Chapter 7

“Hey mom,” she greets waltzing into the lounge where her mom is sat watching TV.
“Don’t tell me you wore that on your date, Muffin-top!” gasps her mom, gazing up and down at her daughter’s plain outfit.
“Date? Mom, I told you I was just out with some friends...” shrugs Ivy.
“Don’t you lie to me, young lady. Jo-Ann just rang me with some very juicy gossip about you. So am I going to hear the truth now or more lies?”

Ivy groans at her mom’s words. That pesky waitress! But then, how did Jo-Ann know?

“Wait, how did Jo-Ann know about the date?”
Dawn grins widely at her which just causes a spike of anxiety in Ivy.
“Mom...how did Jo-Ann know?” she repeats slower.
“Apparently you two weren’t exactly discrete about this date ending well,” hints her mother causing Ivy to groan deeper as she flops onto the couch beside her smug mother.
“Mom, he kissed me...And it was an, okay date, I guess,” shrugs Ivy reluctantly. Although she’s close to her mother and tells her practically everything. Somehow with Eli, she doesn’t want to share. Because her mother knows her better than anyone and she’ll tell Ivy what Ivy knows deep down in her. Dawn will extract that buried piece of emotion and admit it out loud to her.

“Details, Muffin-top! I want details. Come on, right from the start. Where did you two go?” excitedly questions Dawn. It’s so nice to hear about her daughter dating again and although there’s a twinge of sadness that Ivy herself didn’t tell Dawn, Dawn can forgive her for that. But besides that, hearing Ivy starting to date, to live her life, makes Dawn feel....happy. Like their mother-daughter relationship isn’t just consumed by the grief and worry of her illness. And that ray of normality in itself makes Dawn feel young, healthier, stronger.

“Mom...” whines Ivy.
“Come on Ivy. We share everything, don’t we? Don’t you want me to know about this boy? You know, I would never tell you not to follow your heart. So can you tell me about him or not?”
That’s the problem, thinks Ivy. Her mother always tells her to follow her heart and right now, the last thing she wants to do is follow that naive little solider. It doesn’t know the things that her brain does.

“Mom, why do you always have to guilt trip me like that?...Fine, I’ll tell you but no squealing or anything. Okay?”
Dawn nods in agreement a broad grin on her lips.
“His name’s Eli. We went out to the amusement park and-Mom!-”
“What? I’m not squealing!” protests Dawn. Ivy gives her mother a small flat look causing the crazy, lunatic smile to cease a little but not completely wipe off.
“Whatever. Anyway, there’s not much else to tell you. We were about to part ways at the diner and he...he stole a kiss from me. I mean, I guess I didn’t mind it. He is a good kisser,” Ivy admits bashfully.

Dawn has to force herself not to squeal in delight. Finally, someone Ivy actually likes!
“Oh? So what does your dashing Prince look like?”
“Mom! He is not ‘my dashing Prince’!” yelps Ivy with her cheeks blushing bright red.
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks!” cries Dawn pointing a teasing finger at her daughter.
“Mom, you know that’s not the actual meaning of that quote right? Anyway, in the way you mean it, I am not protesting. It was just one date and one kiss...”
“Baby...you know you can’t lie to your mother, right? It’s in our genes, we can tell when our daughter’s aren’t being honest-”
“I’m not lying to you-”

“No, you’re lying to yourself. And that is so much worse. Ivy...darling, give it a shot. Don’t keep denying what you’re feeling, what you want. I mean what you really want, not what you force yourself to desire. Don’t live your life not experiencing anything, giving nobody a chance. People can surprise you, you know.”

There’s a moment of silence between them as Ivy digests her mother’s words. Her heart stuttering as she finds herself considering exposing her heart to Eli. But the idea’s so absurd; she has to dismiss it immediately.
“Mom...I would but Eli’s....he’s a bit of a player,” explains Ivy.
“Player? Oh? What does he like to play?”
This has Ivy bursting out into laughter. Perhaps using terms like ‘player’ wasn’t the best idea with her mom.

“Women, mom. He’s a...playboy. You know, has a different woman on his arm every night. Cheesy chat-up lines rolling off his tongue, and mind set on one thing alone-”
“Thanks, baby, I’ve got the picture. But you don’t know what he’s really thinking. Trust me, every man eventually meets his match. Maybe he’s your ‘one’.”

Ivy chuckles at that. How could Eli Carter possibly be her ‘One’?! It’s preposterous to even think that such a loose, carefree man could be destined to be with someone as serious and down to earth as her. In fact, Ivy has always had a notion that her future husband would be someone who works in IT with a 9-5 job and who’s only had one or two past relationships with steady girlfriends.
“I don’t think so Mom.”

“I wouldn’t say that if I were you sweetie. You know, you’re Dad was quite the...what was the word you said, player? Yeah, he was a real stud but I gave him a good run for his money. Took him 8 long months before I agreed to go on a date with him. He took me to the ice-cream parlour-and when he drove me back home an hour late, my daddy was running down the street yelling at him. Never saw a boy run faster in my life, I tell you. But surprisingly he wasn’t scared off. And he snuck me out for another date. Eventually daddy found out but he wasn’t too mad, and a year after that Danny got the diner and asked me to marry him...And then we had you and all our problems began!” teases Dawn with a laugh.

“But mom! I’m sure dad wasn’t as...annoying as Eli,” grumbles Ivy.
“If you say so. Now tell me, what does he look like?”
“Think all American boy. Blonde wayish hair, blue eyes, tall, built...and he comes with a huge ego,” describes Ivy unable to resist adding the last bit. She’d also purposefully missed out the description of his delectable, firm lips and talented tongue.
“He sounds great. If only I were 20 years younger.”
“Oh mom!” gasps Ivy laughing along with her mother.

“You’re late,” sharply comments Ivy her hands crossed over her chest, unimpressed by his tardiness. Eli hooks his shades over his t-shirt and just grins mischievously.
“Sorry, Tinks. Let me make it up to you,” he smirks suggestively. Ivy’s about to retort when she realises they’re in a diner filled with patrons that she can’t be cursing in front of.
“Come on,” she mutters to him spinning around and leading him to the back rooms. Mentally Eli high-five’s himself. Sure, back room sex isn’t the most romantic or the easiest to have, and he’d know, but if his mate really can’t wait then who is he to deny her that awesome pleasure.

As they go through to the back of the diner and into the locker area, Eli’s quick to spin his mate around and pin her against the door.
“What are you doing?!” she gasps frightened by the smirking man gazing down at her. Frightened only because she knows the chaos in her, his lips can cause.
“Apologising,” he grins leaning in. Deep blue eyes trap her in his gaze, ceasing her body movements and thoughts. Ivy gulps, her throat suddenly so dry. The action causes a moment of clarity in her and as Eli’s delectable lips start to descend upon hers, her body decides to duck under his arms and step back from him.

“I love chases,” breathes Eli, eyes gleaming with lust and excitement.
“No. Wait, um,” stutters Ivy, through her words as she sees him nearing towards her. So quickly twisting to the nearest bench, she grabs the spare uniform and shoves it to his chest before he can take her in his arms and cause her to lose her inhibitions.
“You need to put this on,” she murmurs trying to look past his handsome face to the door behind, in order to maintain some self control.
Eli glances down at the uniform and screws up his face. He never has liked uniforms. But at least the diner’s one isn’t too bad; just a plain crimson polo t-shirt with white stitching of the diner on it and black slacks.

“You’re kidding right? I can’t wear a uniform!”
“Oh and why not?” asks Ivy feeling her spunk come back with his defiance.
“Because...because I don’t like uniforms. It hides all this sexiness,” smirks Eli unable to come up with a valid excuse. He’s not going to spout some crap about individuality and it blocking his because that’s really not it. It’s more that he hates people telling him what to do. Hates wearing what they tell him to. In fact, the only real people he listen to is his parents and he considers his brothers words but even in school Eli used to hate what teachers would say and generally defied them. And normally he would be serving detention for days had it not been for his cheeky smile and way with words, charming the poor sods right into letting him off.

“Just get it on,” sighs Ivy stepping back. Eli groans before dropping the clothes with a slight throw onto the bench. Ivy goes to protest at such a dismissal but the words are lodged in her throat as the man before her rips off his t-shirt. Her jaw drops in an almost comical expression but there’s nothing funny about the site before her. Ivy knows that the man is built, that much was clear from pressing so generously against his body yesterday, but she’d...she’d thought him to be one of those Ken dolls; spray tanned golden, waxed hairless and deep cut muscles but actually...He wasn’t like that at all. His skin is slightly tanned, naturally though; with hard muscles evident but not photo-shopped prominent; and a perfectly sinful trail of dark blonde hair trails from his stomach down, down, down, disappearing into his pants. Ivy bites her lip as her eyes trail down to the belt of his trousers and his crotch. It’s only with two large hands come to his belt that she realises what she’s doing and immediately green eyes snap onto his amused, yet sensual eyes.

“If you keep looking at me like that Tinks, I won’t be held responsible for my carnal actions,” he murmurs feeling the pride in his chest inflate even more from her gawking. It’s not like he hasn’t had that kind of attention before but having it from your mate makes a lot of difference.
Ivy blushes beet red, her thoughts scattering everywhere along with her gaze. It’s darts around trying to find a safe spot to focus on but always flickering back to the bare-torso man before her.

“Just-just...get changed, okay? I’ll wait outside,” she mutters about to inch past him but with a teasing smile on his face, Eli side-steps to block her path. As their chests bump, Ivy jumps back a little in shock. Her hands going to his chest pushing him against him, however as the sensation of hard muscles and soft skin spark through her fingertips, she pulls them back immediately, clenching her fingers into her palm to stop any more unneeded contact.

As she side-steps him again, he intervenes yet again. One muscular arm wraps around her waist and Ivy gasps as he reels her into him.
Hot breathes breeze past her ear causing her breathing to staccato. 
“Eli stop it, this isn’t funny,” she quietly scolds him.
“Why are you fighting this baby? You know sooner or later, you’ll be mine,” he murmurs releasing her from his hold. But his words have far from released their hold on her.
“Now are you staying for the rest of the show?” Eli chirps reverting back to his cheeky self. Ivy blinks at the change and the blush returns as she realises he’s unbuckled his belt.
Rushing out of the room, she breathes a sigh of relief only to have Frank look at quizzically from the kitchen oval window. She waits for a few minutes for Eli to change, taking that time to recompose herself.

A/n Just to clarify, some people are getting confused by the Brothers. Eli and Mason ARE twins, but not identical ones. Adrian is the oldest and Dane the youngest. Okay, great. Next week, I'll be even more busy so I don't know when I'll be able to upload.