Page 92 of Undeniable

But maybe if Ihadgiven them the details, Hazel wouldn’t have been surprised by Ivy’s reaction to her birthday being brought up. She probably wouldn’t have brought it up at all.

“I thought y’all were playing. Go, go,” Hazel said with a wave of her hand. Reed took the vacant seat next to Hazel and across from Ivy, and the three of them were quickly immersed in a conversation about the volleyball match earlier that night.

We played through a game, Amanda and Luke still beating Josh and me by a few points when Ivy stood from her barstool and rounded the table. I’d been watching her the entire time out of the corner of my eye, and I could tell that she’d never fully recovered from Hazel’s question.

She was wary, although she tried hard to put on a brave face, and still participated in the conversation the best she could.

“Hey, umm…” she began, the hesitation in her tone immediately putting me on edge. “Shelby’s picking me up. She’s having some crisis with her new boyfriend and needs me.”

It was a lie. There was something more behind her eyes that were steadfast on mine. The green was just as piercing as always, but when she attempted to smile, it didn’t meet her eyes.

Having discarded her heels in my truck, replacing them with white sneakers, she quickly pushed to her toes to kiss me, and I kissed her back, only hungrier. I slid my beer onto the table behind her, clasped her face in my hands, and tilted her head to the side. She willingly opened for me when my tongue pressed against her lips, and I could feel her moan vibrate through me.

When we parted, her smile was much more genuine and a part of me settled.

“We can go home, Killer. I’ll go—”

“No, you should stay, please. I’m just going to hang out with Shelby.”

“Ivy, if this is about your birthday and what Hazel said—”

She shook her head. “It’s—I promise, I’m okay.” Her voice was steady, but I began to argue. “We’re okay,” she added, seeing the worry stirring in my gut, likely written all over my face. And I had to trust her to tell me if she wasn’t okay or if we weren’t.

“Is she here already?” I asked and she breathed a sigh of relief, glancing down at her phone.

“Yeah, she’s outside,” she said. I nodded and waited while Ivy said her goodbyes to the rest of the group before I walked her outside. Idling in front of the bar, Shelby waved when I opened the passenger door for Ivy.

“I’ll text you later and see you tomorrow,” Ivy said.

I kissed her one last time. “Yes, you will.”

THIRTY-ONE

Ivy

I hated my birthday.And it wasn’t for any of the normal reasons either. I didn’t like being the center of attention—but I also didn’t mind it—and it was easy to avoid when I was at home living with my twin brother and my father, who also shared the same birthday. And getting older didn’t bother me either.

My reasons for hating my birthday went far beyond that. The falling out between me and James was only part of it. And Shelby was one of the few people who actually knew why, so she knew better than to make a big deal out of it. She’d woken up early to bake me cinnamon rolls and mix a pitcher of mimosas, then lazily watchedGrey’s Anatomyreruns with me until I had to get ready for my shift at Murphy’s.

She’d begged me to stay longer since she apparently knew my schedule now and realized I’d be at the bar nearly an hour early. But I couldn’t stand sitting around any longer. I was anxious and nervous, and I really needed to get out of our apartment. I needed to do something.

So, I took the opportunity to slip out without her noticing while she took a client call in her room.

I’d contemplated asking Josh if I could take the night off, but I really wanted the extra money and the distraction a bar full of noisy patrons would provide.

As I pulled up to Murphy’s, the ever-present guilt I couldn’t escape reared its ugly head once again.

My excuse to leave the bar last night was just that: an excuse. After Hazel mentioned my birthday, I couldn’t get it off my mind. And the closer it got to midnight, the more anxious I was to get out of there.

But James had known. I don’t know why I thought I was a good enough liar to get away with it, but he saw right through me. And yet he still walked me outside and made sure I got in Shelby’s car safely and without much argument.

It broke my heart all over again. And the constant pain in my chest was evidence of that. I didn’t want to lie to him, but there was no way around it.

And although things between us were so good, I didn’t even want to see James that day.

I’d have to come up with a good reason why I couldn’t see him later that night. He’d called me earlier that morning to wish me a happy birthday, but I’d let it go to voice mail. He knew that my birthday was difficult because it was the day I learned he may have bet on my virginity. That was probably why he thought I’d let the call go to voice mail, but it wasn’t the whole reason.

He followed it up with a text and a promise that we’d celebrate after my shift.

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