The bad girl falling for a bad boy?

(5) The bad girl falling for a bad boy?

I tensed, but her fingers were still on my back, loosening the knots. "Yeah."

"I'll tell you about Steven, if you tell me about whoever you were in love with."

I figured it was a fair compromise. "Alright."

"Steven and I dated after high school. We were friends since junior year, and it progressed into something more. He was my first love. Anyway, I gave him my virginity, told him I loved him, and he said he loved me, too. Then a few months ago, I caught him in his bed with some girl. He told me he was just drunk and that he loved me and all of that, but I never took him back. I was heartbroken, but I got over it. Your turn."

I hesitated for a second, then took a deep breath and said, "Her name was Monica. We met about two years ago and it seemed like fate, like we were meant for each other. She was the only girl I've ever trusted with my heart. It went great for about a year and a half, and then I caught her kissing some guy. When I confronted her, she told me she was falling for someone else, and broke up with me." It hurt, but at the same time it felt great to get that off my chest.

She paused for a moment, and then said, "Wow. We make a really fucked up, yet at the same time, perfectly formed couple."

I couldn't agree more. I laughed and said, "Seriously. We both fell in love, have been cheated on, broken hearted, and now we're together." We fell into a comfortable silence. When she was talking about Steven, I noticed, she didn't have pain in her voice like I did when I talked about Monica. "How long did it take you to get over him?"

"A few months. The first month I was very depressed. That's when I met Carolina. She helped me out, and we became close friends. Over the next few months, I was better, but I still felt the pain in my chest when I thought about him. Now, I don't feel anything but annoyance. He constantly called and came over telling me he loved me and all that. And then that incident at the club killed any attraction I felt toward him."

Well, I passed that very depressed stage; I guessed I was getting better now. When would I be able to think her name and not feel pain? Her hands started rubbing higher, toward my shoulders and neck. "How long ago did you break up?" she asked.

"Four months ago. What about you?"

"About seven months. It'll get better." I sure as hell hoped so.

We fell into another silence, and I was relaxed and getting tired under her hands. "You know, that feels amazing." My voice was drowsy.

"You wanna go to sleep now?"

I realized she stayed awake to relax me since I told her I couldn't sleep. That touched me in a strange way in my chest. I nodded and we laid down. "Thanks for the massage, babe," I murmured.

"Welcome." We both fell asleep after that.

*****

I woke up to the smell of something cooking. Ivy wasn't beside me, so I assumed she was making breakfast. I got up and went to the kitchen. "Somethin' smells good."

"Good morning. Or afternoon, whatever. I made six pieces for you, is that enough?"

I was barely paying attention to what she was saying. She was wearing these tiny shorts with pink paw prints on her ass. I grabbed her right where the paw prints were and said, "Six is fine."

She turned around. "Read the shirt, buddy."

Across her chest it said 'Paws Off!' I let go of her ass and chuckled. "Wait that says 'paws'. It doesn't say anything about hands."

She sidestepped me when I tried to grab her again. "You're gonna make me burn breakfast. Yours is on the table already. Go eat before it gets cold."

"Okay, mom." I went to sit by the table. It had two plates and glasses on opposite sides and maple syrup, water, and orange juice in the center.

"Good boy." She patted my head as if I was a child.

We both laughed and she brought her breakfast to the table. "You wanna do something tonight?" I asked her and took a bite. It was delicious.

"I can't. I'm working the late shift at the restaurant from seven to twelve."

Instantly, I was worried. "Is that safe?"

She rolled her eyes. "I know self defense and most people that live around here like me. I'm not in a gang or anything. I'll be fine."

I was about to protest, but there was a knock on the door. Ivy got up to go see who it was. "Oh, hey David." There was a response I couldn't hear. "Yeah, hold on one second, I'll go get it." I heard her footsteps going to her room.

"Who's that?" I asked her.

"My landlord. I have to give him the rent," she said from her room.

I got up to see this landlord. A guy, maybe 40 to 45 years old, was standing in the doorway. "Who are you?" he asked with a suspicious look in his eye.

Ivy came back and saw us. "Michael, this is David. David, this is Michael, my boyfriend."

He held his hand out for me to shake, and I did. I was pretty sure David didn't like Ivy like that. "Nice to meet you," I told him.

"You, too. Ivy, why didn't you tell me you had a new boyfriend?" he asked her as she gave him the check.

"It only became official yesterday," she smiled at him.

He smiled back at her, and then glared at me, "If I find out you hurt her, I'll kill you."

"I wouldn't hurt her." I pulled her in front of me and put my arms around her waist. She was about 5 inches shorter than my 6'1", and she fit nicely against me.

He looked between us and nodded, like he approved. "Nice to see you again, Ivy. And nice to meet you, Michael."

We said our goodbyes and he left. Ivy let out a relieved breath and laughed, "It's a good thing he liked you."

"What would've happened if he didn't?"

"Well, when Steven cheated on me, I had to physically hold him back from going and killing him. He has two daughters and he's protective of me."

I kissed her on the cheek. "I'm glad. So if you have work tonight, do you wanna do something tomorrow?" I asked hopefully.

She smiled, "Sure, did you have something in mind?"

"Dinner and a movie?"

She laughed. "So original. Actually, that sounds great." We walked back to the couch and started kissing. She pulled away and said, "I need a shower. And not a shower like last night." I pouted and gave her a puppy dog look. "Aw, don't give me that look!" I batted my eyes twice. "Okay, fine," she sighed.

I gave her a grin and followed her to the bathroom.