Chapter 5 #2
“I’ve got her,” I reassure him, a silent understanding passing between us. He disappears inside the house, and I crouch next to Ivy. “Are you okay?”
She groans, then turns in my direction. In this position, our heads are pretty much pressed together and—why did my stomach just fucking jump?
“What are you doing here?” she asks, sounding as if she’s a little drunk.
“I was helping Joe with something out here when we heard you scream.”
She winces and shuts her eyes again. “Not my proudest moment.”
“Hey, it happens.”
“Did my hairdryer survive, Doctor?”
My lips twitch with the beginning of a smirk. “I’m afraid not.”
Joe comes back then, glass of water in hand. “Drink this. I’ll be right back.”
He disappears again in a flash. Ivy drinks the entire glass of water, then says, “Thanks for, um, helping out. I’m a little mortified.”
“No need to be.”
She ignores me. “You can leave now if you want. This isn’t the first time it’s happened. If you can be a pro at fainting, then I’m a gold medalist. I’m fine, really.”
“I’m not leaving until you’re okay.”
She says nothing to that, but I can tell she wants to because she’s biting down on her lower lip. I glance away from her mouth and ask, just to break the silence, “So, vasovagal syncope?”
She gives me a funny look. “I’m surprised you know what it is. Not many people I’ve met do.”
“I read about it in passing during training. But also, Joe told me.”
“Well, I got it from my mom. Fun.” She groans as she shifts her posture. “It’s not dangerous, only very inconvenient.”
“Yeah, he said that. Does it happen often?”
“Not really. Maybe once or twice a year. This is the first time I’ve fainted this year. I went to the doctor for it, but my brain is fine.”
“You can’t prevent it? Before you get dizzy, I mean.”
She shrugs, making me extra aware of our proximity. I’m not bothered by her arm brushing mine, though. And if she is, she doesn’t say anything or move away.
“Sometimes, if I stay really hydrated and don’t forget to eat. But even then, when something dramatic like this happens, I just…”
She pretends to fall to the side, and I wrap an arm around her shoulders on instinct.
“Relax. I’m just joking for dramatic effect.”
I grunt. “Jokes are supposed to be funny.”
“Jokes are never funny when you’re a grump.”
I ignore her comment, focusing on the tiny scratch on her temple. “Did the hairdryer hurt you, other than this small cut here?”
Her fingers—I’ve just noticed her nails are painted a light shade of pink—reach out to touch the cut. “I don’t think so. Is it bad? Tell me the truth. I’d say I can handle it, but clearly that’s a lie.”
“It’s nothing. I can clean it for you if you’d like.”
She arches an eyebrow. “I thought you were a firefighter, not a paramedic.”
“I have some medical training.”
“I also thought you didn’t like me.”
She’s going there, all right. Given the little of her personality I’ve seen this far, I’m not surprised she’s bringing it up. Ivy doesn’t strike me as someone who holds back.
I clear my throat. “I never said I didn’t like you.”
“Sometimes words aren’t needed.”
Damn. Okay, then.
“Well, it’s not that,” I argue, because it isn’t. I don’t dislike Ivy.
“Then why do you look like I cursed your entire bloodline in a past life every time I talk to you?”
How the hell can I say this without embarrassing myself or sounding like an asshole?
My mouth is so dry, I have to clear my throat again. Because tiptoeing around the truth has never been my thing, I decide to just go for it. If she thinks I’m a prick for this, so be it. I can’t control her reaction.
“I thought you were flirting with me. That’s all.”
Her mouth falls open.
“I’m back,” Joe chooses that moment to announce. “I grabbed the walnuts you like. I may or may not have taken the bag to my room a few days ago and left them on my desk. There are only a few left, and they taste kind of weird. Sorry, Ives. I’ll buy you more.”
“I would kill you, but luckily for you, my body wouldn’t cooperate.” She grabs the bag of walnuts, pops one into her mouth, and makes a disgusted face.
Joe winces. “Told you. But you’re feeling okay now, right?”
“Yeah. Help me up?”
With ease, Joe helps her to her feet. Once I make sure she doesn’t lose her balance, I get up too.
“I should probably get going,” I say, which earns me a “We aren’t done talking about this” look from Ivy that terrifies me more than it should.
“Thanks for helping with the gate,” Joe tells me.
Ivy frowns. “What gate?”
“The one on the fence. It isn’t closing right because the screws on the hinges need to be changed. But I’ll do it,” Joe explains. “I’m going to the shop now.”
“Did you do your homework? How about that history exam on Tuesday?”
“I could recite the causes and consequences of the Cold War in my sleep.”
She bites the inside of her cheek. “All right. I’ll give you some cash.”
“I’ve got my own.” He smirks, tipping his chin toward me. “I’m a businessman now.”
“Want a ride?” I offer, making both siblings turn in my direction. “I need to grab a few things to fix the lawnmower anyway. It’s been making weird noises.”
“It’s fine. I’ll just take my bike,” Joe says, giving me a smile that doesn’t completely reach his eyes.
Not wanting to push, I nod.
“Bye, Ives. I’ll be back in less than an hour.” He waves at me as he climbs down the steps. “Thanks for the help today.”
“No problem, buddy.”
Then he takes off, leaving me alone with his sister and a conversation I don’t particularly want to have.
Just like I suspected, she wastes no time after Joe pedals down the street.
“Are you serious?” she hisses, but she doesn’t sound pissed off. Mildly annoyed would be more accurate. “You thought I was flirting with you? Seriously? Wait… was it the smiley face on the sticky note? I’m so confused right now.”
“I’m not saying you flirted with me. This isn’t an accusation,” I start, not really knowing how to keep going. Why did I think confessing was a good idea in the first place?
“Well, that’s what it feels like.”
“Here’s the thing.” I take a deep breath through my nose and decide to just tell it like it is. There’s no easier explanation than the truth. “I got divorced a year or so ago, and I’m not interested in getting into another relationship.”
“I don’t get what that has to do with me.”
I might be a fucking idiot.
“Since my divorce, I’ve had… ah, I’ve had a bunch of women flirt with me. Some a little aggressively. And before you say anything, yes, I’m aware I sound like my ego is twenty times my size.”
She shrugs. “I don’t think you’re being egocentric for saying that if it’s the truth. Good for you.”
“That’s the thing—it’s not good. I don’t like that kind of attention at this stage of my life.
It makes me uncomfortable,” I explain. “I thought you were flirting with me, and I behaved like an asshole to put a stop to it. Now I understand it wasn’t the most mature way to go about it, and I apologize. ”
“Was it the cookies?” she presses, as if she were trying to solve a puzzle that’s missing its last piece.
“The cookies, the sticky note, the way you talk to me…. I don’t know. It was a bit of everything, I guess. Now I see that you’re simply a nice person, and nice doesn’t equal to flirting—I know that. It’s not an excuse.”
“Look, I get where you’re coming from,” she concedes. “But rest assured that I wasn’t flirting with you. At all. I’m single and have every intention of keeping it that way. I was just trying to be a good neighbor.”
“I know that now, and I’m sorry.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.” I clear my throat. “I guess we could start over if you want. We didn’t have the best first impressions of each other.”
With just one look at her, I can tell she’s remembering the shed fiasco.
“That, I agree with.” She holds out her hand, smiling in my direction. “So, friendly neighbors?”
The heat of her much smaller palm meets mine as I shake her hand. “Yeah. If Joe or you ever need anything, you know where to find me.”
“You sure you won’t think I’m trying to get into your pants?”
I shake my head, a smirk playing at the corner of my lips. “I deserved that one.”
“Yeah, you did.”
It’s not until hours later, after I’ve gone through our conversation in my head about a thousand times, that I see how badly my divorce has messed me up.
I might not be outgoing like Nash, but I’m also not an asshole like Rhys. I’ve always been the brother who stood in the comfortable middle, someone who sure as hell doesn’t thrive on making people think I hate them.
Things need to change. I need to change. And if I have to make it up to Ivy for being a jerk, I will.