One year after Age Your Age.
Sexual situations.

"Isabella? You here?"

Isabella froze. He couldn't be here already, she wasn't ready yet. Leaning closer to the mirror, she inspected her lipstick one last time. "I'm in the bathroom!"

"Oh, I didn't-I'll just wait out here-"

"Wait in the bedroom!" Isabella yelled back before flinching. She'd expected the yelling to start a little later in the evening. Pulling back, she checked her hair, making sure it flowed over her shoulders the way she pictured. "I'll be right there."

"Okay!"

Lowering her voice, she continued, "Do can do this, Isabella. If he's not going to make the move, it's up to you."

For the last few days, she'd been planning this. They'd been dating for over a year, and Phineas still wouldn't do more than kiss her. She'd even gotten her own apartment off campus in the hope he'd move in with her, but when she bought it up, he offered to pay the rent for her if she needed a roommate to cover half. Not what she meant, but it was a sweet gesture nonetheless.

What would Phineas say when he saw her? She felt herself slipping into a daydream of him taking her on the spot, but after so many years, she knew she was getting ahead of herself.

Isabella opened the door.

Phineas looked at her and grinned. Not the awe-struck smile she'd glimpsed in her daydream, but she'd take it.

Then he spoke, "New nightgown?"

And everything froze.

Nightgown? Was he serious? Her grip tightened on the door handle still in her grip. It was lingerie. Expensive lingerie at that. She'd put effort into finding a lacy pink one that would accentuate her figure in the right places. And he thought it was nothing more than a nightgown? Did he think nightgowns were this sheer?

Some less obsessed part of her mind pointed out that he did notice it was new, a sign progress was being made.

She closed her eyes for a second. Time for plan B.

Sashaying over to where he sat on the bed, she smiled. "Do you like it?"

"I gues-I mean, yes, yes I like it." Phineas' grin turned nervous for a split second. He must have been told to agree with her or compliment her by someone.

"Good. Because I bought it for you." Isabella climbed onto the bed, and his lap, one of her legs on each side of his.

"Uh, thanks?" Phineas stumbled slightly over the word. "But I don't think it's, um, it's not really-I don't think it'd look good on me?"

If she wasn't trying to be sexy, Isabella would have facepalmed. How could he be such an idiot about these things? Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Not like that, sweetie."

"Oh, right." There was a tint of red in his cheeks as his bright smile came back. "What are we doing tonight? I thought we cou-"

"Phineas." Did she have to do everything? "Kiss me."

He followed through. She didn't concentrate much on the kiss, instead waiting for him to pull back, when he started to, she moved a hand from his neck to his head to hold him in place. Under her other hand, his muscles tensed for a moment.

Isabella pushed the kiss deeper, waiting for the tension to leave him. But even as he tried to follow her lead, he didn't relax. Biting back a groan of impatience, she slid her body closer to his.

After a minute, Phineas' hands caressed her bare shoulders, the fingers gently gripping her, then he pushed her off of him.

"Isabella, I'm not sure what you're trying to do but can you stop?" Phineas' eyes were wide as he kept a hold her shoulders.

"I'm trying to turn you on!" Once the words were out, her own eyes widened. She hadn't wanted to actually tell him that.

Phineas blinked. "Turn on...?" The spark of realization lit up his beautiful blue eyes. "Oh. Oh! But why would you want to do that?" He sounded so innocent and confused by the notion that she had to get off his lap to remove the absurd feeling that she was tainting it. Him.

She'd already slipped up, she might as well continue. "Don't you want us to be physical?" Settling down on the bed next to him, she stared at her hands. "We've never done more than kiss. All I can think about is taking it to the next level. Don't you want to?"

"But the next level is s... really physical," he stumbled over it a bit. "I knew we'll get there at some point, but I thought it'd be later. Like after college and stuff." Phineas paused. "I assume we'll have to once we're ready to start a family, unless you're okay with adopting, but not until then, you know?"

Her heart fluttered at the fact that he had thought about starting a family with her. But that didn't help them right now. "But I want that now."

"What?!"

Isabella jumped at the actual panic in his voice, her eyes jumping to his face. He was staring back at her.

"You want to start a family now? We're still in college! I mean, I could-we could-"

"No!" Oh gosh, she'd brought that on herself, hadn't she? She reached for him, but he dodged her hands. "I don't want to start a family now." She wasn't ready for that. Not even close.

"You don't?" Phineas still kept his distance. "That's good. But what did you want now then?"

With a groan, she opened her mouth to bluntly put it out there since he somehow wasn't getting it, but then it hit her. Looking at him, really looking at him, the panic not completely gone from his demeanor, she realized he wasn't ready for sex any more than she was for kids. He wasn't ready to take that leap.

She replayed his choice of words in her head. The way he'd thrown adoption in there as an alternative to sex, not to have kids of their own. What if he was never ready? What if he didn't want that at all? Isabella wasn't sure she could deal with that when she wanted that physical relationship.

Her eyes strung as it crashed down on her. "I think you should go."

"But I just got here."

"I know." She could only imagine how confusing this whole experience must be for him. He might have developed a 'thing' for her but what did that really mean in his view? It was something she'd never thought about, assuming it meant the same for him as it did for her. "But I need to think. Alone."

"Alright." Phineas stood up but didn't leave. "I didn't mean to upset you."

She squeezed her eyes shut. How could he apologize to her for this? But of course he would. He was Phineas. "Just go."

"Are you-"

"Get out!" She kept her eyes shut, not wanting to see the hurt on his face. She stayed like that until the sound of the front door opening and closing reached her.

Then her shoulders started to shake as the tears streamed unchecked down her cheeks. How could she be so stupid? Hadn't she stopped letting her daydreams interfere with her real interactions when she gave up on him?

She never should have let herself believe that being with Phineas would mean all her fantasies would come true. She wasn't a child anymore, but she was still acting like one. Right down to her hissy-fit.

Was their relationship pointless? She needed help. She needed advice. She needed... she needed Ferb. He'd always been willing to lend an ear to her Phineas related problems.

Launching herself off the bed, she grabbed her cellphone from the dresser and dialed his number.

Every ring was agonizing, but finally, he answered, a drowsy hello drifting through the speaker.

The words flowed from her without thought and lacking some aspect of sense, "I tried to seduce Phineas. He didn't pick up on it so I pressed him, and he pushed me away. And I realized that he doesn't want to have sex. Maybe ever. And-"

"Isabella?" Ferb cut her off, sounding much more awake. "Please tell me you didn't call at one in the morning to request I make some type of mind-altering Viagra so my brother will wish to shag you?"

Isabella opened and closed her mouth, unable to force out any words. For one, she hadn't given the timezone difference a second's thought. Secondly, did he think so little of her? Even if that would solve her problem.

Lucky, Ferb had decided to grace her with more dialogue, "Phineas is different. He doesn't crave the physical aspects of a romantic relationship, I realised that a long time ago. It is one of the reasons I never spoke to him about your little crush. But I do believe the two of you have potential, and his love for you might allow him to try someday. Until then, don't push it again or we'll be speaking in person. Goodnight."

The call cut off suddenly. Isabella blinked a few times before lowing the phone. That had not gone the way she'd expected. But what had tonight?

Ferb said they had a chance, but he didn't know how badly she'd screwed up. Phineas couldn't keep grudges but that didn't mean their relationship wouldn't suffer or change after tonight.

There were so many more ifs involved in their relationship than she'd ever noticed before. The only if she'd ever worried about was if he liked her back.

Now she wondered if maybe they would have been better off just staying friends.