The Book Of DOS (The Brothers #2)

Chapter 1

Dos

“Yes! Yes, I will marry you!” Ivy shouted with joy.

“Y’all heard her. She chose me,” I said, pointing to my chest. I placed the two-carat princess cut solitaire platinum ring on her left ring finger. Ivy kissed me again as she beamed with joy. The crowd of friends cheered us on. There were hugs and toasts throughout the rest of the night. Champagne flowed. The DJ kept everyone on the dance floor, and the kitchen made sure the hors d’oeuvres circulated the room.

“Excuse me. May I have your attention?” Uno interrupted the festivities. The DJ lowered the music as people turned to look at Uno. “I want to make a toast to my baby brother. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy, successful, and to find a beautiful woman to share your life with. I’m so happy that you and Ivy have each other. I wish you nothing but years of happiness and love. Cheers!”

The sounds of glasses clinking together and the roar of “Cheers!” echoed throughout the club. I nodded my head at Uno to show my approval and he did the same. It was official: I had won the prize. Ivy was going to be my wife. And with Crystal and Uno now together, there was no need to worry about anything. With any luck, Uno should be popping the question to her soon. They had gotten really close in the last year. I had to admit it; I didn’t expect Uno to get over Ivy so quickly. Shidd, the nigga was torn up for ten years after she left the first time, I thought for sure it would take him some time this go around, three years tops. Maybe this was a case of the right pussy turning a mutherfucka around.

The night carried on and the drinks were flowing. I was so busy entertaining guests that I lost track of Ivy. I scanned the room but somehow couldn’t find her. I wasn’t worried, she was wearing my ring. She wasn’t going far. As I circled the room, I stopped and joined Uno who was standing by the bar talking to a few friends of ours.

“Big bro.”

“What up, Dos?” the group of men said in unison. I dapped them up before they walked away, leaving me and Uno alone at the bar to chat.

“Can you believe this shit?” I joked.

“I’m so proud of you, Dos,” Uno said, placing his hand on my shoulder.

“Man, it’s a long time coming. I’m just happy she said yes. I ain’t gonna lie, a nigga was scared for a moment.”

“Naw, I see the way Ivy looks at you. There was no way she was going to say anything other than yes.”

“You sure you good with this?” I asked Uno with a straight face.

“Man, all that mess between us is in the past. I love Ivy, just not in that way anymore. There is no one else besides you I would want to see her with. And as much as we get on each other’s nerves, you’re my brother. Imma always have your back, nigga. You deserve this.”

“Thanks, Uno. Your blessing means the world to me.” We dapped each other up.

“Have you seen Crystal?”

“Naw. Maybe her and Ivy are together because I ain’t seen her in a minute either.”

“Let’s go find these fine ass women before some new nigga come along and grab them up,” Uno laughed.

We walked through the crowd of guests. And still no sign of the women.

“I’ll go check the restrooms.”

“I’ll check my office,” Uno said, walking in the opposite direction.

A few minutes passed between me checking the bathroom and meeting back up with Uno. When I entered Uno’s office all three of them were there. There was a weird awkwardness that filled the space. Ivy looked like she had been crying, and Crystal and Uno were trying to console her. Rushing to her side, I said, “Baby, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Dos. I’m just so happy,” she stated even though nothing about this felt like happy fucking tears. But I let it go for now. I watched Uno’s facial expressions, but his poker face gave me nothing. Crystal’s uncomfortableness was just enough to arouse suspicion. Something was going on. I might not find out tonight, but I would get to the bottom of it.

For the rest of the evening, I watched all three of them, Ivy, Uno, and Crystal. They seemed to be avoiding each other, especially Ivy. She was clinging to me like a used condom. It wasn’t strange, it just felt forced. The only thing I could think of was something happened. How did she go from being happy that had I proposed, to crying, and now back to being all smiles? Forced smiles at that? I knew the difference.

As the party came to an end, Ivy and I said our goodbyes to everyone before heading out. When we approached Uno and Crystal, the energy was off. I didn’t say anything. Hell, what was I supposed to say? “What the fuck is going on?” Naw, I’d find out one way or another. I dapped Uno up, hugged Crystal, and escorted Ivy out to the car.

The drive home was quiet. Too quiet. Ivy sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window, her fingers absently tracing the outline of the ring I had just placed on her finger hours ago. The same ring she had been beaming about in front of all our friends. Now? Her energy was different. Off. And I wasn’t the type to ignore that shit.

“You good?” I finally asked, breaking the silence.

She turned to me with a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Yeah, just tired.”

Bullshit.

I nodded, not pushing it. Yet. We pulled up to the condo, and I killed the engine, but before I could get out, she reached for my hand, squeezing it.

“I love you, Dos.”

Something about the way she said it made my stomach turn. Not in a bad way. In a way that told me something wasn’t right. I wasn’t about to interrogate her in the car like we were on some crime show. I kissed her hand, then her lips.

“I love you too, baby.”

Inside, Ivy went straight to the bedroom, claiming she needed a shower. I sat on the couch, scrolling through my phone, but my mind wasn’t on social media. It was back in Uno’s office, on Ivy’s tear-streaked face, on the unspoken shit hanging in the air between her, Uno, and Crystal. What the fuck happened in there?

Ivy was in the shower for a long time. Too long. When she finally came out, wrapped in a towel, her eyes looked puffy, like she had been crying again. I stood up, ready to press her for answers, but she slipped into bed, turning her back to me.

Alright. She didn’t want to talk tonight. Fine. But I wasn’t letting this shit slide forever.

The next morning, Ivy was back to her normal self, moving around the kitchen, making coffee like she hadn’t been on some weird emotional rollercoaster the night before. I watched her, waiting for her to say something, to explain. But she didn’t.

“So, you gonna tell me what’s up?” I finally asked, leaning against the counter.

She hesitated, just for a second, before turning to face me with that same practiced smile. “I was just overwhelmed last night, that’s all. It was a big night, Dos. I didn’t expect the proposal, and then with everyone there, it just hit me all at once.”

That wasn’t the whole truth. I knew it. She knew I knew it. But she also knew I wasn’t about to press her right now. Instead, I nodded slowly, taking a sip of my coffee. “Alright.”

She came over, wrapping her arms around my waist. “I swear, I’m good. I just needed a minute to process everything.”

I kissed her forehead, letting it go for now. But my gut told me something was up. And if there was one thing I knew about secrets, it’s that they never stayed hidden for long.

Later that day, I hit up Uno.

“Yo, we need to talk.”

“Shit, what’s up?”

“Not over the phone. Meet me at The Spot.”

Twenty minutes later, we were sitting in the back booth of The Spot, a low-key bar we’d been going to for years. Uno leaned back, sipping his drink, watching me like he already knew what was coming.

“What happened last night?” I asked straight up.

Uno exhaled, rubbing his jaw. “Man…” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “Look, it ain’t really my place to say, but just know Ivy had a lot on her mind last night. Shit from the past.”

“The past?” My grip tightened around my glass. “Nigga, what past?”

Uno glanced around the bar before locking eyes with me. “The kind that don’t stay buried forever.”

My pulse kicked up. “You being real cryptic right now, bro.”

He sighed. “Just… talk to Ivy, man.”

I sat back; jaw tight. So that’s how we playing this? A nigga like me wasn’t dumb. Whatever happened in that office had something to do with Ivy. Maybe even Uno. And if Uno wasn’t telling me, it meant it was something I wasn’t gonna like.

Fine. I’d talk to Ivy.

Foul shit was in the air. I was definitely gonna find the source of it.