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Kindling.: LJ Idol Season 9 Week 19
Aug. 26th, 2014 07:01 pm “Did I just hear you correctly? You want me to be your date for the charity event tomorrow night?” Isabella questioned, her eyes clearly showing her astonishment. She was enjoying her weekly lunch with her best friend Ryan, talking about tomorrow night’s event that the third member of their group, Anna, was throwing to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis, when he threw her completely off track with his question.
“What’s the big deal?” Ryan shrugged. “You don’t have a date and Tiffany and I just ended things so I don’t have a date to this event. What harm could it do for the two of us to go together?” He smiled charmingly at her, hoping his grin would win her over. His best friend had never let him down before, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized it would be fun to spend time with Isabella. She would be much better company than Tiffany, because while the voluptuous brunette was a beauty, too bad she didn’t have a brain cell in her head to spare. On the other hand, Izzy wasn't classically beautiful but she was intelligent beyond belief. His best friend since childhood had been one of the smartest people in their high school and graduated top of her class in college.
“But…but…” she sputtered.
“C’mon, Izzy, please? It’ll be more fun with the two of us together! If you were by yourself, you’d just sit at the table talking to those stodgy old businessmen or sit there by yourself taking mental notes of people for your research. You have a dress already, right?”
She nodded, unsure what to say. She wanted to go with him; she would have more fun that way. That he was right about. Anna would be happy as well, since she would be able to focus more on the event she was hosting rather than worrying about her having a good time.
“So if you have a dress, and we both know that you’re going because neither one of us would disappoint Anna then why not go together?”
Why not? she wondered. Hmm, could it be because she was absolutely head over heels in love with her best friend who had no idea whatsoever. Could it be because she was eating her heart out every time he went on a date with another gorgeous leggy model, waiting for the day he told her he was getting married? Or maybe because she hated the idea of getting her hopes up from one simple platonic date, only to crash and burn again the next morning when she faced the same old boring Isabella “Izzy” Taylor in the mirror, the one who would never get the guy no matter how smart she was. It was hard enough to stop the kindling in her belly when she let herself daydream of what it would be like if he would see her the way she saw him.
Then again, she pondered, it’s simply two friends going to an event to support their friend and her dress did make her look stunning if she did say so herself. And Ryan really did seem to want her to go with him…maybe he'd enjoy checking her out in her dress. Maybe it would lead to something more? She shook her head. Stop daydreaming and letting yourself want what you can't have, she chided herself.
“Izzy?”
“Sure, I’ll go with you. You’ll pick me up, right?”
“Of course, I’ll pick you up around 6:15, if that’s okay with you? That way we will avoid traffic and still get there in time.” Ryan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t sure why, but taking Isabella to this event felt right to him. Lately, even though him and Izzy spoke every day and saw each other several times a week, he found himself realizing that there seemed to be a spark between them but too afraid to actually explore where it could lead them. He wasn't sure if she noticed; Izzy tended to go for doctors and lawyers and not a former athlete turned high school coach so there was no way he would be her type even if he was to make a pass at her, right? Besides, why would he ruin a perfectly good friendship with his best friend?
“Sounds good,” She glanced at her watch and stood up. “I should get back to work, I have a new client coming and I need to get ready.”
“Another crazy one?” he smirked.
“Yeah, you can’t live with them; you can’t live with out them. It’s part of my job. I guess I should be happy for the crazies. Otherwise I wouldn’t make a living.” She smiled and grabbed her purse. “I’ll talk you later on or see you tomorrow.”
“Looking forward to it,” Ryan grinned as she walked out of the restaurant. He leaned back in his chair, mentally reviewing what he needed to do to be ready for tomorrow’s event. After a couple of minutes, he left money on the table for the tip and left. Somehow, he mused, as he made his way to the car, despite all his previous thoughts, he had a strange feeling that tomorrow would change everything between him and Izzy. Once a match is lit, nothing stays the same. Yet, somehow, even though he wasn't sure if the change would be for the better or for the worse, he was looking forward to his date and seeing how the possibilities played out.
“What’s the big deal?” Ryan shrugged. “You don’t have a date and Tiffany and I just ended things so I don’t have a date to this event. What harm could it do for the two of us to go together?” He smiled charmingly at her, hoping his grin would win her over. His best friend had never let him down before, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized it would be fun to spend time with Isabella. She would be much better company than Tiffany, because while the voluptuous brunette was a beauty, too bad she didn’t have a brain cell in her head to spare. On the other hand, Izzy wasn't classically beautiful but she was intelligent beyond belief. His best friend since childhood had been one of the smartest people in their high school and graduated top of her class in college.
“But…but…” she sputtered.
“C’mon, Izzy, please? It’ll be more fun with the two of us together! If you were by yourself, you’d just sit at the table talking to those stodgy old businessmen or sit there by yourself taking mental notes of people for your research. You have a dress already, right?”
She nodded, unsure what to say. She wanted to go with him; she would have more fun that way. That he was right about. Anna would be happy as well, since she would be able to focus more on the event she was hosting rather than worrying about her having a good time.
“So if you have a dress, and we both know that you’re going because neither one of us would disappoint Anna then why not go together?”
Why not? she wondered. Hmm, could it be because she was absolutely head over heels in love with her best friend who had no idea whatsoever. Could it be because she was eating her heart out every time he went on a date with another gorgeous leggy model, waiting for the day he told her he was getting married? Or maybe because she hated the idea of getting her hopes up from one simple platonic date, only to crash and burn again the next morning when she faced the same old boring Isabella “Izzy” Taylor in the mirror, the one who would never get the guy no matter how smart she was. It was hard enough to stop the kindling in her belly when she let herself daydream of what it would be like if he would see her the way she saw him.
Then again, she pondered, it’s simply two friends going to an event to support their friend and her dress did make her look stunning if she did say so herself. And Ryan really did seem to want her to go with him…maybe he'd enjoy checking her out in her dress. Maybe it would lead to something more? She shook her head. Stop daydreaming and letting yourself want what you can't have, she chided herself.
“Izzy?”
“Sure, I’ll go with you. You’ll pick me up, right?”
“Of course, I’ll pick you up around 6:15, if that’s okay with you? That way we will avoid traffic and still get there in time.” Ryan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t sure why, but taking Isabella to this event felt right to him. Lately, even though him and Izzy spoke every day and saw each other several times a week, he found himself realizing that there seemed to be a spark between them but too afraid to actually explore where it could lead them. He wasn't sure if she noticed; Izzy tended to go for doctors and lawyers and not a former athlete turned high school coach so there was no way he would be her type even if he was to make a pass at her, right? Besides, why would he ruin a perfectly good friendship with his best friend?
“Sounds good,” She glanced at her watch and stood up. “I should get back to work, I have a new client coming and I need to get ready.”
“Another crazy one?” he smirked.
“Yeah, you can’t live with them; you can’t live with out them. It’s part of my job. I guess I should be happy for the crazies. Otherwise I wouldn’t make a living.” She smiled and grabbed her purse. “I’ll talk you later on or see you tomorrow.”
“Looking forward to it,” Ryan grinned as she walked out of the restaurant. He leaned back in his chair, mentally reviewing what he needed to do to be ready for tomorrow’s event. After a couple of minutes, he left money on the table for the tip and left. Somehow, he mused, as he made his way to the car, despite all his previous thoughts, he had a strange feeling that tomorrow would change everything between him and Izzy. Once a match is lit, nothing stays the same. Yet, somehow, even though he wasn't sure if the change would be for the better or for the worse, he was looking forward to his date and seeing how the possibilities played out.
