I don't own MR
Cardio had always been a part of Iggy's daily routine. From six in the morning till his phone rang through his headphones, interrupting his song to let him know it was time to head back so he could get ready for class.
The girl with a ponytail longer than her arms was also a part of his routine. He would smirk, she would smile, and they would pass each other at a jog, Iggy trying to fix his breathing so he didn't sound like he had just swam the length of the Atlantic, and that girl breathing in just a little more air than usual to make her chest two sizes bigger than it actually was. They both ran to impress, whether they would have admitted it or not.
A spark fluttered.
The first day Iggy's daily routine malfunctioned was the last day he could stand not looking upon the sweaty body of the girl he wanted more than a degree in law. She didn't pass him, she didn't smile, she didn't breathe too deeply, her ponytail didn't swish through the cool morning breeze; her entire being had vanished. For three days.
Then finally, on the fourth day, the day after Iggy resorted to buying someone out to keep his mind off the girl he didn't even know; that was when she returned.
She still smiled, her ponytail still swished, she still sucked in all the air she could manage; and yet Iggy couldn't bring himself to smirk back. Instead, his legs brought him to a gradual halt, just at the point where they would have passed. The girl, he noticed, got a look in her eyes. They were as golden as a crown, with flecks of chocolate splattered into them; texturizing her into one delicious piece of woman.
She wasn't wary, or confused, or scared; she seemed… determined. Ready for anything, which was just what Iggy wanted her to be. With a flick of his wrist both earbuds dripped towards the ground, his hasty movement of slamming them into his pocket the only thing keeping them from clashing with the ground.
"What's your name?" He asked, taking note of her smooth skin, her long fingers, her red sports bra. If she didn't look good nothing did.
"Lupo." The woman answered, as much pride for her name as she could muster. Iggy peered at the girl- at Lupo- his eyes watching her lips as they opened in their own question. No, he thought. Don't speak. Don't ruin my moment. But she was already halfway through the first syllable and the young man wanted nothing more than to shut her up, and so he did; with a kiss.
The match lit.
Iggy took a deep breath, flattening his tie before yanking it off and throwing it towards the corner of his dorm. Ties and suit jackets didn't suit him. They never had and it seemed that just because he only had thirty minutes left to grab his first date with the girl who smiled at him when they passed each other in the morning didn't mean it would suddenly work.
"Come on Igster, you're suave. Don't do this to yourself," the lawyer in studying muttered to himself, shrugging off his roommate's black jacket before tossing it aside. That left him in a white button up and slacks. He scowled at the disgustingly formal attire.
"Who even is that bastard in the mirror?" Iggy snarled before frantically unbuttoning the shirt and letting it fall to the ground. Furiously, he fumbled with the buckle of his pants before giving up the rubix cube of a belt and just yanking them down. It wasn't like he needed the belt anyways; it just looked nice- something he shouldn't have cared about.
"Well, I guess somebody's going back home to see the parents," Fang, Iggy's roommate, chose that moment to enter, snorting at the black boxer shorts that the boyfriend of the evening was wearing. "I'd suggest more clothes though."
"Haha, you know what Fang, at least my girlfriend isn't afraid to take me home to her parents. I've already skyped with them and everything!"
"Iggy, you've known Lupo for what, three days? You guys aren't even technically a couple yet. And for your information I'm going to see Max's parents tomorrow."
"Which tattoos are you going to tell them about first? The sleeve on your left arm, or the sleeve on your right arm?" Iggy snickered, glad for his friend's distracting presence even as the frustration of twenty minutes and no proper outfit smacked him in the face like a freight train that had randomly zoomed off course.
"Oh, don't even bring that up," Fang groaned, and Iggy took a second to notice a fresh tattoo on Fang's wrist as he turned it to grab his jacket off the floor.
"And the pierced ear? Oh I bet that stud in your nose is going to go over quite well- and those snake bites are absolutely-"
"Don't you have a date to be getting ready for?" Fang acknowledged what Iggy attempted to forget.
"Right, crap. Help me." The flustered 22 year old begged, although Iggy never truly begged, it was more like a command.
"Dark jeans- not the really tight ones you wear to concerts and one-night stands, the nice ones, and a black buttondown.
"So basically Fang is the new date-ready style?" Iggy suggested even as he pulled on the dark jeans he had already put on twice and thrown back off of his pale skin. Uncertainty had to mean he was invested, didn't it? He hoped so because he didn't want to ever have to go through this type of clothes hurricane again.
"Wow, you're so funny, Igster, you could do stand-up."
"I've been told," Iggy smirked, more to himself than to his friend. He needed his mojo on if anything was going to happen tonight. "Now, what about red? Is that too High School?" Iggy asked, that mojo he had been thinking about swindling away as he snatched up the red button-down he had discarded earlier.
"I mean, does human lollipop scream High School?"
"Okay, okay, what about that maroon one you have?" Iggy questioned.
"You mean dark red?" Fang asked hesitantly, unaware of what a 'maroon' was.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Toss it over." The lawyer-to-be demanded as if demanding the answer to a question the witness didn't want to answer.
"Alright, sheesh. I'm your friend not your suspect." Fang reminded, scavenging through a few drawers before pulling just the shirt he was looking for out and tossing it over to Iggy. The strawberry blonde just barely managed to catch it before hurriedly slapping it on.
"Sorry, I just- I turn into a lawyer when I'm nervous."
"I hope your nervous at all you're court cases when you own your own firm then." Fang said, an essential 'Good luck' in his mind.
"Thanks… I think. Okay; gotta go. If I'm not back by midnight throw a party because I obviously scored big time."
"I think I'll be too busy trying to figure out how to conceal all my tattoos to bother," Fang muttered, looking down at his arms as Iggy passed, not bothering to bark out a goodbye. Instead he sprinted through the door and rushed through the dorm's hallways, almost forgetting where the exit was.
"Okay, ten minutes late. That's good. Makes me seem less invested, but not uninterested." Iggy told himself, quietly thinking of everything he planned to say tonight. If he talked too much about himself she'd get annoyed; but if he constantly questioned her he might slip into lawyer mode. I hate first dates, he thought with a sigh as he stepped up onto the front slab of cement that lead into Lupo's apartment and knocked on the door.
Max, of all people, answered. "Oh God," his eyes dropped towards the ground in annoyance. "I went to the wrong room! Why in the hell is this happening to me? I'm cool, I'm smooth, I know how to flirt a girl out of her clothes, and yet somehow I'm on your doorstep." Iggy snarled, finally looking up to one of his old friend's just in time to see his babe of girlfriend standing not too far behind her.
"No, this is Lupo's apartment, I just came over because she needed help picking out a dress for her- No. No way. You're the guy Lupo keeps talking about? Loop. I thought you said he was dreamy!"
"Max, shut up!" Lupo scowled, her arms crossing over her chest as a smirk fell over my features.
"Dreamy, huh? I do have deep blue eyes…" Iggy admitted, more to Lupo than himself. In response to his egotistical ness, Max rolled her eyes, turning to her friend.
"Anyways, I'm going to go calm Fang down before he convinces himself he needs to get his tattoos removed. Iggy," Max turned to him. "If you hurt Lupo, well, it won't end well for you. And after she rips you apart I'm going to help bury your body." The look in his friend's eyes was enough to melt Antarctica into a new ocean.
"Duly noted." Iggy fumbled out before turning back to his date of the night as Max pushed past him. Her dress was a dark blue that was just the right combination of short and strapless to make him go wild. The poor guy was already drooling and he was half-convinced all he had to do was step in and shut the door and then that'd be it.
"I'd close your mouth before something flies into it," Lupo suggested tauntingly, walking up to him in her high-heeled feet. With three inches added on she was just barely at his nose which made him slightly more intimidated than he already was, yet still he pushed down any frightened thoughts he had mustered. He had to be the same confident jerk he always was; girlfriend or not. It was then he remembered to close his jaw.
A flame erupted.
The car ride was always the place Iggy coaxed out everything he wanted to know. It was casual enough, they didn't have to risk looking at one another, the tempt to hold hands was their but not forceful, music dwelled in the background to push away any hints of awkward silence. If he could have he'd have planned the whole date in his car.
"So, how are you this fine evening?" Iggy pondered out loud, the sound of alternative poking holes in the threat of quiet.
"Great actually, since I don't have Max offering to cook for me again," Lupo joked, and the young man managed out a chuckle at that as well.
"Poor Fang has to choke burnt chicken down almost every night." He told her, remembering the night after Fang's first Max-inspired tattoo. He hadn't been dumb enough to get her name on him thankfully, but all the same they had celebrated with one of Max's home cooked death traps. Iggy had thought Fang had been poisoned at first when after he got back to the dorms he immediately begged for forgiveness from God for all of his sins,
"I don't know how the guy's still alive."
"Seriously? You know Fang too?" Iggy questioned, raising an eyebrow. he found it odd that all of his close friends seemed to now Lupo and none of them had thought to introduce him.
"Well yeah, Max has brought him around a few times and he gets all his tattoos from my brother's shop. Kinda hard to not know him."
"You have a brother?" the 22 year old asked, sounding slightly shocked.
"Twin to be exact." Lupo corrected before flipping through all of Iggy's saved stations to look for music that was more her style.
"Huh, didn't know that." He coughed out, suddenly beginning to sweat. He didn't really know anything about Lupo other than she looked hot and she had an arsenal of sarcasm that left him at a loss of words. She could be a psychopath for all he knew. Now he was sweating for a different reason.
"Well you're more of the kiss first, find about her twin brother later type of guy," Lupo pointed out, and quietly Iggy let out a breath. He wasn't sure what was wrong but he figured he'd fix it before they got to the fancy restaurant he was spending way too much money on.
"So, what other twin brothers have you not told me about?" Iggy joked lightly, hoping a little laughter would calm his nerves.
The restaurant wasn't Iggy's scene at all. There was lighting shadier than his gambling techniques, corners darker than the wine in his glass, and old people who held their noses higher than he used to get before Fang dragged him out of his drug addiction.
"You seem uncomfortable," Lupo noted, throwing out Iggy's insecurities like a white flag.
"You seem blunt." Iggy deadpanned before taking a swig of his wine. At first holding the glass was awkward as he tried to figure out how to get a hold on it, until Lupo gently rested her hand around his, fixing it so he wouldn't drop the liquid all over Fang's shirt.
"I am. Haven't you noticed?"
"Not when you wear that strawberry flavored lipgloss." Silence overwhelmed them as Iggy let one hand fall under the table, letting his fingers brush against his phone. The plastic called out to him, promising a quick getaway, but Lupo was his girlfriend, he couldn't just leave her with no ride.
"Iggy, you obviously don't want to be here." The young woman sighed, waiting for him to forget about his pride so they could go somewhere else.
"Well I spent five hundred dollars on reservations so not only are we eating here, we're also going to have sex in the bathroom while we're at it." He did not. Just say. That. Mortified didn't even begin to start with how he felt as the words left his mouth. He was used to saying things like that to girls; that was his pick-up line. It always worked and he didn't have a self-conscience bone in his body. Until she came into the picture. Lupo. The girl who smiled when they passed on their morning runs. He figured she'd walk out right then. Lupo was not the type to be bossed around like that.
Which is why he found it so shocking to hear her laughter fill the room. A few couples glanced over as if laughing was the new poor and one man even made a nasty comment Iggy managed to catch but he didn't bother to retaliate because he was too confused.
"That is the first thing I've heard you say all night, you know it?" Lupo finally spoke as her laughter faded, not at all clearing anything up for the poor, uneducated college student.
"What do you mean? I've been talking." Iggy said, wondering if he had bored her into forgetting his existence.
"No, your nerves have been talking. That, what you just said, that was you, Iggy, and I'd prefer it if you didn't act so nervous. We're already a couple so it's not like this is going to change anything."
"Geez, I hope not." Iggy mumbled, more to himself.
"What do you say we get out of here, I take off these heels cause they're killing my feet, and we head off to somewhere a little more… fun?" Lupo suggested, and the 22 year old found himself smirking at the prospect.
"Or I can just…" Iggy stood to his full height, and his girlfriend watched him, raising an eyebrow as she began to stand up as well, just in time for Iggy to scoop her up in his arms. "Carry you to somewhere more fun," he finished, and was elated to see that cute smile Lupo had fall over her face. All at once his anxiety dissipated along with his attempt to be something more sophisticated than he actually was. It might have only been a three day relationship, but it was enough for the both of them to know that: special didn't even begin to describe each other.
A fire spread.
"So I'm in the tattoo shop, Fang's glaring at me like I'm the one needle-pointing his skin, and all the sudden Cassandra, the blonde chick with the rocking b-... blouse asks me where I'm getting my tat, and I'm smooth talking thinking that's some sort of pick-up line and before I know it I'm in more pain than Fang was when Max told him her dad wanted to meet him." Iggy finished off his story, sliding one leg towards his torso and slinging his arm around it as he glanced out over the lake from the cliff they were sitting on.
"So, let's see it." Lupo said, not missing a beat, which left her boyfriend stuttering. Of course, eventually she'd see him shirtless so it wasn't like he could hide the permanent ink on his back forever, but at the same time he didn't want to have to explain the meaning. "Well? Come on. I've seen some bad tattoos, it can't be as horrible as you think it is."
"Well It's not horrible per say, it's just kind of, dark I guess." Iggy muttered before relenting to Lupo's questioning gaze and unbuttoning his shirt, shrugging it off and setting it aside before turning his back towards her.
Quietly, he thought of the tribal styled phoenix that covered most of his back, and of the cracking black eyes he had asked for especially, a reminder of the darkest point of his life that he never wanted to return to.
Vaguely, he remembered Fang telling him that tattoos weren't supposed to be a quick idea, but something with heart, with meaning. Something that held him accountable. He remembered how his friend had ate, slept, and dreamt his first tattoo for a whole two years before he finally got inked, and somewhere in the mix Iggy had a little phoenix fluttering around in his mind waiting to fly out.
"It's really cool." Lupo spoke, her voice in slight awe. "Why'd you get it?" She asked, just like he expected. She wasn't one to push if Iggy didn't offer, but at the same time he figured Lupo had the right to know.
"You name it; I smoked it." The young man blew out, focusing on the lake below them; on the waves bubbling up before falling under to repeat themselves; on the little fish that hopped out from just below the surface; on the branches swimming through the water for a final resting place; on anything but the subject.
For a long time Lupo didn't respond, and Iggy felt compelled to elaborate. "High school did some bad things to me. I got caught up in my status and yes was the only thing I could say. Could've been valedictorian, but I just had to skip studying to get high. Phoenix's rise from their ashes, right? I thought it was fitting considering I was nothing but ash when Fang met me and helped get me clean."
More silence. More seconds lost; more thoughts gained. Iggy wasn't sure whether to turn around and see Lupo judging him, or wait for her to walk away. Most girls did. Once a druggie, always a druggie. At least, that's what they all said before they left.
"You must be one of the strongest people I've ever met," Lupo finally said something, resting her chin on his bare shoulder and wrapping her arms around his waist.
"How so?" The 22 year old pondered, leaning back against the girl he had convinced himself we was in love with.
"I would have never been able to get clean, especially if its anything like how everyone describes it. I wouldn't have been strong enough," Lupo whispered, her mouth right next to Iggy's ear and yet the words still felt foggy. There wasn't anything strong about knocking the word 'no' out of your vocabulary, but the way she looked at him made him want to forget about everything he had done wrong.
He just wanted to be right. For her.
Iggy's head tilted to look into Lupo's eyes that swirled with more honesty than anyone could ever offer him. She smiled; and if it wasn't enough to melt him into the type of guy he'd never been before then nothing would be.
Slowly, he turned so they faced each other, before leaning forward so their foreheads pressed against one another's. They both wanted to say something but any single word could immediately blow out the flame that had raged within the two into a wildfire.
Instinctively, with the type of desperation most dying people felt, Iggy pressed his lips against Lupo's in a kiss he never wanted to end. It was like the first day he met her all over again, from the way their bodies fit together, to the way Lupo's fingers caught in his hair and their teeth smacked together in their deep hunger for one another. Everything was perfect in that moment, and yet so undeniable far from what he wanted to do.
Something tugged at Iggy's gut, and before he knew what was going on he was struggling to figure out how Lupo's dress unzipped- or if it even unzipped at all for that matter. How did it go on- how could he possibly get it off?
"Zipper's on the side," Lupo mumbled into their heated kiss, and Iggy would have thanked her had his hands not been busy trying to figure out which side. When he finally caught a hold on the metallic piece as blue as the dress however, something slapped him across the face like a neon sign under a blacklight
He couldn't do this. Not here, not now, not with a girl who he thought he loved. "Wait," Iggy mumbled, pulling away from her insistent kisses. He didn't blame her when she got that look in her eyes every girl did when the guy stopped. After all it wasn't every day the initiator called a quits.
"Did I…" Lupo trailed off, looking down at her lap, and Iggy shook his head quickly.
"What, no? I just… this feels wrong."
"Oh."
"Not that type of wrong!" The flustered man rushed out, his hands motioning wildly before he ran them through his hair in agitation. How did he put it? "I just, well, I think I love you, Lupo, and I don't want to jump into this like I would with someone I didn't love."
The young woman peeked up behind her eyelashes at her boyfriend who sat in front of her, a twinkle in his eyes she hadn't seen in the whole 72 hours she'd known him. The raging inferno within both of them began to dim into a mild flame as they stared at one another, catching their breath and letting Iggy's words sink in.
"You love me?" Lupo parroted, and Iggy nodded once.
"That is the only solution to spending three hours picking out my outfit." Although his words were lighthearted the meaning behind them wasn't, and if it was possible for heart's to flutter, Lupo's would have in that moment.
"I think I love you, too." She finally breathed out, words that didn't feel important enough sliding off her tongue.
"Then let's do this right. Let's start with just a kiss." Iggy decided, and they did.
Part 1 of your 3 part Valentine's Day Extravaganza brought to you by yours truly to help deflect from our single lives. (Yes I will read this back and cry because I don't have a boyfriend) This one- well the ending anyways- is loosely based off of Just a Kiss by Lady Antebellum.
Part 2 will be up tomorrow and part 3 is the Fugitives Wedding so Yay!
Review if I should do more oneshots the length of the Eiffel Tower.
Stay Majestic
VR