"Sure." I walk around him to the box and take out the mail, flipping through it.
"Anything good?" he asks kiddingly because we never get anything good. It's always either junk mail or bills.
Today it's just bills; one for my dad's last doctor visit and two for his last couple physical therapy appointments. All three bills are overdue and my dad doesn't have the money to pay for them. Neither do I. Just last week I had to pay his electric bill along with my apartment rent, which wiped me out.
"What's wrong, Ivy?"
"Nothing. Let's go." I take his arm and we continue to the house. We go inside and I tuck the bills inside my coat.
"Ivy, give me the mail."
"It's just some bills. I'll take care of them."
"That's not your responsibility." He holds his hand out. "Now give them to me."
He doesn't need the stress of seeing the overdue bills so I keep them hidden in my coat. "I have to go."
"Ivy." He stands by the door, his brows raised.
"Dad, I told you, I'll take care of it."
"Stealing someone's mail is a federal offense. Now hand it over."
I sigh and hand him the bills. He quickly flips through them.
"What are you going to do?" I ask.
"I'm going to stop going to physical therapy." He drops the bills on the small table by the door. "It's not helping, so there's no use going."
"But the doctor said you had to go."
He huffs. "What do doctors know?"
"Dad, you can't stop going. I'll find a way to pay for it. I'll—"
"Stop it. You're not paying for it." He opens the door. "Now go get ready for your date."
"It's not a date."
"Well, whatever it is, you need to get going. But will you do me a favor?"
"What?"
"If this guy doesn't treat you well or isn't respectful of you, then you kick his ass to the curb. I'd do it myself if my back were in better shape."
I smile. "Okay. If he steps out of line, I'll be sure to kick his ass." I hug him. "I'll see you later. Love you, Dad."
"Love you too, honey. Have fun tonight." He lets me go. "But not too much fun."
"Got it." I go out to my car and call Liza as I'm driving back to my apartment.
"Hey, Ivy," she says when she picks up. "I can't really talk. I'm heading into the library. What do you need?"
"I was just over at the house and Dad got three more medical bills. All overdue. I don't have the money to pay them. Do you?"
She sighs. "No. But I could see if I could pick up some extra shifts this weekend. That might be enough to pay for at least one of the bills."
"If you could, that'd be great. I just paid rent and it cleared out my account. Did Dad tell you he's quitting physical therapy?"
"No, but I figured he would. He keeps telling me it isn't working."
"Liza, you've got to talk to him. He needs to keep going."
"He won't listen to me. You know how stubborn he is, almost as stubborn as you. Hey, I gotta go. I'll call you later."
"Yeah, okay. Bye."
Back at my apartment, I hurry to get ready because it's getting late and Jake will be here soon. I shower and put on dark skinny jeans and a soft cream-colored sweater Liza gave me last Christmas. Tall black boots complete the look. I dry my hair, deciding to wear it down, then put on my makeup, finishing up just as Jake arrives. I hit the buzzer to let him in the building and moments later he's at my door.
"Hi," I say, smiling when I see him there. Tonight he's wearing a dark wool coat, dark jeans, and a thin black sweater. He looks hot, but also nice. Sophisticated. Last fall, I'd sometimes see him change into clothes like this at work before heading out to pick up a girl.
I try not to think about that and instead focus on the here and now. And right now? I'm really happy to see him, those butterflies dancing around my stomach and telling me to yank him into my apartment and kiss him.
But before I can, he reaches behind my neck and pulls me to his mouth and kisses me with an intensity that causes sensations to shoot down my middle, all the way down to my toes, lingering between my legs. He walks forward, so I walk back, our mouths still connected. He kicks the door closed and puts both hands along the sides of my face and softens the kiss.
"Hi," he whispers, his lips touching mine as he speaks. "I forgot to say that earlier."
"Yeah, you did," I whisper back, loosening my grip on his sweater, which I had clenched in my hand.
"You look gorgeous," he says, then tilts his head slightly and brings my mouth back to his and kisses me again, slowly, gently coaxing my lips open so his tongue can slip past.
We keep this up for at least several minutes, and if we keep it going a minute longer, I'll be dragging him off to my bedroom, breaking the no-sex rule I made. Now I'm wondering why I made that rule. I haven't done it forever, and I can tell from the way Jake kisses that the sex would be amazing. The way he moves his lips, where he puts his hands, tells me he knows what women like.
But I promised myself we wouldn't have sex. If we do, this is over. I'll be just another notch on his bedpost.
That wasn't the plan. The plan is to prove to him this will never work so that he'll stop asking me out and leave me alone. Except now I feel like I have to prove to myself this won't work out. Because at this moment? Kissing him? It feels like we're made for each other.
CHAPTER NINE
Jake
The moment I saw her at the door I had to kiss her, and now I can't stop. So I wait for Ivy to end it, which she eventually does, but it doesn't seem like she wants to.
She slowly pulls away. "We should probably get going."
"Yeah." I step back, my eyes trailing over her. She's wearing a cream-colored sweater and black boots that come up to her knees. It reminds me of the girl who sat across from me at lunch with her cream-colored scarf and those boots. I kept imagining Ivy in those boots, wearing nothing else, and I haven't been able to get that image out of my head. It's the reason I took an extra long shower before I came over here. So seeing her dressed like this is nearly torture. But I can't think about that. This isn't about sex. I'm dating her to get to know her, not have sex with her, but shit, if we ever do have sex, I have a feeling it'll be the best damn sex I've ever had.
"I like that outfit," I say casually.
"It's just jeans and a sweater."
"It looks good on you." I run my hand down her arm. "You look beautiful."
"Thanks."
"Need anything before we leave? Where's your coat?"
"In the closet." She walks over to it and I meet her there and help her with her coat.
"I changed my mind about dinner and a movie," I say. "I know it's what people do on dates but it sounded boring. And being in a dark theater for two hours means I wouldn't be able to look at you, and that would suck."
She smiles. "So what are we doing?
"I'm taking you to a nice restaurant downtown and then we'll take it from there."
"A nice restaurant? Does that mean a place like Rodeo Freddy's?"
I chuckle. "No. Rodeo Freddy's is not a nice restaurant. We went there to dance, not for the food."
"But I told you I didn't dance so why'd you take me there?"
"Because it was something to do. And you had fun, right?"
"Yeah." She pauses. "Maybe we could um...go there again sometime."
She's agreeing to another date? Before this one's even started? I can't help but grin like an idiot over that. Over the years, I've had literally hundreds of girls agree to go out with me and didn't really care that they said yes. But then Ivy says she wants to go out again and I get all excited like some freaking kid who got the hot cheerleader to agree to go to prom with him. I did that, by the way. Senior year, I went to prom with the hottest girl in my school. Head cheerleader for the football team. We had sex that night, multiple times, and then I moved on to someone else and so did she. But even back then, when she agreed to go to prom with me, I wasn't exc
ited about it. I knew she'd say yes. We were both popular and it was almost expected that we'd go together.
"Maybe we'll go there this weekend." I open the door for Ivy and we go out in the hall and down the elevator to the parking lot. Before she gets in my SUV, I stop her and kiss those beautiful lips again. Then I slide my hand over her smooth silky hair and say, "It's kind of a rule."
"What's a rule?"
"You kiss me before you get in the car."
She smiles. "And why is that a rule?"
"It's for good luck. It ensures we'll have a safe drive. I'm very superstitious."
"You didn't do it last night."
"Yeah. And thank God we didn't get in an accident. But tonight, I'm not risking it. You need to kiss me before you get in."
"Every time? That's too much."
"It's for our safety. People drive like maniacs around here."
"Fine. I'll go along with it but only because your kisses are..." She glances to the side. "Not completely horrible."
I laugh. "What the hell? Not completely horrible? That's how you describe my kisses?"
"What did you want me to say?"
"That the kiss I gave you was the best kiss you've ever had. That I kiss like a fucking pro. An expert. Someone who could give lessons to all the idiots you've kissed before who didn't know what the hell they were doing."
"You're awfully full of yourself, you know that?" Her lips tick up.
"I know when I'm good at something and I'm not afraid to admit it." I step forward, backing her against my SUV, my eyes on hers. "And I fucking know how to kiss."
"You really think so?" She leans back but there's nowhere for her to go.
"I know so." And with that, I grip the back of her head and bring her mouth to mine and kiss her hard. She grabs my coat and yanks me closer and I thrust my tongue in her mouth. It lashes with hers in a heated frenzy, and then we both slow down, parting just enough to breathe each other's air, our bodies relaxing. And then I kiss her again, softly, gently, my hand still cradling her head, and we continue on as if we're not standing in a parking lot in the middle of winter. As if we're the only two people here, despite the cars driving down the street and the people walking by. We're completely lost in the moment, lost in each other. It's surreal, and I don't understand it because I've never experienced anything like this before.
Ivy lets go of my coat and I look at her and see that her face is expressing exactly what I'm feeling. Uncertainty. Doubt. Fear. Because we both know there's something here. There's something between us. Something we haven't felt with anyone else, and never in a million years expected to find with each other.
I don't know what I was expecting with Ivy. Maybe she was just an experiment to see if I could really date a girl without it being about sex. Or maybe I was just determined to convince her to go out with me since she's the only girl who's ever said no. But when she finally said yes, I never expected THIS. This overwhelming need to make her mine and never let her go. Where is this coming from? It can't just be from a kiss, can it?
"Jake. I um..." She can't find the words and neither can I, so we both remain silent. I'm not ready for this. It's too much. It's too serious. It's freaking me out. So I interrupt the awkward silence and try to lighten the heaviness in the air.
"You ready to go?" I ask. "Or would you like to offer up more commentary about my kissing abilities?"
"We can go." She smiles but it's a devious smile.
"What? What are you hiding behind that smile?"
"Nothing."
"Just tell me. Are you saying that kiss wasn't good enough for you?"
She shrugs. "It was fine." She's such a liar. She wouldn't even look at me when she said it. But I'll play along.
"Fine? That's it?" I step back. "You don't know what you just signed up for."
"What do you mean?"
"If you don't think my kisses are the best you've ever had, then I'm going to keep practicing until they are. And I'll be practicing on you. And to make sure I'm covering all my bases, I'll be kissing you different ways, and in different places." I lean down and run my tongue over the delicate skin just below her ear, then press my lips to the spot and talk softly in her ear. "If you'd like to avoid all that, you might want to reconsider your assessment of my kissing skills."
I back away and notice her eyes are closed, her chest rising and falling as she breathes.
"Ivy?"
Her eyes blink open and she clears her throat, seeming embarrassed by her reaction to my words. "What?"
I smile slightly. "Would you like to reconsider your assessment?"
She pauses to think. "My assessment hasn't changed. I think you could do better."
My smile widens because she just agreed to be kissed anytime, any place, anywhere. I kiss her once more before she gets in my SUV.
On the way to the restaurant, I tell her about my day and about the meeting I had this morning. I hadn't planned to talk about work because I assumed she'd be bored by it. But she was actually interested. She kept asking questions about the building and the project and of course she wanted details about the woodwork, which made me laugh. Only Ivy would ask details about the window trim in an old building. But I love that she did. It shows how much she likes what she does. Carpentry is her passion, just like I have a passion for construction. We both like to build things, restore things, create things.
"This is it," I say pulling into the parking garage. "It's on the top floor and I reserved a table by the window so we'd get a good view of the city."
"How fancy is this restaurant?" she asks as I'm helping her out of the car.
"It's kind of fancy but the food is amazing and I had to make up for taking you to Rodeo Freddy's last night."
"I should've dressed nicer."
"Don't worry about it. You look beautiful. I love that sweater." I take her hand and walk her to the elevator and we ride it to the top floor.
"Does this place let you wear jeans?"
"They don't on the weekends, but during the week they're more casual. And I'm friends with the owner's son, so we're good. They won't kick us out." I give her a kiss but just a quick one. "How was that? That was my in-a-hurry kiss."
"It was okay, but why are you in a hurry?"
"Because we're here." I point to the open elevator doors, then lead her into the restaurant, stopping at the hostess stand. There's nobody there so we stand and wait.
"This place is really nice," Ivy says, going over to peek inside the dining room. It's dimly lit and windows line the walls, showing off the city views.
"Sorry you had to wait," a woman says, hurrying back to the hostess stand. She's a tall brunette wearing a white blouse, tight black skirt, and extremely high heels. I take my eyes off her and put them on Ivy, who comes back beside me.
"Jake?"
The hostess said it, and when I look over and see her face I mutter under my breath, "Shit."
I slept with this girl. Just last week. Fuck. Why didn't she tell me she worked here? Probably because I talked to her for less than an hour before we had sex.
"Jake Wheeler," she says, smiling. "Didn't expect to see you here."
I force a smile on my face and say, "I have a reservation."
"I see that. When I saw the name Wheeler, I assumed it was a different one. I didn't know you took girls to dinner. If I'd known that I would've insisted you—"
"Can you just show us to our table, please?" I put my arm around Ivy, who looks pissed. She knows I had sex with this girl but I hope she doesn't think I did this on purpose, trying to flaunt my exes in front of her.
"Right this way," the hostess says. I don't even know her name. I don't think she ever told me and I didn't ask. I met her at a bar and we did it in the back of my SUV. She was one of those girls who had seen me on TV last year and assumed I was some kind of local celebrity. All I did was talk about a Victorian mansion on the local news and somehow that made me a celebrity. So when Hostess Girl saw me at the bar, she came on to me, ma
de her intentions clear, and less than an hour later we were doing it in my SUV.
"Enjoy your meal," she says, giving me a wink and a smile.
We're seated at a small, white linen covered table by the window. There's a candle flickering between us and jazz music plays softly in the background. It's the perfect romantic setting, except my date is pissed.
"Hey." I reach over and touch her arm because she's hiding her hands under the table, gazing out at the city. "I didn't know she worked here. I swear to you, I didn't know. If I had, I wouldn't have taken you here."
Ivy whips her head back to me. "You said you're friends with the owner. And you didn't know one of your exes worked here?"
"I said I know the owner's son, not the owner. Jason doesn't know who his dad hires. He has nothing to do with the restaurant. He doesn't even live here. He's in med school in Minnesota."
"How long ago?"
"Are we seriously going to do this? We're here to have a nice dinner, not talk about who I've been with."
She sighs. "You're right. I shouldn't have asked. I just...never mind." She picks up her menu. "So what do you recommend?"
"I usually get the ribeye. But I've heard the salmon is good too. That's what Austin always gets."
"Austin is your youngest brother, right?"
"Yeah. He's a health and fitness freak. He eats salmon all the time because he thinks it's good for him."
"It is supposed to be healthy." She closes her menu. "But I'd rather have the steak."
"The ribeye?"
"I think I'll get the sirloin. The ribeye's really expensive."
"I don't care how expensive it is. If you want it, order it."
The waiter approaches us. "Can I get you some drinks?"
"You want to split a bottle of wine?" I ask Ivy.
"Sure."
I order a bottle of red that's more expensive than I would normally get but I want this to be a nice dinner. It didn't start out so well thanks to Hostess Girl but I'll get it back on track.
When the waiter returns, he pours our wine, then asks if we're ready to order.
"We'll both have the ribeye," I tell him.
"Actually, I'll have the sirloin." She glares at me when she says 'sirloin'.
Give Us a Chance (Wheeler Brothers #2) Page 9