Page 16 of Sliding Into Love
“Ivy!”
Derek’s sing-song voice echoed through the apartment, and Ivy was grateful for his post-game ritual of bringing home takeout because she was exhausted. Seeing how Jase’s tension eased with Ethan and how much he’d enjoyed the game had completely wiped her out. The surges of sadness, anger, and the tiny ray of hope she’d experienced were enough to knock her off her feet. Janna’s stomping little feet echoed through the hall as she scampered toward Derek, and Ivy heard Jase follow.
Derek called her again, and she yelled at him, “Dude, I’m coming, give me a minute!”
She was in her room, checking her email on her ancient laptop hoping that a different browser would magically send a confirmation through. Not knowing was starting to get to her, wearing her patience thinner than a croissant layer, and annoyance began building in the back of her skull, though she tried to ignore it.
“I brought extra, so Lily is coming, too,” Derek yelled back.
Ivy pulled out her softest, most worn Central University tee shirt, and dug around in a drawer for leggings. Yanking on the clothes, she yelled for them to save her some food and searched the floor of her closet for her favorite fuzzy socks. Hopping on one foot down the hallway, Ivy pulled on one sock as she emerged into the living room and noticed a significantly different energy in the room. It stopped her in her tracks.
Standing on one foot in the entrance to the living room, Ivy stared, gaping, at an uncomfortable-looking Ethan Ford. Even curving his shoulders inward and ducking his head, his presence permeated the room. Although, after a second glance, Ivy decided he might have seemed larger than life because of tiny Janna clinging to one of his muscular thighs.
And seeing him again reminded her of seeing him that afternoon for the first time without the scruffy beard and that black stuff on his face. It had been a shock at the stadium, and she was struck again, now that he stoodin her living room, by just how attractive Ethan Ford was. Maybe his nose was a shade on the large side, and his brows were kind of thick, but damn, his jawline was a study in perfect angles. Dark brown eyes that lightened to amber in the center and tended to look sad, no matter what he did. And those flawless, ‘girls would kill to have this shade of lipstick’ pink lips. And all those features added together were… intoxicating.
Not that noticing his face led to Ivy noticing the rest of him. But if she had,wow.Of course, she hadn’t noticed those muscles earlier when his attention was on Jase. Or the way his tight white uniform pants had clung to those muscles.
And his ass…
Nope, she hadn’t noticed any of that.
And she certainly hadn’t wondered about what else his uniform might be hiding.
With a very loud internal reminder that it was rude to stare, Ivy realized she should greet her guest, until he turned the full force of his unwavering attention on her, his dark eyes taking her in. Under his gaze, Ivy’s face burned as she remembered what she was wearing, so she grabbed Derek by the arm and dragged him back down the hallway to her room without even speaking to Ethan.
“Derek…” she hissed, but he stopped her.
“Yeah, I know, I should’ve told you I was bringing him, but he and Jase got along so well, and I thought it might be nice.”
“Oh.” He was right, and they both knew it.
“Yeah, and I did not miss how you looked at him either, ma’am.”
“I— what?” she squawked, her face flaming even hotter.
“Mhmm.” Derek said. “You are not sneaky, Sis.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t think he’s interested in me,” Ivy sighed, sliding her closet doors open. “I hugged him earlier, and he just sort of stood there, so…yeah.” Frowning, Ivy ducked back into her closet to change. Was a dress too much? Probably. Shit.Shit!
Ivy thought she heard Derek say, “I'm not so sure,” but when she came back out, he had left to join the kids…and Ethan.
A deep rumbling erupted from her stomach, and Ivy was grateful for the distraction. Holding her breath, she walked into the kitchen, finding everyone already tearing into the food. Lily had arrived, turning the small kitchen into a disaster scene.
Ivy was delighted to find enoughbirriatacos, salsa, and queso dip to feed an army, or maybe just the small group in her apartment, and once she’d loaded her plate dangerously close to disaster, she turned to find a muscular mountain blocking her way. Ethan spun a paper plate between his large hands and stared at Ivy’s heaped plate with his head angled to one side. There was no judgment on his face, so she took a massive bite, feeling the rich juice from the meat drip off her first taco onto her second before responding to his curious look.
“I’m hungry,” she mumbled around the taco before sitting at the small table in the kitchen. The others had already taken up residence on the couch or the living room floor. Ivy saluted Lily with her half-eaten taco, and she waved back with a guac-laden chip.
Surprise nearly choked Ivy when Ethan sat across from her, settling into the small chair and folding his long legs beneath the table.
They ate in silence for a few minutes until Ivy noticed Ethan watching her. Embarrassed, she swiped at her face with her napkin and asked what was wrong through a mouthful of cheese.
“It’s just… I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone enjoy their food quite as much as you do,” Ethan said.
Cheeks burning, Ivy met his eyes only to find that he’d blushed too.
“No, sorry, that came out wrong,” he amended quickly. “I mean, you seem to reallyenjoyit. That’s all. It’s not a bad thing. It’s nice,” he punctuated the last sentence with a nod as though his thoughts on the subject made it official.
Uncertain how to take Ethan’s observation, Ivy stared at him for a moment, and when she realized he wasn’t making fun of her, she decided to be candid. “I try to enjoy everything as much as I can. I had a… weird childhood.”
