Ivy's Twisted Vine Redux (7 page)

“How old are, if you don’t mind me asking?” Nicola said recalling his actions and now inwardly wondering if he had moved to quickly. That should have been the question to ask nearly an hour before. Ivy looked at least mid-twenties, but maybe her looks had deceived him. He prayed she was at least twenty-one.

“I’m twenty-one,” her smiled faded. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-nine.” Nicola turned his attention to his empty bottle trying not to show his relief of her legal status but disapproval of the age gap. He had dated a girl around her age a couple of months ago. She was slightly air headed and extremely hard to manage. She was always bouncing around his place when he was trying to sleep, calling him every hour on the hour when they were apart and nagging him for money to go with her sorority sisters shopping. It was a total nightmare. “I’ll be thirty in two months.” He smiled politely at her. Ivy didn’t seem that type though.

Sensing the new conflict about their age difference, Trina tried to make light of the situation despite her dislike for Nicola. “Eight years is not a lot in age difference these days.” She nodded at Ivy in approval. “I once dated a guy that was thirteen years older than me, but he acted like his was my age or younger. I guess that as long as you’re legal, nothing matters but how mature or immature you behave.”

“When did you date someone thirteen years older than you?” Brooks asked frowning. “Hell, I’ve been on an off with you for three years. You’re only twenty-three.”

“He came during one of our off periods,” Trina said defensively.

“Alright, you better explain yourself,” Brooks said taking his arm from around her.

“Don’t get no attitude now, Brooks,” Trina said pulling his arm back.

“Don’t tell me. Go tell your senior citizen friend.” Brooks laughed as he took another sip of his beer.

“You know what, forget you. Ivy are you ready to go?” Trina grabbed her purse off the ground. “It is getting late.”

“Yeah, when ever you’re ready.” Looking over at Nicola once more, Ivy stood up. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Nicola.” She extended her hand.

Accepting it, Nicola stood up and shook her hand and kissed her on her cheek. “Please call me Nicky. It was nice meeting you too, Ivy…What’s your last name?”

“Winters.”

“Okay, Ms. Ivy Winters. It was nice meeting you, too. I’m sure the next time we meet, you and your guy friend will have worked everything out, and you’ll be on your way to being
Mrs. Somebody.”

“I doubt that very seriously.” Ivy laughed. “You said it, but I forgot. What is your last name again?”

“Agosto.” He said proudly. “It’s Italian.” Black women loved Italians. It was common knowledge on the force.

“The Italian lover!” Brooks stretched and tapped Trina on her behind. “Ladies, hold on to your panties!”

“Don’t pay any attention to him. He’s a hater.” Nicola blushed slightly.

“No, I believe him,” Ivy said softly. “Thanks for keeping me company though
Italian lover
.”

“You’re quite welcomed,” Nicola said wishing that they had more time to spend together. “Like I said, the pleasure was all mine.” He had to play the gentleman long enough to see her out of the door. Then he would go back into the party and wreak havoc on all the women who wished that they could have been having a private moment with he and Brooks.

“We’ll walk ya’ll out,” Brooks said motioning at Nicola.

“No. We can find our own way out,” Trina said kissing Brooks on the cheek.

“You sure?” Brooks asked.

“Positive,” Trina said smiling. She loved when he behaved like a gentleman.

“Alright then. Give me a call, and let me know when you make it home. Don’t forget,” Brooks said pulling another bottle of beer out of his cooler. He was ready for them to leave as well. Trina was messing up his action by constantly hugging and kissing him around the other prospects.

“I will.” Trina pulled Ivy by the arm.

“Bye,” Ivy and said looking one last time at Nicola before they walked out the door.

“
Arrivederci
,” Nicola said watching Ivy walk hesitantly out of the door. He bit his lip at the thought of her warm mouth.

“What the hell was that?” Brooks asked sitting down on the couch once the girls were out of sight.

“That was perfect timing,
mi amico
.” Nicola wiped his lips. He had a distinct feeling that he had just begun the biggest chase of his life. It was a good thing that he had on his running shoes.

Chapter Three: Someone Borrowed

Chapter 3

SOMEONE BORROWED

I should have given him my number.

The recurring thought made Ivy sit up in bed. It had been two days since her encounter with Nicola, but she all she could do was think about the next possible time she would see him. She would give anything to just say, “Call me sometime.” Unbelievably, Nicola had struck a chord in her heart that she didn’t know existed.

Curiosity was a feeling that Ivy had never experienced for anyone except Grey, until now. She wondered a hundred things about this mysterious man with a great kiss and God-like body. Was he really single? Did he have kids? What did he like to do? What was his middle name? Where was he from? What was he like in bed? Oh no! She shook her head. The thought had crossed her mind several times. Every time she let her mind roam, she found herself recalling his touch and the warm sensation it sent down the depths of her soul.

Ivy laid her head back down on her pillow and looked at the phone. Too bad she hadn’t slipped her number to him before she left. Agitated by her own shyness, she rolled over and stared at the wall. She heard the voice of sanity creep into her head.

Just go back to sleep. Think about how you’re going to mend your relationship with Grey.
Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she tried to concentrate. In her last attempt to keep from thinking of Nicola, she got out of bed and kneeled down on her knees. She would simply pray until she fell asleep.

“Lord...” Interrupting her last line of defense, the phone rang. Ugh!

“Hello?” Trina said looking at her caller I.D. “Hey,” Listening. “Yeah, she’s here.” Listening. “No, she’s awake. I don’t know why, but she’s up. Hold on.” Trina turned on her lamp and shook her head at Ivy. “It’s Nicola,” she smirked. “He wants to talk to you. Both of you are getting on my nerves.”

“Nicola?” Ivy whispered with her hands still clasped together. Trying to control herself, she took a deep breath before answering the phone. “Hello?” She turned quickly away from Trina’s glaring eyes.

“Ivy?” Nicola said unsure of how she would receive his call.

“Hi,” Ivy said overjoyed.

“I hope that I didn’t wake you.”

“No,” her response was too quick, but she didn’t care.

“Good. Look, I’m sorry for calling so late, but to be honest I just had talk to you again. You left so suddenly the other night; I didn’t get a chance to get your number or anything. Brooks gave me Trina’s number and said I could reach you here. I hope that you don’t mind.” Unable to see him face-to-face, Ivy couldn’t detect Nicola’s nervousness.

“No, It’s fine. You wouldn’t believe it, but I was just sitting here thinking about you.”
Why did she let that slip out?

“Really?” Nicola smiled.
So, I did leave a good impression.

“Yeah,” her voice softened.

“Well, I was thinking about you, too. Actually, I’ve been thinking about you since you left.” His voice became more confident, and he was suddenly glad that he called. “I would love to see you again.”

“I would love to see you, too,” she was glad that he had finally asked.

“How about tomorrow night?” Ivy’s fiancé crossed Nicola’s mind. He prayed his persistence would not scare her away, but he had to take a chance. After five years, he was sure that this man would not stay out of the picture too long without trying to mend the relationship.

“Tomorrow sounds great.” She was surprised but pleased by his aggression. If he had asked to see her tonight, she doubted if she could have denied him.

“Good. Well then, I’ll see you tomorrow at eight.” Nicola couldn’t believe that it had been so easy to persuade her to see him again.

“Goodnight then.” Ivy said finally feeling like she could get some rest.

“Goodnight,” he said hanging up the phone.

Nicola was pleased that she didn’t want to prolong their conversation. Anticipation was the key to any good date, but most women wanted to go through the
get to know you
session before the date, which made everything less exciting.

“I can’t believe that you just made a date with that man,” Trina said eavesdropping. “What about Grey? If he should come over tomorrow then what?” She didn’t want Ivy caught up in a lot of confusion, but she could see it coming with Nicola in the picture.

“Look, Grey is on some old bullshit, okay. I didn’t deserve to be treated the way he treated me. So what if he comes over tomorrow, and I am not here. Well, I guess I just won’t be here.” Ivy was tired of Trina taking Grey’s side.

“Yes, Grey was dead wrong for what he did. But mark my words, you’re running to this man at the wrong time in your life. If you know what’s best for you, you’ll cancel on him and call Grey.” Trina turned off the light and left Ivy in the dark to think about what she had said. Sometimes being a true friend meant choosing to not agree.

*

“So what did she say?” Brooks asked as Nicola closed his cell phone.

“She said yes,” a small proud grin came across Nicola’s face.

“I told you that she would. Ivy’s cool people.” Brooks took a ten-dollar bill out of his wallet. “Hey bartender, bring my man here a
feel good drink.
He finally landed himself a quality date.”

“Quality? You talk like I have dated barrel rats.” Nicola recalled his fine selection of the past.

“No, don’t get me wrong, you’ve dated some dime pieces in your day. It’s just that…well, you’ll see. Once you go black, I’ll be dammed if your ass ever will want to go back.”

“How do you know that I’ve never dated a black woman?” He had not.

“It’s in your walk, man. Latino women, yes. White women, of course. Asian women, maybe. Black women, hell no.” Brooks laughed. “Am I right, or am I right?’

“Cocky bastard,” Nicola said laughing. There was no need to confirm.

“That’s what I thought. Forget it. That’s what I know!” Brooks passed Nicola a drink. “Welcome to the other side.”

*

Sending the last of her emails, Ivy closed her laptop and nibbled on her celery stick. Trina sat across the dorm in her bed watching television and reading her homework assignment trying to ignore Ivy’s taunting stares. In a last resort, Ivy grabbed the remote and turned off the television.

“Really Trina, what do you know about him?” Ivy asked demandingly. “I have a date with this man in less than three hours.” She pulled her hair behind her ear and rolled her eyes. Why would Trina hold out on her?

“Why does it matter what I know about him? You’ve already kissed him and set up your first date. You should have been asking me that first. I told you that he was a no good ass dog. That should have been more than enough.” Trina was still angry with Ivy for moving so fast with Nicola after she had warned her of his intentions.

“Oh, don’t be like that, Trina. Yes, I may have moved too fast, but this is important. Just tell me something about him,” Ivy pouted. “Please,” she said making her puppy-dog face.

“Like what?” Trina put down her book and protested with heavy sighs.

“Like does he have a girlfriend for starters?”

“I don’t know. All I really know about him is that he’s Brooks’ partner. He’s from South Beach. He’s Italian and supposedly single. Oh and he’s a dog. He’s a dog. He’s a damn dog.”

“You mean to tell me that Brooks never talks about him.” Ivy said ignoring Trina’s last statement.

“Look, we just got back together. We don’t spend our time talking about Nicola.”

“I just don’t want to get out here tonight and find out he’s a crazed rapist or something.”

“So cancel.”

“That’s what you want me to do, right.”

“If you must know. Yes. And it’s not that I don’t approve of Nicola. I just don’t approve of the timing. Hey, you asked my opinion. So I’m gonna tell you,” Trina said folding her arms.
“Okay, I’m listening,” Ivy could see Trina visibly climbing on her soapbox.

“I’m sure that the man is not a lunatic or rapist; it’s just that right now you’re very vulnerable. You should be at home recovering from Grey not out with this lover boy. All he wants to do is take advantage of you.”

“I’ve been home recovering from Grey for a freaking month. I’m ready to have some fun.”

“Unless you call a one-night stand fun, I don’t think that you’re barking up the right

tree with Nicola Agosta,” Trina said at the end of her very long rope.

“If you know so little about him, then why do you know that’s all that he wants from me?” Ivy asked before she turned on the television back on and threw the remote at Trina.

“He’s one of the most well-known cops in Memphis. And word does get around. It’s not about what he wants from you; it’s about what he wants from every woman that he meets.” Trina said ending their conversation.