Page 4 of Reckless Forever
She blushed and stepped past me.
“Follow me,” She threw over her shoulder as she went back up the stairs. She led me to a balcony on the other side of the house. The top of it was closed off, so we could stand outside and not get wet, but there was only one chair, and it had been soaked by the rain.
“So, this is your thing? Watching the rain?” I questioned as I glanced at her. But I didn’t even have to wait for her answer, I could see in her eyes that it was. Her entire face lit up.
“You could say that. I like everything about nature.”
I nodded. Not wanting to say too much and interrupt her mood. I couldn’t see anything through the rain falling, so I don’t know what the hell she was so intrigued by, but I was going to let her have her moment. I stood by and leaned against a dry spot on the wall, not really watching the rain but watching her watch it.
“Where are you from?” She turned to me.
“New York,” I answered.
“How is it there? I’ve only been to the States twice, and that was for funerals.” She said, and for a second, I could see the light she had earlier go out, but she smiled through it.
“It’s cool, there. There’s a lot to do, more development than this place for sure.” I said as she chuckled.
“I bet,” She laughed and turned back toward the rain.
“Were you born here? I guess I’m trying to figure out how you end up in Bolivia, Shorty.”
“Yeah, I was actually born here. At birth, my father was given to a woman who was the wife of a Cartel leader, and they relocated here. My mother was in the armed forces, and she was stationed here when they met; she just never left. Then came little old me.” She said as she framed her face with her hand and smiled.
“So, you speak Spanish too?”
“Exactamente (Exactly), it’s actually my first language. A cool story for another time.” She laughed.
“Where’s your family from the States?” A nigga wasn’t trying to ask too many questions; I just wanted to make sure Shorty wasn’t a hostage here.
“I don’t know them. The only family that I have known all my life is Spanish. Both from my adoptive grandparents and Santos’ family. I don’t know about the Mafia… but for the Cartel family, it's who you’re loyal to. Not where you were born. The best thingyou can do for your family is to distance yourself and keep them safe.” She sighed and took another sip of her tea.
“Damn,” was all I could say. It was the saddest shit I had heard in a while. I know I gave them niggas the hard time they deserved, but having Trouble and Jax made me know the importance of family.
“What about you? How is your family? Do they all act like you? Or are they reserved like your brother?” She asked as she chuckled. Then she stuck her hand outside the covering and let the rain fall on her hands.
We stood on the balcony for two hours, just talking and getting to know each other. By the time we decided to take it inside, I felt like I had known Ivy all my life. She was easy to talk to, and she kept my attention.
She took out her phone and looked at the time. It was well after four a.m.
“We’ve been out here for so long. Let’s go inside. My godfather will be up any moment now, and I don’t want to hear him fuss about us being out here together. But you’ve been good company,” She tapped the now empty cup in the palm of her hands and waited for me to step to the side and let her go out the French doors.
But I didn’t budge, just stared down at her breathing that had become more rapid.
I took her chin and lifted it so that her eyes met mine.
“Give me your number. I can keep you company as long as you want me to,” I said as she looked at me and bit her lip. She didn’t say anything for a while, nor did she try to step away from my touch. Then she gently moved my hand from her face, but held it.
“My godfather would have a fit. But I really did enjoy you. If you want to talk to me, now you know where to find me. You just have to catch me here.”
Then she let my hand go and walked around me and into the house, leaving me on the fucking balcony.
I chuckled and went back into the house. A nigga was trying to be on their best behavior out of respect for Santos, but Ivy walking around looking as fine as she was made it hard. Normally, when I saw something that I wanted, I got it.
Going back into the guest room, I opened the phone that I had been ignoring all night and saw that Alexis had just texted me a couple of minutes before that. She had sent me a video that normally would’ve had me telling her to meet me at the condo, but for now, it just didn’t impress me at all.
I exited out of the thread without even responding and threw the phone on the pillow beside me. I replayed the conversation that me and Ivy had back in my head. It seemed like Shorty had been through so much in just twenty-six years, and from what I could tell, she still had this dope ass energy surrounding her.
I chuckled out loud at the thought of her saying that if I wanted to talk to her again, I would have to meet her on the balcony. Shorty didn’t know that I could track every IP address on the Wi-Fi and get every number attached to it and tell her goodnight if I wanted.
