Chapter 113 Stop Squirming

Chapter 113 Stop Squirming
Chapter 113: Stop Squirming 
Ivy

“Hey, Alvin. So… something crazy happened on my first day at Mr. Teague’s house, where I was hired to tutor his son, Callum. Turns out I went to have a word with him and walked in on him jerking off to thoughts of me—because we’re exes, by the way. Did I fail to mention that? And then the crazier thing happened and I ended up having sex with him. And that’s also kind of the reason I’ve been walking funny. I can still feel him. Isn’t that crazy?”

I blew my bangs off my forehead with a frustrated puff. There was no way to do this. No version that didn’t make me sound like an idiot, or a monster, or both.

I’d been trying all day. In the shower. In the kitchen. In front of the mirror with a toothbrush still in my mouth. Every draft died the second I imagined his face.

I didn’t want to lie to Alvin. I didn’t want to make him the fool. That was why I wanted to tell him tonight, when he came over for our little date. 

Better from my mouth than from the way I would flinch and run away if he tried to touch me tonight. Better to tell him than letting him find the truth from my body language.

I sighed again and scratched at the bun on top of my head. Why did the guilt feel heavier now? Because he was actually coming? Because the clock had turned Saturday into something real?

My eyes moved from the bowl of popcorn in one hand to the time on my phone in the other.

Any minute now he would knock on my door. The closer it got, the harder my heart beat.

Maybe I should just play dumb. Maybe not telling him would be kinder. It was between me and Leo. Leo wouldn’t tell a soul. Who else would know?

No one.

The knock on the door startled me so badly I nearly dropped the bowl.

I sprang up, dusted imaginary lint off my baggy jeans, and almost ran for it. I didn’t ask who it was because I believed I already knew.

I opened the door. I was wrong. It wasn’t Alvin.

It was Leo. And he was smiling.

I froze for a full breath. Maybe two. “You.” My voice came out thin. “What are you doing here, Mr. Teague?”

He sidestepped me like he paid rent here and walked in, hands in his pockets, looking around my living room as if he were assessing a property.

“Your boyfriend’s not here yet?”

I shut the door too hard and rushed after him. “Why are you here? It’s the weekend. We have no business on weekends. Please leave.”

He did the opposite.

He strolled to my sofa, sat down, and made himself comfortable like the furniture had been waiting for him. He picked up the popcorn I’d been eating and started in on it, then stretched his long legs across my coffee table.

“That’s mine,” I said, heat climbing my neck. “And take your legs down.”

He looked at me, smiling lazily. “That’s quite harsh. Is that how you treat guests, Miss Lennon?”

“You’re not a guest.” The words tumbled. “This is Saturday night. Our agreement was weekdays. My weekends are mine. I don’t like you encroaching on my time—” The rest turned into a scream.

He reached up, caught my arm, and tugged.

I landed in his lap with a force that sent popcorn scattering across the cushions. “Leo! What is wrong with you? Let me go!”

I tried to wriggle off. His arm locked around my waist. His nose buried itself in the side of my neck from behind, and the sound he made against my skin was almost a laugh.

“Stop squirming. You’re gonna start something up. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I stilled so fast it was embarrassing. I felt it. Thick. Growing under me through the denim. My whole face flashed hot.

“Can’t you control yourself? I’m your son’s teacher.”

“You’re my ex-girlfriend,” he corrected, laughing softly into my neck. “Before you became my kid’s tutor, you were mine. I know you deeply.”

“All the more reason we shouldn’t be in this position.” I pulled at his arm. “Control yourself, Mr. Teague. This is inappropriate.”

“How can I control myself around you, Miss Ivy?” He chuckled, and the vibration went through me. “We’ve already blurred the lines. Forgotten so soon?”

I hated that my body answered him. Remembered him. I clenched my thighs without meaning to. My mouth stayed stubborn anyway.

“This is toxic and wrong. Let me go. Please. I don’t want this.”

He let go immediately.

I landed on the cushion beside him and scooted so far back my spine hit the armrest. The space between us felt necessary and even insufficient at the same time.

“Why are you here?” I asked. “Alvin is going to arrive soon. I don’t want him to meet you here. Please go.”

“I told you you wouldn’t be having any date.” His voice had lost the tease. “I told you you wouldn’t be seeing him. Did you think I was bluffing?”

I stared at him, anger raising its flaming hot head. 

“What is it you actually want from me?” The question had been sitting in my chest since Wednesday. “Why are you doing this to me? Why do you keep playing with me like this? Why do you treat me like an object you can pick up and toss aside when you feel like it? When did you become so mean, Leo?”

He looked like I’d caught him with a punch he hadn’t seen coming. “Ivy, what are you—”

“Don’t.” I cut him off. “Let me finish, Leo.” I threw his own words from five years ago back at him. 

He looked genuinely shocked. Almost like I’d punched him out of nowhere. 

“Why do you hate me so much?” My voice shook and I let it. “Why are you hell-bent on ruining my life and making me miserable? What did I ever do to you that was so bad you swore to ruin my life? Is this still some sick plot to get revenge because I kissed Andy five years ago? If it is, then I can say I’ve paid enough. What else do you want from me?”

“Ivy, I am not trying to—”

“What? You’re not trying to punish me?” I laughed, and it sounded ugly. “Then why do you treat me like this? Like a cheap whore? You slept with me, Leo. You started it. If anyone crossed the line, it was you. So how dare you have sex with me and still try to put that stupid wall back up, Mr. Teague?”

For the first time since I’d known him, Leo looked completely speechless.

Lucky for him, I wasn’t done.

“You made me cheat on Alvin. You turned me into the thing you accused me of being.” A treacherous tear slipped out and I swiped it away. “If you knew you hated me and just wanted to make my life miserable for your entertainment, why sleep with me?! Do you think I go around sleeping with random guys I meet? Is that what you think of me?”

“No.” He said it fast. “I never said that.”

“If you don’t want me, let me go to someone who wants me.” My hands were fists in my own jeans. “I have a boyfriend now. I have a normal life. I will not let you destroy it just because you’re in the mood to be mischievous. My life isn’t a joke to you, Mr Teague.”

He looked offended. Good. I wanted him to feel offended. I wanted him to feel even a fraction of the mess he’d walked into my apartment with. 

“I made the mistake of believing in you once,” I said. “I made the mistake of having faith in your sweet words. Of thinking you meant it when you said you’d take responsibility for whatever that would happen. That you would never leave me no matter what. Those were your words.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

I scoffed. “I found out the hard way that all you do is run when things get real. You’re all talk, Leo.”

“What are you talking about?” 

“You don’t get to sit in my house and act like you don't know what you did,” I said. “You came here to ruin my night. Fine. You did. But the last thing I'll tolerate from you is your fake ignorance.”