Ivy's Twisted Vine Redux Read online

  “You get to know each other. You take trips, fight, make love, help each other solve problems, and help each other avoid problems. You grow together…” The thoughts made her homesick for Grey.

  “I bet he knows you inside out. I know after five years I would.” He could almost see himself with her for the rest of his life for a moment as the candlelight brightened her face.

  “He knows me pretty well. He would probably freak out if he knew what I was doing right now.” She smiled devilishly.

  “What? You aren’t doing anything.” He looked around the room dramatically. It was amazing just how sheltered Ivy had been.

  “This is something.” Ivy giggled. “You don’t indulge in candlelight dinners with total strangers when you’re engaged. Well, we’re not technically engaged anymore, but you know what I mean. If we were…”

  “But I’m not a total stranger. And you do engage in candlelight dinners, and dancing, and everything else that makes you happy before you marry. It’s not like you can do it after you’re married. Right?” Nicola said playing the devil’s advocate.

  “Wrong, it’s cheating,” Ivy said sincerely, her angelic wings flapping behind her.

  “It’s living,” he tugged at her side. “You’re allowed to experience…experiment before you marry. That’s the whole purpose of dating.”

  “Please,” she said shaking her head. He was being preposterous. “To me you are nearly a total stranger. I don’t even know your middle name.”

  Nicola didn’t understand how such a question would even matter. “Michael,” he said in a matter of fact tone. “My name is Nicola Michael Agosto. Now, tell me how that makes me any less of a stranger.”

  Ivy thought for a moment. He was battling her intellect so she had to give an intelligent response. She bit her lip. “Now you’ve gone from a total stranger, to at least an associate. I know where you work, where you live, your full name and your ethnic background. By the way, what does Agosto mean in Italian?”

  “August. My father’s family is from Sicily. Actually, they are from a little town in Western Sicily called Poggioreale. Some time ago, like over a hundred years actually, my family owned a lot of land there. They were farmers. I think that some of them still are. When my father’s family came over they changed their surnames from Agostino to just Agosto. I don’t know why.” Noticing she had a small piece of lobster on her lips he wiped them gently. It caused an awkward moment of sexual tension that they both sensed, but ignored.

  “I don’t know much about where we originated from. The line got all mixed up when they arrived in New Orleans.” Suddenly, it sounded funny to say. She giggled. The champagne had not worn off yet. “My mother is Black, and my father is Black. So, I’m Black. But I’m sure that you figured that out.”

  “You’re beautiful; that’s about all that I’ve noticed.”

  “Daddy’s Creole. His entire family still lives in Louisiana. Mom’s family is from Nashville. They met at TSU.” Ivy tried to fight the buzz of the champagne. “What about religion? Do you have any?” Her words fumbled out, and she laughed when Nicola lifted his eyebrow.

  “Yes, I have some religion.” He laughed. She was too cute. “I’m a lapsed-ass Catholic. And you?”

  “Umm. Well, I’m sort of lapsed. Although, I lie to my mom, and tell her that I go. But I don’t.” She smiled, embarrassed. “We were raised Catholic, too. Emerald and I went to Catholic schools all of our lives. But my mom is C.O.G.I.C.”

  “Oh, you mean those people that wear all those really nice clothes and big hats and do cartwheels during mass.”

  “It’s called service not mass,” Ivy said laughing. “And they don’t do cartwheels. They just are filled with the Holy Ghost. It’s no different than going to the club and dancing. Only they…” she caught herself lecturing him and paused. Amazingly, he was actually listening attentively trying to draw an accurate picture in his mind.

  “They what?” he asked wondering why she had stopped.

  “You really want to hear this?”

  “Yeah,” he said urging her to finish her statement.

  “Oh, okay. Well, it’s their way of dancing for Christ…praising his name.” She wondered if he followed her.

  “I get it.” He said finally. “Brooks is Baptist. I’ve gone with him to church on a few occasions when his Dad invited me for Men’s Day. They are something alike I think.”

  “Something,” Ivy said glad that talking about God didn’t make him nervous. She knew that Grey would try to avoid the conversation with her at all cost.

  Trying to keep his promise to himself, Nicola looked over quickly for the remote, averting his eyes from hers to the table trying to avoid looking directly at her body. Tempting, Lord. So tempting. “What kind of music do you like? I have it all.” Down boy, he commanded to himself quietly as he got up from the couch.

  “Do you have Ron Isley?” she asked playfully. The Isley Brothers were her favorite group when she was growing up. It was all that her mother and father played on Saturday mornings.

  “Don’t play,” he said pulling out his favorite album. “Mr. Big era or old school?” He caught Ivy staring at him. “What do you like?” The question had more than one meaning.

  “Everything.” Her eyes raced over his body.

  The thought made him smile. “I bet you do.” Was she playing with him? “Your food is getting cold,” he said trying to reroute his attention from her ample breast. If she was playing with him, it was working.

  “The food really is great,” she said placing her plate beside his on the table.

  “Thanks.” He was unaware of Ivy’s own intentions. “I learned how to cook when I came to Memphis.” He put on Atlantis and sat back down on the couch beside her.

  “You’re from Florida, right?” she asked picking back up her champagne.

  “Yeah, South Beach. I don’t recall telling you that though.”

  “You didn’t. I asked Trina.”

  “Checking on me, huh?” Nicola nudged her soft side.

  “Well, I had to know who I was going to dinner with. You could have been a psychopath.”

  “And knowing where I’m from, where I work and my full name tells you that I’m not a psychopath, right?” He loved how protective she tried to be. It was a constant turn on.

  “It made me feel better about you.”

  “Well then, I am eternally grateful to Trina. Although, I also know she told you that I’m a certified dog.” Nicola raised his brow suggestively.

  Ivy laughed. “She did mention it a few thousand times.”

  For Ivy, their conversation had gone on long enough. She had made up her mind to sleep with him only seconds after he had made up his mind not to sleep with her. They sat silently beside each other listening to the music and cuddled up on the couch trying to get past the awkwardness that seemed to still plague them.

  “Ivy, I’m very happy to have met you. Grey is a lucky man,” Nicola said sipping his champagne. As Ivy turned towards him, he caught a whiff of the perfume in her hair. He loved the jasmine and lilac aroma it gave off. She smiled a lazy smile at him.

  “I wish someone would tell him that,” she said placing her foot under her to get more comfortable. “You know, you are special, too.”

  “Well, thank you.” He blushed slightly showing his boyish grin. He wasn’t expecting that considering he had just admitted to being the enemy.

  “You’re welcomed.” She hoped that he could feel her attraction towards him. “Nicky, aren’t you going to kiss me sometime tonight?” Her lips were pouty and inviting.

  He wasn’t expecting that either. There was a long silence before he replied. “I had planned on waiting until I dropped you off back your place.” She was making a move on him! He couldn’t believe it.

  “Why don’t you kiss me now?” Ivy asked moving over towards him slightly.

  “Because I know I won’t be able to stop.” His smile disappeared as he began to recognize the look in her eyes. Lust.
He knew that look better than any look in the world. He just didn’t expect to see it in her eyes tonight. It was much too early for a girl like Ivy. “Any more questions,” he asked clearly mystified.

  “Yes, just one.”

  “I’m all ears,” he said in a whisper looking at her moist lips.

  She stuttered slightly. “Since you won’t kiss me yet, will you at least make love to me before I go.”

  There was a long desperate silence as Nicola debated with what would be his verbal answer. Damn, he thought quietly. She looked great and smelled great. It was a hard decision because his body said hell yes, but his mind said back off.

  “Why would you ask something like that of me right after you have given me a conscious? Did you not hear what I said? I’m the type you avoid at all costs.” Nicola was like a werewolf under a clear full moon. He could already feel the stir in his pants at just the thought of taking her, but he tried frantically to control himself.

  “Believe me when I say that it’s definitely out of character for me, but it’s really what I want to do right now.” Ivy refused to back off.

  “Now, you want to do this, but later you’ll regret it. Believe me.”

  “No, I won’t.” Ivy took his hand. “I’m asking, because I feel something for you that I haven’t felt for a man ever. I know that I will not regret it. I don’t care about what happened with you and some other woman yesterday or ten years ago. I want you, because I see something special now. Something that maybe only I see.” She touched the side of his face affectionately.

  Nicola was lost for words. This was a first. He told her that he was a dog, and she wanted him more. Women…go figure. “Don’t get me wrong, Ivy. I really want to be with you more than you could possibly imagine, but if we do this you can’t go back.” He hoped she understood what he was saying.

  “I can’t go back to Grey?” She was extremely confused.

  Nicola sighed. Obviously, she didn’t understand. “No, you can’t go back to this…being innocent. As you gain more experience in anything, you begin to see the world differently. It either becomes more beautiful or more grotesque. In my opinion, it becomes more grotesque.” He shook his head in disbelief. Here he was being the philosopher when he could be naked. What was wrong with him?

  “Nicola, some things are meant to be experienced.”

  “And some are not.” He paused abruptly while trying to find the perfect words to sat to her. Her eyes were fixed on his. He looked away at first but found the strength to face her. “I know that you’re hurting right now. I can see it. You can’t hide it. And normally that would be my queue to jump in and do what I do best. But Ivy, I think more of you after only knowing you a few days than have thought of most of the women I’ve know for years. So, I can’t be who I normally am. I…I want to be your friend.”

  Ivy was silent, moved by his sincerity. She looked down at him holding her hands tightly, stuttering over himself to reach her. “You want to be my friend?” She said in a near whisper.

  “Yes, I do. Right now, you see me as the guy that will make everything better. But I could be the guy who makes everything worse.”

  “Do you have an incurable sexually transmitted disease or the innate desire to choke women during sex?” Ivy lifted her brow.

  “No and hell no!” he laughed. This girl was crazy.

  Ivy’s voiced lowered. “Then you couldn’t possibly make my life worse.”

  “Baby, you’re just so…innocent.” Running his fingers down her shoulder, he watched goose bumps pop up on her body.

  “Is that what all of this is about? You think that I’m too innocent for you?” Her brown almond eyes shined at him awaiting an answer.

  “Oh, I know you are innocent. I can literally smell it on you.”

  “I may have only been with one man, but that doesn’t make me the sacrificial lamb. It makes me choosy. Now, I have chosen you,” she said pleading her case as she touched his chest. “Choose me back. Let’s make love on our own terms with no games. You don’t have to trick me, lie to me or commit. God forbid. You just have to please me. Is that so hard?” She smiled softly. She could see him finally cracking under her pressure.

  “Harder than you know,” Nicola said barely above a whisper.

  “I won’t ask again. If you don’t want to then I’ll respect your decision.” Ivy moved away from him giving him room to think.

  “You realize that this won’t make you get over Grey,” Nicola said reminding her of her self-expressed true love. Trying not to rip her clothes off her body that very moment, he shifted on the couch. Brooks would kill him if he knew that he was actually running from this woman.

  “No one said that I’m over Grey,” she said softly. “This isn’t even about him.”

  “Then what is it about?” he said nearly at wits end. The sweat was already starting to form at the back of his neck.

  “This is about us and what’s going on at this very moment. I know that you feel it, too. otherwise you wouldn’t be running from me. And you’re starting to sweat.” Smiling, she kissed the dimple in his chin. It was such a wonderful feeling to be in complete control of a situation. She instantly understood Nicola’s addiction to this sort of playful banter

  Nicola thought intensely for a brief moment. He might not get this chance ever again. He was just in the right place at the right time. In a time like this, any woman would consider running to another man for comfort.

  “I don’t want to do anything to you that you’ll regret in the morning?” Nicola stated again how all of this could be ruined if what she was saying was not totally true. It was important for her to know exactly what she was asking for before he touched her.

  “I’m sure about what I’m asking,” she said confidently. “I just want to be loved by you. Is that really so terrible, Nicola?”

  He touched her face softly. “No, but there are other ways I could love you.” He couldn’t believe that he was actually saying this to her.

  “I’m sure that there are other ways, but I want you to make love to me.”

  Nicola was blown away by her request, but excited and gratified in the same skipped breath. She was so close to him. So close to who he actually was. Yet she was so far away from belonging to him. The thought made him realize that he should treasure every second he had with her.

  “Alright.” Nicola said nodding his head. Normally, he would have something very clever to say, but tonight he was speechless.

  In a silent bid of approval, Ivy smiled shyly. He was such a gentleman.

  Taking her by the hand, Nicola decided not to waste another moment. He led her out of the living room into the foyer where she followed him up the long spiral staircase to his master bedroom. Opening the door, he escorted her inside of the dimly lit bedroom and kissed her on the forehead.

  “I’ll be right back,” Nicola said leaving her all by herself.

  “Okay,” Ivy said admiring her surroundings.

  One could tell a lot about a person by their house and the things that they chose to put in it. Based on this one room, Ivy could honestly say that Nicola had extremely expensive and classic taste. The most noticeable feature of the room was that everything was eggshell white…the walls, the comforter on the bed, the molding on the walls.

  In isolation on a wall hanging above the fireplace was a massive mahogany oak framed painting of a small white boat on a dark blue sea that gave the room a much-needed splash of color. On the wall facing the bed, there was a sixty-inch flat screen plasma television and a custom built-in entertainment armoire.

  Facing across from bed was a wall-to-wall window facing the backyard that was draped with what appeared to be eggshell white silk crepe curtains pulled back by velvet blue rope and attached to brass handles.

  The king-sized oak sleigh bed was regal yet simple. It was covered in an eggshell white velvet comforter that appeared to have satin on the inside. The pillows were overstuffed and accented by little velvet blue and gold pillows. The fl
oor was covered in an eggshell carpet that was so thick she couldn’t wait to allow her feet to sink into the cushion.

  It seemed that under the romantic lights that cast only a small glow around the room, the most attractive element in his sacred domicile was his bed. Realizing this she smiled slyly feeling as though she had revealed a deep secret about him.

  A woman of impeccable taste had obviously designed this room. The question was who was the woman? Ivy thought for a moment about all the other women who had been in the same room, at the same hour. She suddenly became acutely aware of her position.

  *

  Nicola checked the front door to make sure that it was locked, turned on the alarm and stopped at the coffee table to finish the glass of champagne sitting by the lamp. Looking at his watch, he realized that it was already 3:00 a.m. He had to be down at headquarters by eight the next morning, and he hadn’t slept all day. Oh, well, he thought smiling to himself as he peeled out of his sweater.

  Grabbing the bottle of champagne, he headed back upstairs where Ivy awaited his return. As he approached the room, surprisingly he heard soft music. Apparently, she had already turned on his CD player. How did she know that Sade was his favorite singer?

  Opening the door, he saw her standing by the window looking out over the pool. He couldn’t wait to see what she really looked like under all that long dress. Closing the door behind him, he smiled a devilish smile.

  “You have a beautiful home,” she said turning around from the dream like view of the Mississippi River.

  “Thank you,” Nicola said setting down the bottle of champagne by the bed. “Come here,” he demanded softy.

  Ivy walked over to the bed nervously. Oh God, she thought, this is actually about to happen! She felt her heart flutter as he turned her around carefully, moved her hair off of her shoulders and gently kissed the nape of her long swanlike neck while allowing his other hand to run up and down her frame committing the curves of her body to his memory through his fingers. She opened her wet lips letting out an exasperated gasp. Hearing it, he pulled her closer and bit her ear. Closing her eyes, she felt him unzip the back of her dress and allow it fall to the carpet. He stood behind her breathing down on her shoulders, rubbing her soft arms and watching the goose bumps form on her delicate skin. Now, only her satin chemise, she stood shaking with desire and fear.