Mended (Connections, #3)(37)

Pausing in the doorway of the back lounge, I take in the scene. Everyone is sitting together and playing cards. Garrett is leaning back in a metal folding chair holding a drink in his hand with a cigar resting over the edge of a bowl. Nix is reclining comfortably in one of the club chairs tapping one hand on the table while holding his cards in the other. Ivy, sitting in the other club chair, is wearing black sleep pants with some print all over them and a white tank top. Again she’s wearing no makeup and has her hair pulled back—she looks so much like she did when she was eighteen. Fuck, she’s gorgeous. Even when she throws her cards on the table with a disgusted look on her face she’s still sexy as f*ck. Leif glances around the circle with a huge-ass grin on his face and fans his cards out almost methodically before laying them down. “Full house, aces high,” he says and pulls the pile of guitar picks his way.

Garrett slams his drink down. “I’m out fifty bucks, thanks to your sorry ass. I think you’re cheating.”

Leif just laughs at him and continues to rake in the pot. Phoebe throws her cards in and gets up from her chair to sit on Nix’s lap. She’s an attractive girl—average height, maybe a little shorter than Ivy, with chin-length dark hair. Her skin tone is very close to Nix’s. I’d guess that she’s either Italian or Hispanic.

I stand silent in the doorway, continuing to watch them, but mostly watching Ivy. She pulls her legs up in the chair and wraps her arms around her knees. When I cover my mouth to stifle a yawn, she glances my way. A small smile forms on her lips, and her eyes sweep over me before they lock on mine. I grin at her and button up my shirt before joining the group. She drops her eyes and stretches her legs out over the empty chair next to her. I wonder what she’s thinking when she looks at me like that and why when I catch her doing it she always looks away.

Garrett looks up. “Hey, man, glad you decided to wake up. Welcome to the party.”

He looks like such a clown gripping that cigar between his teeth and talking around it. He motions to the chair Ivy has her legs on. “Perfect timing. We need another. Phoebe quit playing and I’m about to unless my luck turns.” He takes a puff on his cigar and coughs a little. I bite back the laughter. Phoebe’s not happy as the cigar smoke wafts her way. She waves it out of her face and makes an exaggerated choking noise before resting her head against Nix’s shoulder.

“John’s going to beat your ass for smoking in here,” I scold him, more mocking than serious, although John just might do that.

He sets his cigar back down in the bowl. “Then I’ll have to explain to him that a fine cigar is just like a woman. If you don’t light it up at the right time and suck on it with a certain ferverence, it’ll go out on you.” He waves his arms to the right, where the window blinds are pulled up. “And besides, I opened all the windows.”

Everyone laughs, even Ivy. I look around at the glasses on the table and I know they’ve all been hitting the wine pretty hard. Glancing sideways, I notice there are at least four empty bottles in the sink of the bar area and another open one on the small counter.

Nix looks at Garrett dumbfounded. “Ferverence? Is that even a word and where the hell did you pick it up? Wheel of Fortune? Jeopardy!? Either way, you’re watching too much f*cking TV.”

I don’t say anything to that. I just throw two twenties on the table. “Deal me in.”

Nix reaches around Phoebe to take my money and shoves a bunch of picks my way and I notice the glass in front of him has an amber-colored liquid in it—definitely not wine.

“And I’ll have what you’re drinking,” I tell him.

I glance down at Ivy’s legs stretched across the chair. Her feet are bare and her nails are painted red. “May I?” I ask. My gaze fastens on hers. I wait for her response.

She pulls her legs off the chair and sinks as far as she can back into her own seat. “Welcome to the game.”

I sit down and lean forward, inching my way closer to her to take the drink Nix hands me. I take a sip before setting it down on the table and notice she’s still watching me. I divert my eyes only when Leif asks, “No wine, man? It’s the good stuff. I picked it up at a local vineyard yesterday.”

Raising my glass, I say, “I’m good.”

He feigns offense.

I try not to stare as Ivy raises her glass for a sip, but when my eyes catch her mouth, I can’t keep from watching. She licks her lips and says, “I really like it.” I know she’s answering Leif, but I feel like she’s talking to me, and I can’t help but smile—my mind wandering to thoughts of what I know she likes.

Slamming his hand in front of me, Garrett slips in, “I’ll take your money any day of the week.”

I look over toward him as he gulps the rest of the liquid in his glass. “I doubt you’ll be taking my money because if memory serves me correctly, I’m the one who taught your scrawny thirteen-year-old ass how to play this game.”

“Yeah, but we didn’t use money back then, just beer bottle caps, and I was usually the one who drank most of the beer.”

“You were so funny when you drank. You just couldn’t handle your alcohol,” Ivy blurts out. It’s the first time any of us has talked about being together when we were younger, and I notice that her gaze flitters from Garrett’s face to mine before she looks down at the table. When she reaches out to push some chips forward, her hand grazes mine. The skin on my arm prickles and the electricity between us sparks immediately. She quickly moves her hand away and crosses her arms over her chest, but I already noticed her nipples harden from our encounter. I want more than anything to sit in that chair with her on my lap. To slip my arm around her waist and pull her close to me like I always did when we played poker with River and his friends.