Chapter 4
It was Thursday and Nana finally came around. She still wasn’t out of danger yet. Her CT and MRI scans showed that Nana had several small strokes that led up to the bigger one that almost cost her life. There would be physical therapy, rehab and doctor visits lined up to get her as close to perfect as possible. For now, we were just grateful for her being with us. And even though she couldn’t speak, her eyes told me she was happy to see us; Me, Dos, and Ivy.
Dos and I agreed Ivy should stay at Nana’s house. This way she could keep an eye on the place and have some privacy. I informed Stacy about Nana’s medical issues, and she assured me that the club was in good hands. Dos and I took turns staying at the hospital with Nana even though she frowned at the thought of us making such a fuss over her. Dos told Nana she didn’t have a say in shit right now. That it was our turn to take care of her and he was right.
And as much as we all tried to pretend the trio would be fine, we all had unfinished business. Avoiding each other wasn’t going to solve anything only complicate matters worse. It was Saturday evening.. Dos and I were changing shifts at the hospital. He agreed to watch the club during the day and stay with Nana overnight so I could get some rest. Before I left out Dos pulled me to the side.
“You good?”
“Yeah, why you ask?”
“Ivy, nigga”
“Naw.” I said shaking my head. “My main focus is Nana. Ivy is a distraction and part of my past that needs to stay buried.”
“She a beautiful distraction with a phat ass.” He laughed.
“If you say so.”
Dos cracked a smile. “You know that pussy came between us once before…”
I cut him off in mid-sentence. “That was before. Ain’t no pussy worth losing my brother over. Right?”
“Yeah man.” He grinned a sinister smile.
I knew that look, Dos couldn’t help himself. The competitive spirit was strong especially when the prize had legs for days, curly natural hair and body carved out by God’s hands. Ivy was the Douglas brother kryptonite. I wanted no parts of this game Dos was about to play and yet her pussy was so good, I couldn’t walk away.
We dapped each other up and I left out as Dos made himself comfortable.
I decided to stop by the club on my way home. It had been a few days since I showed my face. I pulled into the parking lot and the place was packed. There was a sizeable line that ran down the side of the building with people waiting to enter. Entering at the back door, I was able to bypass the crowd and staff. Unlocking my office door, I quickly grabbed a black tailored suit and black button down out of my closet, took a shower in the full office bathroom and got dressed. My LV loafers were the perfect shoe for the slim cut pants. A few sprays of Tom Ford Black Lacquer and I was ready to walk through the crowd.
I started out at the wrap-around bar making sure the guests were good, and the staff was on point. A few people who had heard the news gave me their well wishes and prayers for my grandmother’s quick recovery. I made my way to the VIP Section shook a few hands and thanked patrons for coming out. There were a few cuties who tried to holla at me, but my mind was somewhere else. Stacy saw me and just smiled. She knew I wouldn’t be able to stay away for too long. Mystic was my baby and my life. What I wasn’t expecting to see was Ivy walking through the brass doors. Her red dress clung to her mature curves exposing her full breast and showing off her thick thighs. I watched as she made her way to the bar on the opposite side of the room.
Men stared at her mesmerized by her beauty. Even some of the women noticed her elegance as she moved about. She was a new face in a familiar setting and was attracting attention without saying a single word.
“Who is that?” Stacy asked as she checked her out.
“That is Ivy Thompson.”
“Oh shit! Not THE Ivy that I heard Dos mention.”
“Yes. Her.”
We looked at each other both surprised at the answer. It didn’t shock me that Dos talked about Ivy. He had just as much in common with her as I did. I remember the first time I suspected that something was going on between them. I had made a surprise visit home from college one weekend. Dos and Ivy attended the same college. He was a sophomore, and she was a freshman. I remember stopping by her dorm room first and she wasn’t there. I didn’t think anything of it and headed across campus to Dos' quad. I knocked on his door and could hear shuffling inside. I knocked again and heard Dos say, “Go Away!” I replied, “It’s me, Uno.” There was an awkward silence that followed, and I felt the hesitancy in opening the door. When he did, he had that same sinister grin he always had when he did shit to annoy me.
“Dude, Shh. Ya girl in here sleeping.”
I didn’t say anything. I just surveyed the room. The air was heavy, the bed was a mess and tucked under the covers was Ivy. She appeared to be sleep. Her hair was free and messy. Her shoes were in the corner with her backpack and jacket. The video game was on pause and Dos went right back to playing it like nothing was wrong.
“How long she been out?”
“About forty-five minutes,” he said, looking back at her as he sat on the edge of the bed. “What you doing home?”
“Thought I’d just come down for the weekend.”
“Ok. Well, there’s a party we can swing by later tonight if you up for it.”
“Naw I’m good. I’mma head to the house.”
“Ok, I’ll tell Ivy you home when she wakes up.”
We didn’t even dap each other up. The shit felt weird. And then flashbacks of them kissing in the doorway when we were younger ran through my mind. “This nigga.”
That wasn’t the only time I thought something was going on with them. This time my suspicions were right. I needed to get my brother’s signature on a few documents from our parents’ estate. Now that we were both over twenty-one, the trust our parents set up for us was out of conservatorship. I had keys to his place and let myself in. I could tell that he had company and from the sound of things he was blowing her back out. A proud older brother smile crept across my face. I was going to leave the documents on the coffee table and leave them to it, but the door swung open and when I turned around Dos and a naked Ivy were standing in front of me.
“I knew you were a no-good nigga” I said, as I laid his ass out. Dos fell to the ground. Ivy begged me to stop, as I went in to murder his ass. I pushed her off of me and stormed out the apartment. In that moment, I decided that love wasn’t for me. Ivy wound up leaving town shortly after that and it took me and Dos six years to put our relationship back together. And the one thing that ever came between me and my brother was standing less than one hundred feet away from me.
Ivy noticed me talking to Stacy and waved me over. The smile on her face shined just as bright as I remember and like a foolish teenager I couldn’t resist.
“Uno, this place is amazing. It’s just like you used to describe it to me when we were kids.”
“Thanks. Mystic is my life. I poured all my energy into making this place what it is.”
“Well, you did it. I’m so proud of you,” she said playfully placing her hand on my chest. There was an uncomfortable silence between us. I waved for the bartender. He poured me a fresh glass of cranberry juice as he nodded in approval. Ivy took a sip of her wine.
“Why are you here, Ivy?
“It’s the weekend. I thought I’d come relax and see what all the hype about Mystic was about?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
She rolled her eyes and continued, “I missed home. I missed you.”
“Is that so?” I paused before continuing, “And Dos?” I said staring into her eyes.
“I missed him too. Can’t I miss you both?”
“You can.”
“It seems like you missed me too. A lot, if I think about what you did to me the other day” a wicked smile hid under her wine glass as she took another sip.
I chuckled. “That, or I just needed to bust a nut, and you were in the right place at the right time. Either way, drinks on me. I hope you enjoy the club and the rest of your evening.” I finished my cranberry juice, sat the empty glass on the bar top and walked away.
“Uno!” I heard Ivy call out to me. I didn’t turn around or stop. The bass from the music playing drowned out her low-pitched words.
The night had come to an end. Stacy and the team were closing up. After my brief conversation with Ivy, I spent the rest of the evening in my office. Spending days away from the club dealing with Nana’s health crisis I had fallen behind on paperwork. Being behind closed doors was the distraction I needed to clear my mind. I looked down at my phone that was placed on my desk, it was already four-thirty in the morning. I turned off my laptop, grabbed my phone and keys and headed towards the back exit which locked automatically behind me. My car was parked just outside the door in the parking lot. As soon as I turned and looked up, there was Ivy leaning against the hood of my car.
I laughed to myself, “This will not end well.”
I walked to the passenger side of the car, opened it, and let her in. I got into the car, started the engine, and looked at her. Her eyes pierced straight through me. We didn’t say word, I just sped off in the direction of danger and instant regret.