god is a woman

.

To be honest, Harper wasn’t exactly sure why her middle school yearbook was here. Her dad took over the yearbook storage duties when she went to college. Plus, she hated everything about middle school so why she would hold onto it, she didn’t know. Making a mental note of where in the house it was to inspect further, and then quickly burn the evidence of her tragic hair, amused eyes fell back onto Izzy. “God the split ends were so bad. I’m honestly so surprised I have any hair left after how many products my mother put in it.” Scoffing a bit, she picks up a box. “I wish mine didn’t exist. Some things you don’t need to remember forever y’know?”

❀

Izzy wishes she could say that she wished they didn’t exist. While no one should see the phases of Izzy that were before she understood makeup or why blue roll-on eyeshadow wasn’t for everyone. However, the fact is that she wishes that she didn’t have an estranged family that definitely wanted nothing more than to not think of her or the decisions she would make a few years after middle school graduation. But she also kind of hates them for that too. “Mine was mainly just trying to have scrunchy hair and then stick straight hair and then curled all within like five minutes or something,” she explains. Products weren’t always available to Izzy, unless she stole them from her older sister or mother. And even then, they weren’t exactly using heat protection. “Oh yeah, of course I know. I mean, you met Ethan. And high as fuck Izzy,” she smirks. Maybe she shouldn’t brush off those issues like she does but it’s her only means of survival sometimes.

The thought of Izzy hanging around Wyatt’s apartment long enough to develop some kind of disease is enough to make her mouth turn involuntarily, a grimace crossing her features despite the fact that she’s actually trying to keep things pleasant. Reina clears her throat, shifting uncomfortably as she forces the smile back on her features while Izzy drones on about the clubhouse and a housewarming party they’re throwing. “He didn’t,” she tells hers, keeping her tone light even if she’s annoyed to hear yet another thing from Izzy that she should’ve heard from Wyatt. “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you? Next I’ll be hearing that the two of you are getting married from your mouth instead of his.” As soon as the words leave her lips Reina immediately regrets it and her face turns sour once again as she shoots a glare in Izzy’s direction. “That was a joke.”

❀

Izzy knows it’s never going to be easy with Reina. The best she could hope for was the woman tolerating her. She’d been someone that Reina came to see at the Spa and somewhere in her head that made her think that if she was seeing Wyatt that Reina wouldn’t hate her completely. However, the older woman had made herself perfectly clear that Izzy wasn’t exactly welcome. “We haven’t sent the invites or anything yet. I’m sure he was probably waiting for that,” she says, wishing that she had bit her tongue prior to saying anything to Reina. But her big mouth seems to not care about the foot inside of it. She laughs at the idea of Wyatt and her marriage— something she’s sure they’re not looking to do anytime soon. “I think we’d both be surprised about that. — But I don’t know if Wyatt and I are marriage types or whatever. We got the house and now I think it’s just us focusing on making it like home. We’ll stick to the housewarming party.”

–

Calloused hands lightly gripped the metal bar overhead as Sawyer hung suspended, clenching his core and raising his legs, rep after rep. After booking fight after fight to throw himself into and hopefully score some decent cash from, he’d been doing well to stick to his training regimen, even if his body hated him for it. But this was the sort of work his soul craved. Over the years, his fights had become a way of life for him and prepping for them was just another part of his routine. A familiar taunt pulled him from his thoughts and he grinned wide once he broke free of his tunnel vision and spotted Izzy coming into view. “Y'know me— I aim to please,” Sawyer greeted as he dropped back down to the ground with a soft huff. Carding a hand through his hair, he barked out a warm laugh and shrugged his shoulders, "Guess it’s just your lucky day then.” Catching her question about Remi, the biker flashed a crooked grin, “Nah, she won’t train with me,” Sawyer laughed, head knocking in a brief shake as he reached down into his bag for a roll of tape for his hands. He waved it at Izzy before tossing it her way, “Ya mind tapin’ me up?”

❀

Obviously, Izzy isn’t blind and nor is she going to ignore the man’s glorious appearance. Once upon a time, when she was a little more single, there would’ve been something more for her to say but instead she bites down on her bottom lip and shakes her head. “I’m sure,” she smirks to herself, grin bursting through. “I should send her pictures. Get a little sweat shot, maybe some shots of your arms looking incredible and then she’ll come and train. If she didn’t, she’d be the stupidest woman alive. At least like just walk on the treadmill, you know what I mean?” Izzy fumbles the catch but eventually bobbles the tape in her hands. “Okay, as long as you promise you’re not going to throw shit at me anymore. I am not like some sports star. Gimme your giant hands. But I’m not good at this thing so you’re going to have to walk me through it or something. Ryder always says I do it wrong— or too tight.”

-

Wyatt had planned to do a lot of the necessary renovations himself. He’d had a list of things he wanted to do, both things that needed to be fixed for practical reasons and decorative per Izzy’s input. New light fixtures and outlet covers, fixing the sloppy paint job in the living room with running lines down the baseboards, covering holes from previously hung decorations. What he hadn’t expected is how much he enjoys the process. He’d picked up an electric stud finder on his most recent trip to the hardware store and runs it over the wall they’d painted yesterday. 

“You can take advantage of me any time you want,” he grins. He marks a stud with a pencil and tucks it back behind his ear. “Say the word and I’ll figure out what box I tossed the handcuffs in.” He puts the stud finder down on a box with the rest of his tools and moves towards Izzy. Wyatt taps his index finger against the paint tray, draping his other arm around her shoulder. “You wanna let the paint dry before we have people in here?” His arm tightens around her to hold her in place as he presses the tip of his finger against her nose, leaving a dot of color behind.

❀

Izzy knew that it was going to take a minute for everything to be perfect in their house but she figured by the time it was perfect, they could have another party. Maybe they would call it a house-perfecting party. The idea of hosting a cute little housewarming party sent stars soaring into the woman’s eyes. From one thing of excitement to the other— the house and now the party, she’s fixated. Wyatt clearly was fixated on other things, namely all the things that he wanted to get done around the house (his new hobby, obviously) and finding the handcuffs— neither of which she was saying no to. “What word do you want me to say? Because I’ll run through them all,” she teases. It’s only a moment later that she’s screeching loudly at the paint on her nose. “Wyatt!” she whines right after. “That’s going to like make me break out or something. I’m going to be this witch nosed makeup artist or something,” she continues, wiping her nose and putting it on his shirt. It might be dramatic but when wasn’t Izzy a bit of drama? “No paint on the face. Well, not this face. You can put it on your face if you want but I am not responsible if you break out before the party.”

@izzyrojas​

location: the mall

“IF it ain’t the prettiest thing this side of the town.” Andres teased as he walked over to Izzy and touched her side to signal that he was there. Nothing out of order since he knew she was spoken for. In fact, he’d heard through the grape vine that she’d moved in with her boyfriend and he had to say that he was happy for her. 

“You out here shopping to fill out that big closet of yours?” He didn’t know how big her closet was but he had to guess it was pretty large if she’d picked out the house herself. “You should help me go look for a shirt because I want something that fits nicely. Everything is either too big or too small and I feel like you’d have an eye for that shit. You know, finding me something that would accentuate all the right parts.”

❀

“You’ve got that right,” she comments with a smile. Obviously, Izzy loved compliments and tended to delude herself with them. She should know better than to think that compliments aren’t sometimes married with cruel intentions and backhanded comments. Maybe not from Andres but certainly from others. “As if my closet needs filling out,” she smirks. It’s already been a point of contention with her and her new house with Wyatt: the need for more space for her clothes. She had definitely downsized (a little bit) prior to moving in with Ryder. She’d gone from a two bedroom apartment alone to a slightly bigger but not wholly hers apartment. Now, the house was set to explode someday with her clothes. But that didn’t distract her from shopping for the latest trends, trying to keep herself current, even at thirty-five years old. “Of course I have an eye for stuff like that. I’m literally Olympus’ favorite stylist—” not true but she’s going with it anyways. “First off, I think you need to stay away from this section,” she informs him, physically turning his body. “And focus on this one because this stuff is more your color, baby. -- So what’s the shirt for?”

@izzyrojas​

“Oh god put that away!” Harper says, turning the corner and seeing the middle school yearbook Izzy was holding in her hands. The chef had invited her friend over when she found a bunch of boxes in her storage unit that had some old cookbooks and free kitchen gadgets she was sent to test for her blog. Harper hadn’t used half of them - and Izzy had just moved into a new home, so she figured that maybe some of it could come in handy. But what she wasn’t counting on was Izzy stumbling across the old yearbooks that proved just how badly Harper fell for trends. “Middle school was the worst for me,” She admitted, sliding to sit down next to the other woman, pointing out her yearbook photo. “You can tell how crunchy my hair is from all the hairspray. I can’t have anyone seeing my shame.”

❀

No one should leave Izzy alone in their house if they don’t want her digging through things. At least her close friends. Admittedly, she probably shouldn’t have been poking her nose around before she found the middle school yearbook. However, curiosity killed the cat and ultimately, she figured that Harper wouldn’t be too terribly upset. That is until she’s coming around the corner calling out to Izzy. “Okay, middle school was the worst for everyone. No one survives middle school without missing a part of their soul or something,” she laughs, rolling her eyes. Izzy hadn’t really even found herself until after school all together. In middle school and then high school she was just trying to make good grades and get out of Texas. “Okay well it’s burned into my memory like the split ends I had that were burned from straightening my hair. Thank God you’ll never see my yearbook. They probably don’t even exist anymore.” Izzy could imagine her family getting rid of the memories of Izzy. She probably was wiped out from their lives within months of her leaving. Barely anything had been left anyways considering what she had taken with was long gone.

➖

HER friend was taking a big leap with a guy and that was frightening so it was Dani’s job to make sure that Izzy knew she was making a good decision. Life was about taking risks sometimes even if things weren’t going to work out in her favor, Dani would be there if she needed someone to lean on. However, she had a good feeling about their relationship and it moving further. “Can you say that again so I can record it? I’ll need when I’m doubting myself because those aren’t small words coming from you.” She teased her friend, hands placed on her hips. “A dog could be fun.  Maybe get settled in with the two of you first, though. Seems like you’ve got a lot of work unpacking first. I visited Ryder a few weeks ago. I think he’ll miss you too but he’s probably proud of you for doing this.”

❀

“Absolutely not. Hope you have a good memory, sweetie,” she says, her eyebrows doing the talking. Izzy wasn’t good at admitting when she was wrong— she tended to sit and pout like a child afterwards. It’s probably the same reason it’s a good thing she doesn’t want kids. Considering a lot of parenting seemed to doing something wrong and then fixing it, at least a dog couldn’t blame her for ruining their life as long as she fed and played with it. “Oh yeah, I’m definitely not in a rush. I just would like a dog for like if Wyatt isn’t here and I can’t con Ryder to come over or something. Like it’s one thing when you’re alone in an apartment but like totally different when I’m here alone. It’s so fucking quiet.”

-

“Baby, take them things off before ya ass start bleedin’. It’s just us in here,” Bowie laughs, watching Izzy as she readjust her heels. They definitely don’t envy her. They know the pain of trying to work with a pair of shoes that bite back. Needing new platforms will always have them ready to quit The Dive altogether, because the thought alone of having to break in the shoes stresses them out. Even being a dancer, they haven’t found any tips or tricks that definitely work, but if they knew any, they’d pass the information along to Izzy. But Bowie laughs again, even more amused when she says they’ve gotten prettier. It’s no secret that Iz is gorgeous, that Bowie thinks Iz is gorgeous. When they were first transitioning, that sort of validation and affirmation from someone so genuinely beautiful would’ve meant the world to them. In a way, it still does. “My maw maw use to say when you livin’ right you start glowin’ from the inside, so baby, I be tryin’ to live right and that shit ain’t easy,” Bowie teases, shrugging before dropping their arms into their lap. “Wait, wait, wait, for real?” They ask, their mouth falling open at the news before turning into a smile. It is news to them - Izzy and Wyatt’s situation, but they couldn’t be happier for her. “Look at you being all domestic and shit. How it feel?”

❀

“Okay but do I trust Finn’s cleaners? Because if I have an open wound and there’s lube on the floor, I don’t think that goes there,” she says, sitting down in a nearby chair, pulling off the shoe in question. Needless to say, it wasn’t her finest hour, she’d hoped that her built up tenacity in her feet would save her from suffering like this but that hadn’t been the case. Izzy reaches over to her makeup case to grab a bandage, something she’d known was for the best, considering all the weddings and events she’d been to. Sometimes you just need an extra backup plan. “Living right? What’s that involve? Because if I have to give up some shit to look half as glow-y as you, I’ll do it. — Okay, maybe it depends on what it is. But like I’ll give up some stuff.” Izzy grins as the realization hits them, giving a little excited wiggle in her chair. “I don’t know about domestic but like we’re definitely those freaky neighbors that everyone judges because we’re what they want. But anyways, it’s been a project. Moving is shitty.”

Since getting together with Wyatt, things had been moving rather quickly. She’d definitely gone headfirst into this one, which seems to be going well so far. Not that there weren’t a lot of people doubting it, she’s sure. From the face of Reina in her home recently, Izzy’s sure that Reina thinks she’s on the way out at any point— or at least hopes. But considering Izzy had been a Siren and then an Old Lady in a past life, she knew there wasn’t much to change her mind. But she tried to be a team player, at least making sure that the Primordials liked her, even if the women would never. That’s how she found herself at the Clubhouse on an afternoon, bringing an extra tray of food for the general Primordial population. Izzy loves to cook and being that she ends up being pretty good at it (most of the time), she might as well share the wealth. The thing about learning to cook in the household of a large family, her four siblings and her parents, she never really learned to cut down the recipe. Lifting her sunglasses quickly as she steps inside, she smiles as she finds the Vice President. “Andy— hey, do you think there’s room for this in the fridge?” she says lifting the pan a little higher. “I suck at cutting down my mom’s recipes so it’s either leave this here or Wyatt is going to have leftovers for like a year,” she jokes. “I’m no Harper but I have a little something up my sleeve.”

Pushing the weights above her head again, Izzy squeezes tight, her long nails wrapping her fist as she tries not to dig into her palms. She’s a pretty avid gym go-er, something that tends to surprise people but as she puts down the weights and removes her fingerless workout gloves, she looks up and around to see what other people were up to. Izzy’s nosy, what can she say? That’s when she spots Sawyer from afar. With a grin, she stands, leaving her things behind to go and greet a way-too-hot-friend. “Sweaty and pumped— damn, baby,” she teases. Izzy’s very aware that Sawyer and Remi are a thing but they both know that her flirting is also just an inherent feature of her friendship. Plus, she’s happily with someone else. “Guess some prayers are answered. Although I didn’t really think that I was looking for you,” she teases. “Did you get Remi over here too?”

Now that Izzy and Wyatt were living together, not much had changed. She was working more, maybe, considering she’d taken some time to move and get things in their places. She’d been enjoying figuring out where everything went though, knowing that it was her own. And Wyatt seemed happy, maybe because they’d finally gotten on the same page. They’d even managed to help each other with the projects they’d set for themselves, finding new things to do with the new house. She was just happy that he was happy, even though she still has to remind herself from time to time not to freak out. Lifting an arm to paint the wall, one that’s been an eye sore since they moved in, she grins over to Wyatt who’s got some new tool to work with for hanging a picture she’d found. “You know if you end up screwing yourself to the wall, I’m going to use that time to take advantage of you,” she smirks. Izzy isn’t really sure if the thing he’s holding screws anything but she couldn’t pass up an opportunity for the innuendo. “Does this mean we can finally have the housewarming party? I have some cute ideas and everyone keeps asking me when it is.”

With Amorita back in town, obviously Izzy would find herself falling back into old patterns with her. Not that it was a bad thing— if anything, Izzy couldn’t wait to show off her new house and brag about her hot new boyfriend. Things in this town seemed to change rapidly and apparently Izzy was meant to join in. “I think it’s cute that you think that you could hide from me,” she tells Amo. “I mean as the town’s residential gossip, I always was going to find out, bitch,” she reminds her. Izzy always inserts herself into things, even when she shouldn’t, a trait she shouldn’t be proud of but yet, she was.

.

“Fair enough, that is the most fun part,” Ryder conceded. Making a room your own with decorations and everything else is way better than finding homes for things that would just be moved around constantly. “And I’m sure you’ve got Pinterest boards up the ass of ideas for decorating, huh?” The man teased before pretending to swat her words away. Reaching out to squeeze her hand, the historian gave his best friend a wink. “Aw, you think I’m pretty?” Laughing, Ryder shook his head. “‘m not goin anywhere so gettin’ rid of my face isn’t even in the cards.”

❀

“Something like that. I was actually doing it like the old fashion way and taking pictures at the store and stuff so I could remember what I wanted to buy and since I bought like most of it on the same day, I took a few things off the list for good,” she explains. Pinterest was something she’d used here and there but mostly she was just enjoying wandering and figuring out what looked good with what. Pictures ended up helping a lot. Now, she just wants to make sure that the colors don’t end up clashing or something. Reina would be sure to judge her decorating so Izzy wanted to give her little to actually judge. “It’s a pretty house, right? Like I don’t feel like we have to do a ton to it. — And you literally know I think you’re pretty, asshole. But like obviously not prettier than me but you’re close,” she clarifies, with a pat on the man’s face.

-

Wyatt had never imagined himself in the role of homeowner. To be honest, he’s taken on a lot of roles he’d never imagined having before. A lot of them thanks to the woman in his bed. Without Izzy he’d probably be content living in his shitty apartment by himself until he was forty. “One of us had to stay grounded. Had to make sure you didn’t end up too disappointed if we had to start the search over again.” Though, as much as Wyatt had tried to keep that possibility in mind, he had been dreading the idea of going back to square one. And maybe he’d let himself get a little more invested in that house–their house–than he’d meant to. “We’re meeting to sign in two weeks,” he says, his nose hovering barely an inch above hers. “Then the first thing I’m doing is getting that pool fixed up and ready for the second it’s warm enough to swim.”

❀

“Oh whatever,” she smirks, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend. Here they went, ready or not, into a new step. “Wow, I guess we’d better start packing. We’re getting movers right? I am not carrying all our shit into that house. I’ll just wear a cute cheerleader outfit or something and cheer everyone on. I’m better at that anyways,” she starts, her excitement already bubbling up in her chest. They were going to sign some papers and get into a new place. “Oh baby, keep talking pool to me,” she laughs loudly, placing a kiss on his chest. “We did it, baby. Well, like you did it. Home ownership looks like really good on you,” she adds, knowing he did most of the leg work for this. She was just along for the ride and reaping the benefits at this point. “Proud of us.”

➖

IT was a nice look on Izzy despite being a little shocking as she’d known the female to be one who liked to live carefree and not be held down. Not that she believed that Wyatt did that sort of thing for her. They hadn’t really spoken about it for a while and for all she knew, they still had their open relationship. Maybe they were thrown these wild, filthy parties to keep things more comfortable. Dani didn’t know nor was she ready to find out. “Just take it a day at a time and talk to him about it if things don’t feel right. It’s not like you’re being held here. I’m sure he only wants to do what’s best and most comfortable for you, Iz. You’ve found a really great guy and I’m happy for you.” Dani said with a smile because it was a nice home and she could see them settling in nicely. Especially if they wanted to grow their family, there was space for that. “I’m going to have to come over just to use your tub. I couldn’t afford an apartment with a tub and shower separate so mine isn’t even that deep. it’s fucking depressing, actually.” She pouted as she angled her neck further to see glimpses of the backyard. “It looks nice and big if you ever want to get a dog or whatever else.”

❀

Not everyone would necessarily describe Wyatt as a great guy, Izzy obviously was one that would. He was great for her and while there were things she was sure that she didn’t know and probably some stuff she never wanted to, they just made sense when they were together. Two storms for people confined to bodies that happened upon each other. He calmed her and she took care of him, not perfect but still good. “You’re right. You’re right as usual— but don’t let that shit get to your head because I am not above hair pulling next time I’m right,” she teases. Izzy looks around and nods at the house. There may be a dog in the future, that was a possibility. Izzy had loved living with Ryder’s dog for this long. “Maybe we’ll get a dog but I’m thinking one of the rooms will be like my office and workout area or something. Plus a spare bedroom for Ryder if he wants to stay over. He’s going to miss my ass, whether he admits it or not.”

-

Wyatt nods his way though the brief phone call that requires little conversation on his end aside from an occasional “yes” and “great” and “thank you.” He grins at Izzy who waits nervously for an answer, giving her a thumbs up to hopefully soothe her nervous energy. 

“That perfect. We’ll be there. Thanks for everything,” he finishes, tossing his phone back onto the table by his bed before rolling over to completely envelop her under his larger frame. One hand holds her face in place as he kisses her, eagerly, excitedly. “Wanna guess what that was about?” He asks, biting the bottom like as he grins, inches away from from her lips. 

❀

Izzy practically vibrates with excitement while Wyatt is on the phone. She reaches for his hand a few times only to let her hand fall because he says something again. God, she wants it on speaker and this man wants her to DIE. “Wy…” she whines while he’s still on the phone but just as the conversation ends. Her excitement only grows as he seems to blossom from under the cool disposition. “Did we get the house?!” she asks, far too loud to be that close to his face. “Yes!” she screams, jubilantly, pressing hungry lips to his repeatedly. “We have a house,” she says between excited kisses. “And you doubted me. I knew we were going to get that house,” she teases him.

➖

“I try my best.” Dani said as she walked around a little more to look at the space. It was a lot more than she could afford and impressive. It fit her. “It’s really nice, Iz. I’m glad that you took the jump and did this.” She’d been shocked when she found out because she could remember her friend mentioning something about an open relationship months ago but it seemed that their relationship had progressed in some ways. “Sometimes people go quicker than others and if it feels right, who cares.” Sure it was a little quick and Dani would have advised to take it slower if she knew that Izzy would actually listen to her. But worse came to worse, she’d move back in with Ryder. “As long as it makes sense to you.” The brunette smirked and deposited her purse, shrugging off her jacket. “Do I get the grand tour or do I wait for everything to be done?” Maybe she wanted to show everyone the house together during this party of hers.

❀

“Yeah it’s definitely something,” she comments. Izzy definitely hadn’t thought that she was going to be where she was— in this house— with Wyatt. She had been convinced that living a single, carefree life living with her best friend and hooking up with anyone and everyone would be enough for the rest of her life. But when she realized that while that was enough, that it might not be enough for Wyatt, things started to change and eventually she just decided to dive in. Diving in, however, didn’t come without her hesitating at every turn. “Sometimes it makes sense but like sometimes it definitely doesn’t but I think it’s just like me processing it or something. Maybe once I’m done decorating and stuff it’ll make sense because it’ll be like my house and me and Wyatt can like settle in and not keep finding new projects.” Maybe then it would feel like real life. “Well the living room is done but like you already saw that. The rest of it you can see at the housewarming party, just like everyone else. I can tell you that there’s a giant soaker tub upstairs that I’m obsessed with. And there’s a pool outside. I’m not in charge out there though, that’s Wyatt’s.”