Until The Lies Were Ours

“Keep breathing… hey, stay with me”, Ivorie heard these words muffled, like it was coming from outside of the dark tunnel she felt trapped in even though she knew fully well Nova was sitting right next to her. “Breathe in. Breathe out. Come on Ivorie, follow my voice”, Nova said as she tried securing the paper bag around Ivorie’s lips. The panic attacks were starting to release their tight grip on Ivorie. This episode was the first she’s had in a few days. “Just try Ivorie, keep going. Breathe in.. breathe in. Good. Now breathe out. That’s my girl”, Nova sighed in relief. “I’m tired Nova, I really am…”, Ivorie let out a sob the moment she got stabilized. “How could I have missed my insurance, Nova? It was only two days — two days! I should’ve known while setting up shop in such an old building that wiring could have been faulty. Another fire, Nova. How do I move on from another fire. I, I — why?”, Ivorie’s voice had become a confusing mix of words and hiccups. “Hey, hey, hey! What did I tell you about sob stories?”, Nova asked in a stern voice. “Baby, I was there. I know what happened. You had a lot on your plate, thanks to that corporate wash down, Verdana Luxe. Oh, I’m going to set them on fire for stealing your customers with their fancy offers and making you work so damn hard to meet up this past year. “I told you I could set them on fire Rie. I swear, I won’t even do it myself, I know a guy”, Nova urged in her most persuasive voice. “Nova…”, Ivorie had a weak smile. She was getting calmer now. “You know how I feel about that. I’m just sad that my three years of hard work is now down the drain”, Ivorie was close to sobbing again. “Rie, I promise, if you’ll just let me TP their building you feel a lot better. I promise we’ll be in and out in two minu— ”, “Nova…”, Ivorie could laugh a little now. “How’s that supposed to help here. You’re such a child. TP? Are you for real?”, Ivorie teased. Nova shrugged like she had just said the most obvious fact. “Oh, but I promised myself I won’t go back to waitressing”, Ivorie said “Remember that one man that s*****d your ass literally in the morning in front of all the customers?”, Nova giggled, trying to lighten the mood. “I had forgotten about that…”, Ivorie blurted out as she started to cry again. “Oh my God! Please stop. I’m sorry, I’m sorry”, Nova pleaded with a small smile on her face. “You know what? Screw this, we’re going out. It’s been almost two months, Rie. I’m not down for this pity party anymore. We’re going out for wine and that’s final. Get up. Get up before I drag your ass”, Nova said while already dragging Ivorie from the couch she was sitting on. “Hey, hey stop…”, Ivorie let out. “Like hell I am! We’re going out. You. Me. Sexy dresses. Wine in our hands. Dancing all night long. You don’t have a choice anymore. It’s so sad in here, it’s so sad I can’t breathe. You know Nova doesn’t do sad. I’ve let you grieve. Tonight, we do it the Nova way”. By now, they had already gotten to Nova’s closet. Different dresses came flying off hangers and landing on Ivorie’s face. “Hey, get up! Try those. Do you want me to come force the dress on you?”, Nova said in a threatening tone. That did the trick. Ivorie was reluctantly putting on dress after dress. None of them seemed to move Nova, not even a little. “Girl, you have to wow me. I need to look at you and instantly fall in love. Put those curves to use for God’s sake! The things I’d have done if I had your body…”, Nova trailed off into her la la land. All of a sudden Nova gasped. Ivorie jumped. “What? What happened?" said a concerned Ivorie. “Put this on! Put it on this instant!”, Nova said. She had found the perfect dress. Heads would turn, or better yet, they would roll cause it was about to be a bloody night. The red dress was pure taboo. It was the color of sin. “Uh.. This.. This is —“ “Spectacular? Stunning? Hot?! This is it, Rie. Tonight’s our night — it’s your night. Oh! Let’s get all dressed up. I’m so excited!”, Nova squealed. She’s been trying to get Ivorie off that couch and now she had succeeded. Ivorie couldn’t lie to herself. Now that her hair and makeup were done and she stared at herself in the full-length mirror, she felt like a different person. She felt like a woman. A very excited Nova was fully dressed too. Together, they stepped into the night. And eventually, into Ecstasy, a buzzing upscale rooftop lounge. “I can feel eyes on me…”, a self-conscious Ivorie begins to whisper. “Oh chill, it’s my eyes”, Nova joked. “I’m serious. You know how shy I get”, Ivorie silently fought the urge to fold her arms around herself. “O-kay! That’s my cue to get you some wine”, Nova said as she nudged her to the bar. Ivorie’s red dress followed her body’s curves like it had been poured on her—molten, fluid, and unapologetically erotic. One shoulder was all skin kissed by the warm hues of the lounge lights, while the other was lightly covered in the asymmetrical strap that held the outfit in place teasing her delicate collarbone. The smooth plane of her stomach was exposed through a sharp, elegant cutout across her midsection as if inviting tongues to worship. The fabric flowed down her hips as she moved, with its dangerously high slit revealing one long, slender leg with every timid step she took towards the bar. Her heels were the color of ripe cherries, peeking from beneath the hem of her long dress like forbidden fruit, and her fingers held on to her little clutch bag tightly like that was where she hid her secrets. If only it could contain them. Her brown hair, waist-long and silken, cascaded down her back like a mermaid’s, and her eyes shimmered like a star—hinting coyness, curiosity, maybe some naughtiness too. She was a phoenix being reborn from the flames. She hadn’t meant to make a scene. But tonight, wrapped in spice and sin, Ivorie didn’t just enter the night—she owned it. “Sir? Mr. Thorne?..” At the other end of the room, Nikolai was transfixed by the show Ivorie had just put up. Of all the fundraising fashion shows he had hosted with top supermodels, never had he seen a show like that. How could someone be so sensual and so timid at the same time? He couldn’t care less about the meeting he was having anyway. “Yes? What’s the conclusion?”, his irritated tone being very apparent. “Well these are the files of the top 5 candidates that are perfect for our little arrangement. The NDA is already prepared. Can we proceed with sending out the legal team to meet up with them and get down to business?” His PR manager asked. “You know what? Hold off with that and let’s pick this up Monday morning. You must have something else to do on a Friday evening. If you don’t, that’s just sad. For me, I’m exhausted. If you’ll excuse me”, he stood up and walked away without waiting for as much as a response. He would pick the candidate to be his pretend-wife after this weekend. But for now, his shark senses were tingling. They had never let him down in business or life. He had smelled fresh blood and he won’t leave till he hunts his prey.