"One cup of chocolate chips and two sticks of butter," Ivy was reading a list of ingredients off of a recipe for chocolate chip cookies she wanted to try. "I am so not domestic." She placed the list down and reached for her cellphone. It had been a week since she heard from Jake. Why hadn't he called?
"Guys are such jerks. Is it that hard to give me a call?" she was tempted to text him but didn't want to appear needy. She refused to text him first.
Ivy was about to delete his number when it suddenly started ringing, "Is he psychic?"
Flashing across the screen was Jake's name. She had met Jake a few weeks back at a graveyard which was an odd place to meet a man...but she wasn't going to focus on that fact.
"Hello?"
Jake's voice came across the line, "I'm so sorry Ivy. I've been swamped with work but I'm glad I caught you."
"I thought you lost my number," Ivy laughed.
"No way would I ever do that. I was calling to ask if you wanted to grab some dinner?"
"Tonight?"
Jake laughed, "Yeah...tonight. And tomorrow...and maybe the day after that."
Ivy's breath caught in her throat, "Three nights in a row, huh?"
"Well I haven't seen you in a while so I want to make up for lost time."
Ivy smiled. She really didn't expect to hear from Jake but she was glad that he had finally called her. "Okay, I'll meet you tonight, tomorrow night, and the night after that."
Jake chuckled on the other end of the phone and that thought, "This was going to be easy."
Two Weeks Later
Alexis sat in front of her vanity table, straightening her hair. It had been a little over two weeks since the whole Larry and Sylvia French incident occurred. She had begun renting an office space to see her clients and she hadn't heard a peep from her "stalker." She was beginning to relax a little.
"Alexis," Nicholas knocked on her door.
"You're not getting out of this so just tie your tie Nicholas," Alexis yelled at him before he could make up another reason that he couldn't' attend the wedding of Cammie Rogers. She hadn't give him too much information. She hadn't even give him a choice. The conversation consisted of her telling more than asking.
"Alexis, aren't you being a bit too bossy? I'm your brother...you should be making Chace go with you. Besides, isn't it weird to be going to the wedding of a listener? What if she's not really getting married? I mean who has a morning wedding anyway? What if she's some crazy woman and this is all a trap?"
Alexis looked at her brother and held back a giggle, "Nicholas do you know how crazy you sound right now?"
"That's what every man thinks when you make him go to a wedding. Ask Chace."
"Chace would not think that."
"Oh yeah? Then why isn't he coming to this wedding with you? He's your boyfriend. If I were you, I would have forced him to come. I can't believe you let him off the hook but force your younger brother to go."
"Nicholas I don't know if you know this or not but I hate carrying around change so keep your two cents to yourself. I want to go to this wedding and you're coming with me. I'm using my big sister card here."
Nicholas turned around mumbling something about tyrannical older sisters, causing Alexis to laugh.
After they were both dressed they drove to the hall where the ceremony and reception were to take place.
"So what's the name of the bride?" Nicholas asked turning his head towards Alexis.
"Nicholas, pay attention to the road. There's a truck coming!" Alexis pointed towards a white truck that hadn't stopped at a four-way stop.
"Relax Alexis, I know how to drive."
Ten minutes later, they were seated in a large hall. To the side was where the reception would take place.
"This is fancy. When you and Chace get married, will it be in a church?" Nicholas asked.
Alexis sighed, "Chace and I are just dating. Marriage isn't even on the table."
"So who is the bride?" Nicholas asked while looking around at all of the other guests.
Nicholas didn't get an answer because the wedding march began to play. The audience all turned to watch the procession of bridesmaids come down the aisle and finally Cammie, dressed in a mermaid cut wedding dress. Alexis didn't care for her dress but still pretended to fawn over it as was custom of the audience.
Nicholas had turned around to see Cammie and then quickly turned back around to face the groom. If Alexis thought his behavior was strange, she didn't say so.
After the 'I do's' were said, everyone clapped as the couple strolled back down the aisle together. Nicholas whispered into his sister's ear, "Let's get out of here."
She turned to him and grimaced, "Nicholas we just got here."
"Trust me Alexis. We should go."
"I'm not going anywhere Nicholas. I want to congratulate her."
"Fine. I'll wait in the car."
"Nicholas, what's the matter with you?"
"Nothing. I'm just tired of being here."
"You're my date. You can't leave me."
"I'm not your date...I'm your hostage."
Alexis rolled her eyes and dragged him towards the direction of the wine bar. Nicholas seemed nervous and kept looking around. Alexis knew men could become jittery at the thought of attending a wedding but Nicholas was being ridiculous. Not even fifteen minutes had passed when he asked again if they could leave.
"Nicholas, what is wrong with you? I've never seen you act like this," Alexis asked her brother.
Nicholas opened his mouth to respond when another voice cut him off.
"What are you doing here?"
Alexis and Nicholas both turned to Cammie, the bride, still dressed in her white wedding gown. She repeated her question, but was looking at Nicholas, "What are you doing here?"
Alexis didn't understand, "Hi Cammie, this is my brother Nicholas. I had him come with me."
Cammie turned to Alexis, "He's your brother? Is this some kind of joke? I want you both to leave now."
"What?" Alexis didn't know why Cammie was becoming upset all of a sudden.
"I said leave. Now," Cammie kept her voice low but firm so that she wouldn't get the attention of her other guests.
Alexis looked at Nicholas who appeared pale. "Fine. We'll leave. Congratulations," Alexis mumbled. She and Nicholas left the hall but Alexis still didn't understand what had just happened.
After they were back in the car, she turned to Nicholas, "What was that all about?"
"This is why I told you we should've left," Nicholas muttered.
"Nicholas I'm serious. Why did we just kicked out of a wedding after she took one look at you? How did she know you?"
Nicholas pulled onto the highway before he answered, "We used to date."
"What? When?"
"A long time ago. We dated and I cheated on her," Nicholas said quietly, "It's kind of embarrassing."
"You dated her? That's unbelievable."
"Yeah...hey so she was one of your listeners? Was it because I cheated on her? She couldn't get over it?"
"Don't flatter yourself." Alexis was reminded of her original letter. It was because she was dating an abusive boyfriend. She looked at Nicholas and couldn't believe it. Nicholas was playful and laid back. He never displayed any kind of aggressive behavior. Still, she found herself asking, "Exactly how long ago did you two date?"
"A long time ago," Nicholas said, emphasizing the word long.
Alexis nodded, "It's such a small world. Who would've guessed?"
"Yeah. It's a really small world. After she dated me she dated one of my friends. I guess to pay me back since I cheated on her with one of her friends. I don't know why she'd still be angry about it. She just got married. She should be thanking me for cheating on her since it led her to today," Nicholas said as he continued to drive to their home.
Alexis rolled her eyes at his comment. Then she asked, "So Cammie dated one of your friends?"
He nodded, "Yeah. She dated Luke but it didn't last long. I'm not sure what happened but it was like one day they were dating the next day they weren't."
"You didn't ask why they broke up?"
"No," Nicholas laughed, "Why would I care? I was already dating someone else. Besides, Luke moved on pretty quickly and so did she from what I hear."
"You weren't mad at Luke?"
Nicholas laughed, "Bros before-"
"Don't say it unless you want me to hit you Nicholas," Alexis warned.
He shrugged his shoulders, "No I didn't mind. Anyway, it all worked out in the end didn't it? She got married and Luke is dating some chick that he really likes."
"Awww it's just my poor baby brother that hasn't gotten a new girlfriend," Alexis mocked.
Nicholas grinned, 'It's okay sis' I'm having too much fun finding Mrs. Right."
"Yeah, so you're settling for Mrs. Right Now."
As they pulled into their driveway, Alexis thought of Chace's reaction which was a little similar to Nicholas finding out that he knew the bride. She wondered if Chace also knew Cammie in some way.
"Was that why he didn't want to go?" she wondered.
"Who didn't want to go?" Nicholas asked.
Alexis hadn't realized that she was talking out loud, "Oh nobody. I was just talking to myself." Still, Alexis wondered if Chace had any possible relationship to Cammie.
Later that Evening: Ivy's apartment
"We've been seeing one another...pretty much every night. I'd say we're boyfriend girlfriend. Do you agree?" Jake asked while pouring her a glass of wine.
Ivy blushed, "Oh...I don't know. Maybe we're just two people that enjoy each other's company?"
"And bodies?"
They both laughed and Jake leaned in to kiss her but Ivy pushed him back, "Hold on. I want to change into something more...comfortable."
Jake grinned and watched as she headed to her bedroom. He slipped a small pill into her wine and watched it fizzle and disappear. When she returned, she was wearing sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt, making Jake laugh.
"Sexy," he told her.
She shrugged, "I try."
He handed her the glass of wine she had been drinking from earlier and said, "Let's make a toast."
"Okay."
"A toast to us."
Ivy smiled and drank her wine until the wineglass was empty.
An Hour Later
"Wake up Ivy. Wake up," Jakes voice was disturbing her thoughts.
Ivy slowly opened her eyes to find herself tied to her bed and thought, "What's happening?"
Everything was a bit blurry to her so she didn't understand what was going on. She tried speaking but couldn't. A large piece of cloth was stuffed in her mouth. She started to panic.
She heard Jake laugh and she instantly became more alert when she felt the cool barrel of a small gun pressed against her temple. Jake stood to the side, holding his phone, "I need to take a picture of this, so say cheese."