Get a Grip (Hollywood Nights)

by North, Cara

  Mathis turned to look at him expectantly. Bo seized the opportunity, “I don’t mind living here. It’s cozier than my place. You decorated it. I had someone come in and put that thing together. You like living here. I could care less about living there.”

  Mathis smiled warmly and nodded. “You just went from like to love. Now where is your place? I’ll get a moving crew prepped to make the transition.”

  Ivy started to say something, but Bo cut her off and told Mathis where he lived, got the number and dropped him the contact information immediately. They set a date to have the movers walk through to know what to bring and what to leave. He had an ally in Mathis and that was essential if he was going to keep Ivy. Finally, Bo said, “I’d like to sell it, but I’m not sure…”

  “Oh, I’ll get it sold for you. I know just the person to buy it. I know that house, well not intimately, but I remember when it was up for sale a few years ago. You have to be positively certain that you want to because the person I have in mind will be difficult if I tell him and it doesn’t happen. Let’s discuss it next week when the movers come.” Mathis turned to Ivy and said, “You enjoy my vacation, darling! When I come back to work, it will be back to work for you too. I can’t very well keep assisting someone who retired now can I?”

  Bo looked to Ivy as Mathis made his exit. “You retired?”

  “I don’t know what I’m doing.” Ivy shrugged. Her hair had highlights when she stood directly in the sun as she did now. “What are you doing? I thought you wanted to live in your house. It is like the size of three of mine.”

  “And there is like two of us.” Bo pointed out the obvious. “I bought that house for the wrong reason. I don’t have any emotional attachment to it. You obviously enjoy this place. I like it too. I could see myself here.”

  “You could?” She laughed. “How long?”

  “Maybe forever.”

  “That’s a long time.” She fidgeted with her shirt hem.

  “You’re closer to the beach which means closer to the waves.” He tried to put her at ease any way he could.

  “So the surfing is what you really want?” She tried to kid back but it wasn’t quite genuine. He needed to let her know he was serious.

  “Come here.” He held out his arm and she moved to stand with him. “Look at that porch. You already have a swing hanging from it. Now all we need are a few grandkids running around and we’d be happy old people.”

  “Grandkids?” She laughed again. “I think you may be missing a few steps along the way.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like the fact that you don’t love me, and we would need kids to have…”

  “Wait, back up. What did you say?” He turned to face her. He looked down and she looked up.

  “You don’t love me.” Her eyes showed a hint of fear mixed with hope.

  “Says who?” Bo could feel his heart thumping in his chest. His pulse ran wild, his fingers itched to tremble. His mouth was on autopilot and he couldn’t seem to stop it.

  “Says…”

  “What is love, Ivy?” he asked. “Isn’t it just the feeling of acceptance? It’s held together with forgiveness, threaded with doubt and worry, sewn into our minds by the feelings we get. It’s chemistry, and we have that. If I don’t love you, then I guess I don’t know how I feel.”

  “You love me?” Her eyes widened.

  “Either that or I am bat-shit crazy.” Bo was wondering if he had stumbled upon a bit of both the emotion and a loss of sanity.

  She tiptoed up to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her and admitted to himself that he was in fact in love with Ivy. He had been for years. The real question remained, did she or would she love him?

  ***

  Ivy was happy that Bo loved her. She was sure she could love him too. She hadn’t been in love before so she didn’t know when it would hit her and she would know for sure. She knew for sure she was in lust with him, that she wanted to rip the hair out of that assistant’s head when she touched his arm that day. She had never felt violent before. Bo stirred something in her that made her both excited by and afraid of it.

  She craved his touch more than she needed oxygen. She didn’t think that emotions in bed were enough to say she loved him. She wanted to know more about him first. She wanted some surge of emotion to possess her and shake her through and through with undeniable proof of love. She wanted to feel it the way she had imagined it in her roles in the movies.

  Bo followed her to the bedroom and looked at what Mathis had prepared for her. “That’s surprising.”

  “What is?” she asked.

  “Well, Dale is pretty consistent. He’s loud. His clothes are loud, even when he is not dressed as Barbie. He buys loud gifts for everyone else. For my birthday last year he sent me a pink polo shirt and a note that read, real men wear pink.” Bo laughed.

  “Did you wear it?”

  “I am a real man.” He winked at her. “I could hardly focus on that little dude because he was so bright against the sun outside. I half expected to find a similar outfit for you.”

  Ivy laughed. “No, he doesn’t push his fashion on anyone else. Though I will say sometimes we do borrow from one another. He is like family to me. Except, unlike the rest of my family, my nephews and nieces excluded, Mathis actually does work to earn what I give him.”

  She looked at Bo and asked, “Which do you like best?”

  “You could put on a paper bag and I’d think you were beautiful.”

  “Nice try.” She winked at him. “Tell me.”

  “I think the second one would be the most comfortable for the barbeque.” Bo shrugged.

  “Me too.” She did agree with Mathis this time. She would not tell him though.

  “Do you need any help?” he asked and looked at her longingly.

  “With a shirt and jeans?” Ivy looked him over from head to toe. He was one fine piece of man. Neatly put together even in jeans and a t-shirt with a sweater overtop. The winter months were rolling in and the evenings could get pretty chilly if not cold.

  “I’m just saying.” He looked at the outfit and added, “There are a lot of buttons on that blouse.”

  “I think it’s best if I struggle with it now and let you help me out of it later. We’re running a little bit behind as it is.” She said it, but didn’t mean it. She wanted to pull all of his clothes off of him and show him just how happy she was that he wanted to live in her house and not his creepy old mansion.

  “Even if I just…took care of you?” His expression melted her on the spot.

  “Um, how would you do that?” she asked breathlessly.

  “Let me show you.”

  ***

  Later…

  Bo sat with his arm draped across the back of her chair while his little brother, Dale entertained as usual. She was more relaxed than he was, but that was because he had taken time to rock her world before they came here. He was torturing himself, but when it came to Ivy, he apparently liked to do that. He tried not to think about it. His brother made it easy when he started the next joke. He pleaded, “No. Not that one.”

  “Hush,” Dale shushed him. “Ivy, I knew I was going to be the gay one in this family. Do you know how?”

  Gabe, Dale’s partner shook his head and went to refresh his drink. Everyone in the family had heard Dale’s act a million times. Ivy was like a fresh audience. He could pull out old material and she still laughed because she didn’t know it was old. Not yet anyways. Bo said, “Don’t let him bait you.”

  “Hush.” Dale shushed him again and looked at Ivy.

  “How?” she asked.

  “Because my oldest brother is such a dick he can’t even figure out where his nuts are, and my other brother would die if he ever put some in his mouth!” Dale cracked up laughing. Ivy shook her head and tried not to laugh.

  “You’re terrible.” Ivy said to Dale. She looked at Bo and placed her hand on his thigh. The touch was becoming more familiar to him and yet it still sent
sparks throughout his body. “Did you know he told these jokes on stage?”

  “Yes,” Bo admitted. “I make up a good amount of his act. I almost wish I hadn’t been so accepting of him when we were younger. Maybe then he could focus on someone else.”

  “It’s only because I love you, Bo. You know that. You’re my favorite big brother.” Dale said it sincerely. Dale looked up and his expression shifted from happy to annoyed. Bo knew their other brother had arrived. “Well, well. If it isn’t Alexander the great.”

  Ivy turned to see who Dale was talking about. Alexander approached. Adele stopped to talk to their mother and sister. They were both dressed in business casual clothing instead of normal clothes like everyone else.

  “You think I’m pretty great when I negotiate your contracts for you,” Alex said as he came to a stop. He maintained his robotic, businessman tone and said, “Bo. It’s good to see you.”

  “Likewise.” They never had a great relationship. Alex made it clear he wanted to be an only child. Unfortunately for him, he got three siblings.

  Then Adele, his ex-fiancé, the woman who had been married to his brother for a good three and a half years, approached and put her well-manicured hand on his shoulder. She was leaning in for a kiss on the cheek when Ivy did something unexpected.

  “Excuse me,” Ivy said as she possessively moved her hand next to Adele’s and then pushed Adele’s hand off his shoulder. Adele didn’t kiss him on the cheek. She stood up suddenly and looked a bit taken aback. Bo’s pride and cock swelled from the reaction. He liked that she was possessive of him. Ivy continued, “I’m sorry, but I don’t know you.”

  “Well, I don’t know you either.” Adele retorted. She looked a bit bewildered. Her blue eyes darted around at all three of the brothers, but no one, not even Alex was going to help her.

  “Yes,” Ivy acknowledged politely. “But I’m not touching your husband.”

  “He’s my brother-in-law.” Adele clarified as she flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. She had been making that move since Bo had forgiven them. He knew it was a way for her to constantly plant a seed of jealousy in Alex’s mind. “I was just saying hello.”

  It wouldn’t be weird if any other in-law did it. It was weird because of their history. He could forgive. They could all forgive. No one would ever forget. Ivy lifted her hand to Adele and said, “Hello. I’m Ivy.”

  “Like they don’t know who you are sugar plum!” Gabe returned with a round of fresh drinks. “Our Bo finally landed the girl of his dreams.”

  Adele made a slight snorting sound that went unnoticed by no one. Ivy, such a mild mannered woman who had never even played a role that caused her to pretend fight, looked like she was going to punch Adele. Bo couldn’t control his smile if he tried, which he didn’t. Alex put his arm around Adele’s waist and escorted her to a seat at the end of the table. They sat together like royalty looking down on their subjects.

  From Bo’s point of view, their three amused and one murderous subjects. His brother and brother-in-law across the table were both just as happy to see Ivy react that way. He knew it was because they both disliked Adele for several reasons. After they were busted, she pretended to be pregnant and married Alex under that pretense. The fact that she was never pregnant was just one reason among others to dislike her.

  Gabe winked at Ivy and said, “We are going to plan the most gorgeous wedding for you two.”

  Dale perked up at the mention of wedding. Gabe worked for one of the largest event planners on the planet. They specialized in making the rich and famous look even more rich and famous than they were.

  “Nothing crazy, guys. I mean it. Ivy has full veto rights on all of it. Don’t forget she has a mother and sister who might want a say in this too.” Bo slid his hand from the back of her chair to place it on her back. “Don’t let them include live animals.”

  She laughed, and so did Gabe and Dale. Alex barely smiled and Adele visibly fumed.

  By the time his mom and sister had made their way to the table to announce the food was done, Dale had been through a good portion of his act and everyone, including the statues at the end of the table, were laughing.

  “That’s my boy.” His mom said. Bo smiled as his momma scruffed up Dale’s hair as she passed, and then leaned over to kiss Gabe on the cheek. “Hello gorgeous.”

  Gabe smiled at the compliment.

  His momma had already greeted Ivy earlier and took a seat next to her at the table. “Sam, sweetheart, sit.”

  His seventeen year old sister took a seat between him and Gabe at the opposite end of the table from the living statues.

  “Now.” His mother took Ivy’s hand on one side and Adele’s on the other. Everyone linked up and she began, “Dear Lord, thank you for this bountiful feast. Thank you for bringing my boys all together for dinner tonight. It means the world to me to have all four of my children in one place. Thank you for the added blessing of my daughter-in-law Adele, my son-in-law Gabe, and my newest addition, Ivy. I pray Sam stays single until she completes college which means I would like you to make her cell phone reception worse unless there is an emergency.”

  “Amen,” Dale said before their mother could torment Sam and God any longer with what would become a lengthy speech.

  Bo looked at Sam and watched as the pretty green eyes rolled up from one side to the other in clear teenage fashion. She was annoyed by the last comment. He supposed he would have been too.

  Ivy looked at the food and seemed surprised at the variety. “You can eat all of this?”

  “Of course he can,” his momma said. “But he won’t. He’s been a vegetarian since…how old were you?”

  “Ten,” Dale offered. “That chicken did it to him.”

  “What chicken?” Ivy asked.

  “It was nothing.” Bo looked at Alex and then to Ivy. She didn’t need to hear this particular story.

  “I didn’t know it would die,” Alex grumbled.

  Dale snorted and focused on his food. Dale always viewed Alex as the mean older brother. He blamed him for a lot of things, but the chicken was one Alex could not deny.

  “They were terrible to each other as kids, Ivy. Alex hid the chicken Bo had as a pet. We had chicken that night for dinner. After they ate, he told him it was his chicken. Bo was devastated. Worse, Alex had put it in a dog crate at the side of the house. It belonged to the neighbors and they put the dog in it.” His mother sighed. “When you two decide to have some, be sure to do it within a year or two of each other. I waited too long between them.”

  Ivy looked at him and he wished she didn’t know that particular story. Alex was already a natural villain. He didn’t need the childhood version added on to his adult role.

  “Have you set the date?” Gabe asked. Bo was grateful for him to change the subject. He looked across at Gabe who winked a giant blue eye at him. Seriously, the man’s eyes were the biggest and bluest he had ever seen.

  “What date?” Ivy asked around a mouthful of food. She was eating as though she hadn’t eaten in a week. He realized that compared to what she normally ate, it probably felt like it on his vegetarian diet.

  “For the wedding of course.” Dale chimed in.

  “No. I mean, we are already married. It seems a little silly to go through all of that just for show.” Ivy looked at him for confirmation.

  “It’s not for show,” Dale said.

  “And it sure isn’t for the two of you,” Gabe added. “It is for everyone else. Your family, ours. We want to celebrate this joyous occasion with you.”

  “I agree with her,” Adele chimed in. “There is no need to have a wedding if they are already married.”

  Ivy looked at her and then up at him. He didn’t like the confused look she gave him and he said, “I’m fine with it either way, sweetheart. If you want to have a photo album full of memories, we can have the wedding, and then go on a real honeymoon. If not, we can always frame that shot of us going into the chapel they keep showing on the news.”


  Her expression let him know immediately what was next. “I definitely want a wedding. Nothing too extravagant, mind you, but I do want those pictures.”

  His wedding planning brothers were excited. They enjoyed social functions. Bo thought of the three brothers as the three bears. Alex was the boring and angry one. He was the easy going and athletic one. Dale was the social and cross dressing one.

  “Hey, Ivy. Why doesn’t any of your social media feeds confirm that you are married to my brother?” Sam looked up from her phone. To dig further she pointed out, “Is it a lie? You aren’t wearing a ring.”

  “A ring doesn’t make people married.” His mother chimed in.

  “We’re working on that Sam. Thanks for busting my balls about it.” Bo frowned at her and she turned pink. Bo was sure that the person the most concerned about this marriage was indeed his little sister. Sam had been on the receiving end of just about anything she wanted from him to include an allowance as long as she maintained her grades. With Ivy in the picture she likely thought that would stop.

  “Well it would be nice if her social media said it was true.” Sam shrugged.

  Ivy looked from him to Sam and back again before saying, “I don’t operate the sites. My assistant does.”

  “Wait.” Sam looked as if Ivy had revealed something she was not expecting. “You mean to tell me that you are not the one posting when you post? Who else does this? I follow all sorts of people. Does everyone do this?”

  Her teenage brain was in overdrive at the revelation. She was visibly scandalized.

  “I don’t know. Probably not. I just don’t like to see what people say about me. People can be kinda mean on those things. Just look at the responses to whatever was posted last.” Ivy waited and Sam searched.

  “Oh the hell you say! You don’t talk about my brother like that bodybuilder57.” Sam started punching keys on her phone.