Chapter Eight: Wedding Daze!
"It looks stupid! I'd be better off wearing a mask!" Leo groaned and grabbed a tissue as Izzy pulled his hand away and took it off him. Amanda rummaged through her make-up box and muttered to herself.
"Hang on, let's not give up hope yet! Anyway I don't get why you need to put on foundation in the first place!" Leo gave her a stunned look.
"Do you want your wedding photos to look like something out of Hammer House of Horror???" Amanda slapped the back of his head as Izzy started brushing more powder on his face.
"Leo don't talk such rubbish! Mand, hand me that slightly darker one there, thanks." Izzy took another small box of powder from Amanda and began to rub it over Leo's scars with her index finger. It took her all of five minutes and it had made a difference. He almost looked back to normal. Izzy frowned and squeezed his shoulder, "I'm sorry Leo, but I prefer you Hammer House of Horror to American daytime soap opera!" Amanda let out a hearty laugh as Charlie keeked his head round Izzy's bedroom door."How's it going?" Amanda swatted him away as Izzy sat on Leo's knee and wrapped her arms around his neck, she pressed her nose to his and sighed.
"So who's your plus one?" Leo smirked and replied,
"Ohhhh I don't know! I was thinking of asking that cute waitress from the coffee shop if she'd like to accompany me. Do you think she'll take pity on me and say yes?" Izzy kissed him on the lips, sucking the breath out of him.
"Nah! You wear make-up! It's definitely a no no!" she laughed and kissed him again.
"You two give it a rest!" Amanda gagged, and left them to join Charlie downstairs.
"I'm looking forward to dancing with the head bridesmaid!" Leo smiled.
"Really? Well I have to warn you...I've got two left feet!" Izzy pouted and tapped his nose with her finger playfully.
"I don't care, I just want to have you in my arms." Izzy kissed him again but this time it was softer and lingered. The wedding was in two weeks and Leo was still wondering if this was all a dream with Isabel Henderson. After Makayla disfigured him he never thought he would ever find someone who could love him the way he was, but Izzy wasn't just someone...she was THE one!
Tara Hardy was packing away her son's shopping for the week and trying to look happy for him as he babbled on about the wedding and how well he and the bridesmaid were getting along, that Izzy girl! Tara liked her, more than any of Leo's previous girlfriends, but she was secretly liking him depending on her more over the past year or so. Once he and this Izzy got serious, he wouldn't need his old mum any more. She wished that she could be nice to the girl, it wasn't her fault and she was a genuinely nice person but she was replacing her in Leo's life. "Mum?" Leo waved a hand in front of her face. "Earth to Tara?" Tara shook her head and let out a small laugh.
"Oh, sorry, what is it?"
"I was just saying that there's plenty of room here for me and Izzy if I was going to, you know, ask her to move in." Tara's breath caught in her throat and she gasped. "Mum?" Leo gave her a concerned look.
"You barely know her!" She managed to reply.
"Um, I've known her for long enough!" He looked offended by her response.
"Leo she's a child!"
"She's 22!"
"And you're 37!" Leo shook his head and his face was contorted with rage.
"What the fuck has that got to do with it???" He yelled at her and she took a step back in surprise. "Just admit it, you've never given her a chance because you're jealous! You see this going somewhere, you see we have a future unlike my past relationships! You see how serious we are and you're thinking of yourself and how it's going to affect YOU!!!"
"Leo?" She reached her hands out to him but he shrugged her off and stomped off upstairs. "LEO!!!" She began to weep as his words sunk in, he was right, and it made her feel guilty for holding him back. But in the back of her mind, the fact that she was so young worried her.
Izzy stroked Leo's hair and tried to make eye contact with him as she lay in his arms on her bed. "Talk to me!" She mumbled and wrapped a strand of his brown hair around her finger. Leo's sigh was an indication that this was a quiet time and he didn't want to talk, just to hold her, so she gave up trying to pry the truth out of him and snuggled in. After a long silence, Izzy could stand it no more and sat up, eyeballing him until he cracked. "Leo please tell me what's wrong!" She demanded and he took hold of her face in his hands and leaned in to kiss her. He managed to distract her for all of two minutes until she pulled away and scowled at him. "No! Stop avoiding me! Tell me!" Leo took a deep breath and sat up straight, looking her in the eyes.
"My mum's jealous of you!" Izzy's face was awash with relief as she smiled and pressed her forehead to his.
"Right, well, that's understandable. You're her only son, her only child and you've needed her since the...and now I'm here and she's feeling out of place. Leo what did you say to upset her this time?" Leo looked slightly insulted by her accusation but he answered her flatly.
"I told her that I was thinking about asking you to move in with me!" He shrugged as she laughed and smacked him on the chest with the palm of her hand.
"Oh Leo! Why would you say that? That's cruel! Like we're going to move in together my goodness!" Leo's veins turned to ice and he couldn't look at her. He finally managed to say,
"Is it the age thing?" Izzy looked shocked at his question.
"What are you talking about?"
"You know, there's quite a gap between Amanda and Charlie, ten years and even more between us..." He didn't get to finish before she leapt off the bed and towered over him with her hands on her hips.
"Leo! I've never thought about it, and that's the truth! Yes I knew you were old school friends with Chaz and I know his age but...no Leo! That's not it at all! It's the fact that I'm in the middle of my degree and I'm trying to get back on track with my studies and I have my sister's wedding and everything is so messed up right now! But you're the only thing in my life that's not messed up, and I want it to stay that way...for now!" Leo was looking down at the carpet, looking sad. "Please baby don't take that as rejection! It's so not! I would LOVE to move in with you and play house but I'm not in the right place yet, when I am then I will! I love you Leo, and when I'm not with you it's like I have this hole inside me that can only be filled when you're around. Leo? Please don't be angry or upset with me because I couldn't bear it!!!" She began to cry and he shot ip from the bed and wrapped his arms around her, breathing her in as she shuddered in his arms. He couldn't help but smile, she called him baby...and she said she loved him!
"You love me, eh baby?" He chuckled and she pulled out of his grip and slapped his chest again.
"Don't be a dick Leo!" She wiped her eyes and laughed softly.
Leo looked in the mirror and examined his made up face. It looked almost perfect and it wasn't that obvious he was wearing make-up. Charlie was hunched over, hands clamped on his knees, taking in deep breaths. "I.Am.Going.To.Puke!!!" He muttered between his legs as Leo smirked and played with his tie.
"No you're not! Man up Morton!" Charlie stood up straight, very slowly, and tried to arrange his floppy brown hair on top of his head. It was always so independent with a life of its own. Leo took a good look at his best friend, all 6ft 2ins of him. Tall, chunky and sturdy, brown hair and bluey grey eyes. He was ruggedly handsome with an impish smile that melted the girls hearts. Leo was always the pretty boy who Charlie had to compete with to win all the girls over at school, but he could hold his own being the joker of the class.
"What are you gawping at???" Charlie demanded as Leo smiled.
"My best friend! And I love him!"
"Poof!" Charlie laughed nervously and checked his watch. "Right, showtime!"
Standing at the altar, waiting for Amanda and Izzy, Leo felt a little nervous himself. He'd not seen Izzy's dress yet and he was excited about it. He knew she was going to be beautiful, she'd told him she was wearing contacts today and he'd not really seen her without her glasses. "Mate I'm like so fucking terrified right now!" Charlie whispered and wrung his hands together.
"Easy big guy, Amanda is coming to marry you! You lucky git!" Leo patted him on the shoulder and then patted his own breast pocket to check for the rings. As he did so he caught his mother's eye a couple of rows back on the groom's side. She nodded and smiled but he looked away from her, he hadn't quite forgiven her for the fight they had over Izzy moving in. In fact he'd told her to stay away from him for a while, and he could see how much it was hurting her. Suddenly the organ began and it was time. Izzy appeared in a long, silk lilac strapless gown, her strawberry blonde hair fell down her back effortlessly and her blue yes glinted as she walked. He could see them perfectly without the glare of her glasses, and she took his breath away! Behind her Amanda was walking with their father, but Leo wasn't too interested in her or what she was wearing, Izzy was his belle of this ball. When they reached the altar and Charlie looked like he was catching flies, Leo leaned over to Izzy as she took Amanda's bouquet and whispered "You are so beautiful!" Izzy blushed and took her place to the left of her sister, but the smile on her face made Leo smile too, he'd done that. He'd given her a compliment and she was grinning from ear to ear. All through the ceremony, stolen glances between them made his heart race and his palms sweat so much that when it came to handing over the rings, they almost slipped out of his grip! And when Charlie and Amanda were finally declared husband and wife, Leo and Izzy linked arms behind the bride and groom and marched out of the church together. Izzy whispered in his ear,
"You're beautiful too mister! Best looking dude here!" Leo stifled a giggle and squeezed her hand affectionately.
Leo did get his dance with his beloved Isabel, and she had lied, she didn't have two left feet at all! In fact they danced all night together until Tara tapped Izzy on the shoulder and smiled nervously, "Mind if I have a moment with my son?"
"Sure!" Izzy smiled back, more genuinely and broadly than his mother, and left them to it. Leo reluctantly danced with her but he was still angry with her.
"I'm sorry!" She wept and lay her head on his chest, "Please Leo, you're all I have in this world! If you want to move her in then do it! Don't hold back! You have something..." She looked up into his eyes, "...I had what you have once. Your father..." She never talked about him, Leo knew nothing about his father, only that he had died before he was born. Why was she mentioning him now? "...he was my one and only. We were going to get married, you were on the way and..." Tears ran down Tara's face as she looked off into the distance, "...I suppose we were young and the pressure was too much or...I don't know but we fought and he stormed out and I never saw him again! The police came round to my house the next morning, told your gran he'd been driving too fast and crashed into a tree, he never stood a chance!" She hugged him tightly, "Only comfort I get is that it was quick, he didn't suffer!" Leo struggled to speak, he felt numb and his legs were so heavy he could hardly move them.
"Why are you just telling me this now? All these years I asked about him and you just said he was in heaven! You refused to talk about it! Why now mum???" Tara let go of him and fussed over his suit, smiling sadly.
"You look so handsome today my darling boy. I'm so proud of you! You remind me of your dad!" Leo felt the anger begin to rise as his mother once again avoided his questions like she always did.
"Mum!" Tara simply smiled and looked him up and down with pride.
"If you and Izzy want to live together, then go ahead. I'm always a phone call away, if you ever need me!" She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, spun around and disappeared into the crowd of guests. Izzy joined him as he stood, glued to the spot.
"Everything okay?" Leo nodded and pulled her in for a hug. "Well good, because mum and dad want to have speaks with you!" She grabbed his hand and led him over to the head table.
All in all it had been a successful day, Charlie and Amanda were now married and heading off to Paris for their honeymoon. Leo had had a good, proper chat with Izzy's parents and they luckily approved of him despite having met him on a few occasions before at their home, this was a good talk for clearing anything up. Izzy had a little surprise for him, she'd booked a room in the hotel where the wedding reception had been held. Leo was nervous all of a sudden, "But I haven't got a change of clothes or anything!" He spluttered as Izzy produced a small hold all that she'd taken from his house.
"Trust me!" She smiled and kissed him swiftly on the cheek. The room was amazing, everything you could possibly need.
"This looks expensive!" He scolded her as she shrugged and swayed from side to side, her dress clung perfectly to her voluptuous hips as she did so.
"Bridal suite but who cares! Chaz and Mand didn't want it so..." She pulled him towards her and wrapped her arms around his neck, "...here we don't get any interruptions! Your mother won't stop by unannounced, my parents won't come in to see if we want more tea! Just us! And what shall we do alone?" She winked and stopped any words from forming as she crushed his mouth with her own. Leo almost got lost in it but came to his senses and gently pulled away from her.
"Isabel..."
"What's wrong?" She pouted.
"I...just a bit of a surprise that's all." Izzy grabbed his hand and led him into the enormous bathroom.
"Let's have a bath, wash that muck off your face and..." She gave him a naughty grin and winked, "...I'll scrub your back and you can scrub mine!" Leo stopped dead and his hand slipped from her grip, she turned to see the look of sheer horror on his face and her eyes filled up with tears. "Leo, don't you want me?" He managed to wipe a tear from her cheek and whispered,
"You have no idea!"
"Then what's the problem? I'm not a virgin, I have done this before! Only this time it will be magical because I'm with you!" Her big blue eyes pleaded with him as he almost gave in. He wanted her, of course he did, but he'd never been with a woman since Makayla...since before she attacked him! He'd never been someone's lover with THIS face! Not that it should have made a difference, but for some reason for him it did! "Leo?"
"I...want you to be patient with me. Take things slowly! Can you do that for me?" Izzy laughed softly and took his hands in hers.
"Isn't it supposed to be geeky little me who's all bashful with the hot male model? Not the other way around?" Leo pulled her close and held her tightly, pressing his heavily made up cheek to hers.
"I'm not a hot male model any more Iz. I'm your freak remember?" Izzy nuzzled into his chest and mumbled,
"My beautiful freak! You will always be hot to me, and right now I want you even hotter in that bath with me!" She ordered and took him by the hand towards the tub, he gave in, she took the lead and he let her.
To be continued...
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