Getting ready to go out with Izzy was fun. We'd been staying in and doing movie nights in the evenings, and spending all day together outside, so it was the first real dinner we'd gone out to since the very first night we went out. Even better, this time we'd be getting dressed up to look nice!

We didn't need to get crazy. First because Erin was coming from work, and second because while we did have all of Izzy's clothes, she didn't have anything to really wear that was fancy. She seemed embarrassed about that at first until I pulled her into a hug.

"Izzy, don't worry, okay? Jeremy deprived you of a lot. We can go shopping this weekend for whatever you need," I assured her. "Besides, you look great in everything, so we can both go in jeans and cute tops."

She leaned in and kissed my throat. "I want to see you in a dress though."

"You do, huh?" I looked down at her and she had a mischievous glint in her eye.

"I may have been drawn to you because of other things, but that doesn't mean I won't want to see your beauty shown off in a dress," she admitted. "But I'm bringing a stun gun in case anyone tries to grab my girl!"

"We both are!" I agreed. "Nobody is stealing mine either, and I don't trust Max!"

"Nobody is stealing me! I look like a kid, and I haven't got new clothes since I stopped growing freshman year!" she pouted. "Most of mine are pretty worn out."

I quickly kissed the pout off her lips and that got a smile in return. "You don't look like a kid! You're a delectable bite-sized young woman! As for clothes, we'll take care of that."

I felt her arms snake around me, resting right above my ass. "Delectable, huh?"

"Very much so. Every time I see you, I want to eat you up!" I teased.

Her hands moved down, gently cupping my cheeks before she gave them a quick squeeze that made me jump. "So, what's stopping you? Or do I need to make the first move?"

My body didn't know how to react to that. My heart was fluttering all over and my belly had a sudden surge of heat flow through it while my brain tried to calm them both down. I'd been so cognizant of taking things slow, that I never thought to wonder how fast or slow she wanted to go. "Izzy, do you really want more? I thought we were going to take things slow because I didn't want anyone hurt."

"You won't hurt me," she said in a quiet voice. "I know you won't. I was thinking about it after we talked to Georgia, and I know we're moving fast, and I know I have no experience. But. I can't stop wanting to do things with you. To you. I want to be with you." She couldn't even look at me right now, but I could hear her plain as day.

I sat down on the bed, then pulled her into my lap. "Izzy, why do you want to be with me right now?" She looked at me in confusion, as though she didn't understand the question. "I mean, I thought the conversation with Georgia cemented why we should be together and dating and moving forward, but why did you think that means we should start being physical?"

She hung her head, tears leaking from her eyes. "I'm sorry! I was so scared. I know when Max left you were shaken up, but I was terrified. I was hugging you as much for me as I was for you. We both could have died with Jeremy, and now Max is back, and I want to experience everything with you if we're going to die. I don't want to lose you. I want to be with you in every way possible."

My heart melted a little at that, and I lay back on the bed, pulling her with me. "Izzy, I want to be with you too. I want to do so much with you! But not because of Max. I want to do it because we're sure it is the right time and that our relationship is ready for us to take that jump. Because when we're ready we might not stop for a few days!"

She looked over at me with a snicker at that. "A few days, huh?"

"Yes! A few days! But I don't want Max to dictate our life. Tonight, we're going to go help Erin. Tomorrow, we're going to go shopping for a bunch of stuff. Date clothes for both of us, new self-defense stuff from the lady I bought the other stuff from, and maybe even a new car in case Max is on the lookout for the one I already have."

"And maybe soon we'll be ready?"

"Yeah, maybe soon. I think we'll both know," I assured her. "Then we'll both be ready."

"If Max wasn't near us, what do you think we would be up to?"

"I don't think there would be a big difference in our relationship. I'd still want to be with you, but we'd be less scared obviously."

"I know you said you didn't want to rush things because of him. But promise me that we don't avoid it because of him too? I may be moving a little too fast, but I know that I really want to. I know you're who I want to be with," she mentioned while wiping away her tears.

I thought about that for a moment and wondered if she was right. No, we hadn't been dating for long, but we were obviously good for each other, and a lot of feelings were already involved. We'd slept wrapped up in each other's arms every night since I went back to the office, and I know I was turned on by her several times already just today. "Max won't stop us; we'll be together soon. I think you're right. We're almost ready."

"Speaking of being ready, we better head towards Erin's group soon. I wanna see that Billie woman!" Izzy exclaimed. "She better be damned hot if she keeps waking us up!"

It turns out she was very hot indeed.

Izzy and I got to the restaurant a little after Erin's group, and we grabbed the last two chairs. Erin was sitting across from the woman that she called Billie, who was a woman that looked to be in her early 30s, with a power skirt suit and a glint in her eye when I sat next to Erin. Izzy sat next to Billie, and quickly introduced herself, while I chatted up Erin, asking her how her day was.

"So, all of you work together?" I asked Billie.

"Yes. It always seems nice to get out as a group, it brings the team closer together." She answered with a tight smile.

"The others seem pretty wrapped up in their own stuff." Izzy pointed out. Indeed, the other end of the table was half a dozen men preening and flirting with a bleached blonde girl who seemed oblivious to their advances.

"They're like that every week." Erin said with a giggle.

"Well at least the two of you have each other to talk to then!" I pointed out.

"Excuse me, I need to use the ladies room." Billie said while blushing. "I'll be back shortly."

I let her get halfway there before turning to Erin. "Erin, you don't need us. She only does this team building thing as an excuse to be with you. It's like this every week, right? You two talk while they all flirt?"

She thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "You're right! Usually, we just hang out and talk all night while they drink and flirt!"

"I'm going to go talk to her. But I can already tell that she's very into you," I promised.

"Yeah, she is. You could tell as soon as we sat down that she was upset because she wanted to be alone with you," Izzy added.

I walked quickly to the lady's room, walking in to find Billie splashing some water on her face. She looked up at me in surprise before blotting her face. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude or make assumptions, but you should just tell Erin what you're feeling. The others on your team may be oblivious, but she's very into you to the point where she asked me and my girlfriend to help her out with you tonight. Obviously, she doesn't need the help since you like her too, but you should tell her so she isn't waiting on you forever."

"The other girl is with you?" she asked.

"Izzy, yeah. She's my girl. Erin is my roommate, and unless she knows another Billie, you're the one she's thinking about.l at night. Don't make the girl wait when you both want the same thing."

"I hoped that was it," Billie said breathlessly. "But last time it was a girl just trying to sleep her way to the top."

"Erin isn't like that. She's kind and sweet. So be nice, but just say something to her."

"I think I might need to take her out right now then!"

"Then go get her!"

By the time I got back to the table, Billie and Erin were already out the door and walking towards a car. I might be wrong, but there was a chance that different people might hear the Billie alarm clock in the morning.