Undoing Ivy

Wednesday Morning, October 14th, 8am

Ivy slept restlessly despite the comfortable room. When she closed her eyes, everything about the situation came flooding into her head. She was in Austin Brooks' house. In high school she'd had to watch him walk through the halls with his friends and fantasize about him looking at her.

She put on a sweatshirt and wool leggings and walked downstairs on her bare feet. Austin was in the kitchen making breakfast.

There was coffee, and food was almost ready. He passed her a cup. She took a sip and sat down at the peninsula, watching him work.

"Sleep okay?" he asked.

"Yes, mostly," she replied.

He smirked and brought her a plate. " I couldn't sleep. Something was keeping me up," he said with a smile. She shifted in her chair.

"What's on your agenda today?" he asked. "Back to Richard's, I assume?"

"Yes," she said, taking a bite of her eggs. "Cleaning out the books mostly." She paused. "Do you know anyone who can haul away things?"

"I do. Want me to call them for you?" he said.

"Yes, that would be helpful, thank you," she said.

He walked into the other room, made a call, and came back. "Sam will be there at 9:30." He looked at his watch. "I'll drive you over," he said matter-of-factly.

"You really don't have to," she said. "I'm sure you have things to do."

"I don't. I'm coming with you. We can leave in thirty."

He didn't even give her a chance to argue, and she didn't mind too much. She finished her breakfast and went to grab her sneakers. They headed out the door.

As they drove up, the home's form revealed itself. The large mid-century marvel of architecture was situated against a hill, with a giant lawn and multiple gardens. It was really a beautiful home, and if things were different she'd feel fortunate to be able to own it.

They pulled up to the front, and he got out and opened her door. As they walked in, the home's architecture revealed itself. All the furniture had been built for the space; it felt like a museum.

"I always wondered what it looked like in here," Austin said, wandering through the living room.

"I need to go through the books," she said. "You don't have to stay. Thanks for the ride here."

"I have nothing to do today," he said, heading toward the bookshelf.

She wasn't expecting company, but she wasn't going to reject the idea of it.

"Okay." She breathed out. "Books are mainly to donate, but if they're in bad shape you can trash them." The bookshelf was extensive, filled with art and design books.

They started moving through the shelves, him stopping to look through a few of them.

"If you want any of them, please take them," she said. "I'm not keeping anything."

"Really? Why?" he asked. At the perfect moment a car pulled up outside. She stood and walked outside to greet the driver. Austin was on her heels.

"Hey, Sam," he greeted him and walked up next to Ivy. "Ivy, where are the things you need hauled?" He was taking charge. Ivy wasn't used to this.

"The garage. Everything in it." She recognized Sam immediately, a football player a year below them. He looked at her carefully, didn't acknowledge he knew her, but studied her face.

Fuck, she didn't need to run into another person from high school. She shifted uncomfortably; her intention was to interact with as few of them as possible.

"I'll take him over there," Austin said, and got into Sam's truck and drove around the corner to the garage.

Ivy went back inside, and a few minutes later Austin came back in.

"Did he recognize me?" she asked nervously. Jesus, Ivy, she thought to herself, get it together, be cool.

Austin kept pulling books off the shelf. "No, but I told him who you were," he said casually. "He said he'd never seen you before but thought you were very hot." he smile. Ivy blushed but looked away. "s**t, Austin, I'm trying to lay low," she said. "Why?" he asked genuinely. "It's not like you have anything to be embarrassed about."

She didn't know why she wanted to remain invisible; it just seemed safer.

"Anyway, he works at the bar and asked if you'd be around, but I told him you wouldn't be interested," he said with a shrug.

He walked over and took a box from her arms; as he did, his hands touched hers. An electric pulse went through her body. He paused, feeling her change in energy. She turned away and kept working.

At three, the majority of the work with the books was finished.

"Let me pick up groceries," she said. "Something to contribute for your help today and your hospitality."

"No way, but we can stop. You are not paying though."

"Really, I want to do something. I can afford it, and it would make me feel better," she said.

"Let's think of another way you can repay me," he said.

They ran into the store and picked up a few things. "I'm making dinner tonight. Jess has the bar covered," he said, grabbing ingredients for pasta pomodoro. As they left, she saw the liquor store next door. "Hold on," she said, and ran in. By the time he met her, she was paying for a bottle of wine. "This one is actually great," she said, surprised they had it.

"I'm not going to let you do that again," he said sternly. She was surprised by his tone. They headed back to his house, she looked out the window, still shocked she had found herself here.