Page 44 of Raising Love
“And never air that bitch out before we got in it. Ugh!” Ivy gritted her teeth, then busted out laughing. “I wanted to hurt them every time.”
“They loved them some cars, man.”
“Yeah,” Ivy whispered, her smile fading into a frown, her chin trembling as tears welled in her eyes.
The sight hit me hard, a pang tightening my chest.
I sighed and reached across the table to take her hand. She started patting her eyes dry with the other, and when our gazes met, a smile broke through the sadness on her lips.
At that moment, our server arrived with our food. Ivy composed herself quickly, and once I was sure she was okay, I leaned back in my seat.
"Sometimes," she said, picking up her fork from the cup of hot water with lemon she had asked for upon arrival, "the only comfort I find in all this is knowing they died together. Because I just know..."
“Neither of them would’ve been able to live without the other,” I finished, nodding in agreement.
“Yup.” Ivy inhaled deeply, letting the breath out slowly. “I just wonder when I’m going to stop damn near breaking down every time I think about them. Every time I think about her.”
After eating, sharing a little more conversation, and settling the bill, Ivy and I made our way out to the waiting car.
The drive back to Greene Gardens was quiet, a few comments exchanged about how Manhattan felt different to Ivy after being away for sometime.
It was bittersweet, more bitter than sweet, leaving the city. It felt like leaving home for somewhere that didn’t quite feel like home yet.
When we finally stepped inside the house, Ivy flicked on the table light by the front door and began slipping off her heels and peeling off her jacket.
“That was fun,” she said to me, hooking her coat on the coat rack. “Thanks for insisting we eat out and not just drive to the nearest town for takeout.”
“They really should get to opening some restaurants around here, though, damn,” I said, peeling off my jacket and placing it on the coat rack beside Ivy’s. “They got the space.”
“They’re working on it,” Ivy said. “They have a community board they’ve put together. Brand new. I’m thinking about joining it.”
“Hmph.”
“Anyway.” She smiled, walking up to me and wrapping her arms around my waist. “Thank you, LV.”
Ivy was much shorter than me at her five-foot-four height, so her hugs were always from my lower half.
I leaned forward to wrap my arms around her too.
The embrace, as always, started as a friendly gesture, but after a few seconds, it didn’t feel that way.
Neither one of us let go after a few seconds, choosing to just stand there.
And it felt right. Feeling her body against mine, the gentle thump of her heartbeat too.
It was comforting. Something I didn’t realize I needed in that moment—or that I even wanted more of.
I flattened my hand against her back and heard a soft moan escape through her lips.
The moan reminded me of the sounds she was making in her room the night of the concert. How much I wanted to be one with that door so I could hear her clearer because the little that I could hear sounded so damn good.
Without a second thought, I tightened my arms around her back, and she simply melted against me.
For sure, this hug was unlike any other quick embrace Ivy and I had ever done. Because having her close and for the amount of time she was close to me, it started to have an effect on my body. Inside and out.
The moment I felt myself hardening in my jeans, Ivy noticed it too. Because Ivy pulled away slightly, which made me pull away too. And the second we created enough space between us and looked at each other, I noticed the look in her eyes… was different.
Though we were no longer hugging per se, she was still in my arms, in my space, and me in hers. Our chests were starting to show how heavy we were breathing. Ivy darted her eyes along mine as she inhaled a trembling breath through her lips.
