Chapter Eight
666 Words
Isabella’s sense of gravity seemed to shift in that very moment, her every thought now stuck on the man sat beside her, drinking from her can of Coca Cola whilst not even acknowledging her. She dared to side eye him for a moment, his relaxed posture causing him to slouch in his seat, his legs spread wide and invading her personal space. Her own body was the complete opposite, she sat bolt upright and appeared rigid.
The conversations at the table continued although the man beside her barely made an input, he would occasionally nod, or snort in response to something funny but his answers were one-worded and blunt. A real charmer, Isabella thought to herself sarcastically. She struggled to see how Johnny and him could be in the same group of friends.
“Bzzz. Bzzz.” She jumped, being brought crashing down to earth after spending a while wondering about the man sat beside her. She pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket and read the text
Time: Jan 27th 2020. 10:54am
To: Isabella Lussu
From: Thomas Morgan
Miss you too, wish I could’ve seen it. Had a late night last night, maybe you could take a pic in something cute for me later.
Isabella’s teeth grazed over her bottom lip before tapping away on her phone.
Time: Jan 27th 2020. 10:57
To: Thomas Morgan
From: Isabella Lussu
I miss you more. Did you have fun last night, I saw the pics and videos. The blonde girl was pretty, who was she? And I’ll take a picture when I go out tonight, I’m going to go buy a dress soon.
Almost instantly she received another text back, her phone vibrating again.
Time: Jan 27th 2020. 11:01
To: Isabella Lussu
From: Thomas Morgan
I meant out of clothes ;)
She re-read the message over and over, he completely ignored the message about the girl and who she was. Was she ready to show him her body and take pictures like that? Her heart sunk. She knew she wanted to make this relationship work but she wasn’t sure how, he didn’t reply to her for twelve hours when she knows he was out partying with other girls, now he’s avoiding questions but he wants to take their relationship to the next level.
“Is that your boyfriend?” the man beside her asked, his eyes locked on her iPhone. Isabella nodded, staying quiet, suddenly going shy. How long had he been reading the messages between the pair, did he see the last message Thomas sent her? She quickly clicked the lock button and slid the phone back in her pocket. She could sense the man beside her staring at her with a small, smug smile on his face. She knew it, he’d seen everything. He took another sip from her can of Coca Cola before placing the almost empty can back in front of her and got up to leave.
“Junior, Paul’s place at six. He wants us to work the door.” George said to the man now stood behind Isabella, his large hands holding either side of her seat. “Yeah, he already told me. I’ll be there at five forty to set up.” And with that he was gone.
As soon as he left Isabella felt as if she could breathe again, the tension fading. George gave her a smile, noticing the difference. “Take no notice of him, Bella. Junior’s a funny guy, he ain’t as scary as he looks and he’s a nice guy really. You don’t have to be scared.” Isabella nodded and managed a smile.
“So, you ready to go?” Isabella heard Johnny’s voice behind her, she hadn’t even seen him come out from the back. She nodded and got up. “Thank you for the drink and for sitting with me, George. I’ll see you later” George nodded “Bye angel, I’ll see you.”
“Angel, huh? Must’ve made an impression. Ok, time to take you shopping.” Johnny said as they headed outside and got in his car. “I know the perfect spot, you’ll love it.”
Usually Isabella would’ve been excited about shopping, but for once it wasn’t the forefront of her thoughts. Junior was.
- Writer
