Chapter 27
Cleo
“Can you play nice and help me with something super quick?” Cleo asked her sister on a video call.
“Well now, that depends,” Jade replied with a wide grin.
“On what?” Cleo asked dubiously.
“On what I get out of it.” Cleo didn’t think it was possible for Jade’s grin to get any wider.
Cleo narrowed her eyes. “Knowing that I won’t tell Mom and Dad about your tattoos.”
“Fine, but you can’t use that every time.” Jade huffed. “How may I help you today?”
“What kind of clothes are between jeans and a work suit?” Cleo asked. She knew how to dress for work, and she knew how to dress for comfort, but she’d never been great at knowing what to wear on dates.
“OK, so what I’m hearing is, you’ve got another hot date with your barista, and you’ve come to your awesome sister who has better fashion sense and more dating experience than you? Is that about, right?” Jade raised an eyebrow, and her grin was back with a vengeance.
“Somewhat. I wore jeans, boots, and a sweater when we went out on Sunday. She knows I wear suits for work. All she’ll tell me about tonight is that I’ve to dress a little less casual than the weekend but not a full suit.
What does that mean?” Cleo looked over her phone at the contents of her open wardrobe.
“Well, with what she’s told you, I’d go for jeans, heels, and the green sleeveless silk top with that rockin’ new green military coat you wore on Friday. I mean, she clearly likes that one as she gave you her number when you were wearing it!” Jade laughed.
“For the love of, will you please stop?! I’m stressed out enough getting ready for tonight without you adding to it with your jibes too.” Cleo walked over to her wardrobe and removed the top Jade had mentioned. She lifted it up in front of herself. “Is this the one you mean?”
“Yes, that one, and the dark jeans that hug those glutes you’ve worked so hard for and your green heels the same color as that top. You’re welcome.”
Cleo tried to glare at her sister, but the smile wouldn’t stay hidden. “Thanks, I guess. Now, I'm going to go and get ready, and I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Go get her, tiger! I expect a full run down tomorrow night, or else I’m not going to play nice until you do.” Pulling a face that could only be described as the wink emoji with the tongue stuck out, Jade hung up before Cleo could retaliate.
Half an hour later, Cleo was changed and had selected a few pieces of jewelry: small diamond stud earrings, a single diamond drop necklace, and a few rings on various fingers.
She sprayed her favorite perfume into the air and walked through it, not wanting it to be too strong, just as she always did.
She had decided to leave her hair as it was from this morning to keep it out of her face.
Deciding to wear minimal makeup, she went for some dark green and brown smoky eyes with a light brush of neutral lipstick.
Then decided against the lipstick and wiped it off to replace it with a simple lip balm instead.
She checked herself in the full-length mirror in her hallway before putting on the coat Jade had suggested, then headed out.
Cleo stood outside the old bookshop that Ivy had suggested as their place to meet. The street was busy with cars, and the path was lit in the area, but as the shop was closed and the windows covered on the inside, Cleo wondered why Ivy had picked this location to meet.
“Hey you,” Ivy’s bright voice carried over the traffic from the street.
Cleo turned and her breath caught at the sight of Ivy.
Her blonde hair was French braided at one side in a Viking style and hanging loose on the other.
She wore a fitted light grey coat, jeans, and heeled boots.
While there wasn’t a great deal of light, Cleo could make out the sparkle in her eyes as she drew up closer.
Cleo knew she was staring; she couldn’t help it. Once Ivy was standing in front of her, she finally managed to gather her wits. “Hey yourself,” Cleo said softly, as she reached for Ivy’s hand then stepped closer and kissed her cheek.
“Sorry, I didn’t, was that, ok?” Cleo worried, her brows furrowed.
“More than ok,” Ivy reached out and gently ran her thumb over the furrow, “more of that would also, be ok.” Her cheeks flushed slightly, even in this light, and Cleo felt her body relax as Ivy moved her hand in Cleo’s to let their fingers intertwine.
“OK,” Cleo smiled as she dropped her gaze to Ivy’s hand in hers, “and I’ll bare that in mind.”
“So, I know this seems like a bit of an odd place for me to choose for us to meet,” Ivy started, “but I promise you, my plan is awesome.” She grinned, and Cleo felt her belly swoop at the sight.
On Sunday Cleo had learned Ivy had many different smiles.
This one of pure joy, was quickly becoming one of her favorites.
“I have to admit, words other than odd sprung to mind when I arrived,” Cleo confessed with a laugh as she looked around, keeping her hand in Ivy’s.
“Trust me?” Ivy asked, with raised eyebrows and a smirk.
Cleo took a breath, “getting there,” she said with a smile, surprising herself with how honest her answer was.
“Follow me,” Ivy said, as she led them down the side of the closed book shop and she took her phone out of her pocket. She brought up what looked like a QR code on her screen and turned her phone in her hand to face a reader on the wall beside the door of the building.
A run of ascending notes beeped from the reader, and the door unlocked and slowly swung open a couple of inches. Cleo could hear muffled gentle chatter, and what sounded like the clink of glasses.
“Wait, I thought this place was a closed shop?” Cleo said, confused by what was unfolding in front of her.
“Well, you’re not entirely wrong, but you’re not entirely right either,” Ivy said cryptically as she opened the door and released her hand from Cleo’s to let her walk in ahead of Ivy.
Cleo walked into a dimly lit entry way and felt a light pressure on her lower back as Ivy’s hand guided her through a corridor to their left until her eyes adjusted to the low lighting.
A doorway ahead of them on the right was open, where the light got a little brighter.
Not enough that their eyes would suffer the shock of such extremes, which Cleo was relieved about.
As they entered the main body of the old book shop, Cleo gasped, and she felt her eyes widen as she tried to process what she was seeing. In front of her was something out of her dreams.
“Is this, ok?” Ivy asked nervously from behind her, she dropped her hand from Cleo’s lower back, and Cleo felt the loss immediately, only to feel that same hand slip into hers with a soft squeeze while Ivy waited on her response.
“It’s, perfect.” Cleo managed to get out, while her eyes were taking in her surroundings.
The old bookshop had been turned into a wine bar, but with the walls on all sides still being filled floor to ceiling with books.
Small stacks of books of various genres were placed in the middle of each of the high tables that ran along the center of the place from front to back.
There were couches and large reading chairs around the outskirts of the room with accompanying low side tables holding more small book stacks, and at the far corners were reading nooks sunken into the walls.
The place was lit by old-fashioned downlighter reading lights and low-light sconces.
The bar at the far end was the most lit, but even still, the place looked like an old-fashioned speakeasy.
“How did you even know about this place? It’s incredible.” Cleo slowly turned her head to ask Ivy, who was watching Cleo with a look of relief and excitement.
“Why don’t we grab a table, and I’ll tell you all about it.” Ivy led Cleo over to one of the reading nooks at the back which had a reserved sign on it. “Don’t worry, this is ours,” Ivy said softly with a warm smile once she saw the look on Cleo’s face when she saw the sign.
Ivy let go of Cleo’s hand and removed her coat and hung it on a hook on the bookshelf beside them that Cleo hadn’t even noticed. She was too distracted by the rich plum top Ivy was wearing that dipped down her back.
“Do you want me to hang yours up too?” Ivy asked with a smirk, having caught Cleo unabashedly drinking her in.
“Oh, yes, hang on,” Cleo fumbled with the buttons on her coat, and eventually took it off, handing it to Ivy.
“You look amazing,” Ivy said softly, barely above a whisper, as she took Cleo’s coat and hung it on the hook beside her own.
“Thanks, I had a little help from my sister.” Cleo blushed at the admittance and ran her eyes over Ivy, her eyes and necklace sparkling in the low lighting of the bar. “You look incredible, Ivy.”
“Thanks,” Ivy replied, cheeks flushing at the compliment.
They sat down and Cleo picked up the wine menu from the table. “So, tell me, how is it you know about this place?” she asked Ivy while looking through the impressive variety of wines listed before her.
“Lucas’s wife, Gabby. She owns the women’s gym over on 12th, and one of her personal clients is the owner, Gemma.
Gabby has helped her de-stress throughout the whole process of getting it set-up and making it one of the city's best kept secrets. It’s invite-only and limited numbers each night to avoid noise and crowding.
” Ivy told her. “Gabby said they still sell books online as well as bottles of wine, to help allow the limits for those who can be inside and still pay all their bills.”
“That’s quite the business model. The place is incredible though.
” Cleo took another look around, she noticed the low hung swaths of velvet drapes hanging across the ceiling to reduce noise, and the rich deep-red-almost-black wall behind the bar.
The glass shelves displayed behind the bar showcasing a handful of wines on angled clear holders, with uplighters highlighting each one.
“Each time we messaged in the evenings you seemed to have a book beside you, and on Monday when you said you’d had a rough day you had mentioned sitting and enjoying a glass of wine to relax.
When I was trying to think of places to take you, I remembered Gabby mentioned this place a few months ago and hoped you didn’t already know about it.
I’m so glad I got to be the one to introduce you to it. ”
Cleo looked at Ivy as she spoke and felt the warmth in Ivy’s eyes as she looked at her.
Ivy had listened to her, really listened to her.
Cleo had mentioned those things as throw-away comments, it wasn’t even something she was aware of saying.
Of course, they were true. She read every night because she was fed-up looking at screens at work all day to spend every evening watching TV afterward.
If her eyes were particularly tired from a taxing day of detailed work, she listened to an audiobook instead.
“For someone who’s new to this whole dating thing, Ivy, you know how to make a girl feel special.” Cleo watched as Ivy dipped her head a little, probably to hide a blush, and reached up to run a finger along the braid at the side of her head before letting her hand drop to her lap.
“Thanks,” Ivy said. “Should we choose a wine? Do you want to share a bottle? I don’t mind what kind.”
“Well, how about you choose color, and I’ll pick a bottle from that,” Cleo offered.
“I usually go for red, but I think I need something a little lighter tonight, so do you mind sharing a white?” Ivy sat her hands on the cushion between them on the reading nook alcove they were sitting in.
Cleo placed her hand on top of Ivy’s and felt a rush of electricity dance through her fingers at the contact. “Sounds perfect.”