This is the first istallment of Isabelle and Josh's story! Please leave me comments!
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"We've got an extra ticket if you wanna go, Izzy," Josh told me shyly, his crystal blue eyes glimmering with something I hadn't seen before. "Just say the word."
"Are you freakin' kidding me?" I stammered excitedly. "You have tickets 4 rows from the field at a Bears game and you're asking if I want to go? Of course I want to go!"
I stood up from my desk and hugged my friend excitedly. He smiled at me with surprise and then cleared his throat. He had a deep, sometimes gruff voice that suited his teddy-bear like stature.
"Perfect," he said. "I'll give my buddy a call and let him know you're gonna take the ticket before he gives it away to douche bag Darryl."
I giggled and watched Josh walk back to his cubicle. I couldn't help but smile enthusiastically as I thought about attending a Bears game with my friend and colleague Josh Daniels.
Josh and I had been working at The Windy City magazine since he got hired three years ago. I had managed to work my way up the journalistic ladder to arts and entertainment editor when he was hired fresh out of college with a liberal arts degree. He had a passion for music and a knack for writing. No doubt he had been perfect for the job of writing reviews of local bands and musicians in and around Chicago.
I had gotten to know him better through my colleague and sometimes friend Molly, who was hated among the staff. Being the nice person that I am, I always tried to be kind to her when the rest of the world wasn't. That's me- Isabelle Wilson, the angel of The Windy City news office.
But anyway, back to Josh. He had formed a bizarre crush on Molly, and why, I had no clue. Not that I'm some sort of cover model, but really? Molly? (Not that I was particularly vying for Josh's attention, however, no one could figure out the connection.) She was shorter than me, but then, most women are being that I'm 5'8". She was a little chubby with blondish hair, blue eyes, and glasses. With some updated clothes and make-up, she could've been more attractive, but again, who was I? Definitely not the fashion style guru of Chicago. Trying to find the good in all, I thought her to be funny and we had frequented a few hot spots in the city watching some bands perform. She sounds like a pretty decent human being, right? Well, what turned the world off from her was her filter, or lack there of. She whined, told the world all the minute, redundant details of her life, and to top it off, she didn't do her job well. No one could understand why I continued to be nice to her, but I guess I'm that kind of girl.
Josh Daniels had formed a crush on her despite the fact that she was nearing forty- a whopping thirteen years his senior, had two children from her previous marriage, and was living in a small apartment in the suburbs with a jerk named Joe. What Josh saw in her, no one could really figure out. But, Molly ate up his attention like a glutton at a bonanza bar.
"If you don't like him, Molly, then let him go. Don't use him," I would say repeatedly when she would complain about his advances.
"I know, Izzy, but I really like him as a friend," she would whine. I cringed at that voice. "And not to mention, I love his attention."
"Sure, who doesn't love attention? But really, Molly, you're not being fair. You're giving him false hope when there's none to be had."
"He's just not my type, Izzy," she uttered once, completely oblivious to the fact that I was trying to meet a deadline. "I think he's more your type."
I didn't disagree, as I thought back to the conversation I'd had on more than one occasion with her. Josh IS a cute guy- he is tall and stocky with black hair and crystalline blue eyes surrounded by enviable black lashes. His smile lights up a room and his sense of humor always sends me into gales of laughter. He and I had formed a tight bond that Molly claimed didn't bother her. She even insisted that I could "have" him. I scoffed. Yeah, like she owned him.
I watched him from my desk as he sauntered back to his cubicle. He sat at his desk and caught my eye which he met with a smile and a wink. My heart skipped a little, and it completely surprised me. I shook my head and tried not to think about him in that way. C'mon Izzy! This is Josh! He's got a thing for Molly!
"Hey, Izzy, you got plans for Sunday?" It was none other than my friend and mentor Lynn, who was one of the top editors of the magazine. Yes, she was one of my bosses, but she was like a mother figure to me, as well.
"Um, actually, I'm going to a Bears game," I said. I saw her face light up and then she asked the question I was dreading. Lynn had been dying to see a match between Josh and myself for the past year or so.
"This is it!" she said excitedly, though discreetly. "He's finally giving up on Molly!"
"SHH!" I hushed. "Just stop. You have this crazy idea that Josh and I should be an item, and I just like him as a friend." A friend, I reiterated in my head. Just a friend. Friend, friend, friend....
Josh arrived at my apartment around 9:30 the Sunday of the game. We were going to tailgate with a bunch of his buddies before kick-off. He rang the bell, and I buzzed him in. He stood at my door with his cell phone in hand.
"Uh huh." (silence) "Yeah." (more silence)
I rolled my eyes as I threw my Brian Urlacher jersey on top of a white sweatshirt. It was starting to get chilly and I knew, with the breeze blowing in off of Lake Michigan, it would get cold at Soldier Field.
At last he hung up, and I didn't have to guess with whom he'd been talking.
"Still letting her call, I see," I uttered sardonically. "Joe must be outta the house, huh? It is, after all, Sunday morning. Or, wait, did he even come home?"
He tried to hide his embarrassment, though not well. He plopped down on my couch and petted my cat, Pixie.
"I can't be mean, Izzy," he said. "I don't ever call her anymore- she's the one who calls me."
"Then all you have to do is not answer," I told him. "Josh, look. I'm telling you this as a friend." I sat down next to him and heard Pixie purr. "I think you're a great guy, and you deserve better than what she can offer you. I care about you. I don't want to see you get hurt."
He looked at me, his eyes filled again with something I couldn't name. He nodded and a moment of comfortable silence passed between us. I stood and broke the spell, and together we headed for Soldier Field.
The game was amazing, but chilly. I felt Josh's arm sneak around me.
"You're cold, aren't you?"
I nodded, my teeth chattering.
"Shoulda worn something warmer," he whispered as he squeezed my shoulders and laughed.
I stood to go to the bathroom at half time, totally unbeknownst to the conversation Josh and his two buddies were having about me.
Mike raised his eyebrow ruefully and spoke.
"Jesus, Daniels, when were you going to tell us about the gorgeous brunette you were working with?"
"She's got amazing tits, man," Sam slurred after his fifth cup of beer. "I think Van Morrison wrote the song Brown Eyed Girl about her."
"You're crazy not to try and hook it up with her, dude," Mike told him. "C'mon, she's hot and she's older than you, but not as old as that other chick. Dude, I know you like the older ladies, but seriously. You don't make a move on her, you're an idiot."
Josh smiled and laughed with his buddies, thinking about Izzy and what his friends were saying about her. Deep down he felt a connection with her, but he was afraid to let her know. She was five years older and wiser than him, attractive and smart, outgoing and friendly. He definitely felt a strong physical attraction to her, without a doubt. But there was Molly... and as hard as he tried to put her from his mind...
"Hey guys, did I miss much?" She returned refreshed and smiling, and what she didn't know was that Josh couldn't help but notice how cute she looked in her prided Brian Urlacher jersey and her hair pulled back in a pony tail. He saw her, truly saw her, this time, and felt himself harden. No doubt he had imagined before what it would be like to fuck her, and he wondered if she shaved her pussy or not, but there she was and it was like he was seeing her for the first time.
"Are you going to sit there like a dufus or what?" I giggled as I sat and elbowed him. Why was he looking at me like I had a second head or something? "OK, before I freeze, put your arm back where it was. You're so freakin' hot."
The more beer I drank, the warmer I became. The Bears had victoriously won against our dreadful rivals, the Green Bay Packers, in an embarrassing 43-3 assault. I had been a die-hard Bears fan since I could remember and it's always a good day when Chicago beats the cheese heads.
"Take that, Favre! You SUCK!" I screamed as the Packers ran into their locker room.
"You do realize he can't hear you, right?" Josh laughed as we inched out of the crowded stadium. The fans were screaming and yelling in victory.
We managed to get onto the Blue line part of the El that was jam packed with fans. Being the gentleman that he was, he went with me back to my apartment in the West Loop area. He still lived in a suburb northwest of the city with his parents and would catch the Blue line again back home.
Awkwardly we stood in front of my building where I would soon warm up in my tiny one bedroom apartment.
"You're welcome to come up and hang for a bit if you'd like," I told him. "It's only 4:30."
