“I still despise my father for what he did. I had no desire to ever come back here to this town. But seeing as Talia wanted to get married here, I had no choice. And there was only one person that I wanted to see, and that was you.”
“Don’t say it if you don’t mean it, Ty. My heart has taken a beating from you. Regardless if it was your fault or not, I’ve spent a long time trying to mend.”
I nodded. “I have too, Ivy.”
“And you expect me to believe that you haven’t had a girlfriend in five years?” Her tongue dipped out to wet her plump bottom lip and I gripped the table to stop myself from diving over the booth and claiming that sweet mouth. Damn, I’d missed this girl.
“I don’t expect you to believe anything. I’m just answering the questions honestly.”
“What about the rumblings about you being a playboy in the press?” she asked as she sucked down the last of her cocktail and I held up a hand to Mae to ask for two more.
“I’m not a saint, Ive. I’ve slept with my fair share of women over the years, but what I’m going to tell you next is going to surprise you.”
“I can’t wait to hear about all the ladies you’ve screwed, Ty.” She rolled her eyes and glared at me.
Mae set down our drinks and I waited for her to walk away before I leaned over the table and Ivy sucked in a long, slow breath. “I’m going to tell you something I’ve never told anyone.”
“Okay,” she whispered with those big trusting green eyes.
“I’ve never slept with the same woman twice, aside from you.”
She scrunched her face up and then gasped. “Is that supposed to make me feel good? That’s disgusting.”
“I mean, it’s been five years. Obviously I have needs. But no one ever made me want to come back for more—other than you. Do you want to know another secret? It’s not something I’m proud of at all. But since we’re putting it all on the table, I feel like you’re the only person I could admit this to.”
“Were you actually proud of the first secret? Is this one worse than that one?” She shook her head before sucking down half of her drink. “All right. Hit me with it.”
“I’ve never been with a woman that I didn’t close my eyes and see you.”
Her mouth gaped open, and she leaned back against the booth. “That is equal parts sweet and disgusting, Ty Greene. I don’t like the idea of you thinking of me while you’re sexing it up with your hoochies.”
I laughed so hard my stomach hurt before reaching for my drink. “That’s my truth, Ivy Baron. How about you? I know you haven’t had a serious relationship because I kept tabs on you through Jett.”
“I’ll be having a word with him about that later. So, I date a lot. A lot of first dates actually. I like the idea that each time I meet someone, they could actually be the one, you know?”
“How many second dates?” I asked, because I wanted to know. I wanted to know everything about this girl.
She looked off and pursed her lips as she thought about it. “Two.”
“So, we have similar track records in our lack of… repeat business. Do you think of me when you’re with other men, Ive?”
She held her hand up and waved at Mae who was walking our way. “How about two more tequilas?”
“You got it.” She chuckled as she hurried off.
“That bad, huh?” I asked as I scrubbed a hand down the back of my neck because the anticipation was killing me. I wanted to know if she thought of me as much as I thought of her. If she compared every guy she went out with to me the way I did her. If she closed her eyes every time she fantasized and saw my face.
Because Ivy Baron’s face was etched in my mind and heart forever.
“I don’t know if it’s bad, it’s just—” she whispered and then shrugged her shoulders. “It’s who I am, I guess.”
“I love who you are. Always have, always will. So do you think of me when you’re with other men?” I asked again.
She bit down on her bottom lip. I couldn’t believe I was getting drunk in the middle of the day at the Rusty Pelican talking about sex with Ivy Baron. This beat out every fantasy I ever had. I’d thought about this girl every day for five years, so being here and hearing that she missed me—it ignited something in me. Something I hadn’t felt for a long time.
“I’m going to tell you something, Ty. Something that only the girls know. But I’m going to need that shot first.” She raised a brow and then turned her attention to Mae when she set down the shot glasses.
“Can you bring us some more waters too, please?” I asked. Not for myself. I’d been running on empty for years on the road, and alcohol had become part of my life. I didn’t think I abused it, but I definitely had a strong tolerance after all these years. But Ivy was a lightweight, her words were already slurring a bit, and I didn’t want her to get sick. I didn’t want her to regret this conversation, but I knew she needed some liquid courage in order to say what she was going to say.
I had no idea what she was about to tell me, but I was preparing myself for something devastating. Had she gotten pregnant by someone? Had she been hurt by someone else? Maybe one of the two guys she’d gone on a second date with? Maybe she slept around and enjoyed sex with other men and never thought of me once. Hell, I would inquire about her to Jett, and he just told me she was dating around and didn’t have a boyfriend. We never got into the details. I didn’t want to put him in a bad position.
Ivy held up her glass and I did the same. “Here’s to my embarrassing truth.”
She tipped her head back and I did the same. Hell, two shots and two cocktails had me feeling good, but I was far from drunk. I drank this much just before I walked onstage. Ivy looked like she’d hit her limit after drink number two.
“There’s nothing that you could tell me that would make me look differently at you,” I assured her. Because hell, early on I’d slept around. I’d tried everything I could to get her out of my mind. But the thought of her with another man—it made me physically sick to my stomach. But I figured it was inevitable. So I fisted my hands in my lap and raised a brow at her, as I waited for this big confession.
“I, um…” She lifted the gin and tonic and sucked the last bit of liquid out of the glass and it made a slurping sound. She squeezed her eyes shut, as if I couldn’t see her with her eyes closed. “I haven’t slept with anyone since you.”
The air shifted around us. A weight that was sitting on my shoulders that I hadn’t even known was there, shifted. It had been five years. How was that possible?