Page 1 of Irresistible Little Ivy

CHAPTER 1

Ivy

With my breath in my throat, I stared at my empty suitcase atop my king-sized bed, then let out a long and loud burp.

Rubbing my stomach, I winced.

Darn anxiety-induced reflux.

My best friend Talia, a famous kink podcast host, laughed so hard she had to flop down on my bed next to the open suitcase.

Her dark spiral curls spread out on the chenille blanket that covered my bed as she smiled up at me. “Please don’t forget your medicine. I love you, but those burps of yours are astonishing. You’re like 120 pounds soaking wet, hearing something that aggressive come from a wide-eyed, sweet-as-pie strawberry-blonde woman is unforgettable. You don’t want that as a first impression.”

I sighed, turned, and tugged at the drawstring of my pale-gray yoga pants, staring at my open wardrobe across the room. If someone randomly walked in and glanced around the large and crowded space, they might have thought two people shared my closet. A corporate woman who could afford luxurious, yet conservative suits and dresses, along with a teenager with a black card and a taste for all things sparkly.

They would be wrong. This was my closet and it represented me perfectly. First there was my responsible and driven corporate self who’d sacrificed everything for success. The stand-up young woman who’d raised her three younger sisters from the age of twelve on while her single mom had worked sixty hours a week. I’d missed out on a lot of things because I’d had to stay home and take care of my siblings. Eventually my mom got enough raises that she didn’t have to work insane hours to house and feed us, but by that time I had already graduated and was in my sophomore year of college.

Full scholarship.

With honors.

“Speaking of first impressions”—I gestured to my closet–“what do I wear?”

“What do you want to wear?” Talia asked as she pet my grumpy old calico cat, Cleo. “More importantly, what do you feel good in?”

“This,” I said gesturing down to my tank top and yoga pants outfit before pointing to my rack of suits. “Or those. When I put one of my suits on I feel powerful. Like it’s armor.”

“Understandable,” Talia said while she continued to pet my cat, who was now making biscuits in my pillow with her paws. “So let’s think of it like this. The point of your vacation is to attend Spirit Week at the Rawhide Ranch. The dress code is for Middles only, the Littles will have their own things going on, so the atmosphere will be different than our local Little-oriented clubs. Think like… you know, high school.”

I crossed my arms over my small chest and frowned at her. “You mean the place where I had to focus only on my work so I could get a scholarship and get out? The place where I didn’t allow myself to have friends, or a boyfriend? I was a virgin until I was twenty-two.”

Talia sat up, and Cleo let out a rumbly mew of complaint when the petting suddenly stopped. “Well, that was seven years ago, babes. Considering we met at a BDSM club, I’m pretty sure you’ve more than made up for your late start. There isn’t anywhere on your entire body that is pure and untouched now.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. “True.” I took a couple steps forward and ran my hand down the sleek side of a glittery purple dress. “But I feel like I missed out on so much fun stuff as a teenager, and I regret that I didn’t allow myself at least a little bit of a social life. Yes, my sacrifice has paid off in ways I can’t even begin to be thankful for. I’m one of the top app designers in the world, I’m pretty much my own boss and set for life, but I can’t get back my high school years. This week will be the closest I’ll be able to get a second chance at all the fun stuff I missed out on. I’ll get to do a sleepover, go to a homecoming game, participate in fun Spirit-Week activities as well as taking some classes. Oh, did I mention that one of those is an erogenous zone class with Dr. Joi and Dr. Ramsfield?”

Laughing, Talia pushed herself off my bed and joined me at my closet, her hands on her hips as she scanned the contents. “Yeah, you mentioned it about twenty times. I don’t mind, though. It’s cute to see you so excited. Unless we’re at the club, you’re usually so serious. It’s nice to see you all sparkly eyed like this.”

“If my eyes sparkle it’s just because my closet looks like a glitter bomb exploded inside.” I couldn’t help but smile as I ran my hands over my new outfits. “It was so much fun shopping for these clothes. I told the sales ladies that I was shopping for my niece, and we were the same size so I would try on the clothes I’d be buying her. And that my niece had a thing for 80s fashion. Then I showed them my black card and suddenly I had my own little harem of help all too eager to give my supposed niece a fabulous wardrobe.”

“Ohhh, love the new lingerie,” Talia said as she slid a hanger aside, revealing a sexy and strappy black teddy with dark-red roses embroidered along the bodice.

“My confidence boosters,” I said as I took it out of the closet and carefully placed the lingerie in my suitcase. “You know me. Beneath my suits I like to have something sassy on. Makes me feel powerful and a little naughty to know that if most people saw what I wore under my corporate image, they’d faint.”

“That’s because you can be a cold-ass ballbuster at work,” Talia said as she handed me more hangers with various cute skirts and pretty shirts for me to pack. “I should know. I didn’t last a week as your assistant.”

“You called me an uptight bitch,” I said in a dry tone as I folded a pair of decidedly 80s-looking hot-pink fishnet stockings and leg warmers.

Talia pulled out a pair of neon-orange lined in lime-green booty shorts. “Girl, what is up with all these bright colors?”

“The theme is the 1980s, I’m trying to dress the part.”

“Okay then,” she said in a doubtful tone as she handed me three bikinis in various neon shades. “Is there going to be a pool party?”

“Yep. They have a huge indoor pool and one of the nights they’re going to play 80s movies on a big screen on the edge of the pool. They’re going to have all kinds of floaties and rafts, so people can relax and watch the movie. And there’s going to be games, and a huge barbecue spread. Of course it will all be indoors because early spring in Montana is no joke, but it will still be fun.”

Talia grinned, then bit her full lower lip before returning her dark gaze to mine. “Please know that what I’m about to say is coming from my heart, okay?”

I paused in my packing, my pulse suddenly picking up as worry started to knot my stomach. “What is it?”

---