by Terry Towers
Grabbing his half-empty beer he downed the remainder. Let it go man, let it go. You had your shot.… He couldn’t.
“So instead of studying so you can be a doctor, like you’ve dreamed of being, you’re wasting it… For what, to get laid by some frat boy?” Pushing his chair back, he stood and made his way to the refrigerator and grabbed another beer. When he spun back around he was face to face with Trey.
“What the hell is wrong with you man?” Trey whispered. “You’ve been worked up this past year because Ivy took off without a word to you and now that she’s back you’re being a fucking dick. Give her a damned break.”
Taking a deep breath in, Ethan slowly exhaled as he twisted off the top of the fresh bottle of beer. “You don’t get it Trey and I don’t feel like explaining it. She’s not your responsibility.”
“And she’s not yours either. What I get is she cooked us dinner and asked us to hang out with her for the first time in over a year and you’re going to chase her off. What the hell man?”
“You don’t get it,” Ethan repeated. He looked over Trey’s shoulder to see Ivy, who was picking at the barely touched food on her plate, and another surge of guilt rushed over him. Trey was right, he was being a dick. She was here and he was finally going to have an opportunity to explain why he’d rejected her and he was close to blowing that chance – for what? His ego? Because she may be interested in someone other than him? “It’s complicated.”
“Well, you have a choice, stop being an ass or I’m taking her out of here for the night. It’s not cool, man.”
“Fine.” Ethan attempted to move past Trey, to be stopped. Their gazes locked. “I said, it’s fine.” Giving Trey a shove out of the way, Ethan stepped past him, walked across the kitchen and took his seat to the right of Ivy. “Ivy, I’m sorry.”
She looked up from her plate and stared at him a moment. Brushing a lock of long auburn hair from her face she nodded and lowered her gaze back to her plate. “No big deal.”
~*~*~*~
Ivy
“So are you seeing anyone now, Ivy?” Trey asked.
Ivy’s head whipped around to gaze back at Trey, a smile returning to her lips, grateful for the distraction. Taking a deep breath in she slowly released it, building her courage. “Not right now. I’ve been dating but no one has really caught my attention for very long. So what about you two, you said you’ve been having a bit of a dry spell?” She looked from one face to the other.
Trey shrugged. “It seems like this city is much smaller than it was when we were in high school. There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of quality dating material left.”
Maybe ’cause you two went through so many in high school, she mused, but merely smiled. “Now that seems awfully hard to believe. You guys had your choice of girls before I left.”
“Maybe we’re not the guys we used to be,” Ethan cut in.
Looking back at Ethan, Ivy’s eyes narrowed at him. “What do you mean by that?”
“We’re not in high school anymore, Ivy. We had our fun times, but I’m sure I speak for Trey as well as myself when I say we now realize there’s things more important than just looks and popularity and all those silly things that meant so much when we were teenagers.”
“Those things seemed rather important to you a year and a half ago, Ethan.”
Ethan sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “People change, Ivy.” He motioned toward her. “It’s evident that you changed, so why can’t we?”
Their eyes locked, but neither one spoke. She had a million thoughts racing through her head, second-guessing her plot.
“Well, that was a wonderful supper, Ivy.” The sound of Trey’s chair being pushed back broke into her thoughts and she pulled her gaze from Ethan’s to look up at Trey. “How about we go on into the living room and maybe throw on a movie or something? A comedy perhaps.” Trey’s eyes cut over to Ethan’s. “I think this conversation is over.” He cocked a brow up at his friend. “Don’t you?”
Chapter 3
Ivy
“Beer anyone?” Ivy placed the beer on the coffee table in front of Ethan and Trey. This was their fourth while she nursed her first wine cooler. Just how she’d planned it. The awkwardness of the confrontation at the dinner table had seemed to die off as the night wore on and for that she was grateful. She needed them to be at just the right state that they’d be in a carefree mood and up for just about anything, but not so drunk they’d be useless. They were almost there. The idea wasn’t to go for the gold tonight, but plant the idea in their heads, let them simmer on it overnight – maybe for a few days.
“Yeah, I’m about due for another, babes,” Trey said. He guzzled down the remainder of the beer in the bottle, placed it on the coffee table with the other empty bottles and accepted the fresh one from her. Ivy turned from Trey to offer to hand one to Ethan and yelped as his hand landed on her bottom with a playful smack. The slap left a sting in its wake.
“Trey!” Turning back to him, Ivy gave his shoulder a swat. “Keep that up and I’ll have to cut you off.”
“Oh, you don’t want to be doing that Ivy.” Placing his beer on the side table, Trey grabbed her hips and pulled her back and into his lap.
Ivy squealed as she fell back onto him and wiggled on his lap as she attempted to settle herself on him. As she wiggled, she felt his shaft thickening beneath the layers of clothing and the ridge of his cock pressing against her bottom. Her body froze for a brief moment, surprised by his body’s immediate reaction to her, despite that being the intent from the beginning. He’d certainly been sending her signals, but it was still a little startling. She’d dated some at college, but was still getting used to men’s reactions to the new her.
She was about to spring from his lap, but one look up and into Ethan’s jealous eyes reaffirmed her need to see this through. She was getting to him, making him feel how she’d felt the day he’d turned her away. Instead of squirming away, Ivy sank back into Trey’s embrace. As she leaned closer a whiff of his cologne drifted to her nose, a woodsy scent with citrus undertones; it was enticing, inviting her closer. It felt both awkward and incredibly good being in Trey’s arms.
Redirecting her attention from Ethan to Trey, she grazed her lips along the side of his neck, pretending to inhale his scent. “Mmmm. I love your cologne.” His body tensed under her, his hands tightening their grip on her hips and he groaned softly, although not loud enough for Ethan to hear.
“Thanks. I’m glad you like it.” She pulled back and their eyes locked. Desire had flared up within his dark eyes and she could see the fight to restrain himself in his expression.
“Oh, I do,” Ivy purred and nearly cringed at the way she cooed at him. She was reminding herself of those slutty cheerleaders she hated so much in high school. No matter how much hurt Ethan caused her and they caused other women, did she really want to stoop to being just like those girls? Because the bottom line, even though she hated to admit it, was that she still wanted Ethan and she was beginning to have feelings toward Trey, even though the ones for Trey were mostly based on attraction. But he seemed to have changed. Maybe they both had.
Is this what I really want? Maybe this was just a plain bad idea.
Ivy looked down into Trey’s dark lust-filled eyes and then quickly glanced over at Ethan, whose blue eyes were filling with rage. Was she over her head? Better question, who was I to think I could ever pull this off?
~*~*~*~
Ethan
What. The. Fuck!
Ethan was hitting his breaking point watching Ivy with Trey. He was trying to ignore it, but neither one of them seemed to be shy about their excessive flirting, while he was virtually ignored. It had been going on for hours, through dinner and two movies. There wasn’t enough liquor in the fucking world to calm him at this point.
To hell with this! When Trey nuzzled her neck and she closed her eyes giggling he’d had enough. Slamming his empty beer bottle down on the coffee table Ethan
stood and stormed from the living room, heading up the staircase to the bedrooms. He wasn’t sure what he was angrier about: the fact she was being so open to Trey’s advances or the fact it was bothering him as much as it was.
What did it matter anyhow? I had my chance and I rejected her.
He didn’t even want to consider the guilt. It had been eating at him since she took off to college. He’d been an ass and he knew it. He’d rejected her because of what… ’Cause she was fat and he wanted the beauty queen on his arm. She was the perfect woman and he’d given her up and now it appeared she was going to be Trey’s. If he could turn back time and have a redo on that moment when she’d told him she loved him he would in a heartbeat.
Maybe I don’t deserve her anyhow…
Reaching the top of the staircase, he made his way to the room that had been his until a year ago and entered, slamming the door behind him. Remembering that he had a pint of Jack Daniel’s tucked away on the top shelf of his closet from his high school days, he grabbed it and then flopped himself onto his bed intent on getting himself nice and hammered to override the feelings swelling and swirling within him.
Fine, let Trey have her. It’s not like she’d want me after what happened. She’d made that crystal clear, and it fucking hurt.
~*~*~*~*~
Ivy
Seeing Ethan storm off didn’t give Ivy the satisfaction she thought it would – quite the opposite, it left her feeling guilty and ashamed.
“What the fuck was wrong with him?” Trey asked, all playfulness gone as she pushed herself off of his lap and onto the sofa next to him.
“I don’t know.” But she was lying, she suspected she knew. Looking up and into Trey’s eyes she came to the conclusion that Ethan must not have shared that she’d bared her soul to him, which was unusual since they knew virtually everything about each other – talking about women and conquests had always been one of their favourite topics.
Why didn’t he tell Trey? Maybe he was embarrassed… of me… for me. She frowned looking toward the staircase. She didn’t know which. She had to find out.
“Are you okay? I was just messing around.”
The sound of his voice pulled her gaze from where Ethan exited back to Trey. She forced a smile on her face. “Of course I am. I know.”
“It’s just…” he shrugged. “You’ve really transformed into a stunning woman, Ivy. It’s hard to keep in my mind who you were.”
She huffed. Yeah, fat Ivy. The girl who had a beautiful face, too bad she’s so fat. She’d overheard one of Ethan’s other friends say that more than once. She’d run to her room and cried for ten minutes and then found relief in a bottle of Coca-Cola, along with some chips and dip. They had been her friends and vices – still would be had she not replaced them with exercise.
“Damn.” Trey thrust a hand into his short dark hair. “I think I’m making this worse.”
Ivy’s green eyes caught his dark ones. “No. It’s good.” She looked over her shoulder at the staircase outside of the room again and then back at him. “It’s good. We’re good.” Sliding from the sofa she stood and adjusted her skirt, which had risen dangerously high on her thighs. “Just give me a second to see if everything is good with Ethan, okay?” She hesitated and with a surge of brazenness she leaned down and brushed her lips across his, kissing him softly, but pulling away before he could deepen the kiss; if that happened, she’d never get upstairs to get to the bottom of things, she’d be putty in Trey’s hands.
Standing, she readjusted her skirt once more and gave him another smile before spinning around and rushing up the stairs. She had to move quickly or she’d lose the nerve – or before he got so much alcohol in him that he’d be impossible to reason with. If she recalled correctly he had quite a stash of liquor hidden in his closet and seemed intent on getting wasted tonight, so just because he was heading upstairs didn’t mean the drinking was ending anytime soon. While a drunk Trey was flirty and fun, a drunk Ethan was not even close to being a fun person to be around.
Approaching his door, she paused with her hand on the door handle. It was in his room where she’d opened her heart to him to have it handed to her on a platter.
“That was a lifetime ago,” she murmured, opening the door and stepping inside.
“Ever hear of knocking, Ivy?” Ivy’s eyes lifted to see Ethan. He’d removed his shirt and was reclining against the head of the bed in a pair of black jogging pants with the Bangor FD emblem on the thigh. There was a long scar on his side that hadn’t been there before.
She shrugged. “It’s something I’ll have to work on. Can I come in?”
“Looks to me you’re already in.” His eyes scanned her, slowly, from head to toe and back again. He didn’t even attempt to hide his examination, or the look of annoyance on his face.
“Can we talk?” She took a few more steps into the room and closed the door behind her, not wanting Trey to hear their conversation.
He took a swig from the bottle of Jack and then set it onto the night table by the bed. “Why now, Ivy?” He sat up straighter on the bed and slid his legs over the edge, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on his knees. “Do you know how many times I tried to call you after you left? You wouldn’t even give me five minutes to explain.”
All right, guess we’re going there already.
“What was there to explain, Ethan? I told you I was in love with you and you didn’t want me.” To her surprise tears sprang to her eyes. How could this hurt so much when it was so long ago? She turned slightly, enough so that he wouldn’t notice her swipe at her eyes with the back of her hand.
“That wasn’t it exactly.”
“So you rejected me because of what? I was too hot for you. Too smart. Too good of a friend? Too devoted. Loved you too much. Come on Ethan, stop me when I’ve come to the reason!”
He frowned, his stare catching hers. “We’re stepsiblings, Ivy… We were living under the same roof.”
She huffed. “So my weight had nothing to do with it.”
He opened his mouth to respond.
“Don’t lie to me.”
He snapped his mouth shut again.
“Yeah.” She gave her head a shake. “That’s what I thought. I wasn’t the tiny cheerleader you could show off. I get it.”
Ethan rose to his feet and all of a sudden seemed taller, larger. And too damned sexy. He took a few steps toward her, but she held her ground. Ivy tilted her head up, keeping her eyes locked to his, refusing to back down.
“Maybe you’re right to a certain extent. A year and a half can make a big difference in someone – as you know. So maybe back then I was a bit of an ass and was swayed by the popular girls and women like that. But people change, Ivy. When you left and refused to talk to me it really hurt.”
A laugh escaped her. “Hurt? You were hurt? You have got to be kidding me right now. You were given a choice and you didn’t choose me and now you what… You want what? Pity from me ’cause you lost your fat friend?”
“I never saw you as that.”
“But you never saw me as someone you’d want to be with either.”
“I never saw you as someone to be with because you were a good friend. And we’re stepsiblings. And let’s not forget the fact you told me a day before you left for college. Just out of the blue, just before you leave you announce you were in love with me. Even if I had felt the same way, how did you figure that would play out? Me here and you in Boston?”
“We could have made it work, Ethan. It’s not like I was across the country. It’s not like Boston is very far. You just had to hop in a car and drive south an hour and a half.”
“But you didn’t give me time to process it, Ivy. You tossed it at me and then took off. I tried to talk to you, but you shut me out.”
“If you really wanted to sort it out you could have come after me.” She knew she was beginning to become unreasonable and that what he was saying did have some merit, that there was a chance her weight wasn’t the o
nly thing that had been a factor, but didn’t give a damn. She needed a reason to pursue her plan. The plan had been the outlet for her heartache for a long time.
“So drive down there, while in the middle of training for the department so you could slam the door in my face and tell me to go fuck myself? If you wouldn’t answer the phone no matter how many calls or texts I sent what would lead me to believe showing up and making a fool out of myself in person would provide better results?”
She frowned. She didn’t have a reasonable answer for him. “You could have tried.”
“And what is going on with you and Trey? You never had an interest in him before. At least I didn’t think so. What’s your game plan, Ivy? You’re using him to make me jealous? Is that it?”
