Page 48 of Sliding Into Love
Shark week? Wasn’t Shark Week in August? And she wanted chocolate?
Oh.Oh.
Ethan responded to the text she’d meant to send Lily saying he’d be over in half an hour to deliver chocolate. After racing through the aisles of the nearest supermarket, he found himself outside Ivy’s door with an armload of bags. She looked beautiful as always, but also tired and wan. Dark half-moons colored the skin beneath her eyes, and she was pale and wobbly on her feet. Tendrils of hair stuck out from her loose bun, and an oversized hoodie hung halfway down her thighs with duck-printed pajamas beneath. A sweet smile curved across her lips, but it turned watery when she saw the bags in his hands.
“You brought all this for me?” Her lower lip trembled.
“Of course, I did, sweetheart. I wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I brought a little bit of everything.”
Ivy threw her arms around Ethan, nearly knocking him to the ground, then she backed up and doubled over with her hands pressed to her lower abdomen. Ethan immediately dropped the bags and knelt with her.
“You are clearly not okay. Can I do anything?” He was at a complete loss; her pain worried him.
Air hissed slowly through her clenched teeth. “I just need to get back to bed,” she groaned, curling up even more.
Looping one arm behind Ivy’s back and one beneath her knees, Ethan scooped her up in a bridal carry, maneuvering them down the hallway. Gently, he placed her on the bed and her arms squeezed him tighter before she whimpered and curled up again.
“What do you want first? Pizza?”
“Ice cream. Please?” Squeezing her eyes closed, she tugged the blankets up to her chin.
When he returned with an armload of snacks, she’d abandoned the blankets and removed the oversized sweatshirt, leaving her only in a soft bralette and her duck pajama bottoms.
“Is it always this bad?” Ethan asked as he handed over the food.
Before speaking, she took an enormous bite of the cinnamon-and-sugar-coated pretzel and patted the other side of her bed. Ethan froze, eyebrows raised. Still chewing, Ivy rolled her eyes and smacked the bed harder, so he toed off his shoes and slid onto the bed beside her, leaning on the headboard and staying on his side.
“It’s not alwaysthisbad.” Ivy sighed. “I didn’t get my period until I was seventeen, and now I guess it’s like my body wants to make up for lost time. I never know when it’s coming, and sometimes I’m okay, but sometimes it feels like I’m dying.” She began spooning ice cream into her mouth at an alarming rate.
“Is there anything else I can do?” Ethan asked, both awed and frightened at the rate at which she was consuming the ice cream.
“It’s nice not being alone.” Her voice was small as stared up at him from beneath her lashes.
“You’re not alone now. I’m here.”
That elicited a smile, then Ivy went back to the ice cream. When she’d finished, she looked down at the empty pint cup, her brows furrowed and lips turning down.
“I didn’t offer you any,” she said sadly, dropping the empty cup and spoon on her nightstand.
“I brought more,” he whispered into her ear in a seductive voice.
“And that, Ethan Fucking Fisher, just earned you infinite brownie points.”
“My middle name is technically Cable, but I like fucking better.”
He was proud of the double entendre, but she scoffed at it.
“I bet you do. But Cable? Where did that come from?” She nudged him with an elbow.
“My mom is a film nerd. She dresses up like Princess Leia every Halloween. Or she used to…”
He paused, remembering the white dress and silly cinnamon bun wig. He’d dressed up as Chewbacca with her for more years than he cared to remember. He scraped his hand through the short hair on the back of his neck, conflicted. They were good memories, but reliving them felt like prodding a bruise.
“And Cable…?” Ivy prompted.
“It was supposed to be Caleb, but the day I was born, my mom was, understandably, exhausted after she had me. I broke some hospital records.”
Glancing down the length of his body, Ivy nodded, unsurprised.
