IVY
A fter Clint and I were reunited, his family focused on chicken wings and fries. To avoid waking the napping Xandy and Vanessa, we moved outside to eat. The large back deck overlooked a large, green yard and the shimmering lake. Large homes were built in a circle around the water. Pax and Bebe owned the house next door, while Lula was a few houses down from this one.
Throughout lunch, Clint kept me close. I hadn’t felt on the spot since returning from the basement. People were too busy talking to each other to interrogate me. However, I worried this reprieve was bound to end.
Eventually, Shay gestured for me to walk with her away from the others. I immediately wanted to grab hold of Clint and refuse any solo conversations. In the basement, Elle kept Sabrina from overwhelming me. I barely had to speak at all.
With Shay, I’d be on my own. As much as I wanted to refuse Clint’s mom, I couldn't imagine a reason that wouldn’t come off as bitchy.
“She’s harmless,” Clint whispered against my ear.
I smiled up at him, even as my stomach knotted up and my heart raced. I wasn’t sure what I would say to Shay. With mother figures, I tended to get hyper and desperate for approval.
“What did you think when you first saw Clint?” Shay asked as we headed toward the water.
“He was the most handsome man I’d ever seen," I replied, skipping how I worried I might die without knowing every feature of his face.
Shay smiled at my words. “He is so handsome. Clint’s kind, too.”
“Was Ford kind when you met him?”
Narrowing her eyes, Shay muttered, “Is that a trick question?”
“Why would I try to trick you?”
“You might be a manipulative person. Or really smart,” Shay said and shrugged. “I’m not the brightest person.”
“I’m sure you’re very smart.”
“No,” Shay said, scowling at me as if I were a troublemaker. Earlier today, Clint warned me never to compliment his mom’s cooking. Apparently, Shay didn’t trust suck-ups. “I was bad at school and a little ditzy.”
“Well, I’m well-read and highly educated,” I replied, making her frown harder. “But I don’t know how anything in the real world works. I’m not even sure how people pay their bills.”
“Huh, it seems you’re a little dumb, too, huh?” Shay mumbled before shrugging. “I can’t imagine you’d ride off with a stranger if you weren’t a little on the ditzy side. That or you’re nuts.”
“I had to choose between staying with my suicidal uncle, asking for help from someone besides Clint in a gas station full of strangers, or riding off with a sexy dreamboat who might kill me. I made the best decision.”
“Well, yes, you did get lucky,” Shay said and sized me up. “It’s so random, don’t you think? How you met my son, and he instantly knew you were special. Like, I think it’s insane, but Clint’s always been smart. He would have done better in school if he weren’t trying to be a version of his too-cool-for-school dad.”
Shay glanced at Clint, who smiled at her attention. “My son wouldn’t be flaky about a woman. It’s not his way. That’s why I’m choosing to believe you aren’t garbage or treacherous.”
Bebe strolled over and smiled at me. “I’ve been sent over by the menfolk to ensure everyone is getting along.”
“This is my partner in crime,” Shay told me while hugging Bebe to her body. “We took down a pervert once. Got shot at another time. We’re tough-ass bitches. Of course, these days, my most trying moment was when my usually reasonable son brought home a well-behaved stranger he met at a gas station.”
“You are well-behaved,” Bebe cooed at me. “I’ve long worried Rowdy would bring home a woman from a gas station. Not a tiny sweetheart, either. I always imagined one of those bitches from the ‘Bad Girls Club’ shows. I’d need to worry about her getting into my purse for drug money.”
Unsure what to say, I babbled, “I’ve watched too many movies about drug addicts to ever do drugs myself.”
“Nerd,” a sleepy-eyed Vanessa taunted, walking over to hug her mom away from Shay. “You should at least get stoned when you come to the Sorority House.”
“Don’t be a bad influence,” Bebe warned her tall, blonde daughter.
Shay nodded. “Yeah, I want Clint’s soulmate to stay clean and sober.”
“She’s got a little rebel hiding inside her,” Vanessa stated, giving me a sly grin. “We need to help her release it.”
Smiling at Vanessa’s teasing, I blurted out, “I went wild once. I even drank tequila shots and got a tattoo.”
The three women stared at me in shock. Vanessa’s frozen horror broke first. Her eyes brightened as she sized me up.
“Where is the tattoo?”
“It’s a tramp stamp,” I said and reached for the small of my back.
“Is it slutty?” Vanessa asked, moving around behind me. “No judgement. I’ve got a baby elephant blowing hearts out of its trunk. I can’t really shame anyone.”
“I haven’t shown Clint yet,” I said and covered my lower back, so Vanessa couldn’t tug my shirt up or pants down.
“Clint, get over here!” Vanessa called out. “I don’t have the energy to be told no.”
Vanessa wrapped her arms around me from the back. I wasn't used to affection and froze, thinking she might try to wrestle. Standing half a foot taller than me, Vanessa rested her chin on my head and waved for Clint to join us.
“What is this?” he asked, jogging over.
“Your woman has a tramp stamp, and we all want to see it.”
Clint smirked at this news while I remained trapped in Vanessa’s embrace.
“I’m fine not seeing it, if Ivy doesn’t want to share today,” Bebe said and smiled warmly at me.
“Huh, well, I wouldn’t mind getting a peek,” Shay said, winning a frown from her sister-in-law. “Clint should see it first, though. The unveiling of a tramp stamp is a rite of passage in any relationship.”
“Who has what now?” Pax called out as he strolled over with Ford behind him. “What are we missing?”
Clint smiled at me. “If you show me yours right now, I’ll show you all of mine tonight.”
“You haven’t run around shirtless in front of her yet?” Sabrina asked, appearing behind her dad. “Clint, you are such a romantic.”
Ignoring their taunting, he traced my lips with his thumb. “You don’t have to show me if you don’t want to.”
“I feel like you’re doing this wrong,” Vanessa said as she kissed the top of my head and hugged me back against her. Despite her affection toward me, she was speaking to Clint. “If you truly want to keep her for good, why slowly peel away her layers? You should push her to open up and reveal herself to us immediately. We’re going to be her family. Reeds don’t hide anything from each other. That’s why I know Sabrina had diarrhea last week and Elle’s starting her period in a few days.”
“My baby sister is so wise,” Sabrina announced and hugged Elle. “I would like to take advantage of your premenstrual bloating to win at soccer.”
Sutter frowned at Sabrina, who stuck her tongue out at him. Elle shoved her cousin away and smiled at her son.
“Ignore her. She’s still dehydrated from shitting her brains out the other day.”
Sutter narrowed his gaze at Sabrina, who frowned at the boy. Ford and Pax also seemed to be feuding. Meanwhile, Clint continued to brush his thumb across my lips.
“It’s up to you. No one else,” he insisted. “I’ll see it later when we’re alone if you want.”
I smiled at how Clint gave me permission to be a coward. My good girl side didn’t want to share my tattoo with all these people watching. When I got it, I was drunk and showing off to impress my cool online friend.
I was never certain if I should view that wild night as a positive or negative experience. The girl ghosted me afterward. It felt humiliating. I’d also been sick from the tequila, and the tattoo hurt. Yet, I’d lived more in that one night than I had in the years preceding it.
Now, my wild side wanted to show off its first big move. That part of me was proud of the tattoo. Right now, it refused to be denied.
After all, my wild side had been the voice to push me to grab hold of Clint yesterday. That part of me also demanded a kiss earlier. My wild side currently wanted to shove down my track pants and show off my tramp stamp.
“I want to show you first,” I told Clint.
Vanessa instantly clapped as she backed off and gestured for Clint to take her spot. He moved behind me. Everyone shuffled away as if I might yank my pants all the way down.
“As a teenager, I went through a Japanese manga phase,” I explained to Clint. “Luna is a cat from the ‘Sailor Moon’ series.”
I slid down my track pants enough to reveal the colorful cat tattoo. Closing my eyes, I didn’t consider the others watching me. Only Clint’s judgment mattered.
I shivered as Clint’s fingers traced the ink. His touch erased my fears. My earlier, insecure manic vibe faded away. I smiled at how his hands wrapped around my hips as he tugged me back against him.
“Color tattoos tend to hurt a lot. Was it hard to sit still?”
I rested against his hard chest and gazed up at him. “Yes, but I was very wasted. I think I even passed out.”
“I thought you never left your house.”
“I rebelled one night after my mom died.”
“How did it feel?”
I stared into Clint’s eyes, fighting against my urge to zip my lips and avoid sharing. His gaze was filled with soothing determination. He would get the truth out of me eventually. Why not just fess up now and save us the hassle?
“I don’t know how to do things on my own. The woman I wanted to rebel with ditched me, so I gave up on being wild.”
Clint offered a soft, tempting smile. He was considering how, with a little guidance from him and his friends, I might tap into that wild side of myself again.
In Reno, I became a ghost haunting the mansion and hiding whenever my uncles showed up with women or friends. I never wanted to be that person again.
As Clint wrapped his arms around the front of me, I felt unburdened. His family was dying to see my tattoo. I knew they wouldn’t judge me. These people weren’t living their lives for an audience. They owned their choices and space, just like Clint did.
If I stopped hiding in my head, I’d learn to live the same way.