13. Ivy Jade
Ivy Jade
Last night I got zero sleep and was totally stressed.
Now we were on our way to do some ax-throwing activity?
How absolutely barbaric! All of us were squished into two buses.
Tallulah sat with me, but she visited with everyone throughout the bus, hopping from seat to seat, gabbing about spooky wedding stuff.
I sat in the front of the bus, because… I always liked to be in control of where we were going, and seeing everything through the window kept me calm.
What didn’t keep me calm, though, was the burning sensation in the back of my head.
I checked over my shoulder a couple of times and noticed Ro would turn his head away when I looked in his direction.
Had he been looking at me or something? I really wanted it to stop.
My scalp couldn’t take any more burning.
Once the bus stopped, everyone decided they were five years old again and ran to the front to get off first, leaving Ro and me alone together.
Ugh. He stood behind me, waiting for me.
“After you,” he said in a guttural tone.
“You go. I’ll follow,” I sighed.
“I insist,” he argued.
“No.”
Flustered, we both stepped into the aisle and ended up smushed together. I bumped into his chest. I could feel the muscle beneath his shirt, and I hated that I noticed it.
“I’m trying to stand, but you’re in my way,” I said, taking a deep breath.
“Grouchy much,” he mumbled. “I’m trying to be nice to the maid of honor.”
“Yeah, nobody asked you to,” I fired back with animosity.
“Just because you’re the best man doesn’t mean I have to treat you like some royal prince.
Get over yourself.” Romeo towered over me.
He had to kind of hunch on the bus. It was ridiculous how insanely tall he was. “Well, don’t just stand there. Move!”
He gave me a hard stare; his jaw ticked slightly. “Have you always been this miserable?”
Was that a serious question?
“Only when you’re around,” I said sharply.
Any hint of a smile on his lips slipped away into a tightened mouth. His fingers tapped quickly along the leather seat, like he was ready to grip it. "It's cute. But it's getting old,” he scoffed, walking out of the bus, smacking the top of the door frame loudly.
I shook my head. He was impossible!
With each step I took, the grime under my heel stuck.
At one point, I had to use my hands to pull my leg up.
I’d exchange words with Tallulah later, because this was not my idea of fun—or maybe it was; I didn’t know.
It was just hard to enjoy myself when so many issues were piling up.
Between the missing wedding rings, Antonio’s arrival, and sneaking off to the Scare Park each night, my bright sunshine attitude was starting to feel murky. Then there was Ro.
Ugh!
Stupid Ro.
Why couldn’t High Jynx be invited as the best man instead? It would’ve made this whole wedding week much less stressful and probably nicer.
I looked around at the taxidermy on the wall, flinching at a glaring deer head that stared at me.
I felt uneasy. The room was dark and filled with neon signs on the boards; the fencing between each section was caked with Christmas lights that ran along the bar.
Wait, there was a bar in here? Who the hell drank and threw axes?
This seemed like the worst idea in the world.
“Okay, everyone. We’re going to break into groups and coach each group on how to safely play with the axes.
There are thirty of you, and we have five coaches.
We’ll give you five minutes to arrange into groups of six,” the manager of this place said.
He wore clothing that was just as ratty as the outside of the building—some beat-up plaid shirt and ripped shorts.
Pennsylvania weather was as unpredictable as that outfit.
“You heard the man, vamoose!” Tallulah said, splitting down the sea of her own people.
As we all coordinated into groups, I ran straight to Tallulah and held onto her.
Then there were a few stragglers, one of them being Ro.
He looked in my direction, and I dreaded it.
I focused on the very top corner of the ceiling to avoid his eyes.
Please don’t get stuck with us, please. I’ll be more grateful for my life than I already am, just please… don’t let him be anywhere near me.
“Come here, man!” Gustav called him over. “You’re the best man! You’re with me.”
Phew. That was close.
While we went through this fifteen-minute coaching, I couldn’t help but be distracted by everything, but mainly Tallulah’s rings.
When I go out tonight, would High Jynx be there?
What was the likelihood that he’d be working three nights in a row?
Part of me hoped he was, though. Was that a bad thing?
“In each section, you’ll see a fenced-off spot for two teams to battle against one another.
All teams will line up within these three sections, and you’ll battle the team beside you.
Bride and groom, your two separate groups will be in this section,” the instructor gestured to the very far left of the room.
With all the fun chattering and excitement, our team and Gustav’s lined up.
We had tables beside us where they were continuously bringing out all sorts of food–if you could call it that–and pitchers of beer aplenty.
Honestly, anything cheap and foamy was disgusting to me.
I’d never touch that kind of drink. Anyway, there was no way I would drink and throw axes.
By the time it was my turn, Vann–one of the groomsmen–was beside me. That was fine. He was kinda cute. I hadn’t talked to him on the trip yet, but I had noticed he’d been checking me out for the last couple of days. Obviously, I’m beautiful.
Vann gave me a cheeky smile, and I subtly looked down, then back up at him.
“No, no, no. Wrong lineup. Maid of honor versus best man!” Teddy–one of the other groomsmen–laughed as he pulled Vann out of the way and put Romeo in his place.
We glowered at one another. Ugh. Really? We had to be against one another?
“LET’S FUCKING GO!” Gustav yelled, and all the other men erupted into hoots and hollers like freaking cavemen who shared a single brain cell.
I rolled my eyes in Ro’s direction. Now I really needed a drink. “Get me a cosmo,” I told the server who came by, asking for drink orders.
“We don’t have those,” he shot back with a jeering grin. Clearly, he wasn’t used to serving beautiful women and their gorgeous style of drinks.
“Give me whatever colorful drink you can make. Martini, margarita, whatever.”
“They don’t have Mike’s Hard Lemonade here if that’s what you’re still into,” Ro said with a smirk.
“You have got to be kidding me. You did not just say that!” I squeaked. This man knew how to boil my blood. Any angrier, and I may just grow horns to stab him with.
After all these years, he remembered that humiliating night out of all the others?
A better memory would’ve been when we used to play Marco Polo in the pool, or when I made cupcakes for him and Gustav on Valentine’s Day when I was in the eighth grade–cringe.
Or how about when we’d play Guitar Hero together?
Or when he taught me how to shoot a free-throw on our personal basketball court.
There were so many better things to bring up, other than embarrassing admissions that unfortunately pointed back to the humiliating truth… I used to have a crush on Romeo Scott.
“So you still drink those?” he asked.
“As if! I’m not thirteen anymore.” I picked up my ax, and Ro followed suit on his side.
“No… You certainly are not. It’s been, what, like fifteen years since I saw you last?” he controlled his voice.
“Try sixteen,” I said.
“Someone’s counting. Good,” his voice rasped, and it grated my nerves.
I waved my ax around, staring daggers at him. “You bother me so much.”
“Why?” he asked.
Really? That was the question we were going with?
I slung back my arms, steadied myself on the line, and threw the ax. It rotated so many times in the air, then it hit the ground.
Ro threw his ax and got it right in the middle. His entire team cheered him on, slapping him on the shoulder excitedly and chanting his name. You’ve got to be freaking kidding me! I hate losing.
“You’re good at this game,” Ro tilted his chin up.
Was it appropriate to throw a dull ax at him? I wasn’t one for murder, but in this case, I think Papi would side with me.
Tallulah came up to me. “Don’t let him get to you. We’re all rooting for you! Take a step forward and get a little closer.”
I looked ahead at the large wooden board lined with Christmas lights. There were dents all over it, but not from me. “Okay. I got this!” I hyped myself up.
I stepped forward, as did Ro. We were parallel to one another.
“Are you going to tell me why you hate me so much?” Romeo turned to me.
I whipped my gorgeous hair to stare straight into the eyes, then whipped my hair back to look forward. “You were there. If you don’t know, then I can’t help you.” My heart pulsed quicker.
I grabbed the next ax, as did he. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed his blue eyes gnawing at me as he held onto the handle of his ax, bicep protruding. He had this cocky grin I wanted to slice off.
I yelled as I threw the ax that pitifully fell onto the ground after ricocheting off the board.
Again, Ro threw his and didn’t miss, and his teammates cheered him on. The girls encouraged me, and it started to feel like a boxing match. Ro and I were at opposite ends, our coaches giving us water, telling us where to hit next. An imaginary bell in my head dinged. I was up again.
“Let me help you,” Ro said.
No matter how manly or broody he looked throwing the ax, like some medieval knight in costume, I refused to allow him anywhere near me.
“No freaking way!” I yelled.
“You’re gripping that handle far too hard,” he said through clenched teeth. “Ease up on it when you throw.”
“I didn’t ask for your help, Ro!” Whether everyone listened in on this ridiculous tiff between us, I didn’t care. I couldn’t stand Romeo Scott. Determination was my second middle name.
“Seriously, Ivy Jade. What did I do?” he said, exasperated.
I stepped forward, easing my grip on the handle, and threw my third ax. That time, it stuck to the board. Not the middle, but it still stuck nonetheless.
The girls cheered for me, as did the guys. This was kind of fun. I took a sip of whatever colorful drink the server dropped off for me at the table and grabbed my last and final ax to throw.
This time, Ro walked over to me, and he leaned in really close. “Whatever I did, just tell me. I don’t like having this big elephant in the room between us,” he whispered sternly and slowly, brows still furrowed.
I stared up at him. He genuinely didn’t know? The heat his body sent my way caught me off guard, squeezing the oxygen between us.
“You should know,” I whispered back.
“I don’t, Ivy Jade,” he said delicately.
“That’s not my problem.”
“If I can help you hit right in the middle of your board, will you tell me?”
“I doubt I could,” I snapped back.
He was so close to me, I could smell his cologne. Rich in citrus and smoky oak. It was disgustingly delightful.
“If you could, would you give me that chance?” he pleaded.
My eyes landed right on his, and I bit my lip to soothe whatever anxiety spilled over.
I’d never been this close to Romeo before.
He barely had any stubble, his jawline smooth-looking.
The man had high cheekbones and a cute nose.
I didn’t think anyone could have as cute a nose as mine, but he did.
His long, dark, feathery hair was swept back.
I watched his Adam’s apple bob with a swallow.
What was the worst that could happen?
I agreed because I knew in my heart it wouldn’t happen anyway.
Ro grabbed my ax and then directed each of my hands.
“Grip the bottom with your dominant hand, then place the other above it. Don’t give it a death grip; think of when you’re pulling an apple off a tree.
It’s a soft grip. That’s what you’ll want for this,” Ro continued, instructing me softly.
After the gripping part, I didn’t hear anything else.
I was struck by the fact that Romeo Scott was touching my hands.
The thirteen-year-old girl inside me melted.
“You got this, okay, Ivy Jade. Just take two steps forward. That way there will be less rotation when you throw it.”
Everyone around us grew quiet. It was kind of embarrassing, actually.
But I let all the noise cancel out; I held onto the ax like Ro had told me to. He went back to his side of our section and watched me intently.
Quick breath in, relax my legs, soften my grip on the handle. I screamed as I threw it, and somehow by the grace of this ridiculous universe, my ax landed right in the middle.
“I did it!” I yelled excitedly.
Everyone cheered me on, as did Ro. He didn’t throw his ax; instead, he passed it off to the next guy behind him. I knew it was time to fess up about everything I was holding onto, just like I agreed to do.
Ro grabbed his drink and headed back to the corner of the bar, on the opposite side of where we were.
As I handed my ax off to Hollie, who was next, I walked over to Ro. He sat in a booth, waiting for me.
“Deal’s a deal, right?” I said.
He nodded. “Let’s talk.”
As I sat down beside him, I shamefully looked away. It was unlike me to cower. This entire thing was embarrassing, but I had to let it go and move on as Tallulah told me.