Ivy's Twisted Vine Redux (26 page)

“Well, Mr. Henderson. I am offering
it
to you. So what do you say?”

“Okay, Kit.” He put the condom on carefully. “I take it that this won’t be your first pony ride?”

“No, not at all, but I know it’s your first time. And I want to be the one that turns…you…out. Even Ivy can’t take that away from me.” Kit licked her lips.

“Does that excite you?” he asked turning her face away from him. He ran his finger down the small of her back and down into her buttocks. “Now, I get it. You want to be Ivy.”

“No. I want to be Mrs. Henderson.” Kit could say how she felt now that she was leaving, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him so she fixed her eyes on his headboard.

Such a preposterous thing was absolutely hilarious to Grey, but he dare not laugh in Kit’s face now…so very close to enjoying something so vile and depraved. The truth of the matter was that he had as much feeling for Kit as he did for the condom he was going to use to penetrate her, but he would not tell her so until she was of no use to him.

Grey pondered for a moment how absolutely distasteful the entire act was before he finally dismissed his restraint. He would give Kit the pleasure of knowing that she was about pop his cherry. And she would give him pleasure…period. As he aimed for her buttocks, she held on to his hand and looked back at him.

“Make it hurt,” she said in a heavy accent. “You’ll like it more.” This time she did not smile when she looked at him, and for the first time he noticed the darkness in her eyes. After this, he would be thankful that she would be going away.

“Alright,” Grey said wishing for a brief moment that Ivy could be there to witness it. “Tonight, you will be my little wife. And in the morning, you will wish that you never asked for such a thing.”

As Grey felt himself push through her, he thought of how Ivy would die if she only knew. The thought brought him comfort as he heard Kit scream. Unaware and unconcerned if she was in pleasure or pain, he grabbed her black her long black mane again, slapped her buttocks leaving a red bruise mark and ripped violently into her.

**

Across town hours later, morning came soon for Nicola. The sun crept through his blinds and shined across his bedroom creating a luminous glow. Opening his eyes, he stared at the ceiling and instantly thought of Ivy. He would have called her last night and told her to stop by Grey’s house, but if something had happened to her in the dangerous winter weather, he would have felt totally responsible. So regretfully, he held his secret in hopes of revealing it and Grey at a later time. Even now, he smiled at the thought.

Removing his arm from the young woman snuggled comfortably under him, Nicola got out of bed and stretched his long body. It was only seven thirty in the morning, but he felt as though he was getting a late start. Stepping in the shower, he grabbed a small washcloth and allowed the steaming hot water to splash across his chest. Ten minutes later, he walked out of the bathroom with his towel around his waist and his black hair curled in wet locks at the nape of his long neck. He sat on the very edge of the bed by a sleeping woman, picked up his phone and dialed Ivy.

“Hello,” Ivy said answering on the second ring.

“Are you already awake?” Nicola pictured her as being a chronic late sleeper.

“The baby wakes me up at around four thirty or five every morning,” she said throwing her last load of clothes in the dryer.

“Damn.” He could see her kneeling sickly over the bathroom toilet. “Well, I was calling to see what time you were going to be ready.”

“Umm, the doctor’s appointment is at eleven-thirty. So, I’ll be ready whenever you get here.” She was nervous about them going to the doctor together, but she was also ready for it to be finished.

“I’ll head over there in a little while,” he said making eye contact with the young blue-eyed blonde as she rolled over in his bed nude.

“Alright. Hey, are you hungry? I fixed breakfast already, and I have enough for one more.” She didn’t want to just invite him to breakfast outright. What if he declined?

“Sure, fix me a plate, and I’ll head on now before it gets cold.” The small proposal excited him almost as much as the woman waking from her peaceful slumber.

**

At nine o’clock, Nicola pulled into the Ivy’s apartment complex. His face-off with Grey the night before was still fresh on his mind, and he struggled with the prospect of telling Ivy about it all. It wasn’t so much that he wanted her for himself; it was that he didn’t want her with Grey. Ivy was a nice girl, not like the many women that both of them bedded. Looking at his watch, he picked up his cell phone and dialed her house phone.

“Hello,” Ivy said putting the blueberry pancakes on his plate.

“Hey, I’m out front.” Nicola got out of his truck and closed the door.

“Okay.” Her heart skipped a beat. Why did it do that every time he was near her?

Quickly, she grabbed the air freshener and sprayed it widely in the air, ran past the mirror to check her lipstick, and brushed her hair. Opening the door, as he was about to knock, she greeted him with a smile trying not to pant visibly. He reached into the door and hugged her warmly. She felt his chiseled hands softly touch her body and realized that goose bumps were forming.

“Hey, lady. How are you?” he asked tugging at her denim overalls and green cashmere turtleneck. He couldn’t help but notice her long brown locks shimmering brightly in the sunlight and her caramel skin glowing with pure radiance. She was definitely a timeless beauty.

“I’m fine.” Ivy closed the door. “Just tired.” She admired his face for a moment before leading him to the kitchen table where their food sat neatly prepared on her finest dishware.

“Man, you went all out,” he said placing his leather coat on the back of the kitchen chair. “I haven’t had a home cooked breakfast in… years.”

“Talk about pressure. I really hope that you like it,” she said sitting down beside him.

Tasting the sweet strawberries and Delta syrup on his pancakes, he thought back to early mornings at his home back in Miami when he was growing up. The only other woman he had ever had breakfast with was his mother many, many years ago. Looking up at Ivy, who now enjoyed her meal quietly, he felt a warm and comforting sentiment in his heart.

“Why did you stop eating?” she asked curiously looking up at him with an innocent smile. “Do you need something?”

“No,” he said softly, his voice barely carrying enough sound to whisper. He cleared his voice and continued. “Your place is nice.” Looking out of the window, he saw a bird perch on the tree. “You live in a little fairy tale over here, don’t you? Your birds even chirp in the morning.”

“All birds chirp in the morning,” she said filling his glass with orange juice.

“My birds don’t chirp. They usually have a hangover the in the morning.” He stretched again fighting a nagging hangover.

“Probably from partying with the likes of you.” They made eye contact.

At that very moment, Nicola wished that she could have looked beyond his macho exterior to see the type of man that he really was.

“You think that I’m out of control, don’t you?” He asked regrettably.

“No…I know that you are.” Ivy said convinced.

Sipping on his juice, Nicola sat quietly for a moment. Now would be a great time to tell her about Grey and Kit, he thought devilishly. But as he looked back up into her eyes, he knew that in order to hurt Grey, he would have to hurt her.

“I’m a pretty serious guy once you get to know me,” he said countering her cold observation.

“Oh, I know you quite well Mr. Nicola Michael Agosto.” She knew that referring to his full name would make him think of their night together. And although she knew that it was improper to do so, she loved the rush it gave her to flirt with him.

“There is always an opportunity to know me better.” Without a smile, he stared right back at her giving her a taste of her own medicine..

The thought of another night with Nicola made Ivy choke. She covered her mouth and tried to catch her breath that was leaving her with each cough. “Excuse me,” she said clearing her throat.

“You okay?” he got up out of his seat and rubbed her back gently.

“Yeah, just that damned pulp.” She had to change the subject quickly. “I’m suppose to have my first ultrasound today,” she said dappling her shiny lips with a napkin.

“Wait. You mean you’ll find out if it’s mine or Grey’s?” He thought that happened after the baby was born.

“No, I just get a first glimpse,” she said giggling. “They don’t tell you what sex the baby is until the sixth month.”

“Oh. Didn’t Grey want to be with you for this?”

“I didn’t tell him. I figured whomever’s turn it was to take me would see the baby with me.” The thought depressed her. “I wanted to be fair.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry that I have a hand in this.”

“It’s okay. I’ve come to grips with it now. Besides, if I recall, I asked you for it and not the other way around.”

“You make me feel good, Ivy.” Nicola felt his stomach in his throat. “Like it would be okay for the baby to be mine.”

Ivy smiled but did not respond to his statement.
What was there to say?
“At first, I was worried about names and all sorts of cosmetic stuff, but now I just want the baby to come here healthy.”

“Yeah, me too.” Picking his fork back up, he smiled and looked down at his food. Now, he wondered if she thought it would be okay to have his child considering that she said nothing in reply.

**

Nicola tried to follow the doctor as she explained what Ivy could expect during her second trimester, which she had already entered a month ago. Feeling as though he was on a commercial, sitting beside Ivy liked the overjoyed husband; he looked at his watch and yawned. He had seen more than what he had bargained for during their office visit, and he was now ready to go home and take a long nap. The poking and probing and giddy nurses and pink walls and teddy bears and thermometers were making him feel as though he was the one that was pregnant.

“Well, do you want to know the results from the ultrasound?” Dr. Karkera asked smiling at Nicola, who was, of course, clueless at that point.

“I asked her to tell you herself, so that you wouldn’t think I was lying,” Ivy said clasping her hands together to suppress her excitement. Nicola had to walk down to the car to get his wallet earlier to pay for the office visit and missed the ultrasound.

“Sure,” Nicola said nervous. What could a first glimpse tell him?

“Well, you have twins. But we can’t pinpoint the sex until about the twenty-third week,” the doctor said shocked at how Ivy had gotten both men to participate in her visits. She definitely wanted to be there when Ivy found out just who was the father.

“Twins?” Nicola asked in shock. His face turned from a dark unreadable frown to a bright smile as he looked over at Ivy, who was as thrilled as he was and even more frightened although she did well to hide it. “How about that,” he said sitting up in the seat. “And they’re healthy?” Now, he knew why Ivy was not concerned with the cosmetics. The basics were so much more important.

“From what we can tell at this point,” Dr. Karkera said passing him the ultrasound picture of the twins. “This is the first picture of your new little family.”

“Can I keep this?” he asked forgetting that Ivy might want to have it.

“If it’s alright with Ivy,” the doctor said shaking her head. “They are always excited when they find out that they have twins.” Her attention now turned to Ivy. “If you all need anything please give me a call.” Standing up, she offered her hand to Nicola. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” Nicola said standing and shaking her hand.

“See you next month,” Ivy said shaking the doctor’s hand as well.

“Alright. Just remember to take your vitamins, and eat more protein,” the doctor said seeing them out of the office.

Helping Ivy with her new bags of baby goodies, Nicola walked out of the doctor’s office with a new perspective on life. In just a few minutes, he had totally forgotten about anything that had ever mattered to him before. All he could think of was how there was a fifty percent chance that those twins might belong to him. Opening the door of his truck for Ivy, he nearly picked her up and put her in her seat.

“Can you believe it?” Ivy asked seeing the new urgency in his intense eyes.

“Slowly.” Nicola paused. “Twins run in your family?”

“We have a couple of sets,” Ivy said thinking back. “What about you?”

“A few.” Nicola said evasively.

“Are you okay?” Ivy tried to read him.

“I’m fine,” Nicola said closing the door. As he walked to the other side of the truck, he stopped and took out his cell phone. He couldn’t wait another minute to call Brooks.

“Yeah,” Brooks said coughing as he answered the phone.

“Man, you haven’t gotten rid of that damned cold, yet?” Nicola asked looking up at the clear blue skies.

“
No.” Cough. “Why the hell are you so damned happy?”

“I just left the doctor’s office with Ivy. Well, I’m still in the parking lot actually, but I just left the doctor.”

“And?” Brooks didn’t seem to see why being in a parking lot was such a big deal, but he was sure that Nicola would tell him.

“She’s having twins,” he said hitting the truck.

“Get out of here,” Brooks said laughing. “Damn man, congratulations! Are you happy?”

“Yeah, I think am,” Nicola said looking at the ultrasound picture again.

“That’s good, man.
I think
.” Brooks was even confused at what Nicola wanted at that point.

“The possibitlty just blows my mind. Obviously, you can

understand why.”

“Yeah…shit. You need to move out of town now, before it’s too late. Child support in Shelby County is a bitch.” Brooks laughed. They were on two totally different pages. “No, I’m just messing with you man. Well, twins…that makes the possibility of them being yours a lot greater.”