Ivy's Twisted Vine Redux by Latrivia Nelson (books to read for beginners .TXT) 📕

she allowed her fingers to rub his tense shoulders. He looked up at her, and they made eye contact for a brief moment.

“Damn, I feel like shit,” Nicola said with his vision still blurry.

“The truth of the matter is that I was worried sick. I know how you must feel. Trina has been dragging around the house like you wouldn’t believe. The only thing is that she hasn’t gone to drinking yet.” She said softly. “Do you want me to wash your hair?”

“Yes,” Nicola said enjoying being pampered by the woman he loved.

Ivy continued. “This whole thing has been so sudden. So unreal. But you have to continue on, Nicola. You can’t just ball up and give up.”

“I haven’t given up. I just got drunk, Ivy,” Nicola said equally as soft.

“Well, this isn’t healthy.” Ivy paused. “Do you hear me?”

“Yeah, baby. I hear you.” Nicola said raising his head slightly before she drenched him with warm water.

“You’ll have to shave yourself. If I do it, I’ll probably kill you.”

“In that case, I’ll get to it.” He slouched down in the water. “Can we just sit here for a minute…just sit here?” He pulled her legs up over his shoulders and let them rest on his chest. Ivy pulled her long sundress up above her thighs. Comfortable, he rested between her legs feeling the heat from her womb.

“I’m having boys,” Ivy said softly as she rubbed through his curly locks. She knew that he was dying to find out and couldn’t wait any longer to tell me.

“Boys? Really?” His eyes opened and he looked up at the ceiling. “Can I ask you a question?” His massive arms lay across her legs.

“Yes,” Ivy said yawning and looking at the dark curly hair on his arm against the contrast of his wet skin.

“Do you think that they’re mine? The babies?”

“I have no idea,” Ivy said slowly.

“Do you want them to be mine?”

“I have no idea.” Ivy rubbed her stomach. “I’m seven and half months pregnant. My only want is for them to arrive on time and healthy.” She tried to avoid revealing too much of herself to a man who had repeatedly denied her the attention or explanations that she so desired. But she had to ask.

“Do you want them to be yours?” Her voice was laced with curiosity.

With a smile, Nicola rubbed her soft legs and kissed the inside of her knee. “Ivy…they are mine,” he said self-assured. Ivy didn’t argue with his statement for fear of exposing the way that she felt for him. Nicola didn’t push his feelings for her, because of his fear of being exposed by Grey. Instead that sat in silence and fear, thinking of all the things that they should have been saying at that time but weren’t.

After a while, when the water began to cool and their bodies began to wrinkle, Nicola awoke from his peaceful slumber and realized that Ivy had fallen asleep behind him leaning back against the marble wall. Standing up, he grabbed a towel and wrapped his waist. In the process, Ivy awoke and caught a glimpse of his all too familiar sculpted temple. She looked away before he could catch her. Smiling, he grabbed another towel and dried her legs.

“Feeling like your old self?” she asked stretching.

“A little bit,” Nicola said helping her out of the large garden tub.

“Well, I’ve got dinner downstairs. If you’re hungry…” Ivy tried to ignore how beautiful he looked with his huge black locks of hair wet and curly around the nape of his neck.

“I’m starving,” he said going to the sink to shave. “What’s for dinner?”

“I was actually shocked when I looked in your refrigerator. There were all the ingredients for Cold Duck and Mango Salad.” She smiled proud of herself.

“Did you see the wine in the rack? We could chill something.”

“No alcohol, Nico.” Ivy said infuriated that he had even suggested.

“I’ve been drinking wine with my dinner since I was six.”

“Well tonight, we’re going to have Coke or water.” She smiled.

“Si, signora. You better be glad that I went grocery shopping. I normally have an empty cupboard,” Nicola said spraying himself with Ralph Lauren Polo cologne.

“Where do you shop?”

“Miss Cordelia's Grocery.”

“I love that store.” Ivy paused. “Is that the Black by Ralph Lauren?” she asked looking at his cologne bottle.

“Yeah.” He smiled. “You like it.”

“I love it,” Ivy said walking up and sniffing his chest.

“Hey,” Nicola said lifting her chin. “I’m only human. Don’t tempt me.”

“Tempt you to what? I didn’t think that men liked pregnant women.” She looked him directly in his brown eyes.

“I think that you are more beautiful than you’ve ever been right now. And if you weren’t with Grey, you’d be in my bed right now.” Rubbing her back, he kissed her cheek and walked into his walk-in closet to pick something comfortable to throw on.

Ivy was left on cloud nine. He did find her attractive still. The thought made her happy, but hearing him say it made her feel like a women. She tried hard not to lose her composure, but it was a hard task. “Your closet is more like another bedroom,” she said peering inside his wall-to-wall, wooden closet space with mahogany wooded hangers, oak dressers and larger oversized golden mirrors.

“It’s one of the reasons I bought the place.” Putting on some white tube socks, he grabbed a pair of long, black jersey shorts and took off his towel.

“I’m going to go down and check on the food,” Ivy said remembering herself.

“Okay,” Nicola said jumping into his white Nike shorts. “I’ll be down in a few.” Shaking off his dizziness and nausea, he collected his thoughts.

“Okay,” Ivy said drifting off. She could feel the heat rising around her neck. His beautiful body never ceased to amaze her.

To set the mood from the earlier somber feel to a more lively beat, Nicola put on his favorite Ibrahim Ferrer CD and