“When was the last time you went on a date?”
“I go on dates all the time.”
“You do not. You hook up with random chicks. I mean, an actual date. One where you take the time to pick out something special for you both to do. A date where you enjoy spending time with someone other than yourself and one where you aren’t just rushing to get laid.”
“Never.”
“Never?”
“Nope. Never.”
“How is that possible?”
“You can save that for your next question. Your turn, Truth or Dare?”
“Dare.”
“Really?”
“There is too much at risk with truth. All I risk with dare is alcohol poisoning.”
“I see where this night is going, okay dare it is.” The bartender hadn’t gone far this time. “Give me a shot of DeLeon for the lady.”
“Micah, that’s like a two hundred dollar shot.”
“Do you want to take a shot of shitty tequila instead?”
Things only got worse from there. Isabel had no intention of telling Micah her secrets, but the amount of liquor she consumed picking dare each time might just kill her. One after another, each question she asked him was just personal enough to let him think she was playing fair, but not too personal, since he was her boss. There was a line in the sand she had placed between them years ago and she had no intention of crossing it tonight. They may be friends, and Micah was hot as hell, but she wasn’t a fool. Her job was more important than screwing the boss. But tonight, even the smell of his cologne made her want to curl up into his lap and purr like a kitten.
“You need a cat,” she said while trying to hold herself up on the bar, “Where did everyone go?”
“Home, I imagine.”
“Then why are we still here?”
“You were about to tell me why I need a cat.”
“Oh right, you need a cat because you smell good,” she slurred.
Micah let out a little laugh. “Okay Izzy, maybe it is time for us to get going.”
She put her head down on the bar and watched as he paid the bill. She didn’t even want to think about how much it must have cost. The only people left in the whole restaurant were the manager and the bartender. She considered that a good thing because the second she went to stand up, her knees gave out and she nearly fell to her demise. Instead of hitting the floor, she found herself in Micah’s arms.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he breathed in her ear. Then, looking up at the bartender, he said, “Thank you guys. I appreciate you staying for us.”
“Anytime, Micah. You are always welcome. Just take care of Izzy for us now, will you?”
She looked up into his eyes and watched the exchange between the two men, however when he responded, “Always” he was looking straight at her and no one else.
“Iz, can you grab your purse?”
Shaking her head, Izzy reached out blindly to her side. The bartender picked it up from the bar and placed it in her hand. She promptly dropped it... twice. Micah started laughing as the bartender instead tucked it onto her chest so Micah could carry her out to the car. She should be furious at the situation, but he smelled so good, and he was so warm. Isabel couldn’t remember the last time a man held her this close. In the back of her mind, all she could think was it served him right having to carry her drunk ass out of there. It was his fault she drank too much, anyway.
Driving a sleeping drunk Isabel home at two o’clock in the morning wasn’t how Micah thought he’d be spending his night, but it was better than most nights he had. She was a pretty amazing person to spend time with, even if she snored a little when she drank too much. Her dark hair had fallen over her face and it was at times like this that she looked so young and innocent. He wondered why she wasted her time working for him. There was no question she was a gorgeous woman, but after a few months of working together, he had finally gotten used to being around her without being consumed by the need to claim her as his own. She was too valuable to him as an employee. Nights like tonight were few and far between, but when he got some personal time with her, he cherished every moment.
Micah spent every day and most nights surrounded by people, but had never felt more alone in his life. His brother Luca and his niece Jenny were the only real family he had. Unless you counted his cousin Dante, but that side of the family he tried his best to avoid. Luca and Jenny lived in New York City and he never got up there as much as he wanted to so, Isabel had become part of his family in a strange way. He couldn’t imagine life without her and yet he still knew he couldn’t take their relationship any further than boss and employee. Isabel had her secrets, and she still didn’t trust him with them. There was too much risk to the business, and with his family’s history it was too complicated to get seriously involved with anyone.
He pulled up to the duplex she lived in with her mother. On one side was their home, and the other used to belong to her great aunt. When the woman passed away, a young couple had moved in, but otherwise the neighborhood was the same. It had been when she was a child. Micah hadn’t been there often, but when he had, her mother always told her stories of Isabel growing up there as a child. That she still lived in the same house she grew up in was proof of how different their lives had been.