Ivy's Twisted Vine Redux Page 13

  Why must he be so beautiful, Ivy thought as she tried not to smell his cologne…tried not to focus on the fact that he was sitting so close to her. But she couldn’t ignore his undeniable presence. She exhaled heavily feeling nearly deflated. What was it about this man that she could not fight?

  Nicola was far to engulfed in his own feelings to detect what his mere existence was doing to Ivy. As he tried to gather his thoughts, he looked around to make sure that Brooks was out of earshot for what he was about to confess. Then he took her hand and turned to her.

  “You…never called.” He felt himself trembling but continued. “And I really wanted you to…call.”

  “I know,” Ivy said sighing. If she gave into the Nicola again, she would surely loose Grey. It was better for everyone that she keep her distance although everything in her wanted to reach out for him. “Really, I am truly sorry, but I just didn’t’ see a need to call once Grey and I got back together.” She looked down at her engagement ring.

  “You didn’t?” Her words fell on his ears like hot needles. He was almost a hundred percent sure that she had felt something that night, but at this very moment he wasn’t sure.

  “No,” Ivy said trying to be strong. If she could just be spiteful enough at that very moment, she could force him away forever. He would never have to know about the baby. He would never have to know that she had thought of him a thousand time since the moment he was last out of her sight.

  “You’re lying,” he said searching her face. “You mean to tell me that all of that was just an act.” He saw right through her.

  “No, it wasn’t an act. I’m not a slut, Nicola. I just realized when I left there that I was better off with Grey that trying to have something with you,” she said looking away from him. “After I made up my mind about it, there was nothing left to say. We had our moment, and it was then it was over. Please tell me that you didn’t think it was anything more than that.” It was the most painful thing that Ivy had ever made herself say, but feeling the need to push one of the men out of her life, she knew it was her only option. “You were a great release. You helped me clear some things up in my head.” She smiled at him crossly. “It was fun though, right?”

  “Right.” Nicola had heard enough. The warmness of her hand was now cold, and he let go with sudden disgust. “Well, if you don’t mind. I am going to go and finish my lunch at the bar.” He stood up. “It wasn’t nice seeing you.” He turned and walked away.

  Ivy tried in a frantic desperation to hold her tears back as he turned his back to her. She felt herself collapsing inside. The wounded look in his eyes, accompanied by the impairment in his voice was enough to make her heart stop. And for a moment, it did. She gathered herself and managed to get to the bathroom before her emotional nausea overtook her.

  Storming into the stall, Ivy leaned against the wall and began to cry. She had done what she set out to do. She had driven him far away but the absence of his love was tearing through her heart so fiercely that she became weak at the knees. It was true. He did care. She could see it in his eyes. Only there was nothing she could do. Nothing. She held her aching stomach and cried aloud, holding her hands over her mouth to muffle the moans that leaped from her throat.

  “Man, I’ve got to get out of here.” Nicola said interrupting Trina and Brooks at the bar as he threw a twenty-dollar bill by his untouched food.

  “Are you alright?” Brooks asked concerned.

  “No. I’m not,” Nicola said walking off. “I’ll meet you at the truck.”

  “Well, I guess she told him,” Trina said eating one of Nicola’s French fries.

  “Guess so. What a birthday present, huh?” Brooks said kissing her on the cheek. “Eat this for me, will you. I’ll grab a little something later.”

  “First, I better go and check on Ivy,” Trina said seeing the empty booth were Ivy was suppose to be sitting.

  “Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

  Searching for Ivy, Trina walked into the restroom where she found Ivy kneeling over the toilet in the back stall throwing up the little food she had managed to keep down that day.

  “You finally told him?” Trina asked rubbing Ivy’s back sympathetically.

  “No. I couldn’t. I just wanted to push him away for good,” Ivy said wiping her mouth.

  “Why would you want to do something so stupid?”

  “I told him that he was just a release and that night didn’t mean anything to me.” Propping herself up on the toilet seat, she wiped her mouth and cheeks. “But it did, Trina. It meant something to both of us. I could see it in his…his face.” She began to cry again.

  “But no mention of the baby?” That was all Trina cared about.

  “No, absolutely no mention of the baby.”

  “What! What the hell are you thinking?”

  “I don’t want to be tied to that man strictly out of obligation. If the child is not Grey’s then I will raise it alone,” Ivy said still sobbing.

  “What about the child? Doesn’t it deserve to have a father?” Trina recalled instantly growing up without a stable male figure.

  “Yes. But it will just have to accept what I can offer. That will have to be enough.”

  “You don’t have that right!” Trina said stepping out of the stall.

  “At this point, I don’t have a choice,” Ivy said flushing the toilet. “It’s already been done. Plus, it could very well be Grey’s baby. All of this could just be a very hard lesson.”

  “For that baby’s sake, I pray that you’re right.” Trina said handing her a baby wipe from her purse. “Come on. We better get you somewhere where you can lay down.”

  *

  Slamming his door as he got out of his truck at the precinct, Nicola hit his alarm on his key ring taking all his frustration out on the small button. For over a month, he had thought about Ivy day and night just to find out that he had only been a one-night stand to her. All that talk was just a way to get him into bed. Hell, she probably had been with plenty of men and was just lying about Grey being the only one. What a fool he had been!

  “You alright, man?” Brooks asked watching his partner have a silent fit.

  “I don’t want to talk about it?” Nicola replied crossly.

  “Well look, I’ll see you tonight at the Black Tie, if you’re still going?” Brooks said hitting him on the shoulder. It was best that he just leave him alone to think.

  “Why wouldn’t I go tonight?” Nicola asked looking at his watch.

  “Same thing I said,” Brooks shrugged. “See you later, man. Call me if you need to talk.”

  *

  The moon cast a beautiful glow on the snowy streets of East Memphis as Nicola drove to the Black Tie. He was completely tormented in his thoughts but hopeful that a night with Kit would take the edge off of a perfectly shitty birthday. Pulling into the Black Tie parking lot, he pulled up to the valet and popped out looking for Brook’s truck. He spotted it, sitting faithfully across the way and continued into the club for a release.

  Only the best-built, sexiest women worked at the Black Tie. From what Nicola had heard, the club only had an opening call for new girls once a year. It was suppose to be the land of milk and honey for exotic dancers, where the bouncers actually did their jobs, the men were respectable and the money was damned good. For Nicola, it was just a place to get away and enjoy a good drink and the company of beautiful women, without the strain of being interested in a long-term relationship.

  “Bring me a Jack and Coke,” Nicola said to the waitress as he sat back in a private booth across from Brooks. He had already had four shots of scotch and a shot of whiskey straight before he left his house, but he aimed to get so drunk that maybe he could forget about Ivy all together.

  “What’s up, man?” Brooks asked sipping on a glass of Crown Royale.

  “Not a damned thing,” Nicola said giving a leisurely smile. “Just came to see Kit and kick it.”

  “I’m glad that you could make it.�
� Brooks cleared his voice. “Look, I know you said that you don’t to talk about it…”

  “And I still don’t” Nicola said putting a single dollar bill in the g-sting of the girl dancing in front of Brooks.

  “But the truth of the matter is that you have to face it at some point.” Brooks said watching the young blonde take off her top and plant her oversized well-tanned breasts in his face.

  “What is there to face? I thought she was someone that she was not. She’s just a college girl looking to play with a grown man’s mind. And I personally just don’t have time for that type of shit. I’ve got a hard enough time dealing with grown women. I’m not trying to recruit from the junior league, too.” Nicola said taking his drink from the waitress. “Thank you,” he said giving the waitress a tip. “Keep me full, baby.”

  “Ivy’s definitely a grown woman, Nicola. I mean, after all, she chose life despite of what it’s going to cost her.” Brooks became offended. “She’s just scared. Hell, can you blame her?”

  “Scared. No. No. She’s not scared. She’s manipulative. You should have heard her that night, acting like she really understood me. Like she really wanted to be with me. Hell, she sounded like me trying to get in some woman’s pants. And my dumb ass was falling for it, too. I wouldn’t even tell you that we slept together; that is just how much I respected her. Then today, she just drop the bomb on me and acted like I didn’t mean shit to her.” Nicola gulped down his drink.

  “Look, I was shocked when Trina finally broke the news today to me, too. And I admit that is a lot for a man to handle when he barely knows a woman, but you still have a responsibility regardless of how you feel about her.”

  “After the what she said to me today, I don’t see how I owe here anything,” Nicola choked as he guzzled down a small shot of tequila.

  “Not to her, to whomever is coming.” Brooks looked over at Nicola. “You better quit mixing all of that shit before you make yourself sick.”

  “Wait. Who is coming? Brooks what the hell are you talking about?” Nicola asked taking another shot of tequila. “I don’t believe that we are on the same page here.”

  “I don’t know. What the hell are you talking about?” Brooks asked curiously.

  “Happy birthday, Nicola,” a well-built redhead said wrapping her nearly naked body around his back and hugging him warmly interrupting his train of thought and Brooks’.

  Nicola turned around half-dazed and smiled. “Dana! Where have you been, girl?”

  “Well, I went home to Columbia to visit family for a while. I just made it back last night.” She stood a towering six feet two inches without heels. Her long fiery hair nestled around her waist.

  “Well, you still look stunning,” he said touching her thigh. He was no longer shocked by the boldness of the women at the Black Tie and hardly ever aroused to embarrassment.

  “Well, don’t forget to let me give you a private dance for your birthday before you leave,” she said holding his hand. “It’s on me.”

  “Okay then,” he said watching her walk away.

  “Looks like she had a boob job,” Brooks said sipping on his beer.

  “Really, I didn’t notice.” Nicola sank back down in the seat. Damn Ivy, she was screwing up his concentration.

  “Back to your nemeses.” Brooks set his bottle down.

  “Oh, yeah. She said I was a release. A damn release.” Nicola repeated angrily. “Hell, I would have screwed her if she had told me the truth. She didn’t have to lie and give me this good girl fucking sad story.” Nicola’s vision became blurry. “What did you think that I was talking about?”

  A crooked smile came across Brooks’ face as he began. It was wrong of him to enjoy what he was about to say, but he did. “I thought you were talking about the fact that Ivy is pregnant, and that the baby could be yours,” Brooks said as he watched Nicola’s eyes bulge and his throat tighten revealing the veins in his forehead.

  “What!” Nicola roared in total shock.

  “Thank you, honey.” Brooks rubbed the waitress’s thighs as she bought him his drink. Pulling a twenty-dollar bill out of his front pocket, he put it in the woman’s g-string beside Nicola’s dollar bill and pinched her side. “Stay close. There’s a lot more where that came from.”

  “How do you know this?” Nicola tried to focus but still slurred his words.

  “How do you think? Trina told me.”

  “Well, I’m glad that someone’s keeping me in the loop,” Nicola said sarcastically. He pulled the cigar from his jacket pocket.

  “Sorry man, I thought Ivy told you.” Brooks directed his full attention to his friend now that they were alone.

  “Hell no, she didn’t tell me,” Nicola said feeling his heart in his throat. The room began to spin. He was going to be sick.

  “I can see that.” Brooks watched Nicola for a moment in sheer amazement. Could his boy finally be falling in love after all these years of philandering?

  “When did you find out?” Nicola lit his cigar and tried to calm down.

  “Today while you two were up there chatting. I thought that was why you were so pissed off. Now, I’m curious. What did she say to you to make you that damned mad?”

  “Weren’t you listening to one damned word coming out of my mouth

  ? She called me a release.” Nicola shrugged the entire conversation with Ivy off. Now, none of that mattered. “Damn. Why didn’t she tell me?” Nicola said feeling guilty for his previous remarks and more angered by what she was trying to conceal.

  “I told you…she’s scared. Trina said that she plans to keep it and raise it on her own if she has to.” Brooks said giving Nicola a glass of water.

  “She doesn’t have to,” Nicola said offended. “Not if it’s mine.” He added as a prerequisite. “I mean, she’ll have my support.”

  “I know what you meant,” Brooks said sipping slowly on his drink. “Do you think that it’s yours?”

  Nicola blew the cigar smoke out of his mouth and sank down into the chair. “It’s possible,” he said looking at the cigar. “It’s really possible.”

  “So, the man who lives and dies by Trojan Magnum condoms didn’t use any?” Brooks probed curiously.

  “We used them, but a few times we didn’t. I was too damned lazy to get up later than night. But that morning we used some.” Nicola sighed. “I don’t know.”

  “Did you want to get her pregnant?” Brooks couldn’t believe that he had actually gotten the truth of Nicola after all this time.

  “No.” Nicola said quickly. “No.” He repeated himself softly and sat up. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” He looked over at Brooks. “You believe me?”

  “Yeah, man. I believe that you used a condom a few times and a few times you didn’t use a condom. But your biological clock is ticking. Sometimes, our unconscious desires get caught up in our conscious decisions.”

  “Get on with that shit,” Nicola said standing up. “The point is that I might be the father. It could be mine or her fiancé’s kid.”

  “I don’t know. I wasn’t there. Just prepare for the worse.” There was no advice that Brooks could think to give to his distressed partner. “One thing is for sure, you should talk with her about this truthfully.”

  “You’re right,” Nicola said looking vainly at his watch. “As a matter of fact, I’m gonna go talk to her ass right now and find out what in the hell is going on.” He puffed on his cigar.

  “I was actually thinking of you going to her tomorrow, when you’re sober.” Since Nicola wasn’t drinking the water, Brooks took it backed and sipped on it.

  “The news that you have just laid on me has totally messed up my buzz, man. I’ll be just fine.” Throwing another twenty-dollar bill on the table, he shook his head. Nicola’s words slurred. “You know I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why all of sudden she was being so cold hearted. Now, it all makes since. She was going to ditch me, and run with my kid.”

  “No one’s sure whose kid that is
. Remember that. Look, she’s just not thinking straight right now. Give her time. Don’t go over there screaming and shit this late at night. Go over there and sit down and talk to her. Try to make some sense out of this without getting arrested.” Brooks could see the menace in Nicola’s eyes.

  “I’m not going to scream at her, but I am going to get to the bottom of this. If she is pregnant then it won’t be a secret for one more day.” The thought of him being a father crossed his mind for the first time. “Damn, man. Look at me. I’m not ready to be someone’s daddy.”

  “You think that she’s ready to be someone’s mother? Hey, it’s your bed. You made it; you lay in it.”

  The thought made Nicola calm down. “You’re right. Look, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Tell Kit that I had to go, and I’ll call her or something.”

  “Damn, you’re still chasing ass after that news? I would keep it in my pants if I were you,” Brooks said laughing.

  “Look, I’m not about to marry this girl just because she may be pregnant by me. I don’t even know her.” Nicola instantly got defensive.

  “Alright. Whatever. I’m going to stay here and get a lap dance. You know, pay some girl’s college tuition.” Brooks said sipping on his drink. “You go and talk to your baby’s momma.”

  “Don’t say that shit, man,” Nicola said waving his finger at Brooks. “Like you said, we don’t know if its mine or not.”

  “We? I don’t need to know. Hell, I didn’t sleep with the girl. Take your drunk ass on.” Brooks laughed. “Oh and Nico…”

  “Yeah,” Nicola said turning around.

  “Happy Birthday,” Brooks said cracking up.

  “Shut up,” Nicola said turning around with a half-crooked smile.

  *

  Speeding down the highway with his cigar hanging out of the side of his mouth and his vision slightly blurred, Nicola blasted his radio and tried to think of ways to say how he felt to Ivy. The thought of walking through the door and shaking her until she couldn’t see straight had crossed his mind several times, but of course it was the wrong thing to do.