Xαιҽɾ
Mαყ 15ƚԋ
Qυҽҽɳʂ, Nҽɯ Yσɾƙ
"I'm tired! I don't wanna count." Ivy pouted, slamming the money down on the table, she folded her arms across her chest and huffed. I glanced over at her and could see her eyes were closed now and she rested her head on the table in front of us, ignoring all the money stacked next to her. I chuckled watching her, she was high as fuck.
Of course I gave her some weed, why not? She was funnier that way.
Right now her and I were seated at my club while it was closed, counting money collected from the strippers last night. The past week we hadn't spent much time together and it was only because she wanted to spend more time with her nephew. I respected that. Family came first no matter what.
Today though, said specifically said she wanted to be with me and to see what I did on a day to day basis. She texted first, which was rare, but it only made me realize how much she was warming up to me these days. Becoming more casual and doing less of that stuttering shit, which I appreciated cause that got annoying as fuck fast.
But, this was usually what my mornings consisted of, making sure my income was right and splitting some money between me and a few bonuses that I usually set aside for my dancers. I wasn't the type of club owner to be stingy when it came to giving them money, because without them I wouldn't have this place. I was grateful. And I knew all my girls had kids to feed and bills to pay, I always made sure they had more than enough even if the club runs slow for a few nights.
I wrapped a rubber band around a stack of ones and whacked Ivy upside the head with them, "You always cryin' about something man, take this and shut yo ass up." I said, using my other hand, I handed her the blunt that rested in the ashtray near us so she could re-up her high a little.
"I don't want it... you're so mean." she picked her head up with the same pout but took the blunt from me anyway, cause yeah, she know she wanted to smoke that shit.
"And you a baby." I retorted uncaring, grabbing another rubber band, I wrapped another stack of ones.
After a long moment of silence, and me sitting there whilst feeling her eyes watching me the whole time, I finally shifted my eyes over to her again. She sat there, blunt in hand, with red teary eyes, confusing me to the max. When the hell did she start crying and why?
"What?" I questioned.
"I don't know." she sniffed, as a tear fell down her cheek and she wiped it, I just looked at her strange because I wasn't sure what to do. I knew that weed was hitting her but damn, why was she getting so emotional? Last time it just made her a little energetic and dazed for the most part, now she was acting depressed.
I just stayed silent though, I don't know what the hell to do with a crying woman, it makes me uncomfortable. Cause what do you do for real? "So what's all this money from? Your drugs?" she sniffed.
I shook my head, "It's from my strippers, and it's for them, it's part of what they made." I answered.
"What part goes to you?" she questioned.
"Most of it, some of this is just a lil bonus that I give them every now and then." I snatched the blunt from her hand and placed it in my own mouth, handing her a stack of money instead to wrap, and she huffed but did it anyway. Crybaby ass.
"Awe. You're a good boss, I wish you were my boss." she muttered, running her fingers through the wad of cash while staring longingly at it. She stayed quiet for a few minutes, I didn't know what to say, so I just waited for her to speak up again. Which she did, eventually, her head snapped up again and she smiled at me. "Can I work for you?" she asked, bouncing up and down.
I damn near choked on the smoke that was coming out of my mouth, letting out a few small short coughs I looked at her like she was crazy while she still kept the same grin on her face. "Nigga- It'll be a cold day in hell before I let you get up there and take yo clothes off for a bunch of niggas, you must be out yo damn mind Ivy." I complained which only made her roll her eyes.
"Besides, it's probably harder than it looks." I added on, looking at the pole in front of us.
She looked from the pole back to me and scoffed "I can do it!" she exclaimed, standing up from her seat. Ivy stumbled a little, but caught her balance on the table and took a deep breath before grabbing a rubber band from her wrist and using it to tie her straightened hair back.
"The hell you doing?" I asked, watching her take off her sandals.
"Just watch." she smiled, strutting over to the pole, and I sighed, doing as she said. Part of me was inclined to stop her, but... I wanted to see what she was going to do.
Leaning back in my seat, I stuck the blunt in my mouth and picked up my phone, quickly connecting to Bluetooth and putting on an instrumental for her to dance to. She wanted to entertain me, then I was gonna entertain her too.
Her head snapped up once it started to play and she smirked again. Grabbing the pole confidently, wrapping it with her slender fingers, Ivy walked in circles around it while keeping heavy eye contact with me. She then stopped in the very middle, directly in front of me and spread her legs into a wider stance. She pressed and slid the palms of her hands down along her bare upper thighs, her eyes staying fixated on me.
Her fingers reached towards the top hem of her black skirt, the tips of them teasing the edge of the fabric, desperate to sneak underneath. But instead, she squat just a little, showing off her pretty white colored lace panties and closed her eyes. Biting her lip, she ran her hand sensually up her body and cupped her breast as she bounced on her toes up and down.
My breathing had become a bit labored watching this, I didn't know Ivy got down like this, I didn't even know she had a freaky side to her. She seemed to innocent and clueless. My heart started to beat a little faster and I leaned closer to her.
As she stood upright, she looked me straight in the eyes again, walking around the pole, Ivory now went to the opposite side and turned her back to me. She then slowly allowed herself to bend over and touched her toes, allowing her skirt to rise all the way and give me a perfect view of her full bottom with the pole directly in between her cheeks. The mound of her center was so fat, I could see the entire print of it from the back.
I let out a shaky breath, taking a huge puff from the blunt in front of me. She was a fucking tease, I don't even know how we got here, but I knew one thing for a fact now, husband or not, she was going to be mine.
Looking back at me, still bent over, her right hand slowly reached down to grope herself over her undies, slightly brushing her fingers over her lace covered slit. Ivy took her lip between her teeth and slowly descended into a perfect split, one that had my jaw dropping every moment her legs extended straight in opposite directions from her body forming a perfectly straight line. How the fuck did she learn how to do that?
I leaned my head back for a moment and sighed, but quickly picked it back up because I didn't want to miss any of what she was doing. Using her hands to balance herself, Ivy managed to twerk a little while in the split to the beat of the instrumental and brought her legs back around to her front. Turning back to face me, she kept her same smile, and stood up, at the same time undoing the buttons of her white blouse, slowly and sensually, allowing me a peek at her nice, supple breasts.
I brought my head forward again, and my mouth opened slightly as I slowly ran my tongue over my lips. She was watching me intently too, at the same time running her hand down the valley of her breasts, fingertips lightly brushing up against them as she now stalked off the stage and closers towards me.
Her fingers tugged at the cups of her bra and let a little nip slip occur before she made it in front of me, stood up in all of her beautiful glory. Her toned and graceful legs on full display, they looked so smooth. And the skirt she wore accentuated the curves of her calves and thighs, enhancing their innate allure. She may have still had all of her clothes on, but she was so sexy in my eyes. If her body looked this good while covered up, I couldn't wait to see how she would look with nothing on. It blew my mind.
Ivy brought her hands up to cup my cheeks, brushing them with her soft hands, she smiled down at me before bringing my head forward and pulling it so that my face was stuck between her breasts. Throwing her head back, she let out a soft noise, that sounded a lot like a moan, and crawled her way into my lap, fully. Bare skin and underwear directly seated on my jean-covered thighs as she brought her body forward and grinded on me.
"Xaier..." her southern voice moaned out softly, yet sensually.
"Oh fuck no." I muttered to myself, feeling my blood rush down to lap as my dick slowly started to get hard. She needed to get the fuck off of me.
"Move Ivy." I quickly said and pushed her to the floor where she landed with a small thud.
"Ow!" Ivory frowned, placing a hand on her head, but I paid her no mind, distracting myself trying to get the previous feeling of her grinding on me and moaning my name, completely out of my mind. I could barely fuckin' breathe right now. It was just supposed to be a 'tease' but it had me feeling like I needed her, right here right now in this club, but I wouldn't disrespect her like that.
Ivy was under the influence and a lot of it motivated her actions right now. If she was sober, she would have never done that, and I knew she'd probably regret it once reality set in. Having sex with her would just be taking advantage in my mind, and I wasn't that type of nigga.
"You the worst stripper ever." I lied, adjusting my pants. At first she pouted, but then she saw that specific action and a grin came across her face. She knew I was lying, it was obvious I enjoyed that.
"I take it you liked what you saw." Ivy giggled, standing up from the ground, she buttoned her shirt back up.
Before I could even respond, I heard the double doors to the club open up; nobody was supposed to be here in the morning except me and they knew that so I didn't know who the fuck that was. So without missing a beat, I drew my gun from my waistband, cocked it, and aimed it at whomever walked in. Only to find out a few seconds later that it was just my old washed up ass dad.
"Put the guns down, it's just me." he held his hands up in fake surrender while strutting inside and I scoffed to myself, putting away my weapon.
I made sure the safety was securely on before tucking it back in my pants. Looking over at Ivory, I made sure she was decent, which she was, just standing there looking as innocent as ever. I don't know how she did that shit so fast but I'm glad she did. Last thing I wanted was this old nigga looking at her inappropriately. "What you doing here?" I asked him, putting my blunt down in the ashtray.
He shrugged while stepping over to us, "I came to see where my son was, we need to have a conversation... am I interrupting?" he asked, looking from me to Ivory who stood next to me like a damn statue.
She was trying to act sober but instead she just looked kinda crazy, it took everything in me not to laugh at her.
"N- no sir-"
"Yes." I interrupted before she could lie and say no.
My dad cut his eyes at me and I mugged him while he looked away and looked back at Ivory. Stretching his hand out, he approached her. "I'm Rylo, the father of this knucklehead." he introduced himself. I flicked him off and Ivy let out a nervous chuckle, looking between the two of us before her eyes focused on my dad.
"Ivory, um, I'm his... friend?" she said in an unsure tone, I don't know why she was acting like that, we is fucking friends.
"Ivory Beaumont-Arcane?" he questioned. Here this nigga go.
She looked shocked at him knowing her full name and looked to me first, but I only shrugged. I didn't know how he knew that, but then again like me, Rylo was the type to know everything. "How did you know my name?" Ivory asked, scrunching her face at him.
"Me and your husband were old friends back in the day, we didn't end on good terms but it's alright, no harm no foul right?" Rylo smiled, but I knew there was an evil undertone in that smile. He wasn't fond of her husband one bit, and I needed to know why, I also wanted to know exactly how old her husband was. Ivy told me she just turned 25 and would be 26 this year, that age gap must've been huge.
Shit my dad wasn't that old, but hell he wasn't that young neither.
"How'd you know my husband?" she questioned with her eyes squinted, it was obvious she either knew he was faking it, or felt like something was wrong with the way he brought up her husband. But Rylo wasn't going to give her any answers, not right now at least.
"Let's just say he was very familiar with my ex-wife, or Xaier's mom, at the time," he stiffened up and took a deep breath which made both me and Ivy look at him strange. I know he wasn't implying what I thought he was. "Which is who I need to talk to you about by the." my dad then added, turning to me, and I shook my head knowing whatever it was he was going to say about my mom would piss me off.
"Should I give you two privacy?" Ivy questioned and I shook my head, it wasn't that serious to me if it wasn't about my business.
"Just go sit, and we'll talk." I said, she nodded and walked a few feet away from us to sit at one of the tables, pulling out her phone. I know she wasn't trying to eavesdrop but it was going to happen nonetheless. We were the only ones here in his big space, she was bound to hear us due to the echoes.
"What now?" I breathed harshly through my nose, facing my dad now who looked at me with a hard expression.
His hands were clasped in front of him, and he sighed deeply, probably thinking that whatever he said would set me off. And you know what? He was right. "Your mom just got into rehab, she wants to see you." he admitted.
I instantly let out a hard scoff hearing this, I could slowly feel anger surging through my bones like a wildfire as I listened to my dad's words. It felt like the hundredth time he had told me this story, and each time, I found myself caring even less. My mother, the woman who had abandoned me and put me through years of pain and neglect, suddenly wanted to see me again. But I had no interest in seeing her. Ever.
"Too bad I don't wanna see her crackhead ass." I dismissed him, getting ready to walk off and to grab my blunt again, but Rylo gripped my arm and forcefully turned me around.
I balled my fist, mugging him as he spoke. "You can't keep holding this animosity for her, she's your mother." he emphasized like that word was supposed to mean something to me. When it damn sure did not. Not when it came to her at least.
"Gloria is my mama, as far as I'm concerned that other lady just pushed me out her junky ass pussy. She ain't never treat me like a son, so why I gotta act like one?" I snatched my arm from his grip and backed up a little, hopefully he didn't get in my face cause we'd have to start boxing and I didn't wanna traumatize Ivy like that just yet.
"She's paid her dues, she's trying to get better for you, she obviously feels bad." he attempted to convince me, but there was no damn convincing.
I took a harsh breath and pinched the bridge of my nose, "I. Don't. Give. A. Fuck. Did she ask me how I felt all that time that I spent trying to help her get off drugs and she ran off with my money time and time again? Fucking with niggas that was plotting against me for some drugs and they using her stupid ass as leverage to hold over my head? I should've let them kill that bitch, all the times they had." I said bitterly.
I could see my father was getting mad the more that I talked, yet I didn't care, fuck her and him both as far as I was concerned. "That's your problem, you hold grudges and hold too much fuckin' hate in yo heart, stop being a child, grow the fuck up, and go talk to your mother. She worked hard to get here and try to be better for your ungrateful ass and you don't even care. She been sober for the past two months!" he yelled the last part.
"I don't know who you think you talkin' to my nigga, but it damn sure ain't me so fix yo tone. I ain't gotta to do shit you say." I said simply, I didn't give a fuck about him yelling nor him trying to talk to me as if I was a child. I would really beat this nigga ass.
"You seem to forget whose the parent around here a lot Xaier." Rylo said, looking at me with threatening eyes.
"You don't even act like it, and you never have, so I don't know why the fuck you always trying to throw it in my face that you made me like I care or something. It's more to being a parent than just sticking yo dick in someone." I argued.
He frowned, sucking his teeth before letting out an unamused chuckle. "It wasn't exactly like you were the best child to have, and you're proving that right now with this behavior." he said.
I nodded my head, years ago, my dad shaming me for being a bad child would've hurt and angered me to my core, but now, I didn't care. Like at all what that old man was saying, it was things I heard time and time again. I was a problem child, I was the worst son he could ever have, I was a failure, blah blah blah, and each time he said it, I found myself not caring even more. I didn't care about him, nor did I care about his ex-wife and what they had to say.
"Aight man, I get it. Can you get out my face now please?" I dismissed him again, waving my hand in a 'shoo' motion to get him to get the fuck out of my face.
But again, he didn't move, he just looked at me in disappointment, Im sure if Ivy wasn't here we would've probably been fighting by now. But both of us were a lot more respectful than that. "Can you at least think about going to see her?" he gritted out through his teeth.
"No." I grinned and waved him off again, he slapped my hand down from out of his face, giving me a menacing look before turning his back.
"It was nice to meet you Ivory." Rylo said on his way out of the door, not even giving her a chance to respond before he was gone.
I let out a short breath, un-tensing my shoulders before walking over to the nearest wall, placing my back against it. Digging in my pocket, I pulled out my phone, and I could hear Ivory standing up from her chair, sliding it back so she could get up to no doubt ask me some questions.
"Are you okay?" I heard her ask and I briskly nodded my head, my fingers searching for my aunt's contact so I could call her and tell her what happened, because I was still quite angry. I could see my hands shaking, and my entire body felt hot, I needed to relieve some of this, but since I was still with Ivy, my way to 'relieve' my anger was completely out of the question.
Unless she wanted to go shoot at some people too, which... I doubted.
As my finger hovered over her contact name to call, I suddenly paused, remembering something. Remembering how Ivory knew my aunt, my aunt said that Ivy had 'saved her sister' and my aunt only had one sister.
Pushing both my eyebrows together, I finally looked up at Ivy who was standing in front of me, watching me with worrying eyes. I licked my lips while looking down at her, she was pretty as hell. But that was beside the point right now. "When my aunt said you were the nurse that saved her sister... who did you save?" I asked.
"A woman named Grace Young." she answered, with slight hesitation in her voice, "T-that's your mom?" she added on as a statement more than a question, instantly placing the pieces together in her head.
I nodded at her and scowled, part of me was mad at her for saving her from whatever it was that happened, but she didn't know who that lady was and she was doing her job. So, fuck it. "You should've pulled the plug on her bitch ass." I mumbled, and Ivy gasped, slapping me lightly on my chest.
"Don't say that. She really did seem like a nice woman the time I spent with her, but she had a lot of withdrawals and health problems... I really think you should listen to your dad go and see her and talk to her. It's not good to hold on to so much animosity because if she leaves this Earth with you still hating her, you're going to be devasta-"
"Stay out of my business Ivy, it doesn't concern you, and you really overstepping right now." I interrupted her before she could go any further.
She was starting to piss me the fuck off talking about something she knew nothing about. It irked me that she couldn't and probably would never understand the depth of the wounds that still haunted me. I didn't appreciate her concern one bit, her insistence felt like an intrusion into my life, a part that I really didn't even feel like sharing. And even if I did share, I didn't want her fucking commentary on it. Point blank.
"Oh so you can get all up in my business when it comes to me and my husband but I can't offer you some advice now?" she said with a tone full of attitude, and that felt like it just snapped a nerve in my head. As if that was the same thing in any way.
"No!" I snapped, my tone of voice making her jump in her spot, but I ignored it and kept going. "Ain't nobody ask for yo fuckin' opinion! And you can't expect to give me any kind of advice when you running around here like a damn idiot under a man that don't even give a fuck about you, I don't gotta listen to nothing yo stupid ass say because nothing that comes out of your mouth is smart anyway if we really being honest. Stay out of shit you don't know about, that's yo problem now!" I said, staring down at her with a glare.
I could see she was getting mad, her eyes were tearing up, but I genuinely could not bring myself to care about her emotions. Should've stayed in her place as far as I was concerned.
I watched as Ivy sighed first, and closed her eyes, "I'll let that slide because I understand that you're hurting right now from your past demons. But whatever she did to you-" I interrupted her for what felt like the hundredth time.
"I can tell you what she's done to me, from the very beginning she was a fucking junkie, she did drugs while pregnant with me, she did drugs after I was born, she did drugs throughout my entire childhood. She had different men coming in and out the house beating her the fuck up and assaulting her in front of me, a kid! Some niggas would even go from beating her ass to beating mine. Do you know how fucked up that mad-"
This time I cut myself off and took a breath, the more I spoke about it, the more those wounds reopened, the more I saw the color red in my vision. Her face, the entire room was blurry now, I knew that my temper was about to become a problem and I needed her to leave before I ended up doing something she wouldn't like.
"You know what Ivy, you can really get the fuck out of my face man. I'm not trying to hear no more shit today." I closed my eyes and shook my head, stepping back away from her, but she made the mistake of grabbing my arm trying to console me. My hand twitched as she tried to talk to me calmly
"Xaier I just want you to-"
Before I knew it, I snapped, I had gotten out of her grip and my hand was now wrapped tight around her neck as I glared at her menacingly, slamming her against the nearest wall which made her shut her eyes tight and let out a small whimper, but I didn't care at the moment. I couldn't even see her anymore. My rage was getting the best of me, and she wasn't making it any better trying to defend a bitch she didn't even know, she didn't know a damn thing about what I went through and here she was trying to justify the shit like the fuckin' idiot she is.
My hand unconsciously squeezed tighter as I felt myself get even angrier, by now she had her fingers wrapped around my wrist, trying to gasp for air but only ended up getting stuck instead. "Fucking leave!" I asserted, keeping my hand around her neck, I grabbed her hair with the other and rushed her over to the doors, practically throwing her out as I opened them and tossed her outside on the ground before she could say anything else.
"Damn, get the fuck on!" I shouted before turning my back and walking back in. Not caring at that moment what I did. She pissed me off. So she got my bad side. Her fault.
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Iʋσɾყ
Mαɳԋαƚƚαɳ, NY
I stood before the mirror, my reflection a painful reminder of the choices I had made. My eyes welled up with tears as I traced my fingers over the faint bruises on my neck. They were like dark, haunting shadows, a testament to the dauntingly perilous encounter I'd shared with Xaier at his club earlier. The weight of my own vulnerability hung heavily in the air as I found myself yet again in this position, this time, at the hands of a different man.
This was all my fault. As usual. Way to go Ivory.
My gaze then shifted to the small, scattered scratches on my arms and legs. Marked not just by the visible wounds, but by the emotional scars that ran even deeper. The cuts on my body were a painful reminder of the abuse I had endured once again, I couldn't escape the suffocating weight of shame and fear that enveloped me. I felt so pathetic now.
The person in the mirror looked back at me with a haunting familiarity, a victim of circumstances beyond my control. I felt trapped, unable to break free from the cycle of abuse that had taken hold of my life ever since I got married.
A profound sadness settled in the pit of my stomach. I longed for an escape, for a way out of this nightmare, but the path forward seemed shrouded in darkness. The mirror revealed not just the physical toll of the abuse but the emotional devastation that had become a constant companion. It was a painful and heartbreaking moment of reckoning, one that left me feeling utterly helpless and alone.
"How much of an idiot can you be Ivy?" I complained quietly to myself, bringing my hands up, I aggressively wiped away those stupid tears. "So sick of crying, its every single day at this point." I wiped away my continually fallen tears with a trembling hand, my tired eyes reflecting the exhaustion that had settled deep within my soul.
It felt like an endless cycle of tears, a never-ending torrent that had wrung me dry. I longed for respite from the relentless sorrow, for a moment of calm in the storm of my emotions. At first I thought I had that with Xaier, but as it checks out, he's not different than the man I was married to. Boy do I have a type.
As I dabbed at my cheeks, I hoped that this would be the last time I would have to wipe away tears shed for a man, any man that had brought me so much anguish. I yearned for a glimmer of strength to rise above the pain and find a path to healing, to finally put an end to the tears that had been my constant companions. I needed to get away, and I needed to get away fast.
Sniffling to myself, I stumbled out of my master bathroom, going over to the bedroom in order to retrieve my phone and make a call, one that I should have been making all along instead of parading around town with a man who I barely even knew. Betraying my husband yet again, and being the wife that I swore I wouldn't be.
I took a deep breath, pressing the green call button under Jayce's name and placing the phone to my ear, listening to it ring. It only happened about 3 times before he picked up. "Hello?" his voice greeted a little gruffly as if he had just woken up. I hoped not, I didn't want to interrupt his rest knowing how hard he worked.
"Hi." I squeaked out, my voice still a little shaky from crying earlier, I'm sure that he could hear it even over the phone.
"What's the matter?" he asked, concerned, I shook my head, but then realized he couldn't see me so I answered verbally this time.
"N-nothing I just really miss you, I um, I think I'm gonna leave a little earlier than planned." I said, playing with the ponytail I put up in my hair, twirling it between my index finger.
I could hear a short pause on the other end for a second before Jayce spoke up to me again, except this time he sounded like he was angry. "Ivy your two weeks aren't up, I told you to tie up any loose ends before you come." he asserted, and I sighed. I knew that I hadn't had everything tied up like he asked, but I didn't care anymore, I needed to go. To get away from this place and start my new life already. Today has been bullshit and I'm so sick of going through that.
"I know, and I'm sorry but I just- I need to be with you right now, no one else, so I'm leaving early, and I hope that's okay with you." I said hopefully, not wanting him to be mad.
"Of course it is." Jayce answered, and I sighed in relief. "When are you coming?" he then asked.
"In about a day or two I think." I shrugged, thinking about everything I had to do before I left including quitting, telling everyone goodbye, and the part I dreaded most which was packing. "I know you said you got me a wardrobe and everything down there so I didn't need much, but I have to pack at least some stuff like makeup, and some of my favorite clothing. Since we're keeping the house here, I don't see any sense in packing everything." I said.
He chuckled a little and hummed, "Okay, let me know when you're on a plane then , or you can fly my jet if you want, I'll send it out." he offered, but I shook my head.
I would never want to be on a plane all by myself, if I died, who the fuck would know?
"No that's okay, I can get on a regular flight, PJ's get lonely when you're not there and it makes me anxious..." I said, making him let out a laugh which I smiled at before I kept talking.
"I can't wait to see you though, I love you." I told him softly.
"Yeah, me too. See you soon." he answered back, and hung up before anymore words were exchanged. I looked down at my phone in shock for a second.
"Me too." I repeated and let out an unamused chuckle, dropping my phone to the floor, and soon I collapsed with it, bunching my skirt up in my hands, I shut my eyes trying to stop tears from falling. Here we go again...
Deep down inside I knew something was wrong, I knew he was out there doing something he had no business doing. And yet here I was, about to run to him with open arms. Forcing myself to forget about my feelings and intuition, and just be with him for the greater good. Jesus Ivy,
How stupid can you be?