Page 49 of Lust

I place the last plate down and I made sure to put my wine next to a plate.

“What the fuck is this? Rabbit food?” Gabe gags, looking at the stir fry and Elle lectures him about animal rights. I had given up meat after hearing one of her lectures.

I glanced up seeing Kace giving the stir fry a look, to say he wasn’t pleased with dinner either was an understatement. So Elle turned on him as well. Giving both a lecture. I sit down at the table. Elle placed the bowl in front of me. While she had forced the boys to take a scoop each.

I stiffen when Kace picks the seat next to me.

God. Why.

His hand brushes my bare leg under the table and I want to run, like away and hide from this mess.

Kace takes a sip of his beer, and my eyes drop to his tattooed fingers. The feelings that flood my body when he used to touch me, come to mind. But then I remind myself, that I wasn’t good enough. I didn’t have enough money. And now he comes back into the picture, after I have established a business?

Fuck him. And I sip my wine. While giving myself a pep talk.

“So Ivy,” Elle looks at me across the table. “This weekend, which club?”

I frowned. “Have we been to the crown this month?”

“No! We haven’t! Come to think of it Devin will be there.” Elle grins and I smirked taking the wine from my lips.

“His fantasies are easily manipulated.”

“His face was priceless when you…” And her words dried up as she realized and I already knew that the story she was going to mention wasn’t table friendly. “Not dinner appropriate story.” She says exactly what I was thinking.

“Surprised if Gabe and I don’t know it.” Kace speaks for the first time since arriving, well apart from that line he gave me when I left. “Was it on snapchat?” and he sips from his beer.

“You follow our snapchat?” I turned to look at him.

“I think most of the population does.” Kace looked me in the eyes. “What can I say most people don’t have a life.”

“And you are most people?”

He shrugs, and I’m immediately regretting half the shit I had done. Because strangers had been watching. Not people I know!

“Been awfully quiet from the two of you today.” Kace says and is still holding my eyes. “Not like Ivy and Elle to go quiet.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying.” Elle said rolling her eyes.

I inhaled sharply and have more of a reason to stay off it now.

“Well I’m all for that shit stopping.” Gabe said while glaring at a carrot. “Who puts carrots in a stir fry? Oh wait. My sister’s.” He drops the fork. And looks at Kace. “I’m ordering in, you want something?”

Kace nods his head and gets up following Gabe back to the couch. I frown looking down at the stir fry. The days that followed our breakup flash through my mind. The pain. The questions. I blinked as tears came to my eyes and push myself away from the table. I can’t do this. Not tonight. I’m not strong enough.

“Ivy where you going, I just ordered pizzas?” Gabe steps in my path. I look him in the eyes. “Shit are you okay?” he goes to touch me, and I swipe his hand away from me and leave the room in tears because that pain, that burning unknowing of what had I done for Kace to walk out on me, was still there and it still hurts.

32

Kace

Ilit up a cigarette in Elle’s guest bedroom, even though she told me to smoke on the balcony. My phone buzzes and it is a notification. The girls were on snapchat again. I sighed. I had hoped Ivory had given it up once she realized people she knew were watching it.

I can’t stop myself from opening the app. It had been two days since I had seen her. She disappeared and according to Gabe had been crying. I went to her bedroom door after she left but couldn’t bring myself to knocking, knowing she was crying, those tears would be my fault.

I saw it was a video, and it was of Ivory, even though her and Elle were twins. I could tell them apart. Even when Ivory had dropped everything that made her, her.

“Ivory!” Elle shouts and then zooms in on a figure. I frown watching it. They weren’t at home I knew that much.