Page 15 of Sweet Dreams
I got smiles all around so I took that as ayes.
"Another thing I like...always finding the silver lining..." Ivan muttered to himself as he went to grab his bag and get his work clothes out. Bailey and I shared a smile before going our separate ways to get dressed in our workclothes.
Time to turn this dayaround.
Seeingmy jacked car was in my top ten 'not good moments', right behind my shop being vandalized. Whoever did it absolutely trashed it. It wasn't my dream car, but it was mine. And I'd had the windows tinted two years ago, you know, that ones that were nowsmashed.
Thankfully, the police finished with their pictures and fingerprinting so I was allowed to get in the car and get my personal items. I had a mix CD in my stereo my mom had burned for me while I was away at college and even though the music was way old, it was from my mom. It was precious. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I got my hands on it. Oh, and Bailey had left her latest choker in the center console so I got that out for hertoo.
I talked to Detective Ramirez, scratch that, I talked to Jack. He was just as good looking today, and I noticed Ivan got a little standoffish when we were talking. He wasn't rude, but he wasn't his usual happy, warm self either. Note to self: talk to Ivan about this jealousy thing again. I didn't like it onebit.
Then I called my insurance company and gave them all the police report information they needed to file a claim. They said they'd handle sending out a tow truck and getting an estimate on repair costs. I'm sure that bill would be a fun number. Mama needed to sell some more hotchocolate.
After all that, I said goodbye to Ivan with another sweet kiss, made steamier by Ivan, probably because he knew Jack could see us. I finally made my way to my shop, where Jaz was holding down the fort. Jaz had to get us lunch to go and bring it back for me since I wasn't supposed to leave the shop. I made it through the rest of the day without incident, which I considered quite good given my recentrecord.
Twice, a lifeguard came in to buy a hot chocolate. Which was odd because I'd never seen a lifeguard in my shop before. Did Ivan spread the word about my shop? Or about me? Or maybe he sent them to keep an eye on me? He did say he'd already contacted his lifeguard buddies, but I didn't know what all that entailed. I'd add these questions to the list of things I'd have to ask Ivan tonight. Along with finally having the discussion on his hot/coldroutine.
Ivan came right at five to pick me up and take me home. I first had him haul a five-gallon jug of my S'mores hot chocolate, along with a case of marshmallows and graham crackers for dipping, to the Lifeguard Headquarters so they'd have a warm treat when they had their meeting tonight. Ivan said that was completely unnecessary, but the way I saw it, if his lifeguard buddies were sweet enough to look out for me while I was dealing with my little situation, then I could pony up some sweet treats for them in return. Ivan shook his head and shrugged his shoulders but hauled it over for me just thesame.
Besides, I knew my hot chocolate. Once they got a taste, they'd be back in my shop for more. I may be in a stalker/vandalism situation but I was still a businesswoman. I had a job to do and new car windows to payfor.
After that, we went home, and dug into the Chinese food Bailey had picked up from Sully's, a neighborhood favorite of ours. We all sat around the dining table talking about how Bailey and I met, some ridiculous moments from our college days, and then our favorite places here in HB. Ivan and Bailey seemed to get along just fine, which was a huge relief. Conversation was easy, there was lots of laughter, and we were surprised we hadn't run into Ivan before the other day at the beach, given we frequented a lot of the sameplaces.
When Ivan went in the kitchen to grab more wine, Bailey looked at me and gave me an excited two thumbs up. Silently I raised my eyebrows back, making sure she really meant it. She smiled and nodded her head firmly. I'm sure we'd discuss everything in detail later, but just knowing her judgement of Ivan's character was positive, made me feel so much better about moving forward with him and seeing how things went. I was starting to trust myself more, but my bestie's opinion was stillhelpful.
Ivan eventually had to leave to go to his meeting. Before he left, he dragged me into the front room to 'say goodbye' which as it turned out was code for 'kiss me up against the wall and feel me up without an audience'. Once he went out the door and I'd put my shirt back in place, I found Bailey in the livingroom.
We finished up the wine, put a good movie on, and proceeded to paint each other's toenails a bright pink color. With the weather warming up, I was getting a better tan which set off the pink perfectly. Now if I could just get a handle on the weird things happening, I could get back to my runs on the beach, followed by an hour of laying out time as we cooled off. I didn't think it odd at all that our cool off was double the time of our actual exercising. You put in the work, you get the payoff too. Forget Gym, Tan, Laundry. My west coast edition was Beach, Tan,Lifeguard.
Okay, no more wine forme.
9
Ivan camehome around ten o'clock, walked right up to me, lifted me off the couch, and kissed me. If that's how he greeted me every time he came home, he could leave every night. I kept my arms around him as he picked me up and wrapped my legs around his waist. Bailey loudly clapped her hands like the attention grabbing hussy she was, just to get our attention. Then she excused herself to her room, laughing when my whole face turned red. Ivan just smirked and shrugged at her, like 'what do you expect?'. After checking all the locks and turning off the lights, we went upstairs and jammedup.
I crawled into bed and Ivan followed, laying on his side, head in his hand. He pulled me in next to him and nuzzled my neck, just breathing me in. "You've got a whole crew of lifeguards who think you're an angel. Had a few even give me fair warning that the minute I screw up, they're sliding in to snatch you up," Ivan said pulling back to smile down at me. Then his face got intense, his eyes soft. "I gotta say, you've had some trouble recently and yet you did something nice for a bunch of guys you've never met. That says a lot about who you are, Esa. So damn sweet...maybe that's the real reason your skin smells like sugar. Thank you for feeding my guys,baby."
And now I was blushing again. "Ahh, I'm glad they liked the hot chocolate. Although I find it hard to believe some of them want to date me just because of a cup of chocolate," I saidlaughing.
"Well two of the guys checked in on your shop today after I asked them to keep an eye on you. They reported back all right and spread the word about 'how freakin' hot' you are. And that's a direct quote. So, you've got a reputation already and the hot chocolate just sealed the deal. Hot girl that can feed you deliciousness? What's not to love?" Ivan explained with a pained look on hisface.
"And did you make it clear I was all yours?" I asked boldly, my eyes darting around, scared to see his reaction. My body completely froze, waiting for his response. I had been so scared to even date him, I wasn't sure how he'd react to knowing I was now all in. Bailey's seal of approval was the last push I needed to mentally jump in with bothfeet.
Ivan tilted my head up and looked me in the eye. "I'm glad we're on the same page now. I did make that clear, and you are mine. I don't mean that in a scary way, but in a protect you and make you happy kind of way. I already told you I've made it my mission to make you laugh every day. And it goes both ways; I'm totally yourstoo."
My heart rate sped up and I felt like my chest would burst open with the happiness I felt. I hadn't been this happy and hopeful in a long time. I reached up and put my hand on his cheek. "I already know you're a good guy. I trust my intuition, plus Bailey gave you the two thumbs up. I know I initially kept pushing you away but I want to see how this goes with you and me. Sometimes I may slip back into not trusting or being self-conscious but I'll always try to overcome that. Just be patient with me, please?" I asked himsoftly.
"Always, baby," Ivan whispered, right before claiming my lips with his. He coaxed my lips apart and used his tongue to trace my lips before entering my mouth. My tongue met his and the kiss ignited with heat. He brought one hand up to hold my face in place, while his body shifted to lay half on top of me. My hands went around his neck and into his hair. I wanted to hold onto this moment, hold onto him. It felt so good to have the weight and heat of a man on me again. To feel connected. I'd been missing the physical touch and intimate connection and didn't even know it untilnow.
Ivan lifted onto his elbow, started to kiss my cheek, then my chin, my neck, my collarbone. He reached down and lifted my shirt to right below my breasts. He kissed my ribs, then paid some attention to my belly button while his hand drifted up and cupped my breast with a light squeeze. I gasped when his thumb swiped across my nipple, causing my whole body to lightup.
"Mmm...I like that," I moaned. My hips lifted without thought and the scruff on his face scratched deliciously across my stomach. Ivan suddenly reared up and lifted the shirt up over my breasts, over my head, and tossed it onto the floor. My nipples tightened because of the cold air and his hot gaze. Next thing I knew, his mouth was hot on my nipple, drawing it in and swirling his tongue. I gasped as the pleasure rippled through me and all thought left my head. Everything in my universe was focused on my nipple and his mouth. He'd cupped his hand on my other breast, rolling the nipple and driving mecrazy.
Then cold air hit me like a wall and I blinked my eyes open to see that Ivan had hopped off the bed and was standing with his back to me taking deep breaths. I instinctively covered my breasts with my arm and grabbed for my shirt. There were a few beats of uncomfortable silence, broken only by our ragged breathing as we both camedown.
I struggled back into my shirt. "Why do you keep doing that?" I finally asked, letting quite a bit of frustration leek into mytone.
"What?" Ivan spun around to see my face, lookingconfused.
