Dirty Old Men [And Other Stories] (Zane Presents) (60 page)

T
HE
P
ITTSBURGH
S
TEELERS
held on to win the game 37–31, after a furious late comeback by the Dallas Cowboys. When the game was over, the customers continued to party, drinking and talking shit. But there were no fights, no escalating arguments, and no embarrassing incidents.

So Ivan thanked everyone for coming out, reminded them to show up early for the game next week, and made a gang of new friends. Then he went through the final bar numbers with Raymond.

The bar total came to more than fifteen thousand dollars, increasing Ivan’s take to close to seven thousand. After subtracting his expenses, he and Lucina would net close to four grand to split.

At ten o’clock at night, Ivan stood out on the sidewalk with Audrey and Christina. He had already paid them all, and Lucina’s other two girls had left a few minutes earlier.

“So, you’re driving, Audrey?” Ivan questioned. He had to set up his getaway plans for Chris.

“Yeah, I got a little Pontiac convertible,” she responded with a chuckle. “What are you driving, Ivan?” she asked him.

Audrey had watched Emilio pull off in a red Maserati with plenty of fanfare. The Latino crowd had been excited to see him there and to take pictures with him. Audrey couldn’t wait to catch back up to him. She had his personal numbers now.

Ivan smiled at her and answered, “I just drove my company-man car, a black Nissan Altima. All that other stuff can wait.”

Audrey heard him out and agreed. “I know that’s right.”

Ivan then looked at Chris. She was doing her normal silent-smile thing.

He said, “So, we’re all grown people out here, right?”

He waited for them both to respond.

“Yeah.”

“And grown people’s business is grown people’s business?”

Audrey and Chris looked at each other, wondering where Ivan was going with it all.

“I mean, what are you trying to say, Ivan?” Audrey asked him. She had a feeling of where he was going. She also had a response to it if he went there.

I hope he’s not thinking what I think he’s thinking with us,
she thought.

Christina had a feeling as well. But she waited hers out to see what Ivan had to say first.

Ivan said, “Well, if it’s all right with Chris, I’ll take her home.”

Both girls froze and looked at each other. Ivan didn’t have to do that out in the open. He could have pulled Chris off to the side and let her tell Audrey something on her own. Even Chris was shocked by it.

Why did he make it so obvious?
she asked herself. At the same time, it turned her on a little. He was getting rather bold. And he was making it known that he wanted her.

On Ivan’s side of the coin, he also wanted to test Lucina’s rules.

We’ll see if she doesn’t ask them now,
he told himself.
But if I’m gonna be around all these girls all the time, they’re not all gonna tell me no.

Audrey opened her mouth and said, “Well—”

“Let me talk to him,” Christina commented, cutting her off.

Audrey looked at her and said, “Okay.” She figured Chris would handle it on her own. Ivan was off base.

Chris walked forward with Ivan for their privacy.

She asked him immediately, “Why did you do that?” He had put her smack inside of a dilemma. What would Audrey think? Lucina had told them all to make sure they returned to their own homes that night. She didn’t say that for no reason. But there was Ivan, deliberately complicating things for all of them.

Ivan said, “If you don’t wanna go, you don’t wanna go. Just tell me you don’t like me that way.”

He doubted she would tell him that. He already knew she liked him. And he was not letting her off the hook.

Christina told him, “It’s not that, it’s just…I mean, we’re all in business together, Ivan.”

Isn’t that why Ida walked out on you earlier?
she assumed.
Mixing business with pleasure is just bad. It doesn’t work.

Yet she was highly attracted to Ivan’s individual hustle.

He asked her, “You think my business is gonna stop because I take you home tonight?”

She knew better than that. “No, of course not.” “Are you gonna stop doing business with
me?
”

Chris had to stop and think about that one. What if she started to hate his guts for some reason? Or what if Lucina began to dislike her? She could tell that Lucina had an attraction to Ivan as well. Maybe she had even ruined his relationship with Ida on purpose.

Christina had read the whole thing. Now Ivan was attempting to take his emotions out on her. She expected that as well, just not as boldly.

She shook her head and told him, “I just don’t want to be in the middle of anything.”

“And how is that gonna happen?” he asked her.

Somebody would have to tell. Who would it be? Audrey?

Christina said, “I have to respect everybody in this, Ivan. I just can’t up and do that.”

“Up and do what?” He wanted her to spell it out to him. He said, “If you don’t like me like that, then it’s not an issue, right?”

She told him, “But you know I like you. I told you that already.”

He said, “You told me you liked me in business. But my life is more than just business.”

“I know that.”

“So why would you let me go home alone tonight if you like me?”

He was killing her. But she already knew that Ivan had it in him. He knew how to press people’s buttons to get them to move. She had watched him in action all night. Now he was turning his focus in her direction.

She read the situation and said, “I just don’t want to be anybody’s substitute, that’s all.”

He smiled and said, “Oh, so now you’re not good enough? What, I’ma put you back on the bench after the game? You can’t handle being a starter?”

Chris smiled back, knowing that he was wrong. Now he was attacking her ego.

He said, “Shit, if I got my chance to start after watching from the sidelines, I’d take that chance and go to the championship with it. But maybe that’s just me.”

Chris was still standing there in silence on the sidewalk. Either she wanted him or she didn’t. But Ivan was going to make her choose
right now. Impulsively.

He said, “But if you don’t want me like that, then go on back home with Audrey. She’s still here.”

It was a big risk to go that hard on the girl. Nevertheless, Ivan was training himself. Business was a hard man’s sport. There was little room for softness. Softness either lost the business or ended up on the liabilities column instead of the assets. And Ivan was only thinking about making money now, the assets.

On Christina’s side, she couldn’t take the rejection from him. What if he meant it? And what if she never got another chance to get that close to him? She was certain that he was on his way up. There was no question about it. So she would hate herself for turning her only opportunity down. But it still felt wrong.

She squirmed and said, “Ivan, I really do like you, but—”

Ivan cut her off with a raised hand and said, “Let me let you go, then.”

Christina stopped and stared at him. “What does that mean?”

Her heart was pounding in her chest.
Did I fuck it up? I just don’t…feel sure about it yet, she told herself. I mean, I want to, but…

Ivan told her, “Go on back to Audrey. I’m done.”

His rejection was even stronger now. She could hardly breathe.

She pleaded, “Don’t be that way with me, Ivan. I’m not like that. If I say I’m down with you, I’m down with you to the end.”

Ivan remained as stony as a downtown building with her.

“Well, show me, then.”

The clock stopped ticking. It was all on Christina. She sized up her chances and gave in.

She took a deep breath and said, “I’ll go tell her I’m going with you.”

A
UDREY WAITED
down the street for what seemed like forever. When Christina finally returned to her, she asked her, “So, what did you say?” She assumed that she had turned Ivan down.

Chris took another breath and answered, “I’ll just, um…see you later on or whatever. Okay?”

Audrey looked at her, confused. She said, “What, you’re
going
with him? You know Lucina told us—”

“I know what Lucina said,” Chris argued.

Audrey whispered, “And you’re gonna fuck with her partner in business anyway? I mean, how is that smart?”

“Are you gonna tell her that, Audrey?” Chris asked her.

Audrey frowned and said, “Hell, no. But what if she calls tonight and asks to speak to you?”

“You just tell her to call me on my cell phone.”

“And what are you gonna say when she calls?”

“You let me deal with that. It’s not your concern.”

Audrey backed off and said, “Okay.”
I just thought you were smarter than that,
she thought.
But that’s a dumb decision. You could have any of those guys in there before Ivan. Ivan is, like, off limits.

Even Audrey could tell that Lucina liked her partner in more ways than just business. Lucina was very protective of Ivan’s image. But like Christina had told her, it was not her concern.

I
VAN TOOK
C
HRISTINA HOME
with him to solidify his confidence in everything. He wanted to feel like he deserved it. And he wanted to teach everyone around him to give in, starting with the black and Japanese beauty.

But there were no more dreams about Lucina while he did her. Ivan had his full focus on the beautiful mind, body, and soul of Christina, who accepted his passionate weight.

“You like me for real, hunh?” he asked her with a strong thrust of his naked pelvis into hers. They were dead center in Ivan’s king-sized bed.

Christina winced, whimpered, and moaned, “
Mmm-hmm.
”

“Can I have this whenever I want?” he asked as he continued to push.

She took it and whined with her eyes closed, “If you want to.”

“But do you
want me
to
want it?”

“
Oooh,
” she moaned, feeling it.

“
Hunh?
” Ivan asked her, pouring on his weight. “
Do you?
”

“
Yesss,
” she hissed back to him, “
I want you to want me.
”

Ivan was not interested in making their romp into a talkathon. Business was about action. The talk was over. So he pounded into her body without pause. And he planned to continue having things his way.