RHYS
"Rhys? Are you home?" Ivy shouted from the foyer.
My ears perked up at the sweet sound of her voice and the door clicking shut behind her. How she said "home" like this was our home made my heart ache. Even if she hadn't meant it that way.
Over the past few weeks, we have become much more comfortable with each other. I had never talked so much with a girl before, but with Ivy, it was different. She made me laugh, was a good listener, and cared what I had to say. I felt like I could tell her anything. I knew it was only a matter of time before she and Blaine repaired their relationship. I overheard her on the phone with him a few nights ago, telling him she still needed some space, whatever that meant. I did my best to avoid whatever was happening between them. I had already done and said enough. I was just glad Ivy and I had found a nice rhythm between us while she stayed at the ranch.
"I'm in the kitchen," I replied, zipping up a cooler. I made us a picnic dinner. Ivy had no idea I planned to bring her to our private lake tonight. It was a warm and sunny day, and there was no point hanging out inside the ranch.
"Hey," she said, stepping into the kitchen. With a frown, her eyes quickly scanned the messy countertop. I was good at cooking, but Ivy was the cleanup crew these past few weeks. Without her here this afternoon, it looked like a food bomb went off in the kitchen. She looked like she wasn't sure what to think of it. "I see you've been busy." She picked up a dirty spatula and a greasy pan from the stovetop and put them in the sink.
"I made us dinner. We could head down to the lake. Get out of the ranch for a bit."
Ivy raised her eyebrows and smiled. "I like the sound of that. Is dinner in the cooler?"
I winked. "Yeah. And beer and Tequila."
"Can I get changed before we go?"
Her hair was twisted into a knot, and she was still wearing her resort uniform. She looked cute in tight black shorts and a white polo shirt.
I nodded. "Yeah, of course."
Her eyes lit up. "Okay, I'll be right back."
Ten minutes later, Ivy walked back into the kitchen, and I choked on the beer I was drinking. Her distinct smell of strawberries and wildflowers met my nose. She wore a short white sundress that made her tanned skin glow. The top half of her dress was like a corset, and it made her tits pop. The bottom half of her dress was short and flowy, stopping mid-thigh. She had legs for days in that dress. Her long blonde curls fell down her backside, and her lips were painted a cherry red. She may have been cute in her work outfit, but she was downright sexy when she dolled herself up.
"Ready," she smiled.
Walking up to me, she snatched my beer from my hand. She took a sip and handed it back to me. "Where are we headed? Are we driving somewhere?"
I looked down at the tip of my beer and swallowed hard. Her lips touched my beer bottle. Once I put my lips back on it, I would taste her. My face heated at the thought, and I felt like a tool for being so damn juvenile about it. I knew we had grown comfortable with each other lately, but damn seeing her lips on something that was mine was hot.
"Ah, no. We're walking." I replied, sliding open the patio door. "We're going down to the lake."
"The lake at the resort is quite a hike from here," Ivy frowned. "I'm wearing wedged sandals."
"It's not that far," I assured her. "It's a private lake on our property. It takes about five minutes to walk there. Hasn't Blaine ever brought you there before?"
"No."
I shook my head. My brother had no game when it came to women. I had yet to learn how he managed to score Ivy. I was not trying to score with Ivy by bringing her to the lake, but if I were in Blaine's position, I would have brought Ivy to our private lake in a heartbeat. It was not something you hid from your girlfriend. You used it.
I led the way through the backyard and down a path that took us into a wooded area. Fallen branches and pine cones cracked beneath our feet, and I smiled at Ivy swatting away flies. When we reached the clearing, I stopped dead in my tracks and took a deep, steadying breath. I hadn't been to our private lake in years. It glistened in the setting sun, and the rustle of the trees surrounding the perimeter of the lake gave me goosebumps. Memories of my childhood and being with my mother washed over me. My chest tightened unexpectedly.
"Rhys? Are you okay?" Ivy's sweet voice asked.
I shook away my emotions and smiled at her. "I just haven't been here in a while."
"It's beautiful." Ivy breathed out.
She walked past me and headed towards the dock. I put the cooler on the ground and followed behind her. When she reached the edge, she tilted her head up and watched the tops of the trees rustling in the wind. After a few moments, she closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath with a soft smile on her lips. I stood beside her and watched her take it all in. This used to be my favourite place. My mother would bring me here all the time as a kid. She'd play her guitar and sang songs for me and Blaine. We'd picnic on a blanket, and then she'd let us swim in the lake all afternoon. Seeing Ivy like it so much made my heart swell and the memories less painful.
Ivy opened her eyes and looked up at me. "Why hasn't Blaine ever brought me here? This place is amazing," she gushed.
"I don't know," I felt terrible for lying, but it was probably the same reason I had avoided this spot for so long - memories. "Ready to eat something?" I asked.
Ivy nodded, following me along the dock and back onto the grassy area. I pulled a neatly folded blanket out of my packsack, shook it open and laid it on the grass. Ivy sat down with her butt on her heels, leaned forward and zipped open the cooler. She stuck her hand inside, pulled out a beer, cracked it open and then tossed one to me. I caught it with ease and smiled.
"Wow, Ivy. I brought you here for a picnic, not a party." I winked and took a sip.
She laughed. "There's such thing as a party for two. Haven't you ever heard Shania Twain's song?"
I chuckled. "No, because I listen to real country."
Ivy rolled her eyes and tried to suppress a smile from my comment. Over the past few weeks, we had argued relentlessly over our favourite country artists. I liked the typical country classics, like Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and Willie Nelson. Ivy's country favourites like Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan were more mainstream. Not that I didn't like those artists, too; I just preferred the pioneers of country music. Plus, I liked busting her balls and seeing her pretty green eyes roll every time I commented, which was becoming more often than not.
I smirked at her lack of response and started taking the food out of the cooler. I had organized our dinner in Tupperware containers and hoped Ivy would be impressed. She'd been riding my ass about my lack of organization. I pulled out two plates, two forks and napkins and placed them on the blanket.
Ivy raised her eyebrows. "Smells good."
"And..." I drawled.
She laughed, knowing exactly what I was trying to get out of her. "And I'm quite impressed with how neatly our dinner is packed, considering the kitchen looks like a complete disaster. I can see my organizational skills rubbing off on you, except for when you cook. We still need to work on that," she winked.
God, she was cute.
"So what's so special about this place?" Ivy asked.
"See that old tire swing?" I asked her and pointed to a big oak tree in the distance.
"Yeah."
"That tire swing was a tenth birthday present from my Mom. She had it, hung it for me on my favourite oak tree and surprised me."
Ivy remained silent, so I continued. "And we always came here with Mom. She used to call it our private oasis. Dad was always so busy building an empire that he was hardly ever around, especially during summer. The ranch was where she brought us to escape. She hated that he was always on the go and so business-oriented that he'd forget to be with his family. This was where she felt like she could be free and just let us be boys... get dirty, catch frogs, and climb trees...we didn't have to be well mannered Wyatt's like Dad always expected."
I finally looked up, and Ivy was watching me. Her chest moved up and down, and she bit her bottom lip. She looked like she was thinking something, and her eyes scanned my face. "I didn't realize..." her voice trailed off, and she looked away. "It's just that Blaine never really talks about your Mom much. I didn't realize how special this place was to you."
"When your father is Reginald Wyatt, you learn to suppress your emotions, and you don't talk about shit," I replied with a bitter undertone to my voice. I took a swig of my beer and met Ivy's green eyes over the rim of the bottle, "My Mom was the reason I picked up a guitar and started writing music. She's the reason I wanted to get out of Moose Creek. Seeing her suffer from cancer at such a young age was life-changing for me. She didn't deserve to die. She was so full of life and never lived her dreams because she was too busy raising us and letting our father live his life – building this resort. His empire."
Ivy remained silent for a few minutes.
"Is that why you always keep everyone at arm's length? Because you are scared to seem vulnerable?" she tilted her head and looked at me. My jaw clenched. I didn't like how Ivy could see right through me. I refused to make eye contact with her. I focused on the trees on the other side of the lake. She continued but sounded nervous. "I think it's unfair that your father refused to let you properly grieve the loss of your mother. When my father died, I cried myself to sleep for an entire week."
"Maybe," I conceded. I didn't like how easy it was for Ivy to get under my skin. To make me feel things that I wasn't used to feeling. "I was only thirteen years old when she died, and I'd be lying if I said her passing didn't change me. It was hard to lose the only person I felt understood me. No matter how many years pass, I will always miss her. Just like I'm sure you miss your father."
"Everyday."
A beat of silence passed, and I inhaled a sharp breath when I felt Ivy's hand cover mine. I trembled as her fingers brushed my palm. Her touch sparked something carnal inside me. It scared the shit out of me. What was it about her that made me so damn reckless with my emotions? Being alone with her this way and feeling her touch me and look at me like that made it hard not to feel something for Ivy at that moment.
Reaching up with my free hand, I tucked a fallen strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes locked with mine from my subtle touch, and I could see the desire there. She was so damn beautiful. Not kissing her right then was the hardest thing I had ever done. I pulled my hand away from her touch and turned away.
I reached into the cooler and took out a tequila bottle that I slipped into a side pouch. It seemed like the perfect time to whip it out and distract us from our sudden intimacy. I wasn't good at talking about my feelings, but I was good at drinking them out of my head. When I unscrewed the top, Ivy looked over at me with a raised brow as I poured each of us a shot into a red solo cup. I passed her a shot, and she took it.
"The perfect distraction," she winked.
I laughed, and we clinked our glasses and slammed our shots in unison. My throat burned, and Ivy sputtered and coughed. The tequila was strong. A few more of those, and we'd be stumbling back to the ranch.
"Let's do another one," Ivy insisted.
Really? Was I dreaming this up, or was she serious?
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Since when did you start turning down tequila?"
I raised my hands like I was surrendering. "Okay, fine. Let's have another. I don't think you can handle it, though."
"Challenge accepted," Ivy smirked.
"I'm not challenging you, Ivy – I'm serious. You and I should not get drunk together. It's a bad idea."
"This is what you do though. This is how you deal with things?" she asked with a cynical undertone. "You drink as a distraction." She was goading me.
My silence told her everything she needed to know.
"Come on. You didn't bring that bottle of tequila here to look at it," she smirked and held out her empty cup. "Pour me another shot."
Her sass made my heart feel like it would claw out of my chest. I looked over at her, and she raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to fill her cup with tequila. I twisted off the cap and poured us another shot. Ivy clinked my glass, tilted her head back, and slammed the second shot.
"Feel better yet?" she asked.
"Ivy – "
"Come on, let's do another."
"Really? You want more?"
She nodded.
I shook my head. "No. You're going to get wasted."
"Exactly. And so are you," she smirked. "Maybe I need a distraction too. I am still angry with Blaine, remember?"
She snatched the bottle from my hand and poured us another shot. Well damn, who was I to stop her?
One shot rolled into another, and the time flew by until the stars were the only light in the sky. Drunk came fast. I was feeling it, and Ivy was too. With only a quarter of the bottle left, we found ourselves lying on a blanket, laughing as we stared at the sky. My body was acutely aware of how close Ivy was to mine. Being a little blurry around the edges impeded my better judgment. Being near her like this was so confusing. It was easy to forget she was Blaine's girlfriend when her head was close to mine. I fought my urges, closed my eyes, and counted to ten. When I opened them, Ivy's laughter stopped. She rolled onto her stomach and watched me with a wicked gleam in her eye. Her cheeks were rosy, and she started giggling when she let out a hiccup.
"You're not going to sleep," she poked my face.
I brushed her hand away and sat up, "I'm not sleeping."
I was starting to think that being alone together wasn't a good idea anymore. My eyes travelled up her long tanned legs and devoured her round perky tits. I heard her say something, and I watched her cherry lips in all their perfection, moving as she talked. I knew she was speaking, but I wasn't comprehending what she was saying. Once her dress came off, my dick throbbed to attention, and it knocked me back to reality.
I squeezed my eyes shut, grabbed her dress off the grass, and held it blindly. "Jesus Ivy. What are you doing? Put your dress back on. Now."
She laughed like I was crazy. "Relax, Rhys. I still have my bra and panties on. Nothing you haven't seen before."
I scowled and slowly opened one eye. Her white lace bra and matching panties were my death wish. Every curvy inch of her body was begging me to take it. I shook away my urges and stood up. She was correct; seeing a woman in her underwear wasn't something I was unfamiliar with, but seeing Ivy almost naked, drunk and giggly, well, that was a different story.
"Come on, Ivy. I'm not messing around. Put your dress on." I was losing my patience. If she didn't put on that dress, bad things would happen.
"I'm about to liven up this party for two," she held up two fingers with a smile. "Come on, Rhys. Strip down. Let's swim."
She didn't wait for my response. She sauntered toward the dock. I stood frozen in place and watched her ass jiggle with every step, swallowing hard. When she reached the edge of the dock, she turned around and shouted, "Hurry up, Rhys!"
I started to follow her before she did something stupid. "Have you lost your mind? You're going to get yourself killed. It's too dark to swim in nothing but your underwear half in the bag."
She threw her head back and laughed like I was the most amusing person in the world. Before I caught up to her, she turned away from me and jumped off the dock and into the lake.
Fuck.
I ran down to the edge of the dock and panicked when I didn't see her right away. Her head popped up within seconds, and she appeared to be laughing.
"Ivy, get out. You're drunk. It's not safe."
She started treading backward and smirked up at me. Damn, she looked so fucking sexy in the water. I had to admit I liked drunk Ivy's fun and flirty side, but not when she was willingly inviting me to join her. I didn't trust myself.
"Stop being such a baby," she laughed and swam forward, inches away from the dock. She placed her hands on the wooden planks and pulled herself up just enough to rest her elbows on the edge. Her green eyes sparkled in the moonlight. Her hair was wet, and a few strands were stuck to the side of her face. "Get in. I promise the water is warm."
Fuckity, Fuck, Fuck. Getting in there with her was a terrible idea. Even my drunk mind knew that.
"Come on, Rhys. I promise I won't bite." Great. Now, she was taunting me. Damn her. Man, she drove me fucking wild.
"You're just asking for trouble," I answered back, hearing the grin in my tone.
"Who said I wasn't asking for it?" she replied with a pretentious grin. I knew it was the booze talking, but damn, when she spoke like that, it woke my cock up like none other.
We stared at each other in the darkness, and she was making it clear she wasn't planning on coming out anytime soon. Son of a bitch. I wasn't going to let her swim in the dark alone. Blaine would want me to jump in after her and ensure she didn't do anything stupid, right?
I was doing this for him.
I pulled off my tee shirt and unbuttoned my shorts until I stood on the dock in nothing but my underwear. I refused to meet Ivy's eyes, watching me from below. I inhaled quickly before jumping off the dock submerging myself in the cold water.
When I popped up, our bodies were unintentionally pressed together, and I stifled out a groan. She wrapped her arms around my neck. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"
No. But I was from her crotch resting on my thigh. Our eyes met, and she continued. "You know what this reminds me of?"
"What?" I asked awkwardly, trying to telepathically tell my stiff cock to fuck off and limp up. Every part of me wanted to kiss her, touch her, feel her, but I'd be damned to betray my brother like that. She'd been looking past me, but the moment our eyes met, her face split into the sweetest smile I had ever seen.
"That time we spent the night at Skyles Lake your Senior year of high school. It was dark out, and a group of us jumped into the lake for a late-night swim."
"I remember," I replied. I will never forget that. It was the first time I'd ever seen Ivy in a bikini.
She threw her head back and laughed, "I begged Eddie like crazy to let me and Missy tag along." She became serious when she brought her eyes back in line with mine. "Do you know why?" she asked a moment later.
I shook my head, unable to respond with her lips inches away from mine.
"Because I was so in love with you," she whispered. Her warm breath grazed my lips, and my entire body tensed. She leaned in closer, bringing her lips up to my ear. "But you didn't even care that I was there." I could hear the hurt in her voice, and she tilted her head to the side. "All I ever wanted was for you to care..."
"Ivy," I said because I wasn't sure what else to say. This was all too much right now. She was drunk. I was drunk. We were pressed up against each other half naked as we bobbed in the water. She lifted her eyes from my chest, and I could see the lust there. Like, I really see it. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I ran my hand slowly up her side. I waited for her to push me away, but she didn't. She pulled herself closer to me and shuddered.
"Ivy," I whispered again, her warm breath touching my face. Slowly, I moved her back until she was pressed against the dock, and my chest was inches away from touching hers. She didn't push me off like I expected her to. Her eyelids looked heavy as she stared at my lips. Her cleavage in that tight, lacey bra was right under my nose. Her nipples were hard and erect and grazed against my chest. I moved my hand up enough that my thumb was tucked under her breast. She quivered, slowly crept her hand up and into my hair, and gently tugged my face forward. This was an invitation. And man, I wanted to accept it, even though it wasn't right.
"I shouldn't want to kiss you," I said, lowering my head to whisper in her ear. "I have no idea what we're doing right now."
I was breaking. I could smell her sweet wildflower scent a hint of strawberries on her soft, wet skin. She tilted her head and closed her eyes, moving in just enough that her lips almost touched mine.
"Rhys," she breathed, letting out a tiny moan. I couldn't fight it anymore. I took a deep breath, wrapped my hands in her hair and pulled her head backward, pressing my lips onto hers. A moan escaped her lips, and she responded by shoving her tongue further down my throat. My dick throbbed against her body as I roughly ran my hands down her sides and gripped her ass in my fingers. She sucked in a breath, and I laced my arm around her back and pushed my other hand further into her wet hair. I swallowed her moan and sighed into her mouth when her tongue slowly danced with mine. I had never been so turned on in my life. Heat pulsed in my core, and I felt like I was dissolving, melting until I was nothing more than a racing heart. The feeling of Ivy surrounding me, touching me, kissing me was too much.
I wasn't going to be able to stop. I wanted her like my next breath. Our kisses were wild and out of control. I moaned loudly when she bit down on my lip and pulled my tongue into her mouth, and sucked. I couldn't get her close enough. Her hands were locked in my hair, and my hands roamed freely all over her body. It was utter bliss. Everything about our kiss felt right even though deep down, I knew it was so incredibly wrong.
"Oh my God," she gasped, suddenly dropping her hands from my hair.
Feeling her lips suction off of mine felt like something ripped right through me. The stupidity of our actions finally hit me square in the chest. I watched the panic in her eyes build and slowly released my grip. What had we done? I snapped; her smell, those lips, those tits in my face. I couldn't control myself.
A million thoughts ran through my mind as tears filled her eyes. She pushed away from me, turned around, and pulled herself up on the dock. I swam forward and hoisted myself up onto the dock behind her.
"Fuck. What did we do?" Her voice startled me, and I stepped in front of her and met her eyes. My stomach twisted with the regret I saw behind them. Blaine flashed through my mind, and the tequila turned in my stomach. Ivy pushed past me and started walking toward her dress, crumpled on the grass. I bent down slowly, put on my shirt, grabbed my shorts, and chased after her.
"Ivy, wait -"
She whipped around with tears in her eyes and held up her hand. "No, just stay there. Don't come any closer."
She was trembling, and it killed me to see her so upset, but damn her for making me feel like such shit when she was just as guilty.
"I won't apologize," I said, stepping forward. "I told you not to jump in the lake."
"Are you saying that this is all my fault?"
I raked a hand through my hair and blew a breath out of my nose.
"I'm two seconds away from whipping one of my wedges at you for that comment," she shouted.
I walked right up to her and gripped her hip, pulling her against me. "You wouldn't dare."
"Try me," she spat.
I glared at her. "This is why I tried to stay away from you," I growled low and warm in her ear. "Next time you decide to get drunk on tequila, don't come knocking on my door."
She glared at me and wiggled free from my grip. She spun on her heel and started walking down the path without glancing back in my direction.
Perfect. We were screwed.