by J. O Mantel
“So, what are you two ladies up to today?”
“Oh, we were thinking about going to watch a movie,” Sienna replied.
“Yeah! Want to join us?” Ivy added.
Jake smiled at her, “Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm going to hit the pool today, I could do with some laps.”
“I could give you something better to do,” Ivy muttered under her breath.
Sienna spat out her coffee, spraying it all over the table and burst into laughter.
“What?” Jake asked.
“Nothing,” Ivy replied, her face covered in the brightest shade of red.
Sienna was in hysterics, she stood up and headed for the bathroom.
“What was all that about?” Jake asked.
“I have no idea,” Ivy giggled, trying to keep a straight face.
A few minutes later, Sienna returned and sat down at the table. She finished her breakfast and she and Ivy headed to her room to get changed.
“You are such a fucking bitch,” Ivy said, throwing a pillow at Sienna.
“Oh please! You were practically longing for him to stick his cock in your pussy.”
“I was not! I was kind of hoping he'd put it in my mouth actually,” Ivy joked.
“And you tell me I'm the one with the filthy mind.”
“If the shoe fits,” Ivy laughed.
The girls finished dressing, they grabbed their handbags and walked out to the living room.
“You two have fun,” Jake said.
“You sure you won't join us?” Ivy sounded desperate.
“No, I’m fine, you two go and have some fun without me.”
Ivy grabbed the rest of her stuff and headed out the door with Sienna. Through the window she watched as Jake removed his Tee and walked around the living room.
“Fuck, he’s such a tease,” she said.
“Ivy, you’re unbelievable.” Sienna said, unlocking the car.
“Why? Because I think your best friend is hot. Anyway! What’s the story with you and Jesse?”
“Nice subject change,” Sienna replied. “I don’t know, I’ll probably never see him again.”
“Really? You mean one night and that’s it?”
“It’s just a fling, Ivy. You know me, I don’t do the whole dating thing. I don’t have time for relationships.” She pulled out of the drive and onto the highway.
“That’s only because you don’t make time, Sienna. You keep saying you want a man in your life, you need to do something about it.”
“I’m concentrating on my career right now, that’s what’s more important.”
“So, you’d rather just fuck some random guy you meet in a club and that’s it?”
“Yep! No strings attached, remember? That way no one gets hurt.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it. You’re thirty three, Sienna, don’t you think it’s about time you started thinking about marriage? A family?” Ivy asked.
“I don’t need to be reminded of how old I am. And I don’t wish to talk about this anymore, discussion is over.”
“Fuck you are so stubborn.”
“You noticed?”
They sat in silence, neither of them saying a word for the remainder of the journey. Sienna looked ahead and indicated, as she pulled into the parking lot of the shopping mall.
Ivy stared at her reflection, even now in the final year of her twenties, there wasn't much improvement. Her brunette hair rested neatly in a bob, just above her shoulders. Her eyes were a deep chocolate brown and her skin was olive complexion.
She wasn't thin, but she certainly wasn't overweight either. She was more plump and, until recently, she'd never really thought about the way she looked. Standing there and staring at her reflection, she realized that if she ever stood a chance with Jake, she would really need to do something about her image.
Ivy was a bank manager and worked three blocks away from Sienna, the two of them were meeting up for lunch, like they did every day for the past year.
After combing her hair and spraying some of her JLO fragrance, she grabbed her purse and headed for the streets.
Sienna was sitting at the cafe where they usually met, there was already a coffee on the table waiting for her.
“Hey,” she said, kissing Sienna on the cheek.
“Hi,” Sienna replied, returning the kiss.
“Man, I'm starving. Have you ordered yet?”
“No, I was waiting for you,” Sienna said, opening the menu.
Sienna ordered the soup of the day while Ivy ordered a tuna and mayo sandwich.
“Busy day?” Ivy asked.
“Yeah! I have quite a few clients today, a lot of people wanting to buy houses. I think it’s going to be another late night.”
Ivy sipped her coffee, her eyes widening with this news from Sienna.
“So does that mean that Jake will be home alone, tonight?” Ivy asked, excitement in her voice.
“You don’t miss a thing, do you?”
Ivy shook her head.
“I think he may have band practice tonight, to be honest,” Sienna replied as the waitress returned with their lunch.
“Really? Well, then I guess I could go down and watch them rehearse,” Ivy said.
“Don’t waste your time, they very rarely allow people to watch them while they rehearse. Something to do about copyright, you know what these artists are like, always afraid people will steal their work.”
The two of them sat there and talked, when they finished, they both paid for their meals and headed back to work.
“So, do you think you could ask him for me?” Ivy asked.
“Ask him what?” Sienna asked.
“Do you think you could ask him out for me?”
“Nice try, Ivy. You can do your own dirty work. Besides, I already told you, you’re not his type.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. This is me,” she said, as she approached her street, “I’ll call you tonight,” they gave each other a kiss and headed their separate ways.
After locking up the bank, Ivy headed to the subway. Her phone alerted her of a text message, she pulled it out of her handbag and continued walking. Not watching where she was going, she bumped into someone, dropping her books and handbag to the ground. Her papers scattered everywhere as she looked up at the person she had bumped into; “I’m so sor-, Jake?” she asked, slightly embarrassed.
“Ivy?”
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going,” she said, picking up her paperwork, Jake gave her a hand.
“Heading home?” Jake asked.
“Yeah, just finished for the day. What about you?”
“I’m heading to band practice. Where’s Sienna? Don’t the two of you normally head home together?”
“Yeah, she told me at lunch that she would be working back late tonight.” She picked up the rest of her paperwork and stood there staring at Jake.
“You actually look quite cute with glasses on, Ivy. They suit you.”
Ivy was completely embarrassed, she had totally forgotten about her glasses, she felt like a complete dork standing there in front of him.
“Th-Thanks,” she stuttered, removing her glasses and shoving them in her handbag.
“Well, I really better get going,” Jake said, looking at his watch, “I don’t want to be late for practice.”
“I’m sorry again, Jake. I really need to watch where I’m going in future.”
“It’s fine, no harm done,” he said, smiling at her. With a wave, he turned and walked away, Ivy called after him.
“Jake?”
“Yeah?” he replied, turning around.
“Do you think, I could maybe, come and watch you and the band practice? I don’t have anything on tonight.”
A shade of red swept over her face, as she suddenly regretted what she had just said.
“Idiot” she whispered.
“Sure!” Jake suddenly replied.
“Wait…Huh?” Ivy asked, unsure if
she had heard him correctly.
“Sure, you can come to band practice. We’re not working on anything new tonight, so you could just sit back and chill. It would be great to hear what you think of our music.”
The shade of red suddenly washed from Ivy’s face and was replaced with a pleasant smile. Slowly and carefully, she walked towards Jake and the two of them walked to the subway together.
When they arrived, Ivy sat in the corner on the sofa as Lightning Ridge rehearsed. She looked around their studio. It was an old abandoned shed, it was about a fifteen minute walk from where Jake and Sienna lived, and the convenience of the location made it ideal for Jake to have late night band practice. There were posters of musical acts on the wall, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi and Metallica, just to name a few. Drums, an old upright piano, an amplifier and a microphone were set up in the center of the room. Old, shaggy carpet lined the floor and there was a small bar with drinks directly behind Ivy. She sat there, ogling Jake in his torn denim jeans and brown leather jacket as he strummed on his guitar.
Ivy couldn’t help but tap along to the tune with her foot. She could feel a vibration coming from her pants pocket, she pulled out her phone. It was Sienna.
“Hey, Sienna” she yelled above the music.
“Hey! What’s all that noise? Where are you?”
“I’m at band practice with Jake.”
“What?”
“Yep! I told you I would get him to let me come,” Ivy smiled.
“Ok, I’ll leave you to it. Call me when you get home, I want to hear all about it.”
“Yeah, later!” Ivy put the phone down and stared back at Jake.
The band rehearsed for a couple more hours, and Ivy had to admit that she was starting to get pretty tired. As Jake and the band finished their last song, Ivy stood up and applauded their performance.
“Thank you,” Jake smiled at Ivy.
“You guys are amazing,” she said as the band started to pack up and gather their belongings.
“If you want to hang around for a couple more minutes, I can walk you home,” Jake said.
“Sure, that would be great,” Ivy replied, sitting back down on the sofa.
It was about thirty minutes later when Jake and the band had finished packing up. Jake said goodbye to the band, and after locking up the shed, he and Ivy headed home.
Ivy lived with her Mom and Dad, about six blocks away from the shed. It was a pleasant evening as she and Jake walked the streets of Manhattan.
“You were amazing tonight, Jake.”
“Thanks, Ivy. That’s just a rehearsal though.”
“I know, I’ve seen you live, remember? So do you write all your own songs?”
“We’ve done covers before, but when the band and I started writing this album, we decided to write our own songs.”
“So, when do you think the album will be ready?”
“Hopefully soon, we are still finalizing some of the songs and we want to write a few more before we go into the studio.”
“That sounds like an awesome idea. I can’t wait to hear it.”
“Thanks, I’ll be sure to give you a signed copy when it’s released.” Ivy smiled as they turned down her street. It was only a short walk to her house once they were in the street, she was enjoying Jake’s company so much, that she didn’t want the evening to end.
“Well! Here we are,” Jake said as they approached her front gate.
“Yeah! Thank you so much for walking me home, Jake, that’s really nice of you,” she was a little disappointed that the walk was short, she was really enjoying his company.
“My pleasure. Thanks for listening to us perform, tonight. We’ve never had people sit in on a rehearsal before.”
“Thanks for allowing me to watch. Like I said earlier, you and your band are amazing. You’re a great singer.”
“Thanks, Ivy.”
They both stood there, neither of them saying a word. Ivy started to go red and felt a little awkward standing next to Jake. All she wanted to do right then and there, was lean forward and kiss him.
“Goodnight, Ivy” Jake leaned forward, ready to kiss her on the cheek. At the same moment, they both leaned in, turned their heads and kissed each other on the lips.
Jake quickly pulled away, staring at Ivy horrified, “I-I’m sorry” they both said, together.
Embarrassed, Ivy turned and walked to her front door.
“Good-goodnight, Jake,” Ivy said opening the door.
“Goodnight,” Jake replied, awkwardly as Ivy closed the door behind her.
####FRIENDSHIP####
Jake sat at the table, his dinner barely touched.
“Ok, spill,” Sienna asked, sitting down beside him.
“Huh?” he asked, snapping out of his trance.
“You haven’t said a word since you got home.”
“Oh, sorry.” He dropped his fork onto his plate and slid it to the center of the table. He stood up and grabbed some juice from the fridge.
“Jake?” Sienna called.
“Nothing, I don’t want to talk about it.” He pulled off his shirt and sat down on the sofa, switching on the television.
Sienna cleared the dishes and after finishing the washing up, she grabbed some wine and sat down on the sofa next to Jake. He ignored her and kept his eyes on the TV.
“Jake? I know something is up, it’s no use ignoring me, I have a way of getting things out of you, you know that.”
Jake still remained silent, he could see her staring at him out of the corner of his eye. “Did something happen last night?”
“I told you, I don’t want to talk about it,” Jake said, frustrated. He stood up and headed for his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
Without knocking, Sienna opened his bedroom door and walked inside.
“Don’t you ever knock?” he asked.
“Nope. And stop trying to change the subject. Jake, what the fuck is going on?”
Jake stood up and sighed as he paced around his bedroom.
“Have you noticed anything different about Ivy?”
“Different? What do you mean?”
“I mean, has she said anything to you? She’s been acting really weird lately.”
Sienna looked at Jake, she could tell that this was serious. “Weird, how?”
“Never mind, it doesn’t matter.”
“No! Jake, tell me, what are you talking about?”
“Ivy! She’s been acting all weird around me. She gets all nervous whenever we are in the same room together and I have no top on.”
Sienna hesitated for a moment, before getting up and standing next to Jake.
“Jake, I wasn’t sure how to tell you this or how you would react-”
“I kissed Ivy,” he interrupted.
“What?” Sienna asked.
“It was a complete accident, we were walking home from band practice and the two of us turned at the same moment and we kissed.”
Sienna was speechless, but slightly overjoyed.
“So, what happened?”
“Nothing! It got weird after that, she went all quiet and walked inside, then I came straight home.”
“Jake, Ivy likes you, I mean she really likes you. She has for a while now.”
“Wait! You knew she had feelings for me and you never told me?”
“It’s not like that, Jake. She’s been trying to get your attention for months now, but you’ve just never gotten the hint. That’s why she wanted you to come to the movies with us the other day.”
Jake was silent, he threw on his jacket, grabbed his keys and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?”
He didn’t answer.
“Jake?”
“I’m going to the gym, I need to think.” He slammed the door in her face, started his car and sped out of the drive.
“Did Jake tell you what happened?” Ivy asked.
“Yep! He’s been acting all weird about it the last couple of days.”
“What do you mean, weird?”
“It’s hard to explain, but it’s almost like he feels guilty about it all.”
Ivy looked at Sienna as they grabbed the dresses that they were trying on and walked into the change room.
“Why would Jake feel guilty?” Ivy yelled, pulling her sweater off over her head.
“I don’t know, that’s what’s so weird about it.” Sienna yelled back, removing her pants and trying on the dress she had taken off the rack.
“Didn’t you tell me he was single?”
“Well he is, as far as I know,” Sienna replied.
“So then what’s his problem?”
“I have no idea.”
The two of them tried on their dresses and stepped out of the change rooms.
“That looks hot,” Sienna eyed the red dress Ivy was wearing.
“Not as hot as yours. Wait! Hold on,” Ivy walked over to Sienna and placed her hand on her cleavage. She adjusted Sienna’s tits and unzipped the zipper that was holding them together. In an instant her cleavage was sitting comfortably behind the fabric on either side of the zipper, showing just enough to make her tempting. “Much better. You’ve got a decent set of tits, flaunt them. Man! I wish I had tits like yours.”
“Thanks…I think,” Sienna laughed.
“It really does look good on you, babe.” Ivy looked at her dress in the mirror, unfortunately she didn’t possess the tits or figure that Sienna did. No matter how hard she tried, nothing ever worked.
“I think I might give mine a miss to be honest, it doesn’t quite sit right,” Ivy said, making her way back into the change room.
“Oh rubbish! It looks gorgeous. You need to buy it.” Sienna headed back into her change room and changed back into her old clothes.
Sienna and Ivy placed their dresses on the counter, the attendant looked up and smiled at both of them.
“Just the two?” she asked.
“No! Just hers,” Ivy said picking up the dress, Sienna quickly grabbed her by the arm.
“Ivy, you are buying that dress,” Sienna demanded.
“I already told you, it doesn’t sit right on me.”
“Sorry to interrupt, but I actually thought it looked gorgeous on you,” the attendant said.
