THE SOLDIER WITH THE MISSING LEG
By the time Tuesday morning rolled around, Isaac was livid. Once again, he hadn't gotten much rest and to be honest, the lack of sleep was starting to get old. He could have blamed it on Winn. He probably should have. After all, both nights he lost sleep she was involved somehow, but then so was Taylor, so he chose to blame it on him instead. Sunday night, no matter how much he enjoyed it, stemmed somewhere from Taylor hurting Winn. Then last night, Taylor moved right in on where Isaac belonged--right in front of his face. Granted, Isaac spent most of the night thinking of HER...
He wanted her. That was all there was to it. He liked the way she looked, the way she smelled, the sound of her laugh--but most of all, he liked the way she made his heart feel. She made him feel alive again. Ready for it or not, he deserved a right to see this through--uninterrupted.
Walking into the studio that morning, he walked in on a conversation between Taylor and Zac about what else? Winn.
"Is she okay?" Zac was asking him.
"Yeah," Taylor was saying as he stood at the door to the sound booth. "She's taking it better than I thought she would. I thought she'd be a nervous mess when I went to her house last night, but she was surprisingly in good spirits."
"Really? After being held at--"
"I may have helped that a little with chocolate...and tea..."
As Isaac advanced on Taylor, he seemed none the wiser. "Hey, Ike," he said casually. "You ready to lay down this track?"
Isaac got right in Taylor's face. "Look, I'm going to tell you one time and one time only--back off of Winn."
Taylor's eyes widened and he scoffed a laugh. "Are you serious?"
"As a heart attack."
"That's bold, you know that? Especially considering that I've known her longer than you have AND I'm her best friend."
"I don't give a shit WHAT you are, I want you to back off."
Taylor looked at him, amused. "You know, I'm not really sure exactly WHAT it is you want me to back off OF. I've never even taken her out. I don't flirt, I don't make passes at her. We're not dating, we're not doing ANYTHING. What's between us is strictly platonic. Why? Because for some reason, unbeknownst to--well, really, ANY of us--she likes YOU. And I only care about what's in HER best interest and you barely fit the bill. But to her, you apparently do. Which, unfortunately, in turn, makes whatever it is that YOU have going on in MY best interest. That being said," Taylor raised his eyebrows and smiled, patting his brother's shoulder patronizingly. "I'm doing absolutely nothing wrong here. The one you really have to worry about fucking anything up here isn't me. It's you."
Isaac glared at his brother. He couldn't respond because, ultimately, he knew he was right. He didn't know what else to say. He didn't want to share his suspicions with him, that he would ultimately lose Winn to him. He knew it was coming at some point or another. If Taylor knew that, it would be all over. Isaac needed his chance. He needed to prove himself wrong and he needed sufficient time in which to do it because he knew he wasn't quite ready yet for what he really wanted. And with Taylor and his pretty face and sensitive little heart still lurking around, he knew that was near impossible.
Sometimes Isaac wished he only had sisters.
***************
Isaac made sure that he was across the street promptly at Winn's lunch time. He decided it was time to make more of an effort. Try to spend more time with her, try to...well, he just wanted her to like him better than she liked Taylor. That was really all there was to it.
He managed to meet her at the door as she walked out of it and her eyes lit up when she saw him. "Ike! What are you doing here?"
"I was hoping to take you to lunch, if that's okay."
She smiled at him. "Well you happen to be right on time. I was just gonna walk down to Mexicali. So...does that mean I'm technically taking you?"
"Not if I'm buying," he winked.
"Well--I'll buy..."
"Don't be ridiculous. The man always pays."
"The friend always splits it."
"The man always pays," he insisted.
At that, Winn shut her mouth and that was that.
As they walked, Isaac slid his arm around her waist. He couldn't help himself. Something in the chill in the air against the sun in the sky warmed his heart a little. Winn didn't seem to mind.
"So are you okay today?" He asked.
She smiled at him. "They managed to recover our money. Didn't get the guy yet, but they found our deposit bags abandoned in a bush, unopened. I've never felt relief like that before. I almost cried."
"That's excellent," Isaac smiled. "I mean, it sucks that they haven't caught him yet, but I'm glad you got your money back."
"Thanks. This morning has been a madhouse. Customers afraid to come in and pay or renew and the ones that did come in only wanted to talk about the robbery...I know the excitement will die down in a few days but it's so exhausting."
The word 'exhausting' triggered a subject for him that he knew he shouldn't have brought up, but he couldn't help himself anyway. "So, uh, speaking of exhaustion, how long did Tay end up staying at your place last night?"
"Oh, not too long," she said. "Couple hours maybe? Maybe three? We watched a movie, no biggie. And he brought me tea, that was really nice of him."
"Yeah," he agreed nonchalantly. "That, uh, that was nice of him. Did you get any sleep?"
"Yeah, I got some. Doesn't make the stress from work any less exhausting, though."
They stepped into the parking lot of Mexicali when he stopped her and pulled her against him. "So listen. Why don't you let me come to your place tonight? I'll make you dinner, maybe bring you some chamomile..."
Winn sighed contently and smiled at him. "That sounds lovely. Except tonight is a late night at work. And I really just planned to go home and crawl in the bed unusually early and sleep. I'm so tired."
"Then I'll lay with you. I'll sing you to sleep."
She searched his eyes for a moment. "Why are you being so sweet?"
"Because I care about you. And I just want you to be happy. Rested. Comfortable."
"I appreciate you. You know I do. And all of that sounds so nice, but--but honestly, I just--I think I want to be alone tonight. You know? I mean, I've just had so much going on--haven't really had a chance to regroup."
Isaac was immediately disappointed. He nearly let what he was thinking fly out of his mouth but he kept his mouth shut. So, what, she can blow them both off last night but then Taylor comes over and she doesn't send him away? But tonight he can't come over? Did she have plans with Taylor she wasn't telling him about?
Instead, he kissed her forehead. "Okay," he said. "But you know you can call me if you need me. I'll be at home tonight."
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Isaac went to lunch with Winn that day. He had no problem talking all about it that afternoon and every word that came out of his mouth agitated Taylor to no end. He wished Winn didn't like Isaac. He wished she hadn't been walking in her office when Isaac saw her that day. He wished she hadn't fallen under his spell just like all the other women tended to do.
When the sun went down and six o'clock rolled around, Taylor made sure to be across the street promptly at closing time. No way was he going to risk another incident happening like the previous night. Not that he could have necessarily stopped it, but he still could have been there.
Taylor was appalled when he saw Winn sitting in her office in the dark with only her desk lamp on. He was even more appalled when he found the office door unlocked. He walked in and locked the door behind him and she smiled at him as he crossed the room and sat at her desk. "Hey," she said, an array of envelopes in front of her. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to ask you the same thing. Why are you here? Alone?"
"I have to stay behind to finish some work."
"Looks like you're stuffing mail."
"Has to be done."
"Now? Tonight? In the dark, alone, just after last night? With an unlocked door?"
"They all just left. I was about to get up and lock the door. Besides, nobody can see me in here anyway."
"I saw you in here." He objected. Then he watched her stuff mail for a moment, her hands working swiftly. "So, uh, you told Ike that you were working late tonight."
"News travels fast."
"Except your staff is gone for the night."
"Wrong. I AM working a late night. Charles and Steph are out chasing and I have to stay in the office in case they catch someone. I should probably be calling accounts right now, but this mail just needs to get done and I'm so exhausted."
"Chase? You mean, like, going to people's houses? At night?"
"Yep. We do night chasing twice a week."
"Sounds dangerous."
"I make them ride together on night chases. It's different during the warmer months. But the goal is to get the office to the point where we don't have to work late nights or weekends at all. Here." She handed Taylor a stack of envelopes and a stack of mail. "Since you're sitting here, you can help me stuff these."
"Uh, okay..."
"Don't be afraid of it, they won't bite you."
Taylor smirked as he slowly began stuffing envelopes. He pretended to be bothered but the truth was, he was more than thrilled that she asked him to help. "Shouldn't your staff do this?"
She smiled as she stuffed her envelopes at triple the speed he did. "Who needs them when you're here?"
"Very funny."
"So," she said after a moment of silence. "What do you have planned this week? Same as always, work, work, work?"
Taylor smiled, his face turning red. "Yes, of course. As always. But, uh, Saturday night I actually have a date."
He glanced up at Winn to see her face. To his surprise, she sat there, tight-lipped and blinking as she concentrated on her mail. "Oh," she said coolly. "Anyone I know?"
He smirked at her as she wouldn't look at him. "Well, you're not from around here, so generally, no."
"Oh."
"But if you must know," he pressed himself, glancing at her as he poorly stuffed the mail she'd given him. "She's a beautiful blonde girl. And she's bringing her two brothers, so. I mean, it's not like we're gonna be alone..."
Winn's eyes flashed into his and then her facial expression changed as her hands dropped onto her desk. "Dammit, Tay, are you talking about Zac's kids?"
Taylor laughed. He couldn't help himself as he nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm watching the kids Saturday night while Zac and Kate go out. You're, uh, you're face there was interesting, though."
She took a deep breath and straightened her spine. "Well, you caught me off guard, that's all."
"Uh-huh."
"So what are you guys gonna get into?"
"Um, actually...there's a small town in the next county that's sort of like a Christmas town? They light up the whole town and tourists come from all over to see them. I take the kids every year. I mean, they go with their parents, too, but I--uh--I kinda like to go, so...I use them?"
A smile crept across Winn's face. Then the smile graduated into a chuckle. "Well, well, well...look at you. Let that nerd flag fly..."
He blushed and he smiled. "There's a reason I'm their favorite uncle, you know."
Her smile softened. "You're the fun one," she guessed.
He shrugged modestly. "I mean, I try. That's what uncles are for, right?"
"So, um, you think you'll need help wrangling those kids?"
Now it was Taylor's turn to be caught off guard. "Help?"
"Well, I mean, I could just come straight out and invite myself but I was trying to be a little more slick about it..."
"You--you want to come along?"
"Tay, come on. Are you seriously surprised?"
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, definitely, if you want to tag along. I mean, if you don't have anything else better to do..."
"I work that morning, but otherwise I'm all yours."
Taylor hated when she said things like that. Especially when she said them in that innocent, passing tone where she had no idea how much those phrases meant to him. Otherwise, Saturday night couldn't come fast enough. Four more days. He was already counting.
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Isaac sat in his apartment with his guitar on his knee and a pad of paper on the arm of the chair. What had started out as aimless strumming actually started turning into something. He had lost himself in it for awhile until he'd checked his phone an hour or so into his creative stupor to find that Winn hadn't returned neither his call or his text.
He sighed and he sat there for a moment. Then he attempted to go back to his guitar but found he could no longer concentrate on it. He would have been more annoyed if he hadn't made sufficient progress already.
Before he could think about his actions, he took his guitar back to his bedroom, put it back on its stand, dropped his car keys into his pocket and headed out his front door. He checked the time as he walked through the parking lot of his building--nearly nine o'clock.
He drove the ten minutes to the lake, pulled into the small, wooded area that her house sat in, and cursed himself at Winn's lack of porch light. Sure, the lights were on in her house, but that didn't excuse her lack of safety precautions.
When she didn't meet him at the door like she normally did, since arriving at her house unannounced was nearly impossible with your vehicle being seen and heard from her living room, he knocked lightly. After he stood there for a minute and she didn't answer, he turned on the flashlight on his cell phone and had a look around. Remembering something she'd said last night, not sure if it was a joke or not, he decided to bend down and lift the mat he was standing on. Sure enough, there was a key, plain as day. He shook his head again. What was it gonna take? Maybe he'd prank her someday to get it through her head...
He took the key and let himself quietly inside her house. Mindlessly, he dropped the spare key into his own pocket and looked around her living room. Everything was quiet despite the TV playing softly. A lamp shone by the couch, the Christmas tree was lit, and soft light came from the kitchen. He started to step into the kitchen to see if she really had gone to bed, when something caught his eye on the other side of the living room.
As he neared her computer desk, he let out a breath and shook his head at the sight. There she was, slumped over in her desk chair, her cheek resting on the wooden desktop above her keyboard, a light snore escaping her nose. He glanced at her computer screen and the small slips of paper along the desk. It was obvious that she had brought her work home with her. He hated to wake her, but she couldn't sleep like this. If he left her there, who knew how long it would be before she woke up?
Figuring out how to maneuver himself, he finally managed to lift her from the chair and carry her into her bedroom, flicking on the bedside lamp as he lay her down. Her eyes opened sleepily and she murmured. "What are you doing? Ike, is that--what are you doing here?"
"Saving you from drowning in a pool of your own drool," he said lightly, attempting a joke.
She murmured incoherently as he removed her clothes slowly and carefully, piece by piece. For once, he got no sexual thrill from this. It felt so weird for him to look at her so innocently this way, but he only had one goal in mind. Looking around, he reached into the nearest drawer he could find, grabbed out a t-shirt, and handed it to her as she now attempted to sit up in the bed, covering herself with the covers. "Here," he said. "Put this on and lay back down."
"Thank you," she whispered as she swept some hair out of her face with her palm and pulled the shirt over her head. And then she snuggled back down in her bed and her eyes were now sleepily open as she watched him crawl over her and settle in beside her. "What are you doing here?" She asked again.
"I came over to check on you," he said as he reached over her and clicked off her light, letting the darkness fill the room. "I'm glad I did, too, because you fell asleep at your computer."
"I do that a lot," she muttered. And then she attempted to get out of bed. "Oh no. I have to finish those letters--"
"Then I'll wake you early tomorrow morning so you can finish them before work," he said as he pulled her back into bed and wrapped his arms around her. "You need to rest. That stuff can wait."
"Are you staying?"
"I can if you want me to."
"You've been so good to me today," she whispered sleepily.
"What can I say, I'm turning over a new leaf."
"So it's all fake, then?"
"No, every single bit of it is absolutely real. Believe it or not, I'm actually quite the gentleman."
He heard her attempt a light laugh as she snuggled herself closer to his chest. "I thought you said you were going to sing me to sleep?"
He smiled into the dark. "What would you like to hear?"
"Sing me something you wrote."
He had no idea what possessed him to pick what he picked, but oddly, it seemed appropriate. Singing softly, not making much of an effort, he began:
"Not so long ago in a toy room not so far away
Lived a boy who had so many toys
And he didn't know what to do with them all
With them all, with them all--"
"I love this one so much," she whispered. "I can't believe you picked it."
"Try not to interrupt, Winifred," he scolded lightly. "You're supposed to be sleeping."
"Sorry."
The truth was, he hoped this worked because he couldn't be confident that he could finish the song successfully. It was a lot of lyrics to a song he quite literally hadn't sung in years. He was impressed with himself that he remembered what little bit he already remembered.
"Well his favorite of all the toys were the tin soldiers, the tin soldiers
And the one that he loved the most was the one with the missing leg
At night the toys would come alive or that's how the story is told--"
"How did you guys dream this song up like that?" She asked.
"That's a story for another day. Go to sleep."
"Okay. Sorry."
"And there they met the soldier with the missing leg
And the ballerina with the heart of gold
At night they would share each other's dreams--"
"I know the next line," Winn said suddenly, a little louder than he expected. "You don't have to finish it."
Isaac furrowed his brow into the dark. "Um, okay..."
He felt her settle back into him after her body had momentarily tensed up. "That soldier sure did love that ballerina, didn't he?"
Then he smiled up into the dark. "Yeah. He did."
"I was a ballerina growing up," she informed him. "All the way up until college. So that song always meant a little something to me."
"Is that so?" He said, his heart suddenly pounding, honestly forgetting the lyrics but remembering how the song played out. Ultimately the soldier got lost along the way, but he came home to the ballerina and an accident involving fire melded them together forever.
And then they were "no longer lonely for a friend."
He shouldn't have come over tonight. Forgetting the lyrics to the rest of the song was probably the best thing that could have happened in that moment.
By the time Tuesday morning rolled around, Isaac was livid. Once again, he hadn't gotten much rest and to be honest, the lack of sleep was starting to get old. He could have blamed it on Winn. He probably should have. After all, both nights he lost sleep she was involved somehow, but then so was Taylor, so he chose to blame it on him instead. Sunday night, no matter how much he enjoyed it, stemmed somewhere from Taylor hurting Winn. Then last night, Taylor moved right in on where Isaac belonged--right in front of his face. Granted, Isaac spent most of the night thinking of HER...
He wanted her. That was all there was to it. He liked the way she looked, the way she smelled, the sound of her laugh--but most of all, he liked the way she made his heart feel. She made him feel alive again. Ready for it or not, he deserved a right to see this through--uninterrupted.
Walking into the studio that morning, he walked in on a conversation between Taylor and Zac about what else? Winn.
"Is she okay?" Zac was asking him.
"Yeah," Taylor was saying as he stood at the door to the sound booth. "She's taking it better than I thought she would. I thought she'd be a nervous mess when I went to her house last night, but she was surprisingly in good spirits."
"Really? After being held at--"
"I may have helped that a little with chocolate...and tea..."
As Isaac advanced on Taylor, he seemed none the wiser. "Hey, Ike," he said casually. "You ready to lay down this track?"
Isaac got right in Taylor's face. "Look, I'm going to tell you one time and one time only--back off of Winn."
Taylor's eyes widened and he scoffed a laugh. "Are you serious?"
"As a heart attack."
"That's bold, you know that? Especially considering that I've known her longer than you have AND I'm her best friend."
"I don't give a shit WHAT you are, I want you to back off."
Taylor looked at him, amused. "You know, I'm not really sure exactly WHAT it is you want me to back off OF. I've never even taken her out. I don't flirt, I don't make passes at her. We're not dating, we're not doing ANYTHING. What's between us is strictly platonic. Why? Because for some reason, unbeknownst to--well, really, ANY of us--she likes YOU. And I only care about what's in HER best interest and you barely fit the bill. But to her, you apparently do. Which, unfortunately, in turn, makes whatever it is that YOU have going on in MY best interest. That being said," Taylor raised his eyebrows and smiled, patting his brother's shoulder patronizingly. "I'm doing absolutely nothing wrong here. The one you really have to worry about fucking anything up here isn't me. It's you."
Isaac glared at his brother. He couldn't respond because, ultimately, he knew he was right. He didn't know what else to say. He didn't want to share his suspicions with him, that he would ultimately lose Winn to him. He knew it was coming at some point or another. If Taylor knew that, it would be all over. Isaac needed his chance. He needed to prove himself wrong and he needed sufficient time in which to do it because he knew he wasn't quite ready yet for what he really wanted. And with Taylor and his pretty face and sensitive little heart still lurking around, he knew that was near impossible.
Sometimes Isaac wished he only had sisters.
***************
Isaac made sure that he was across the street promptly at Winn's lunch time. He decided it was time to make more of an effort. Try to spend more time with her, try to...well, he just wanted her to like him better than she liked Taylor. That was really all there was to it.
He managed to meet her at the door as she walked out of it and her eyes lit up when she saw him. "Ike! What are you doing here?"
"I was hoping to take you to lunch, if that's okay."
She smiled at him. "Well you happen to be right on time. I was just gonna walk down to Mexicali. So...does that mean I'm technically taking you?"
"Not if I'm buying," he winked.
"Well--I'll buy..."
"Don't be ridiculous. The man always pays."
"The friend always splits it."
"The man always pays," he insisted.
At that, Winn shut her mouth and that was that.
As they walked, Isaac slid his arm around her waist. He couldn't help himself. Something in the chill in the air against the sun in the sky warmed his heart a little. Winn didn't seem to mind.
"So are you okay today?" He asked.
She smiled at him. "They managed to recover our money. Didn't get the guy yet, but they found our deposit bags abandoned in a bush, unopened. I've never felt relief like that before. I almost cried."
"That's excellent," Isaac smiled. "I mean, it sucks that they haven't caught him yet, but I'm glad you got your money back."
"Thanks. This morning has been a madhouse. Customers afraid to come in and pay or renew and the ones that did come in only wanted to talk about the robbery...I know the excitement will die down in a few days but it's so exhausting."
The word 'exhausting' triggered a subject for him that he knew he shouldn't have brought up, but he couldn't help himself anyway. "So, uh, speaking of exhaustion, how long did Tay end up staying at your place last night?"
"Oh, not too long," she said. "Couple hours maybe? Maybe three? We watched a movie, no biggie. And he brought me tea, that was really nice of him."
"Yeah," he agreed nonchalantly. "That, uh, that was nice of him. Did you get any sleep?"
"Yeah, I got some. Doesn't make the stress from work any less exhausting, though."
They stepped into the parking lot of Mexicali when he stopped her and pulled her against him. "So listen. Why don't you let me come to your place tonight? I'll make you dinner, maybe bring you some chamomile..."
Winn sighed contently and smiled at him. "That sounds lovely. Except tonight is a late night at work. And I really just planned to go home and crawl in the bed unusually early and sleep. I'm so tired."
"Then I'll lay with you. I'll sing you to sleep."
She searched his eyes for a moment. "Why are you being so sweet?"
"Because I care about you. And I just want you to be happy. Rested. Comfortable."
"I appreciate you. You know I do. And all of that sounds so nice, but--but honestly, I just--I think I want to be alone tonight. You know? I mean, I've just had so much going on--haven't really had a chance to regroup."
Isaac was immediately disappointed. He nearly let what he was thinking fly out of his mouth but he kept his mouth shut. So, what, she can blow them both off last night but then Taylor comes over and she doesn't send him away? But tonight he can't come over? Did she have plans with Taylor she wasn't telling him about?
Instead, he kissed her forehead. "Okay," he said. "But you know you can call me if you need me. I'll be at home tonight."
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Isaac went to lunch with Winn that day. He had no problem talking all about it that afternoon and every word that came out of his mouth agitated Taylor to no end. He wished Winn didn't like Isaac. He wished she hadn't been walking in her office when Isaac saw her that day. He wished she hadn't fallen under his spell just like all the other women tended to do.
When the sun went down and six o'clock rolled around, Taylor made sure to be across the street promptly at closing time. No way was he going to risk another incident happening like the previous night. Not that he could have necessarily stopped it, but he still could have been there.
Taylor was appalled when he saw Winn sitting in her office in the dark with only her desk lamp on. He was even more appalled when he found the office door unlocked. He walked in and locked the door behind him and she smiled at him as he crossed the room and sat at her desk. "Hey," she said, an array of envelopes in front of her. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to ask you the same thing. Why are you here? Alone?"
"I have to stay behind to finish some work."
"Looks like you're stuffing mail."
"Has to be done."
"Now? Tonight? In the dark, alone, just after last night? With an unlocked door?"
"They all just left. I was about to get up and lock the door. Besides, nobody can see me in here anyway."
"I saw you in here." He objected. Then he watched her stuff mail for a moment, her hands working swiftly. "So, uh, you told Ike that you were working late tonight."
"News travels fast."
"Except your staff is gone for the night."
"Wrong. I AM working a late night. Charles and Steph are out chasing and I have to stay in the office in case they catch someone. I should probably be calling accounts right now, but this mail just needs to get done and I'm so exhausted."
"Chase? You mean, like, going to people's houses? At night?"
"Yep. We do night chasing twice a week."
"Sounds dangerous."
"I make them ride together on night chases. It's different during the warmer months. But the goal is to get the office to the point where we don't have to work late nights or weekends at all. Here." She handed Taylor a stack of envelopes and a stack of mail. "Since you're sitting here, you can help me stuff these."
"Uh, okay..."
"Don't be afraid of it, they won't bite you."
Taylor smirked as he slowly began stuffing envelopes. He pretended to be bothered but the truth was, he was more than thrilled that she asked him to help. "Shouldn't your staff do this?"
She smiled as she stuffed her envelopes at triple the speed he did. "Who needs them when you're here?"
"Very funny."
"So," she said after a moment of silence. "What do you have planned this week? Same as always, work, work, work?"
Taylor smiled, his face turning red. "Yes, of course. As always. But, uh, Saturday night I actually have a date."
He glanced up at Winn to see her face. To his surprise, she sat there, tight-lipped and blinking as she concentrated on her mail. "Oh," she said coolly. "Anyone I know?"
He smirked at her as she wouldn't look at him. "Well, you're not from around here, so generally, no."
"Oh."
"But if you must know," he pressed himself, glancing at her as he poorly stuffed the mail she'd given him. "She's a beautiful blonde girl. And she's bringing her two brothers, so. I mean, it's not like we're gonna be alone..."
Winn's eyes flashed into his and then her facial expression changed as her hands dropped onto her desk. "Dammit, Tay, are you talking about Zac's kids?"
Taylor laughed. He couldn't help himself as he nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm watching the kids Saturday night while Zac and Kate go out. You're, uh, you're face there was interesting, though."
She took a deep breath and straightened her spine. "Well, you caught me off guard, that's all."
"Uh-huh."
"So what are you guys gonna get into?"
"Um, actually...there's a small town in the next county that's sort of like a Christmas town? They light up the whole town and tourists come from all over to see them. I take the kids every year. I mean, they go with their parents, too, but I--uh--I kinda like to go, so...I use them?"
A smile crept across Winn's face. Then the smile graduated into a chuckle. "Well, well, well...look at you. Let that nerd flag fly..."
He blushed and he smiled. "There's a reason I'm their favorite uncle, you know."
Her smile softened. "You're the fun one," she guessed.
He shrugged modestly. "I mean, I try. That's what uncles are for, right?"
"So, um, you think you'll need help wrangling those kids?"
Now it was Taylor's turn to be caught off guard. "Help?"
"Well, I mean, I could just come straight out and invite myself but I was trying to be a little more slick about it..."
"You--you want to come along?"
"Tay, come on. Are you seriously surprised?"
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, definitely, if you want to tag along. I mean, if you don't have anything else better to do..."
"I work that morning, but otherwise I'm all yours."
Taylor hated when she said things like that. Especially when she said them in that innocent, passing tone where she had no idea how much those phrases meant to him. Otherwise, Saturday night couldn't come fast enough. Four more days. He was already counting.
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Isaac sat in his apartment with his guitar on his knee and a pad of paper on the arm of the chair. What had started out as aimless strumming actually started turning into something. He had lost himself in it for awhile until he'd checked his phone an hour or so into his creative stupor to find that Winn hadn't returned neither his call or his text.
He sighed and he sat there for a moment. Then he attempted to go back to his guitar but found he could no longer concentrate on it. He would have been more annoyed if he hadn't made sufficient progress already.
Before he could think about his actions, he took his guitar back to his bedroom, put it back on its stand, dropped his car keys into his pocket and headed out his front door. He checked the time as he walked through the parking lot of his building--nearly nine o'clock.
He drove the ten minutes to the lake, pulled into the small, wooded area that her house sat in, and cursed himself at Winn's lack of porch light. Sure, the lights were on in her house, but that didn't excuse her lack of safety precautions.
When she didn't meet him at the door like she normally did, since arriving at her house unannounced was nearly impossible with your vehicle being seen and heard from her living room, he knocked lightly. After he stood there for a minute and she didn't answer, he turned on the flashlight on his cell phone and had a look around. Remembering something she'd said last night, not sure if it was a joke or not, he decided to bend down and lift the mat he was standing on. Sure enough, there was a key, plain as day. He shook his head again. What was it gonna take? Maybe he'd prank her someday to get it through her head...
He took the key and let himself quietly inside her house. Mindlessly, he dropped the spare key into his own pocket and looked around her living room. Everything was quiet despite the TV playing softly. A lamp shone by the couch, the Christmas tree was lit, and soft light came from the kitchen. He started to step into the kitchen to see if she really had gone to bed, when something caught his eye on the other side of the living room.
As he neared her computer desk, he let out a breath and shook his head at the sight. There she was, slumped over in her desk chair, her cheek resting on the wooden desktop above her keyboard, a light snore escaping her nose. He glanced at her computer screen and the small slips of paper along the desk. It was obvious that she had brought her work home with her. He hated to wake her, but she couldn't sleep like this. If he left her there, who knew how long it would be before she woke up?
Figuring out how to maneuver himself, he finally managed to lift her from the chair and carry her into her bedroom, flicking on the bedside lamp as he lay her down. Her eyes opened sleepily and she murmured. "What are you doing? Ike, is that--what are you doing here?"
"Saving you from drowning in a pool of your own drool," he said lightly, attempting a joke.
She murmured incoherently as he removed her clothes slowly and carefully, piece by piece. For once, he got no sexual thrill from this. It felt so weird for him to look at her so innocently this way, but he only had one goal in mind. Looking around, he reached into the nearest drawer he could find, grabbed out a t-shirt, and handed it to her as she now attempted to sit up in the bed, covering herself with the covers. "Here," he said. "Put this on and lay back down."
"Thank you," she whispered as she swept some hair out of her face with her palm and pulled the shirt over her head. And then she snuggled back down in her bed and her eyes were now sleepily open as she watched him crawl over her and settle in beside her. "What are you doing here?" She asked again.
"I came over to check on you," he said as he reached over her and clicked off her light, letting the darkness fill the room. "I'm glad I did, too, because you fell asleep at your computer."
"I do that a lot," she muttered. And then she attempted to get out of bed. "Oh no. I have to finish those letters--"
"Then I'll wake you early tomorrow morning so you can finish them before work," he said as he pulled her back into bed and wrapped his arms around her. "You need to rest. That stuff can wait."
"Are you staying?"
"I can if you want me to."
"You've been so good to me today," she whispered sleepily.
"What can I say, I'm turning over a new leaf."
"So it's all fake, then?"
"No, every single bit of it is absolutely real. Believe it or not, I'm actually quite the gentleman."
He heard her attempt a light laugh as she snuggled herself closer to his chest. "I thought you said you were going to sing me to sleep?"
He smiled into the dark. "What would you like to hear?"
"Sing me something you wrote."
He had no idea what possessed him to pick what he picked, but oddly, it seemed appropriate. Singing softly, not making much of an effort, he began:
"Not so long ago in a toy room not so far away
Lived a boy who had so many toys
And he didn't know what to do with them all
With them all, with them all--"
"I love this one so much," she whispered. "I can't believe you picked it."
"Try not to interrupt, Winifred," he scolded lightly. "You're supposed to be sleeping."
"Sorry."
The truth was, he hoped this worked because he couldn't be confident that he could finish the song successfully. It was a lot of lyrics to a song he quite literally hadn't sung in years. He was impressed with himself that he remembered what little bit he already remembered.
"Well his favorite of all the toys were the tin soldiers, the tin soldiers
And the one that he loved the most was the one with the missing leg
At night the toys would come alive or that's how the story is told--"
"How did you guys dream this song up like that?" She asked.
"That's a story for another day. Go to sleep."
"Okay. Sorry."
"And there they met the soldier with the missing leg
And the ballerina with the heart of gold
At night they would share each other's dreams--"
"I know the next line," Winn said suddenly, a little louder than he expected. "You don't have to finish it."
Isaac furrowed his brow into the dark. "Um, okay..."
He felt her settle back into him after her body had momentarily tensed up. "That soldier sure did love that ballerina, didn't he?"
Then he smiled up into the dark. "Yeah. He did."
"I was a ballerina growing up," she informed him. "All the way up until college. So that song always meant a little something to me."
"Is that so?" He said, his heart suddenly pounding, honestly forgetting the lyrics but remembering how the song played out. Ultimately the soldier got lost along the way, but he came home to the ballerina and an accident involving fire melded them together forever.
And then they were "no longer lonely for a friend."
He shouldn't have come over tonight. Forgetting the lyrics to the rest of the song was probably the best thing that could have happened in that moment.