2. Ivy Thompson
IVY THOMPSON
W e walk down to the next bar. Scratch that. I hobble down to the next bar with assistance from JJ. The second we enter the vibrant space, I’m gasping for another drink.
As we make it to a vacant table, I perch on the edge of the chair as JJ reluctantly releases my arm. My lips twitch, offering him a tight smile as I kick off my shoes beneath the table and take a seat.
“I didn’t think the bouncer was going to let me in,” I admit, brushing my fingers through the ends of my hair.
JJ’s brows furrow with suspicion as he leans on his elbows. “Why? Wait… god. Please don’t tell me you’re still in school or something.”
I tilt my head and push down my laugh. “No, because I look like an extra from The Walking Dead with this broken heel.”
“So… you’re out of school?”
“I left sixth form three years ago.”
JJ sinks back into his chair with relief. “Not going to lie, I don’t think he was looking at your wobbly foot.”
My eyes narrow on his, but he’s beaming back at me. Even though they’re blue like the ocean, they should look soft and inviting, but all I can see is a mischievous glint behind them.
“I don’t know if that was an insult or a compliment,” I say cautiously.
JJ rests his forearms on the table. My gaze floats down to a couple of silver rings on his long fingers. The cuff of his jacket rides up his wrist, flashing a splash of ink I didn’t notice before.
When I meet his gaze again, he’s grinning at me playfully. “It’s a compliment, Ivy.”
“Unnecessary, but thanks.” I blink away my blush.
“What do you want to drink?”
“I’ll get my own drink.”
“Why?”
“Because this is not a date.”
JJ chews on the inside of his lip and has the audacity to smirk at me.
“Is it not?” he drawls.
I lean back in my chair and comfortably fold my arms across my chest. “No. It is simply two people having a drink together. Both of our nights have ended tragically, and they need fixing with some alcohol and adequate company.”
His brows shoot towards his hairline. “Adequate company?”
“Yours, not mine. Obviously.”
JJ releases a soft chuckle, and I wish he didn’t because the sound is far too alluring for my liking.
“So it’s a date if I buy you a drink?”
“Even if you buy me a drink,” I clarify. “But you should know I am more than capable of buying my own drinks.”
He shrugs simply. “I wasn’t expecting you to pay for them when I asked you to join me.”
Suddenly, I’m heating up, like I’m under a spotlight and he can see every inch of me. A thought rushes through my mind— this is so unlike me. I’ve never been the kind of person who can confidently talk to boys; I’ve always cowered away in fear of not being good enough.
But maybe I’ve officially crossed into I don’t give a fuck anymore territory .
What else do I have to lose?
I shake off this warmth and remind myself we’ll go our separate ways tonight, and I’ll never have to see him again.
He’s a metaphorical shoulder to cry on.
Tomorrow I’ll be back to the Ivy I know. It’s okay to change the rulebook every now and then.
Erin certainly would approve of me being more spontaneous. She’d probably go into cardiac arrest knowing what I’m doing right now.
The waitress makes her way over to our table. I order another strawberry daiquiri, and when JJ orders, he asks for two sambuca shots along with an espresso martini. I don’t complain. I could do with a good whiplash.
“So, this guy you went on a date with.” He clears his throat, and I internally grimace at the memory. “You’re not giving him a second chance, are you?”
I gawk at him as he swipes his thumb across his bottom lip. “Did you completely ignore the part where he told the entire bar I was boring and no one would ever want me?”
“Mm.” His eye twitches. “He’s an asshole.”
“Glad we’re on the same page,” I murmur as the waitress drops our drinks off. Two cocktails. Two sambuca shots. Just on time. “Let’s not talk about my disaster of a night. What’s going on with you?”
He glances down at the table, pushing the sambuca shot over to me. I sip on my cocktail, waiting for a response, but maybe he’s in the same boat as me and wants to ignore the situation entirely.
“You don’t have?—”
“My mum is sick,” he says as he crosses his arms. My brows furrow as I watch him, but he doesn’t look me directly in the eye, and suddenly I feel disgustingly guilty. “She’s with my dad in Germany trialling this new treatment they can’t get in this country.”
I press my lips together as tightly as possible, ignoring the ball in my throat.
“They left yesterday, and I couldn’t deal with everything going on right now. It’s too much. My dad is losing his shit. I needed a night out to distract myself from everything, but my friends decided to make it about them instead.” He sighs, and my heart softens a little.
I lick my bottom lip. “I’m sorry you’ve been going through that.”
Slowly, he drags his eyes back to mine. Those blue eyes that were once full of mischief are now filled with fear, and I wish I never pushed him to speak. I take my sambuca shot between my fingers and raise it between us.
His brows furrow as I clear my throat. “To your mother,” I say as he eventually picks up his own and clinks it against mine. “May the treatment work and bless your family.”
JJ flicks his eyes between mine for a moment, as if my toast was completely unexpected. “Thank you,” he says gratefully.
Then we both throw back the tangy liquid. At first, it stings my throat. I can’t remember the last time I had a shot. JJ’s expression twists to pure disgust as he shudders and drinks down half of his cocktail after.
I laugh softly. “I thought you liked shots?”
“Not sambuca,” he grimaces.
I tilt my head. “What?” I blink. “Then why did you get it?”
“Because you wanted it.”
I narrow my eyes into slits. “You didn’t have to get it because I wanted it.”
My fingers wrap around the paper straw in my daiquiri as I take a sip. JJ’s eyes watch my mouth carefully.
“No…” he trails off. “But I promised you sambuca and I wouldn’t be a team player if I backed out after all of this.”
The corner of my mouth twitches but I push away the intrusive smile. “Well, aren’t you a gentleman,” I tease.
He scoffs. “Not perfect, but I try.”
I quirk a brow at him. “You don’t think what you did for me earlier was gentlemanly?”
He raises one shoulder. “I can definitely do better.”
When he locks his eyes on mine, there is a sparkle that makes my stomach flip.
I swallow around my clammy mouth. “Like what?”
“Dunno.” He grins wildly. “I guess we’ll see how this date goes.”
My eyes roll. “We said it’s not a date.”
“Are you always this argumentative?”
My teeth clamp down on my bottom lip as heat begins to catch the back of my neck and spread across my chest at an alarming rate. “Sometimes.”
“I like a challenge,” he says with a subtle wink before downing the last drops of his drink. “As much as I like your honesty, princess.”
My eyes narrow at him.
“You pick up a lot of girls with that nickname?”
“No, but is it working?”
I release a long sigh and shake my head. “It’s a cute attempt at being charming.”
“I’m flattered you think I’m charming.”
“Yeah, well… it’s not working.”
JJ leans in again, a little too close this time. The playfulness in his expression bleeds into the wildfire in his eyes, and suddenly I realise I might be partaking in flirting. Even though I have no clue what I’m doing.
“Isn’t it?”
“No.”
“Well, I beg to differ because your heart is pounding like an alarm.”
I jerk backwards from his close proximity. My cheeks begin to heat, despite trying to tell my body not to embarrass me now, and prove him completely right.
He laughs again and drags one of his hands over the back of his buzz cut.
“No, it’s not,” I respond lamely.
“Just stating facts.”
I almost cut a hole in my cheek from the pressure of my teeth. My eyes narrow, and suddenly I’m desperate for another sambuca. The waitress walks by, and I call her over, ordering for myself.
“Maybe now I understand why your friends got drunk.” I flash him a sarcastic smile. “Putting up with your company is way worse when you’re sober.”
JJ’s neck extends backwards, and he exhales a long, loud laugh that has people glancing over to our table. I stare back at him blankly as he recovers and wipes at the fake tears on his cheeks.
He beams. “That was unexpected.”
“Just stating facts,” I shoot back.
We stare at each other for a hot minute, neither of us uttering a word. His lips twitch like he wants to continue winding me up, but he doesn’t. Probably because I look like I’m seconds from having a mental breakdown.
JJ’s mouth opens, and I brace myself. “Tell me what you do,” he says casually.
“What?”
“What do you do?”
“You’re asking me what I do?”
“Yes.” He flicks his eyes from left to right. “That’s how conversations tend to go. I ask a question and you answer, and maybe if you’re really nice, you might ask me a question too. Were you dropped as a child?”
“Now you’re pushing it.” I narrow my gaze at him.
“Then tell me,” he says, sounding genuinely interested.
My arms lay flat on the edge of the table as I adjust in my seat. “Well, I just finished my second year of university.”
“What do you study?”
“Biomedical science.”
JJ blinks once and then twice. “Shit.” He sighs. “You must be super smart.”
I bite down on my straw. “When I want to be. What do you do?”
“Just finished my third year in engineering.” He nods. “Still got another year to go, unfortunately.”
I hum with approval. “And you think I’m super smart.”
He shrugs it off. “You can attempt to wing some stuff, that’s for sure. Other parts you have to get your head down, but what degree isn’t going to be hard?”
“True.” I sip my drink. “So, is that what you want to be… an engineer?”
“No.” He barks out an unexpected laugh. “Absolutely not.”
I tilt my head in confusion. “Then why are you studying it if you don’t want to do it?”
“It’s a long story.” He waves a hand.
“I wanna know,” I say, shuffling forward.
JJ eyes me hesitantly for a moment before grazing a hand over his jaw. “My dad said I had to go to university. I didn’t want to, but he said that’s how people get jobs. He helped me pick what to study.”
My face scrunches up at the thought. I couldn’t imagine my dad trying to tell me what to do, he’s always said I should follow my dreams and no one else’s.
“What is it that you want to do?”
“Video production,” he says before beckoning over the waitress to order another drink, and one for me, too. “It’s always been my first love. I remember getting my first camera when I was ten, I took it everywhere with me.”
“But couldn’t you have done that at university?” I frown.
JJ snorts quietly. “Yeah, but it wasn’t in my dad’s brochure for degrees, unfortunately.”
“That’s shit,” I state. “He shouldn’t rule your life.”
“You’re right.” He sighs. “But he can be very persuasive, and I don’t want to let him down.”
Something tells me that might be one of his biggest fears.
“So are you still doing video production?”
He nods eagerly. “Yeah, when I have the time. University takes up a lot of it, and everything with my mum. My dad would have a heart attack if he saw that I’m not doing well in my course.”
“Are you?” I ask curiously.
“Yes.” He winks. “Top of my class.”
I shake my head. “Of course you are.”
“Let’s stop talking about me,” he dismisses himself. “I wanna talk about you.”
“What do you want to know?” I laugh hesitantly.
“Everything.” JJ’s eyes glitter at me. “I wanna know everything you’re willing to share.”
Well, this has definitely taken a turn from my tragic date earlier.
I suck in a breath and stare across the table at him and his boyish grin.
“Uh, when I was fifteen, I won a surfing competition,” I blurt out of nowhere.
JJ’s eyes widen as he leans forward. “Are you serious?”
I chuckle quietly. “Yeah, that’s all I did with my brother when we grew up.”
“You do not strike me as the type to surf.”
My mouth falls open. “Why not?”
“I’ve seen your balance. Are you sure you didn’t bribe the judges?”
I lean over the table to gently push his shoulder. “Are you going to let that go?”
“Never.” He grins, eyes glistening. “Tell me more. I wanna know more.”
“About surfing?”
“About anything. What colour was your board? I bet it was blue.”
“Wrong.” I smile smugly. “It was pink.”
JJ taps his fist on the table. “Damn it, I was going to say that next.”
When he watches me with his pretty eyes, my cheeks begin to heat.
What the hell is going on, and why am I enjoying this more than I should be?