“What. The. Fuck?” I pop my head into the bathroom and see her sitting at her vanity with white triangles painted under her eyes and various lines of different colors all over her face. “We’re just going to brunch, not clown college.”
“I’m contouring my face,” she makes eye contact with me in the mirror. “This is how I always do my make-up.” She starts rubbing it in and blending the colors with an egg-shaped thing. It’s equal parts fascinating and horrifying, like watching pimple popping videos on YouTube. “Your whole face is different.”
“Yes,” she nods condescendingly, “that is the point.”
“Okay, catfish,” I nod my head at her, “you ready? I’m hungry.”
“It’s not catfishing.” I’m treated to an eye roll. “Didn’t you absorb anything from feminist theory last year? Women don’t wear makeup for guys, most do it for themselves.” She grabs a purse from her closet and tosses her wallet, phone, and a tube of lip gloss inside.
“Yeah, but who sets the beauty standards?” I ask as I hold the door open for her. “Even if you’re wearing makeup for yourself, you are still participating in a culture that values a specific set of standards for beauty. Standards set by a culture with roots deep in the patriarchy.”
She stops, turns, and gapes at me. Her mouth closes and then opens again. “You were paying attention.”
“I always do. I’m not just a hard body and sexy face,” I say with a wink. “There’s a functioning brain in here, too. Don’t tell anyone, though. It’ll ruin my image.”
She surprises me by rising to her toes and wrapping her arms around my neck in a tight hug. “I missed you,” she whispers into my ear.
“I missed you, too,” I say dragging her familiar scent in my nostrils.
“Oh, isn’t that sweet,” the stepmonster croons from down the hall. “Didn’t realize how close you two are.”
Ives stiffens in my arms and lets go of me. She tries to back away from me but fuck if I’m letting this vile piece of trash ruin our moment. I tighten my hold on Ives’s hips. “Yeah, Jennifer, we’ve only been best friends since we were eleven. The fact that we’d miss each other after a summer apart is so fucking surprising.”
I don’t hide my contempt for her anymore. She is a horrible mother and a terrible person. The damage she’s done to Ivy in just a year is horrendous. Ives thinks she hides it, but I catch her looking at herself extra critically. She pushes food around on her plate instead of eating. It all goes back to the abuse from the garbage standing ten feet away from us.
It’s been easy to avoid Jennifer this summer. Con and I basically spent most of our time with Griff in his pool house. We each have a bedroom there, and his parents’ chef would double all the dinners so we’d be fed. We didn’t even really go out and party much, aside from keeping up with the responsibilities of running the student body and keeping everyone in line.
“Where are you two going?” Jennifer asks.
“Brunch.” I keep my answer short.
“Oh, maybe Frank and I sho-”
“No.” I interrupt rudely. “Ives and I are catching up,” I pull Ives out the door and into the garage behind me. I don’t bother saying anything else.
“Which car are we taking?” she asks.
“The Lambo.” I hit the opener for the garage door and walk over to open the passenger door for her. Once she’s in and situated, I gently close it behind her. I’m not usually such a gentleman, but she slams car doors and this car is my baby.
“How was your summer?” I ask as I pull out of our neighborhood.
“It was actually really amazing. I loved London. Oliver showed me everything, and we even took a long weekend trip up to Scotland.”
“That’s awesome.” Not. “How was training with Olympians?”
“Normal,” she shrugs, “I mean, my dad and Godfather are both Olympic swimmers. Plus, your dad won a National Championship in college. I’m used to being around incredible athletes.” She pauses to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. “It did cement that I don’t want to compete at that level though. They eat, sleep, and live swimming. I want more balance in my life.”
“Have you said anything to your dad about it yet?”
“No,” she says with a big sigh. “I don’t want to disappoint him. It’s bad enough that Mom hates me, the thought of disappointing my dad on top of it is scary.”
“Jennifer is trash and not worthy of one single second of your concern. Your dad might be bummed, but he would never be disappointed in you or your choices.” I lay my hand on her firm, smooth thigh. She doesn’t move away, so I leave it there the rest of the drive.
A comfortable silence follows our conversation about her summer until we get to the restaurant and place our orders. It’s one of my favorite things about being with Ives, the comfortable silences. So many nights at camp we would just sit on the dock skimming our feet through the water and looking at the stars, not saying anything. Everyone looks to me for the overtly sexual commentary, lewd jokes, or to be a leader on the football field. It’s nice to just be with Ives.
“How was your summer?” she asks when our drinks arrive.
“I basically lived at Griff’s with Con. His mom took off to her family estate in Ireland. Packed up Claire in the middle of the night and took off.”
“Oh my gosh,” her eyes widen in surprise, “he must have been freaking out. I don’t know him that well, but he doesn’t seem like the type to be okay with that. He’s close with his sister, right?”
“Yeah, super close. I guess she’s not even living with her mom. She’s at some Catholic boarding school outside Dublin.”
“Why did his mom take off?”
“He thinks his dad had an affair because one of their housekeepers, a young hot one, left right at the same time.”
“Sucks,” she shakes her head.
“Speaking of which, I need a favor.”
Her gray eyes bounce back and forth between mine, and she nods for me to continue.
“Con’s dad hired a new guy to run security for Volkov Industries. The new guy has a daughter our age, Lilith, and she’ll be going to FPA. He’s convinced his dad is going to have an affair with her.”
“Why?”
“Who the fuck knows? It’s Con. He’s spiraling and needs to focus his aggression. I think he’s going to end up hooking up with her though. The sexual tension between them is off the charts, and he’s already possessive. This is why I want you to befriend her. He’s given the order to Margaux to fuck with her and for everyone else to ignore her.”
Ives rolls her eyes. She’s not a fan of Margaux, Leighton, or Darcy, the resident mean girls of FPA.
“You are protected, though, and don’t have to listen to anything we have to say. So it’s actually perfect, and I think you’ll like her. She’s feisty.”
“Why do you care about how she’s treated? You haven’t cared before, except when I was new.”
I nod because it’s true. “This is going to sound weird, but she seems familiar in some bizarre way, like she belongs with us. Maybe it’s because she looks and acts like a girl version of me, I can’t be sure. I just know there’s a part of me that identifies with her and not even in a sexual way. I made a few jokes about banging her to rile up Con yesterday, but there’s nothing there.”
“Interesting,” she narrows her eyes and gives me a pensive look.
Our server drops off our food, so we pause our conversation.
“I’ll do it.” Ives says after taking a bite of her eggs Benedict.
“You’re the best.” I steal a forkful of her food. “I’ll send the information Griff found about her to you.”
“No,” her brows furrow, “that’s not how you form a healthy friendship, Levi. I’ll get to know her on my own.” She shakes her head. “You guys are creepy fucks, you know that?”
“Unapologetically guilty as charged. No plans to stop either.” She would really flip if she knew I installed a tracking app on her phone and in
her car last year. I joke about Con being possessive, but I’m over here crazy obsessed with Ivy.
We spend the rest of the day together, going to a movie a few towns over, so we could avoid running into anyone from school. We stop for ice cream afterward, and it hits me that this is the closest to a date I’ve ever been on. I have sex with girls, usually only once, and that’s that. No cuddling, no dates, no promises. It hits me that I’d give Ives any or all those things, a hundred times over if only she’d let down the walls and let me in.
11
IVY
I groan as I hit the snooze on my alarm. Five in the morning is too early, but I need to get a good forty-five minutes of training before school. I grab my phone off the charging pad and see a text from Oliver wishing me a happy first day. I send him a thank you text and make a mental note to remember to send him the same text when his semester starts next week. He’ll be fine though; he’s insanely smart on top of being athletic, funny, and hot as hell.
I pull on one of my practice suits and grab a towel. The house is dark and still. Frank went into the city last night. I don’t know if Mom went with him or not. She won’t be awake for hours, regardless. A blast of humid heat assaults me when I open the door to the backyard. I waste no time jumping into the cool water. I slide my ear pods in, turn on my The Weeknd playlist and start with some easy backstroke laps.
I pull myself out of the pool and find a glass of cold brew made exactly how I like it with extra French vanilla creamer waiting for me beside my towel. I look around to see if Levi is still outside, but he’s gone. I’ll thank him later.
Babs is just turning everything on in the kitchen when I come through.
“Good morning!” she greets me with a hug even though I’m sopping wet. “How was your summer? We missed you around here.”
“Morning!” I squeeze her back. “It was great. Crazy busy and intense with training but so fun.”
“Good,” she steps back and looks me up and down. “What do you want for breakfast?”
“Avocado toast with a runny sunny-side up egg?”
“You got it. I’ll have it ready in about an hour, does that work?”
“That’s perfect.”
I take the back stairs to avoid any possible run ins with my mom. I don’t need that drama on my first day back at FPA. As soon as I get to my room, I scroll through my Spotify playlists to find the right vibe for the morning. “Glitter” by BENEE fills Bluetooth speakers in my bathroom, and I flip the shower on. I spend a little extra time than usual deep conditioning my hair. Between the chlorine and heat styling, my hair is always dry.
I finish getting dressed and ready and stop by Levi’s room. I’m about to knock but remember how he made himself at home in my room yesterday and let myself in instead. I immediately regret that decision.
Levi walks out of the bathroom completely naked at the exact same moment that I walk into his room. He pauses, surprised, but just as quick a cocky grin crosses his lips. I, however, squeak and turn bright red in embarrassment. Logically, I know I should leave the room or turn away,but I can’t help but stand and stare.
He looked bigger yesterday, like he had grown both stronger and taller, and now I know he has. The cuts of muscle on his body are each a little more defined, a little bulkier, a lot sexier. My eyes go on a hot guy safari, starting at his shoulders, moving down his chest, past his eight-pack abs, and following that delicious V. I try really hard to avert my eyes from his cock, but it’s right there and really starting to love the attention I’m giving it. I force my eyes away and take in his muscular thighs and calves.
“Jesus, Ives,” his voice sounds strangled, “you done eye fucking me yet? We can move on to actual fucking. I could go for a morning quickie. It’s been a few days since my dick’s seen any action.”
His taunt hits me like a bucket of ice water. “I just wanted to say thanks for the cold brew. I see you’re back to being an arrogant asshole so that’s all.” I don’t stop when he says my name, but I do feel a glimmer of satisfaction when I hear drawers slamming in his room.
I know he feels like he has to play a role at school and to a certain point, I don’t disagree with him. I know he, Connor, and Griffin actually do keep the majority of the school in line. I just hate when he directs that attitude at me, especially at home. It’s like he steps into this fuck boy swagger and becomes a different person. I like my sweet, thoughtful, deep Levi. The one no one else gets to see.
I finish breakfast and grab my bag to leave. At least I have my own car so I’m not at Levi’s mercy this year. I put the top down and watch as Levi climbs in G Wagon. He pulls out first, and I follow right behind him, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the wind in my hair.
When we pull into the long drive leading up to the campus, I see a tall blonde walking along the edge of the road, her leather bag slung over a shoulder. Levi damn near hits her sending her to her knees in the gravel on the side of the road.
I pull over in front of her, assuming this is Lilith. I know I’ve never seen her before and FPA isn’t that big of a school. She stands and gives me a reluctant look when I offer a ride. Levi was right. She does look like she could be his sister or something. Her eyes are lighter shade of blue but framed by the same thick black lashes. Her hair is long and almost white blonde, but the natural kind, not the phony attempts from a bottle. She’s got a banging body too, hourglass curves that show through our school uniform.
We introduce ourselves, and when I park beside Levi, I make sure to voice my annoyance at his shit driving. After we pick up her schedule and discover we share several classes, we walk to seminar together. I give her as much of a tour as possible on the way.
I barely hold back an eye roll when we walk into seminar and see we share the class with all three guys. I’m sure they were behind this. Griffin probably hacked into the school system to put us all together. I try to ignore the sexual innuendos that Levi tosses Lilith’s way but can’t help but laugh when she throws his bullshit right back at him. He was right, I think I’m in love with her already. She literally gives zero fucks about any of these people.
Most of the morning goes by quickly. I’m walking into my communications class when I feel a meaty arm tug me into a side hug. There’s only one guy allowed to touch me like this, so I immediately know who it is and turn into him for a big bear hug.
“Mason! How was your summer?” I say as he lifts me off the ground and squeezes me.
“Boring without you around. Levi was like a lost puppy all summer.” He sets me back down.
“I doubt that.” I take a step back and look up at my sweet friend’s face. He’s grown too, although he’s always been huge. About an inch shorter than Levi but twice as wide and thick, according to Frank that’s why he’s such a good lineman. He can see over him, but he’s strong enough to hold the pocket. “You in Com?” I ask pointing to the door I was about to enter.
“Yep, we can sit together.” He drags me in the room behind him. We grab seats side by side in the back row.
I’m pulling out a pencil when someone plops down in the desk in front of me. When I look up, I see Wes Sampson looking right at me. He was on the soccer team last year with Oliver. He’s cute in the polished way all the FPA boys are, clean cut with nicely styled hair, flashy watches, and expensive cologne.
“Hi Ivy.” He says while he clearly checks me out.
“Hello.”
“Still with Oliver?”
“No,” way to cut to the chase, “we didn’t want to do the long-distance thing.” My skin prickles with awareness, and I know Mason is tuned into this conversation. Probably two seconds away from texting a report to Levi.
“Oh really? That’s good news for me, then, isn’t it?” His hazel eyes gleam brightly.
I’m about to really turn on my flirt game, knowing it’ll get back to Levi when the teacher walks in. I wouldn’t turn down a date with him. It’ll keep me distracted from Levi. I give him a look that I hope conveys my interest
, and he winks at me.
When I turn my head in Mason’s direction, he’s wearing a frown of disapproval. He rips a sheet of paper off his notepad and scrawls something before handing it over to me.
You and Levi belong together. You know it. He knows it. Everyone knows it. Quit fucking around.
I look over at him and shrug in response. Maybe we do, maybe we don’t, but right now, while our parents are married, we can’t be together. It’s as simple as that.
I’m walking to my car at the end of the day when I hear my name shouted from behind me. I turn to see Wes and his teammate Felix hurrying to catch up.
“Hey, how was the rest of your first day?” he asks when he reaches me.
“It was alright. It should be an easy year for me, I took all my hard classes last year.” I scan the building behind their heads, looking for Lilith. She’s hitching a ride home with me today. When I don’t see her, I keep walking toward my car.
“Yeah, I’m coasting this year, too.” He falls in step beside me. “I was wondering if I could get your number. Maybe we could go out this weekend?”
“Yeah, sounds good.” He hands me his phone, and I punch my number in.
“Hey,” Lilith walks up to us.
“Hey girl!” I point at Wes and Felix to introduce them, noting the look in Felix’s eyes when he gets a good look at her. She is gorgeous, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Amazon. They start chatting while Wes and I keep going for a few minutes. Then another guy yells that they’re late for conditioning, so they take off.
After I get Lilith dropped off at the Volkov estate, I go home. I decide to pick up the phone to FaceTime Oliver and fill him in on how the day went. The phone rings several times before he picks up.
“Hello love,” he says with that adorable accent. It’s stronger since he’s been back in England.
Relentless (Titans of Founder's Ridge Book 2) Page 9
