Free Drift (Lengths) by Steph Campbell, Liz Reinhardt Page B

to shake what she’s got, she will, happily.
    But my sister shocks the hell out of me by shaking her head. “Sorry. Not for me tonight. You should go if you want, Lydia.” She examines her fingernails as she says it, like she’s throwing down a dare.
    Caro clears her throat. “Right. Well, it was so nice meeting you, Mr. Ortiz.”
    “Isaac,” he corrects, catching her hand in his and shaking. “It was nice meeting you both. Congratulations to both of you on your artistic debut.”
    Cece gives a small smile and turns. I look at Isaac, and I feel like I’m in the Sahara and he’s a tall, icy glass of water. Which makes it that much harder to walk away.
    “It was wonderful to see you, but I need to go with my sister.” Not sure what to do to say goodbye, I fall back on the handshake.
    A little bit of a weird formality, considering I was just pawing his half-naked chest.
    He pulls my hand to his mouth, just where it was before we were interrupted. He grips my fingers and drags his lips, soft and warm, over the knuckles, his thumb flicking softly against the inside of my wrist. He pulls my hand back slowly.
    “When will I see you again?”
    “Class,” I choke out.
    “That’s too far away.”
    “I’m not good for your health,” I remind him.
    “I like to live on the edge.” A smile curves over his lips. “I enjoy risk.”
    I stand on my toes and kiss him, softly, just to the side of his lips. I feel like I walked up to the threshold of paradise and took a deep breath of its sweet smell…
    Just before I slammed the door shut forever.
    “But you know I don’t. We went too far tonight, Isaac. I have to go.”
    I walk away from him, telling myself with every step that what feels good isn’t always right, what happens too fast and under the influence of too much champagne is best left alone. I watch him stuff his hands into his pockets and smile at me before I turn around and catch up with Cece and Caro.
    His smile says he knows I’ll be back.
    The scary part is? Whether I like it or not, I have a feeling he’s right.

 
    7  ISAAC
     
    It felt like it would be pretty easy to arrange something else with Lydia. I figured I’d be able to bump into her again on campus. Look her up and find her number so I can call and ask her out.
    I could see if I could worm information out of Samantha or Cece. But Samantha has been little more than hostile since I disappeared with Lydia at the art show. When the group went out dancing, I declined. If she thought her petulant face would change my mind, I’m afraid she doesn’t have any idea how to catch me or any reasonable man for that matter. Nothing turns me off a woman faster than pouting.
    Cece is another story. I consider going to talk to her a thousand times, but I keep delaying. I’m not sure why.
    “Too many women?” Cody asks, throwing a wadded up piece of notebook paper at me. I catch it before it lands in the cup of coffee he just handed me.
    I toss it back. “Just one. And her sister,” I add.
    Cody sputters on his coffee. “Shit, man. Don’t even involve me in that craziness in a secondary way. That’s Biblical amounts of trouble.”
    It’s definitely nice to have Cody around when my mind is cruising around in manic circles, like a rat in a wheel. “Not like that. There’s a girl who’s had me distracted since the second I met her. I can’t seem to get her to agree to a date. And I have no way of getting a hold of her until the next lecture I do. But her sister is in the social sciences department.”
    “What’s her name? I don’t have many friends over there. A little too touchy-feely for me. But I might know.” Cody looks at me over his Tardis cup.
    “I’d so appreciate it. Her name is Cece Rodriguez.”
    This time Cody really does spit his coffee out. “ What? ” he coughs, tossing his mug on the desk and standing up, shaking his head. “Cece Rodriguez ?”
    “Yes.” I narrow my eyes at him. “I met her the other night. She seems