"you are every reason, every hope and every dream I've ever had."
- nicolas sparks
•
I let go of it all.
I talk, on and on, letting all the words fall out.
From my relationship with Matt at the very beginning all the way to now, today.
Ian listens.
He doesn't speak over me, or talk back.
He simply listens to everything I have to say - and that is exactly what I needed.
By the end of it all, I'm more of an emotional wreck than I was before.
"God, Ivy. That's horrible. I'm so sorry."
He rests his head on my shoulder, swaying us back and forth slowly.
"It's okay.."
"It's not okay."
He mumbles.
"You're so strong, you know that?"
A true smile forms on my lips.
"Thank you."
I whisper back.
We stay silent for a couple of minutes, our breathing patterns identical.
There's something extremely comforting about being in Ian's arms.
I sound love-bound, but I'm not going to deny it, I probably am.
"Do you want to go back to my house?"
He hums.
I nod.
As we get inside his car, I peer out the window - watching the coffee shop slowly fade away in the distance.
That was one hell of a visit.
——————
"Man, I'm tired."
I groan.
Ian tosses the keys onto the counter, walking up behind me.
He slips his arms through mine, wrapping them around my waist securely.
I giggle, resting my arms on top of his.
"Ian?"
"Hm?"
He hums in response.
"What happened back at the coffee shop?"
I question, biting my bottom lip anxiously.
He doesn't respond right away and I instantly regret bringing it up.
Maybe we just got so caught up in the moment..
I mean, he's always been a touchy type of guy - and I didn't mind - but we kissed.
That's not something that you go around doing whenever you please.
"Did I overstep a line?"
Ian finally speaks, concern layered in his voice.
I untangle myself from his arms, turning around to face him.
"No."
I mumble.
"I was the one that leaned in first, I-"
"-but I went through with it, Ivy. This wasn't just on you."
I blink a couple of times, trying to slow down my thought process.
"We kissed?"
I sigh, although it more-so came out as a question.
Ian walks a bit closer, placing his hands on my hips.
See what I mean? This guy's touchy.
"Is there a problem with that?"
He asks, a smirk plastered on his face.
My cheeks turn cherry red, but as much as I want to rude and hide - I can't.
Ian's got his hands secured on me, stopping me from being able to flee.
"N-no."
I stutter, too many things running through my mind.
He then wraps his arms around the small of my back, picking me up with minimal effort.
He tosses me over his shoulder as I squeal.
"You really like doing this."
I mutter.
"Doing what?"
Ian asks, a hint of vain in his voice.
He then throws be down onto the couch lightly.
The impact still making me shriek.
"Throwing me over your shoulder!"
He shrugs, sitting down on the empty spot beside me.
"You're tiny. It's easy."
"That's rude."
He picks up my legs, placing them back down on top of his lap.
"But true."
I mumble.
I slowly begin to fade off into sleep, allowing everything that's happened today to soak in.
Although there's many things I could sulk over - I just can't seem to wrap my head around the fact that we kissed.
Have I finally found peace? Love?
———————
I'm awoken by a bright light flickering in my eyes.
I groan, attempting to stretch, but failing to do so as I hit a rock-hard surface behind me.
That figure groans as well, and my eyes widen as I recognize the voice as Ian.
First of all, why is he so close?
Second of all, who's shining lights in my face?
I quickly pry open my eyes - startled by the whole situation.
But my panic subsides as I realize it's only Amy.
"Wait, Amy!?"
I shriek, sitting up swiftly.
"What's up?"
She smiles, plopping down on the seat across from me.
"What do you mean what's up? What are you doing here?"
I sneer, turning my gaze around slowly to find Ian sprawled out behind me. He's got his arm around my waist despite the fact that I'm sitting up.
"You weren't answering your messages."
Amy sighs, waving her phone around in the air.
"So, I texted Ian and he told me you were with him."
I drag a hand down my face.
I know for a fact that Amy is going to tease me about this for days.
"You guys are cute."
She smirks, with a mocking tone.
I glare at her.
"I even got pictures."
She holds up her phone, and from a distance I can see a picture of Ian and I cuddling on the couch - his arms entangled around me.
"Amy! Delete those!"
I cry out, rapidly standing up to my feet.
But I seem to have forgotten that Ian was holding onto me, as I hear his body tumble off of the couch and hit the floor.
I cringe, quickly kneeling down beside him.
He opens his eyes, his signature smirk plastered all over his face.
"Ian! I'm so sorry."
I latch onto his forearm.
He chuckles, ruffling my hair up with his other free hand.
"Did I hurt you?"
I mumble.
He lifts his head up, swiftly placing a peck on my cheek before standing up - brushing off his pants.
"Nope, all good."
I reach for my cheek, dazed.
"Oh. Hi Amy."
Ian greets her, nonchalantly.
He walks off to the kitchen, and I take it as my opportunity to scold Amy.
"Don't bring this up later."
"I think it's cute."
She smirks, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Yeah, but you're also going to blackmail me or something."
I tilt my head towards the phone in her hand.
"Take a look for yourself."
She tosses me the phone.
"They're good pictures."
I can't help but agree.
Ian must have crawled in behind me while I was sleeping, because we weren't like that when I dozed off.
"What are you so happy about?"
Ian chuckles, breaking the silence.
I lift the phone up, showing him the screen.
His eyes widen as he walks closer, taking it right out of my hand.
"Cute, right?"
Amy says proudly.
Ian hits a couple of buttons before giving it back to Amy.
Her face drops instantly.
"Where'd they go? They're not on my phone anymore!"
Ian's phone lights up on the table.
We all look at it.
Amy sent you 3 photos.
It reads.
"You douche! Now I don't have them."
She pouts, and I can't help but laugh.
Ian wraps his arm around my waist, leaning down to whisper in my ear.
"You're welcome."