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

said crossing his heart. “And I think you’ve got enough on me to know that I’m good for my word.”

Chapter Sixteen: Cornered

Chapter 16

CORNERED

“So we’ve finally got enough on Caesar to bust his ass,” Brooks said grinning as he raised his arm weight. He had been dreaming of getting Caesar off of the streets and placing him under a jail cell since they began their campaign, but every time they got something they thought was solid, Caesar got away clean. This time, however, they had gone to extreme lengths to ensure that there would be no one to save him.

“Yep, as soon as we get the information about the shipment,” Nicola said rejoicing in the thought as well.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Brooks watched his muscles bulge as he lifted the sixty-five pound free weights. His wide long physique narrowed at the waist and expanded at the hips like a professional weight lifter. His dark brown skin seemed shinny and unblemished and his baldhead and coal black facial hair made him look strong and invincible. At least, he thought he was sexy. He smiled vainly at himself as he caught Nicola smirking at him.

“What?” Brooks asked defensively.

“You’re doing it again,” Nicola said gulping down his creatine shake.

“Doing what?” Brooks already knew.

“Gloating.” Nicola belched and laughed. He always caught Brooks staring at himself in the mirrors or doing “mirror checks” to make sure every stitch of clothing was in place. For him to be a cop, he was always very well dressed. It was the main reason that Nicola started to be more aware of the way he looked. Being best friends with a runway model was heavy on the ego.

“Look, I’m a Psi man. We are pretty.” His confidence gleamed like the sweat on his forehead. “It wouldn’t matter if I was the garbage man, I would still look good.”

Nicola laughed. “Well, you are full of shit.”

“But I can back it up,” Brooks said turning his attention back to his workout.

“I just don’t get what kind of man would want to call himself pretty.” Nicola had argued the point a hundred times before, but each time seemed valid.

“A confident man. Someone, who knows that he is irresistible, but don’t worry. I don’t expect you to understand.”

“Let me guess. It’s because I’m not pretty.” Nicola had heard this before.

“Exactly.”

“But the ladies like me. I believe the word they use is “sexy”.

“Sexy is not the same thing as pretty. Cigarette smoke in a dark candlelit room can be sexy. Are you going to compare yourself to cigarette smoke?”

“You know what I mean. Sexy is more masculine than pretty. I mean, when I think of a pretty man…”

“I just think that you’re hatin’,” Brooks interjected returning to his weights. “But looking at me, who wouldn’t?” He grunted.

“I need to check and see what type of paperwork I need to put in for the twins to be put on my insurance once they’re born.” Nicola said staring into space.

“Whoa, where did that come from?” Brooks asked confused by the sudden change of conversation.

“Well, the time is coming quickly. They’ll be here in less than three months. Just in case they are mine, they’re going to need insurance.”

“You’re kidding right?” Brooks was fed up with Ivy being the most popular topic of conversation.

“Kidding about what?” Before Nicola could even ask, he could look in his partner’s eyes and see that he was about to correct him for his concern. More and more lately Brooks had shown signs of jealousy for all of the time that he spent with Ivy and preparing for the twins.

“Look man, we’ve been friends for a long time, and you know that I wouldn’t ever tell you anything wrong on purpose. Right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I’ve got to tell you. You’re setting your self up for a big fall with Ivy and these kids. First of all, you don’t know if there yours or not. Second of all, she’s still engaged to another man. Third, she is not your wife. You better move on and discover life after conception, or you’re not going to be able to handle it when she does the same.”

“I’m not worried about Ivy. I was just thinking aloud.”

“You think that because they’re twins, they could be yours?” Brooks looked concerned.

“Don’t you think that’s a little too coincidental?”

“I’ve seen something in you lately, man. You’re all wrapped up in this girl. Thank God it hasn’t affected your work, but your personal life is totally screwed over. You’ve been celibate for over a month now, every since you took that stupid vow on the track field. You’re becoming a hermit, never going anywhere.” Brooks sighed. “What if Ivy really wants Grey? How are you going to recoup from that?”

“I didn’t stop having sex because of Ivy. I stopped because of what happened with Ivy, and.” Nicola sat down on the bench. “And I needed more clarification in my life.”

“Clarification my ass…you sound sprung to me; something I thought that you would never live to be.”

“I’m not sprung,” Nicola said offended. “You wouldn’t understand though. You’ve been running like hell from responsibility. Look, as much as Trina does for you, you still fuck off on her.”

“You of all people understand why.”

“No, man. I don’t understand why. If I had a woman that cared as much for me as that girl cares for you, I’d be a lot more careful with her.”

“You mean like you were careful with Ivy? Don’t fool yourself. You and I both know that before this one, you didn’t give a damn about woman. Shit. Just six months ago you weren’t ducking and dodging a serious relationship, too. Now you want to act like some kind of saint, because you think you have a chance with the one girl in the Memphis who sees straight through your ass.”

“No one can see straight through me.”

“You really want to believe that don’t you.” Brooks sighed. “You’re my boy, but I have to tell you that this is one race