rush on my account.”

“Ok.” Steve put his head down on her shoulder and breathed in the scent of her.

Isabelle kept up her gentle stroking, finger combing Steve’s hair before returning to his back, stroking longer lower, over the curve of his hips all the way down to the back of his thighs.

Steve felt her hands slide down his back and up again, then he felt her nails and she kept going down and down.....and just that simple scrape of nails against the sensitive skin and he was hard inside her again, nearly drowning in his desire to have her all over again even though he’d been spent not five minutes before. “Iz.” He barely choked her name out before he moved inside her. The intensity of their second coupling before the sun was even awake exhausted them both and they slept until the sun warmed the tent and woke them again.

When he reached out for her, Isabelle snuggled into his embrace. She would have been happy to stay there all day, but it was getting quite warm in the tent and she was definitely in need of sustenance after their creative morning calisthenics. “We should probably think about breakfast shouldn’t we?”

“Yeah, and then we can get back to the plan.”

“The plan?” she asked.

“Yeah, the plan to be lazy and do nothing all day.”

“Oh that plan,” she replied, sitting up.

“I’ll get breakfast ready.”

“Hey that was my line. I’m really good at cereal.” She joked as he unzipped the tent and stretched to his full height, bare chested and clad in just a pair of cut-off denim shorts. As Steve went, laughing, to prepare breakfast, Isabelle allowed herself a moment to flop back onto the air mattress and revel in how happy she was. Her life had been good before, but it was undeniably better now that Steve was back in it. Since she didn’t want to miss a moment with him, she threw on some clothes and climbed out of the tent.

“Why don’t you finish this up while I get some water for coffee?”

“Sure.” There was nothing left to do though other than dig up spoons and pour milk over the Fruit Loops.

“Forgot something.” He said, jogging back to her.

“What?”

Steve put down the water jug, shoved his hands into her short hair and laid a smacking kiss on her upturned mouth. “Just that.” He kissed her once more for good measure, retrieved the water jug and with a grin matching hers, made his way over to the short line by the water tap.

                        *                                  *                                  *

“You win again!” she exclaimed. “How is that possible?”

“Come on now Iz, you’re bound to win one of these days.”

“Oh that’s right, rub it in. Euchre just isn’t my game today,” she groused as she handed over her cards so Steve could shuffle the deck. “Want another beer?”

“Sure, thanks. And maybe the chips too.”

Isabelle returned from the car with the ketchup chips and grabbed two more Coronas.

“Do you want to change games? We could play a few hands of rummy.”

“Nope,” she shook her head. “I’m determined to trounce you at your own game.”

Steve smirked back, “We could be here all night in that case.”

“Ha ha,” she said, punching his arm after she set the beer down next to him.

“Ow,” he pouted and made a big show of rubbing his arm where she’d hit him. “Just for that, I’m going to beat the pants of you.”

“Bring it on!”

It was getting dark when she finally won a game, throwing her cards down in triumph. “That’s right, I won!” she crowed. “What did I win? I forget what we were playing for.”

“My everlasting devotion?” he suggested, leaning across the picnic table to give her a quick kiss.

“Nah, that wasn’t it,” she answered and laughed when he made puppy dog eyes at her, shoving him gently away as she got up from the table.

“I’m going to start the fire. For some reason I’m absolutely starving despite all the junk we’ve eaten today.”

“Must be all the fresh air,” he replied with a straight face, watching her bend over the wood pile.

“Must be,” she agreed.

“Why don’t I grill the rest of the fish on the hibachi instead of waiting for the fire to burn down.”

“That sounds like a great idea. I’ll make us a salad.”

Food preparation duties divided up, they stood nearly hip-to-hip, working silently.

“How about some music with dinner?”

“Mmmm, that’d be nice, but I don’t think I packed my speakers.”

“That’s ok, I did. Why don’t you plate this up while I set it up?”

Isabelle did as he suggested and by the time she had dinner on the plates and had opened two more beers, Steve had hooked his iPhone into the portable speakers and music was softly playing.

“I was feeling a little nostalgic,” he explained when Isabelle mentioned the era of his choices. “I put together a playlist from our high school days. Come on,” he said getting up and holding out his hand to her, “Let’s go sit in front of that nice fire you built.”

They sat, fingers linked between their two chairs, watching the hypnotic flames, not speaking, just listening to music from twenty years ago, the fixings for s’mores lying in wait on the ground.

He may have looked like he was completely zoned out, but Steve was listening carefully. He’d planned this moment out, right to the songs he selected and the order he scheduled them to play in. When Lonestar’s Amazed started to play, Steve got up out of his chair and tugged Isabelle so she came up with him. Looking deliberately into her eyes, he put her arms around his neck and his around her waist. Pulling her close, Steve began to sway slowly to the music and then his mouth came down on hers with infinite tenderness.

The kiss went on for a long time and when Steve finally eased back, the only reason Isabelle didn’t tell him right then that she was in love with him is because he’d left her too dazzled to speak.

Steve stroked her cheek gently, hoping that what he was going to say wouldn’t scare her off, but he couldn’t wait any longer to tell her. “I’m so grateful I have you in my life, Iz. I loved you when we were just kids and I love you now.” She jerked in his arms but he didn’t stop the slow movements of his feet and his hips, didn’t let her go. “You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know how I’m feeling.”

“Say it again.”

“I love you, Iz.”

Ready this time, Isabelle leaned up to meet Steve’s lips when he leaned down to kiss her she tightened her arms around his neck, pressed herself into him and kissed him with every ounce of love she had, went on kissing him until she thought she’d sufficiently made her point and then pulled back slightly.

“That’s really good, because I love you too.”

“Say it again,” he demanded.

“I love you too,” Isabelle whispered against his mouth.

When the playlist ended, Isabelle and Steve didn’t even notice, they were still wrapped in each others’ arms, dancing in the light of a fire.