Having lunch with his mothers was nothing new for Zander, but inviting someone who wasn’t Sienna to them was a completely different beast. And while he had good intentions behind the invitation he knew he was only opening himself up to two inevitable outcomes: 1) the potential wrath of Sienna for not having been invited that time—although he wasn’t too worried about that, she spent so much time with that Dawson kid anyway it was only fair that he spent time with others—and 2) the questions that his mothers were going to bestow upon him for inviting someone else. But the lunches were always an open invitation and there was nothing wrong with change every once in a while. And no one could resist the offer of free food when it stood up against their dining hall food.
He waited outsize of Izzy’s dorm complex with his hands loosely shoved in his pockets. It was more of a deterrent than anything, if his hands were free for too long he would eventually find something to do with it. It usually resulted in him being in the school’s art studio for too long as time passed by him and he didn’t want to miss spending time with Izzy. It was one thing spending time with her during a school setting where they would talk if they ran into one another by chance and it was a completely different thing to spend time with her without the safety confines of school surrounding them.
So, to stop his twitching hands and to pass a bit of time, he lit a cigarette and held it between his lips as he took in the sights and sounds that Santa Monica offered him. But all that became blocked out and muted when Izzy finally came to join him. She seemed to have that magnetizing affect on him: his attention became hers and hers alone.
“I apologize that this is a bit last minute, me asking you, but I thought that it would be a good chance to get off campus and so we could have the opportunity to get to know one another better,” he spoke up almost immediately, pushing himself away from the wall of which he had been leaning against. He removed the cigarette from his mouth, dropped it, and stomped on the tip with his shoe. An easygoing smile appeared on his face as he continued, “I hope you do not mind kids, as my little brother is staying with my parents for the time being as we…navigate through some difficulties. He is well behaved, I promise, but he is a bit touchy with new people. If he does not warm up to you in time please do not take it personally.”
He looked out at the street and added, “It is not too far of a walk from here, if you do not mind taking the longer scenic route. My mother has no issue coming to pick us up if you would rather that. Whichever you are more comfortable with.”
Izzy had always been a calm being. Granted it was more prevalent after moving to America but it was still the same. She rarely stressed and when she did, it tended to be confined to herself. Taking her moods out on others never had been something she ever enjoyed doing, even in the heat of the moment. But it was this serene existence that she knew drew people to her as it had been commented on multiple times.
Descending from her door, Izzy put on her sunglasses to avoid the glare from the bright afternoon sun. Her eyes focused down onto Zander and she grinned both internally and externally. The time they had spent together was brief but she enjoyed each moment of it. It was nice to finally be able to have a specific plan in place, even though she did enjoy a good spontaneous adventure now and then. While she should probably feel some sort of panic at meeting his mothers, Izzy didn’t presume anything of it and was excited to meet those important to him.
Stepping down, she was once more looking up at him. “Walking’s fine.” She shrugged and tucked her keys and phone into her pocket. She never was one for purses or bags, always preferring to have her hands and arms free. “So is your brother, what’s his name?”
