Entangled in Ivy- Interracial Fiction (BWWM)

Entangled in Ivy- Chapter 5

When Brady met Ivy

Brady could feel the rhythmic thump of the bass-heavy music vibrate through his very core as he walked through the crowded nightclub. The nightclub was overcrowded with hot young singles, and Brady felt old and far too overdressed for his surroundings.

Tall, lean and handsomely angular, Brady's confidence was usually bulletproof, but he felt out of place and on edge as he nervously fidgeted with his clothes like a child in church. He loosened his tie, a blue silk thing with a four figure price tag that he'd received as a gift from his wife. His wife. He flinched a little at the memory of her kindness inserting itself at such an inopportune moment. Brady checked his finger for his wedding ring guiltily. It was tucked away neatly in the safe at his hotel suite.

The Martingale was a luxurious boutique hotel in downtown Chicago, and it had become his second home. It was his respite from the chaos of Rebecca's erratic mood swings. He had stayed there more often over the last two months than he had in the townhouse he shared with his wife.

Brady pushed through the crowd, his desire to seek out a random bed mate was waning as he searched the crowd, looking not for a familiar face necessarily, but a familiar desire. There were plenty of shared looks, but none were quite right. There was a Nordic looking blonde with bedroom eyes trained on him. Looking for a payday, he surmised by the lustful looks she gave his expensive watch and shoes and endless questions about his career. There was a short and curvy brunette tottering a little too much on her sky high heels. She'd talked too loudly and too closely, even for the crowded bar, and Brady had handed her off to her friends knowing her evening would end in a bathroom, and having no desire to play the role of the babysitter. He'd talked for a while a woman closer to his own age with cat-like eyes and a severe short hair cut, but their desire for one another, was quickly extinguished. Maybe they were both a little too similar to the partners both had and didn't speak of. Too close to the person they were trying to forget about waiting for them at home.

Brady was ready to give up. The lure of room service and plush sheets was pulling at his heartstrings, but he had to close his bar tab first.

"What can I get you?" Ivy asked the question in the same singsong way she always employed, but the person on the other side of the question stared at her without speaking. The man was so handsome, and in spite of his clean cut appearance, he had danger written all over him. Ivy was unable to speak or move. She was paralyzed by his piercing eyes.

Brady's serious face was unreadable when the waitress approached him and when he looked up at her, he really was stunned silent by her beauty. Brady knew immediately that he had to have her. The unbridled longing, the deep seeded pain, the two of them shared a familiarity, without knowing anything about one another. Something preternatural passed between them and the time and space seemed to fall away around them. Brady knew immediately that he couldn't leave without taking her with him.

"My god! You are lovely," Brady said finally breaking the silence.

"Thank you, sir. What can I get you to drink?" Ivy asked, remembering that she had a crowded bar full of people to serve and her tips depended on her ability to move quickly.

"What's the best whiskey you carry?" Brady asked, suddenly not wanting to leave at all. At least not without the woman on his arm, or at least her name.

"Jack Daniel's is the best we carry," Ivy said before leaning in to add, "and it's overpriced and watered down."

"I'll have a double then. On the rocks," Brady smiled, he was not bothered by the confession. He rather charmed to share a secret with the woman. Leaning in, he could smell her perfume mixed with the sickly sweet smell of overflowing glasses of spirits. The combination was truly intoxicating, "Can I buy a drink for you?"