by Day, Laura
She was moaning quietly and wrapping her arms around his neck. Blake settled himself between her thighs and Ivy brought her legs up and around him holding him fast to her. Blake’s erection was pushing into the couch and occasionally grazing against Ivy and every accidental touch made him want her more.
He sat back and pulled her up with him. He pulled off her shirt and then leaned down and took one of her breasts in his mouth. Ivy arched her back and moaned, burying her hands in Blake’s hair. He slipped a hand down her stomach and underneath the hem of her pink panties. His fingers slipped down and traced the lines of her folds and Ivy gasped and bit his lower lip.
He slipped his fingers into her and she moaned into his shoulder as he began to kiss his way across her body. Licking her clavicle and then biting and sucking at her neck as her hands gripped his arms and her hips moved his against his fingers.
“Blake, yes,” she whispered into his ear, but it was said as she gasped for breath and clung to him.
He wanted her. He wanted all of her all of the time. He slipped his hand free of her and she made a whining noise, but Blake barely heard. He stood and pulled his boxers off and reached for Ivy’s panties, slipping them down her legs and tossing them aside. He reached into a side drawer and pulled out a condom slipping it quickly over himself
Blake took Ivy by the hips and spun her around. He leaned her over the armrest of the couch and she held herself there. Blake took his erection in his hand and easily slid himself into her. She cried out his name when he entered her and moaned as he thrust into her again and again, pulling her hips into him before pulling himself out. He went harder, faster before slowing his strokes, listening to her whimper. When he could tell she was frustrated with the speed, longing for more, he sped up again, going deeper this time.
“Blake, yes. I’m so close,” Ivy whispered as she pushed back against him. Blake grabbed Ivy’s hips and slowed down as he heard her moan beneath him. She pushed back against him and he rested his hand on her back and felt as her body tense and she cried out loudly. Her body convulsed and, with one final thrust, Blake followed Ivy over the edge and they came together.
He rested on her for a moment, savoring this thing they shared. But finally he pulled himself away from her. Throwing the condom out he sat on the couch and pulled a blanket around himself as Ivy joined him. “So did watching our sex tape turn you on?” Blake asked with a smile. He couldn’t help himself.
“Shut up!” Ivy yelled rolling her eyes. “I didn’t watch it. I couldn’t. Did you?”
“Of course I did. I had to know what was on there.”
“Blake! How could you?”
“Ivy, how could you not?” Blake asked and she bit her lip to keep from smiling and looked away. “I needed to see what was on it. But it’s just the sex we had and it actually looks really good.”
“Oh my, God,” Ivy said shaking her head. “I can’t believe you think it’s good.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Ivy drove to work, following her old route and old routine. For a moment, she almost felt normal. There were, of course, about a dozen paparazzi waiting outside of Blake’s apartment building, but she didn’t let them sway her. She smiled politely and walked right past them with her head down and her hand partially blocking her face.
Her boss had called for a meeting. But he hadn’t sounded upset or worried when he called. He sounded happy and chipper and he said he really wanted Ivy to come in for an official meeting. She didn’t think she was getting fired; she was pretty sure she was getting her job back. Public opinion was firmly with Blake and Ivy.
This was confirmed when she bought her coffee and saw her own face staring up at her from a tabloid. Her jaw dropped and, before she could stop herself, she was reaching for the glossy mag. She stared at it and the man behind the counter, thinking she wanted it, dutifully scanned it and put it in her bag.
Numbly Ivy thanked him and walked to her car. She sat down in her car in the parking lot and picked up the magazine. She held it delicately as if it were her own life she was holding onto.
“Sex Tape Drama! Blake wants to go pro, but Ivy’s not interested. Will the two be able to keep it together?” She wasn't the main story. The main story was about one of the Teen Moms, but still. She was on the cover.
She opened to page twenty-seven and saw several photos of her and Blake around town. There was one from his court date, his press release, another of the two of them stopping quickly at the grocery store and several of them entering and exiting Blake’s apartment. There were “sources” from close friends who said Blake and Ivy had received an offer from Adam & Eve to do a tasteful couples porn and Blake wanted to, but Ivy was refusing until she saw a ring!
Ivy’s eyes grew as she stared at the words on the page. How did they come up with this? Where did these ideas come from? Who were these “close sources”? Blake and Ivy had received offers, but they weren’t even bothering to respond. It was a joke, and an embarrassing one at that. But still Ivy couldn’t help but be a little thrilled to be on the inside of one of these. She had been addicted to celebrity gossip when she was in high school and she had finally weaned herself off of these things. Now she was in one and late for a meeting with her boss.
Ivy parked her car in the lot and took one look at herself in the mirror to make sure she looked okay. She popped a mint and stepped out of her car and into the familiar parking lot of her firm. She had taken three steps when a car alarm in the lot went off. Ivy glanced behind her, but didn’t see anything and continued on. And then another went off and another. Ivy turned around slowly and stared at the lot of blinking, honking cars. Her eyes scanned the lot for anyone. Was it Darryl?
She couldn’t believe he would still be in the city. It was impossible. He had to have ran. She was sure his parents had paid a private jet to get him out of the country. Now he would spend the rest of his life in some foreign place making some other girl’s life miserable. That had been her theory. But now about twenty car alarms were all going off at once right as Ivy had started walking.
She stared at the lot for a moment hoping Darryl was there. She hoped he had followed her because now she was ready for a fight. People believed her. They wanted to help her and she was ready to stand up for herself. But no one appeared. One by one the lights and horns stopped and finally Ivy turned and walked into the building.
Ivy sat across from Mr. Robinson. But they weren’t in the coffee shop. They were in his office.
“Ivy, I’m so glad you’re here,” Mr. Robinson said smiling at her. “I wanted to personally apologize for my actions the other day. I didn’t fully understand the levels of this man's animosity to you. I want you to come back to work. Full time. It was a mistake sending you home.”
Ivy smiled at him and nodded, but she didn’t say anything. It had been on the front page of Jezebel that Ivy’s job had basically fired her for being stalked. The story had been picked up by the Times; it was officially a big deal. Her boss was doing good PR and it just happened to be swinging in Ivy’s favor.
“Thank you, Mr. Robison. It means a lot to hear that from you.”
“And, please, if you want to take some time off to deal with this, please know you can take all the time you need.”
“Thank you,” Ivy said. “But I’m ready to get back to work. I can come back on Monday if that works for you.”
“It does,” Mr. Robinson stood and shook her hand.
Ivy walked out of his office with her head held high. She still couldn’t quite believe it. There was a manhunt for Darryl. He was officially wanted and when he was found there would be no slap on the wrist; he was looking at serious jail time. If he were found.
It was entirely possible his family had slipped him out of the country. They were very rich and had a lot of contacts in South America. Still, Ivy had been relaxed these last few days. She would have never thought that Darryl would stay in the city to mess with her. She figured he was long gone and out of her life. She was th
rilled. That would be enough, to know Darryl was far away. An arrest warrant was like a country-wide restraining order.
After work she drove back to her old apartment. She had clothes and other things she needed there. Warm sweaters for the coming cold and her sturdiest pair of snow boots. She didn’t want to be trapped at Blake’s without them. She parked in her old spot and she was pleasantly surprised there was no paparazzi waiting for her. She took the elevator to her floor.
She stepped out into her hallway with its red and yellow carpet and walked towards her door. There was still a hole in the wall from where Darryl had nailed the stuffed elephant into it. She ran her fingers over the shards of wood and shook her head. There was something really wrong with him. He was dangerous and a part of her would always regret that she would never see him behind bars.
Ivy unlocked her many locks and stepped inside. The apartment seemed the same. But it already felt a little strange. Like it was a place Ivy had left behind a long time ago and she was just coming back years later for a visit. She dropped her bag on the couch and quickly rifled through her mail, separating the junk and putting the stuff she would need later in her purse.
She slipped out of her shoes and padded over to her bedroom. She opened the door and then stared around her in confusion. It was wrong. It was very wrong. She took a step back and blinked, putting her hand to her chest as she tried to figure out what she was seeing.
Red. Her room was covered in red paint. Buckets of it had been poured and thrown everywhere. The empty buckets were piled in one corner on top of her shoes. There were large splashes on her wall, her floor covered in it and there were even drips on the ceiling. It was a deep cherry red color, the color of blood. Ivy reached forward and felt the paint; it was hard and her hand came away clean. It was dried. It had been here for a while.
She stumbled back out of the room and slammed the door closed behind her. She looked around her apartment, but saw no one. She raced to her phone and quickly dialed 911 and explained what happened. She opened her door and searched the hallway and still there was no one. Something about the unearthly quiet of the building unnerved her. She didn’t want to be here; she didn’t want to be alone. She needed to hear voices and see people. Ivy slammed the door closed behind her and raced for the elevator. She frantically pushed the button as she looked over her shoulder. There was no one. But, still, her heart pounded in her chest and she was jittery and the elevator finally came.
Ivy rode it to the first floor where the door opened to reveal and bright and airy lobby. There was a large centerpiece bursting with orange flowers on a marble table and people were scattered about here and there. Ivy looked around at all of the people living their own pleasant lives and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath and tried to calm her hard beating heart. She dialed Blake’s number and listened as it rang. Part of her couldn't believe this was still happening. Again there was Blake and the police and frantic telephone calls. She had tasted happiness and it had been wonderful. She wanted to taste it again. She wanted to be happy and not be afraid all the time. She wanted her life to be normal again. But Darryl wasn’t quite ready to let go yet.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Darryl didn’t bother to hide that he was the one doing these things anymore. That was a small comfort. His fingerprints and boot prints were found all over the apartment. He was getting angry and careless and dangerous, which made the fact that the police still couldn't find him all the more frustrating. But, to Blake’s surprise, Ivy was surprisingly calm. She seemed to face this new attack with a detached determination. He was proud of her.
They left her paint-stained bedroom and the police behind. There were no tears from Ivy, no worries. They had a party scheduled for that night and Ivy refused to cancel. She told Blake she wanted to go out and so they left and went back to Blake’s apartment to change before the party. One of Blake’s biggest sponsors, RedHot Energy Drinks, had resigned him to an even bigger contract and there was a party that night for it.
“I want to go,” she said with a smile as the drove to his place.
Blake hired extra security for his building. Now there was a burly ex-Marine bouncer sitting on Blake’s couch ready to deal with Darryl if he stopped by to leave another camera lying around. Blake didn’t bother with protection for himself or Ivy. He could protect them both.
***
“Wow,” Ivy said as she looked around the room once they arrived to the party. She was trying not to laugh, but her lips were pursed as she shook her head. “This is something.”
The large banquet room a downtown club was decked out in RedHot swag. There were banners hanging from the ceiling and everything was stamped with the company's logo: a close up of the sun in its red/orange/black glory. There were also cardboard cutouts, huge posters, and large screens with his smiling face on them scattered throughout the room. It was loud and dramatic like everything RedHot did. Blake liked these guys and he was glad they were still sponsoring him.
“It’s fun,” Blake said with a smile as he knocked back a glass of champagne. There were scantily-clad women strolling about with trays of drinks, but Blake did his best to ignore them and made sure not to look for too long. He was looking for something else. He was on the lookout for anyone strange, anyone who didn’t belong, anyone lurking around the edges. Darryl was still out there somewhere and he wasn’t done with Ivy, the red paint had proven that. “How do you feel?” Blake asked Ivy, sidling up closer to her and putting his arm around her waist.
“Good,” she answered with a genuine smile. “How do you feel?”
“I’m serious, Ivy. The paint in your room, how are you coping with all of that?”
“I don’t know...” Ivy said, looking away before looking back. “It’s almost like that didn’t happen. It’s like, I put Darryl behind me when your charges were overturned. I flipped a switch and turned off the part of my brain that worried about him all the time. I honestly thought he was gone and it was nice to feel safe for once. And now...I don’t want to go back to being afraid or hiding. It’s been too nice not needing to live in fear.”
Blake smiled and leaned down to kiss Ivy when there was a bright flash to his right. A hired photographer gave a cheeky grin and said, “I’ll airbrush you two to perfection. Don’t worry you both look amazing,” and then he was off and Ivy and Blake were left stunned and half-blind.
Ivy giggled and pulled away from Blake as people stopped to stare at them. “I’m monopolizing you,” Ivy said as she stared out into the faces of the crowd below them. People in stunning ball gowns and tuxedos milled about with professional skateboarders and snowboarders in baggy jeans and beanies. Everyone was having fun; it was a celebration and the mood was infectious; even Ivy was having a good time.
“What are you thinking about?” Blake asked as he leaned on the bannister next to her.
“Everything,” she said with a shake of her head. “Every crazy thing that has happened to us. It’s over, but at the same time, we’re still in the middle of it.”
“I’m sorry to bother you, Mr. Lambert,” a young woman with an earpiece said as she stood next to the two of them. “But Mike wants to do the speech in five and it would be great if we could get you close to the stage.”
“Yes, of course,” Blake answered standing up straight. “Do you want to wait in the green room?”
“No,” Ivy answered with a smile. “I want to see how you look on the stage.”
He leaned down and kissed her cheek before walking away. He hated leaving her alone. She was incapable of ignoring the online chatter surrounding them, every time he turned his back she was on her phone or her laptop driving herself crazy with things she couldn’t control. He wanted to be there to take the phone and computer out of her hand and distract her any way he could think of.
Blake felt hands on his back as he passed through the crowd on the lower level. He stopped and smiled for selfies and signed pictures of himself as he continued up to the stairs. But he wa
s looking past his fans and admirers. Where was Darryl? Blake wanted to find him; he wanted the coward to show himself. A real fight between the two of them. Blake wanted to take him out and send him to jail for as long as possible.
Ivy had seen the promised land that was free of fear from Darryl. She had seen it and she had liked it and she wanted more of it. Blake wanted to give it to her. He wanted to see her smile free from fear for the rest of her life. But that would never truly happen if Darryl was still free. There would always be dangerous shadows where he could be lurking, vulnerable moments where he could attack. Blake couldn’t let any harm come to her, but how long could he reasonably keep her on a short leash.
He walked behind the woman and into the green room. There were a few other people back there including Mike, the owner of the company. No last name, no Mr., just the name: Mike. He was wearing a blazer, jeans, a t-shirt, and white sneakers.
He was the epitome of energy and he jogged over to Blake flashing a bright white smile as he held his hand out. “Blake Lambert, good to see you again!” Mike said, taking Blake’s hand in his and shaking it firmly.