Ivy's Twisted Vine Redux

by Latrivia S. Nelson

  Ivy’s perfume numbed Nicola’s senses and her moans awoke the vitality he had lost somewhere in the last year. Slowly, she felt his strong hands remove her underwear. Tears fell on her neck as he kissed it softly savoring every second with her.

  Suddenly, it occurred to Nicola that Ivy had stolen a piece of him and kept it locked in the bosom of her heart. He intended to take it back now as he felt her grip his back insinuating that the thoughts in the back of her mind would take form in action. Feeling the warm and moist arousal ripen between her warm thighs, he watched her body lose all tenseness and submit willingly again. Ivy started to respond, to open as she did so long ago, he kissed her hips.

  “Nicola,” Ivy whispered holding on to Nicola’s head and rubbing through his soft, curly hair.

  “Yeah?”

  “I haven’t been with Grey since before I had the children.”

  “Really?” Nicola was dumbfounded but extremely pleased. “Well, I haven’t been with anyone for nearly five months.”

  “Why?” Ivy’s mind raced. She thought he had been a playboy this entire time.

  “I was waiting.” He rose up and looked her in her eyes.

  “For me?” Tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

  Nicola nodded. “Of course for you. I keep saying it, and yet, you don’t seem to hear me. I love you.”

  “I’ve been through so much; it’s just hard to comprehend what that word means anymore.” Tears continued to fall.

  “Why do you say this shit to me?” His skin was on fire. “Ivy, I do love you.”

  “I don’t know that.”

  “You do know that.”

  Still there was a look of uncertainty on Ivy’s face, even after Nicola confessed his love. The anger in his heart for Grey, the love and desire he had in his heart for Ivy erupted. He reached for her and pulled her down on the couch and kissed her passionately. Pulling her warm thighs opened and with his large hands gripping her hips down on the couch, he thrust deep into her body. Nicola let out virile sounds of ecstasy. The power of his dominance caused Ivy to scream out so loud it nearly scared her.

  How wonderful this feeling was to her! He was like a perfect key unlocking all of the fantasies hidden in her mind. With powerful motions into her abyss, he held her closely breathing in her ear and trying hard to focus on something other than the glorious smell of her perfume. To Ivy, he had never been more of a reminder of how joyous losing control could be. It was his passion, his embrace that made her realize how it could feel to be loved and to be desired. She tried desperately to fight him, but she could not. She wanted to anger him, to make him feel the way that she had felt since the day he had kissed her.

  Nicola caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror across the room totally ravaging the woman he loved. He realized that he was out of control. He slowed down, loosened the grip on the ball of her hair he had in his fist and released his other hand from her neck.

  “I’m sorry,” he said panting and sweating. He wiped his face. “Did I hurt you?” He could see his handprint around her neck.

  “No.” Catching her breath, Ivy looked up at him wide-eyed.

  He leaned over and kissed her softly this time, more lovingly. “Baby, we should go up to my bedroom. I don’t want to make love to you like this.” Still inside of her, Nicola realized where he was. On the couch, pinned down and on the verge of an eruption. Not like this, he thought. From him, she deserved more. He had to lay her down properly, somewhere they could explore each other with more room and the ability to move around. There was so much that he wanted to do to her all night and even into the next morning.

  “In just a minute,” she whispered not wanting him to move. “You feel so good.” Her eyes were lazy again, already becoming drained from his very masterful vengeance.

  Nicola smiled back at her slowly moving between her thighs. “You are so beautiful,” he said rubbing the hair from her face.

  Ivy couldn’t believe that she had allowed herself to get caught in the same situation again. Here she was less than a week from marrying Grey, and Nicola was making love to her again! She had tried to fight him, but looking at his well-sculpted olive-toned body, the smell of his cologne, the shape of his heart shape lips, the feel of his powerful thrust, it was obvious to her that her feelings for him where far more powerful that she had first known. Maybe this was a sign? Maybe Grey was the wrong one? Her thoughts and his thrusts consumed her.

  “Nico, are you in here, man?” Santo asked busting through the front door with a wide grin on his face, lipstick on his collar and visible hickies on his neck. “Nico?” Santo yelled.

  “Who is that?” Ivy whispered surprised and somewhat afraid.

  “Wait a minute, Santo. I’ve got company.” Nicola quickly grabbed her clothes and dressed her.

  “Damn Ivy, I’m sorry,” Nicola said finally. He sat up on the couch wanting to kill his brother for the disturbance.

  Sitting up to see the voice hidden across the room, Ivy looked over stunned at Santo’s appearance. Pulling her strap up, she cleared her voice and looked to Nicola for an explanation. Why was there two of him standing in his living room?

  “Nicola?” Ivy asked confused. “What is…going on?” She held her mouth, dumfounded.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, man,” Santo said caught off guard. He stumbled over his own feet.

  “Ivy, this stunnad is my twin brother Santo. He’s staying with me while he and my family are vacationing here in Memphis. They came to see our kids.” Nicola looked sternly at Santo after he pulled on his shorts. “Santo, this is Ivy Winters, the mother of my children.”

  Santo stood stupefied by his clumsy interruption and Ivy’s beauty, not to mention the presence of an otherwise engaged woman in the intimate embrace of his brother. Beat red with embarrassment, he closed the front door and smiled sure that Nicola would kill him later.

  “And it is nice to meet you, maim,” he said giving a weak wave. He knew better than to walk to close too the couch. “I’ve heard such wonderful things about you.” Words slurred, he gave a big Agosto smile, revealing their signature dimples.

  “Well, I wish that I could say the same, but I’m afraid I didn’t know you even existed until now,” Ivy said pushing Nicola away from her. She grabbed her sling backs and purse and walked towards the door still barefoot. “What else have you failed to tell me, Nicola?” she asked furiously.

  “Wait, Ivy,” Nicola said wiping her lipstick off of his face, hating the mood change.

  “I’m out of here,” she said with her face in a scowl. Her voice drifted off. “Santo, it was nice meeting you and to find out that you exist.”

  “Nice to meet you too, Ivy,” Santo said sitting down on the accent chair dizzy and drunk.

  “I’ll see you out,” Nicola said rolling his eyes at Santo before he followed Ivy to the door.

  “How thoughtful of you,” Ivy said condescendingly.

  Opening the door for Ivy, Nicola tried to move closer to her again, but Ivy pushed past him, elbowing him in the chest. Turning around frustrated, she sighed.

  “You’re such a fake,” she said shaking her head. “Really, how long has it been for you, Nicola? Did you get you a little tonight at the Black Tie? How about the other night with Rachel?”

  Nicola huffed. “Why would I lie about something like that? You would have slept with me regardless.”

  “Oh, really?” Ivy snarled. “Just who in the hell do you think that you are?”

  “The exact same man that was making love to you a second ago. So, do we go on like none of this matters?” Nicola asked leaning against the door while she stood on the porch looking away in frustration.

  “No, it matters, Nicola,” she said rolling her eyes. “More than you possibly know.”

  “Why are you marrying him, Ivy?” Nicola retorted.

  “Because I love him, Nicola. No.” She threw her index finger up in protest of Santo’s existence. “Because I know him. Is it not obvious that I don’t know you, af
ter that little show in there? I didn’t even know that you had a twin brother!” She gasped. “That information may have been helpful during the pregnancy.” Pulling a strand of hair from her face, she placed her hand on her hip visibly agitated.

  “What is it that you want me to say? I didn’t know you very well when we discovered that you were having twins…and it could have been sheer coincidence that I had a twin brother.” He walked towards her, lowering his voice. “I didn’t want to tell you and have you thinking the children were mine prematurely. But that’s beside the point. How can you say that you love him when three minutes ago, I was inside of you? For that matter, how can you marry him when I’m still inside your heart.” Nicola instantly felt cheesy for exposing himself, but he had to try to win her over.

  Ivy stopped on her heals and hurled around. “I slipped. Sue me!” Beginning to walk away again, she heard Nicola behind her still following closely.

  “Slip my ass. You didn’t slip!” Nicola exclaimed starting to raise his voice again. “You love me, and you know it! And I know that I love you! And you would rather marry this guy to save face than be with me, because I’m not some big shit want-to-be politician!” The neighbors’ lights came on as a few onlookers peered from their blind at the raging couple. He pulled her arm to him.

  Snatching away, Ivy shook her head emphatically. “If you think that is the only reason that I’m marrying Grey then you’re terribly confused about me and this entire situation!” Ivy shouted.

  “I’ve put myself on front street this entire time for you, Ivy. I don’t know how in the hell to reach you. What does it take? Please tell me for the love of God.” Nicola’s voice was laced with sarcasm.

  “Reach me? Reach me?” Ivy’s voice streaked. “When have you ever even asked for me? How do I know that getting to me isn’t really about getting to Grey? How do I know anything about you, Nicola? Every time I think we’re getting close, you pull away. And what reason do you have? Why are you so distant?”

  “Distant? I’m not distant.”

  “Yes, you are, Nicola,” Ivy protested. “I know that you are an aggressive man about life, about your work and your friends, but not about me. Not about my heart…just my body.” Ivy drew a deep breath. “I’m tired of being treated like a pawn in a chess game. I want it to be over already. I want to rest!”

  “There you go, blaming this entire situation on me! It’s not all my fucking fault! What about the little games that you play with me and with Grey. You know, you can’t always have the both of us, Ivy. Eventually, you’re going to have to give one of us up completely. I mean, you act as though you don’t want to see me with anyone, but yet, you don’t want me yourself. What am I suppose to think? What am I suppose to do? You say that you’re a woman then make grown woman choices. You know that you don’t love that man anymore than I love Rachel…”

  “I do love him,” Ivy snapped wiping crocodile tears from her eyes.

  “But you’re not in love with him.” Nicola snapped back. “What are you worried about…what other people might say if you leave him this late in the game. Fuck that.” He grabbed her in his arms ready to kiss her open mouth again.

  “Easy for you to say. You’ve never had one meaningful relationship in your entire life.” She seethed with anger. She stared into his eyes, instantly seeing the hurt.

  “You’re right. I’ve had two.” Still holding her, Nicola loosened his grip. “But I’m tired of chasing you, Ivy. You know how I feel about you, but you never really say how you feel about me. Even in there, I confessed that I love you, but you held on to your feelings. And that’s just being selfish. Why should I tell you everything, destroy myself and everyone that I care about simply to be rejected again. I need some kind of wall to survive in this shit I’ve gotten into with you.” He released her reluctantly but inwardly still wanting her badly.

  “I don’t know you. Tonight was a perfect example of how little I know about Nicola Michael Agosto. And that scares me. Everyone is always worried about their feelings…how this affects them. What about what I want…huh? Does anyone give a damn about that?” She touched her head, feeling a headache coming. “I’m tired of the being the bone that you and Grey fight over. I’m tired of my kids being subjected to it.” She wiped her tears. “Grown woman decisions, huh? Okay. How about I stick with what I know. It’s safe. It’s simple. It’s real.”

  “It’s the easy way out, Ivy. You don’t have to think for yourself. Around him you’re all prim and proper, but that isn’t you. Sometimes, you just want to be yourself, let go, say what’s on your mind and not worry about it being in the gossip columns in the morning. You need room and time to be yourself, just like anyone else.”

  “This is who I am!” Ivy screamed.

  “Yes, right now. But look who’s here. Me! I bring the truth, the passion out of you. How many times do you actually scream when it hurts, laugh because it’s really funny, cry because it’s really screwed up? How many times does a man grab you by the hair and give you what you really need!”

  “What do you think that I really need, Nicola?”

  “You don’t want to hear what I think that you need.”

  “No, I want to hear it.”

  “You need a real man.”

  “And is that man you? You think just because you keep me in the dark better than he does that makes it all better?”

  “Hey, I’ll admit that I did back off, but I had my reasons and they weren’t selfish ones.”

  “Another excuse!”

  “You’re just pissed off, because I actually see you, Ivy.”

  “And you’re pissed off, because I really see you.”

  “But I’m the only one here that’s okay with that, and that’s the damn problem.”

  “I’m glad that this entire situation is so easy for you to dissect all the way from the nose bleed section.”

  “You mean to tell me that you’re actually going to sit here and tell me that I haven’t done more than my part in this shit?” Nicola shook his head and turned to walk away.

  Ivy felt instant guilt but too angry to give up, she continued. “Don’t you dare throw that guilt trip on me, Nicola! Turn around and face me!” She darted in front of him. “Wait.” She tried to gather her thoughts. “I want you to see this from my side. Why should I play the fool again, when there is so much for me to loose? You and Grey could leave and be fine. No babies. No responsibilities. It would all fall on me.”

  “So, you’re staying with Grey, because you’re scared to be alone.”

  “No! Are you listening to me?”

  “Yeah. You’re telling me that I’m a bigger gamble than a Grey.”

  “But do you understand why?” she asked him softly.

  Nicola looked her in her eyes for a moment silent. His brown eyes burned through her. “I’m a bigger gamble, because I really want to be with you, there is no ulterior motive involved.”

  “You just think that you want me, Nicola. But want me how, as your friend, your girlfriend? I bet you can’t even think of me as your wife. You say that you love me, but you admit to being with other women.”

  Nicola stood looking at her for a moment and then cracked a twisted little smile. “Are you serious?” He started to laugh aloud. He laid his large hand on her little shoulder. “I’ve had a few women since you and I hooked up. Yes. But here’s the thing, so has Grey.”

  “Oh, you just love throwing that in my face.”

  “It’s the truth. This is the man you’re about to marry. And even though he’s been cheating on you and doing his thing, you’re still with him. You’ve been with him the entire time. But all this finger pointing includes you too, because I still have your scent on me. And I know it didn’t get there by itself.”

  “How dare you,” she cut her eyes at him.

  “You’ve got to search your heart to find what you want in all of this. I know what I want. And I was telling the truth about waiting. I have. Grey knows what he wants too…I’m not sur
e you two have the same reason for this marriage thing. But it’s your choice. I won’t push you anymore.”

  “I want Grey,” Ivy said in a low whisper.

  Nicola looked away from her, trying not to let her see that she had just knocked the wind out of him. Finally, seeing that his reasoning with her had gone nowhere, he rested. Lifting her chin, he kissed her lips softly and rubbed her cool shoulders. “You keep telling yourself that and maybe you’ll be happy with him, being his fucking Pinocchio.” His voiced cracked, ached for understanding.

  Trying to fight tears, she gathered herself. “Go to hell, Nicola, if you aren’t already there,” she said walking off quietly.

  Nicola stood in his front yard watching her drive off into the sunrise, with her drop top down and hair flowing into the wind, running from him. Feeling the dew under his feet, he picked up his newspaper and dragged back inside of his house. What a fucking night.

  He was so close to breaking through Ivy’s defenses; he could finally feel them waning. So, what had happened? Santo wasn’t really the reason for her anger. Something else was driving her to push away. But he was so tired of fighting to figure it all out. After all, he had the love of his children. She had given more than her share to him. Ivy was right; it was time for her to be happy. Besides, Grey was still holding Trina over his head, even after Brooks’ death. It had been a stretch to ask for her tonight. If she had chosen to be with him for good, he would have surely cost Trina her marriage to Emerald and her friendship to Ivy, and more than likely he would have still lost Ivy. Slamming the door behind him, he walked pass Santo who had passed out on the couch and went up to his room.

  Chapter Thirty-Two: Wake Up!

  Chapter 32

  Wake Up!

  The early morning sun blasted into Grey’s room as he woke from a comfortable slumber. Rolling over, he felt for the warmness of Ivy’s body. Eyes opened, he realized that he was alone.

  Why would she be here, Grey thought to himself as he tried to sit up and fight what seemed to be a hellacious hangover. Pulling himself to the end of the bed, his feet snuggled into his plush carpet allowing him to hold on to the nightstand and pull up from the bed.