Blake: A Bad Boy Romance (3 page)

Chapter Four

“This was waiting for you, dear,” Ellen said as she passed a white envelope to Ivy.

It was a small and thin envelope, the kind used for Hallmark cards. Ivy flipped it over in her hands and looked at it. Her name was written on the front in perfect and beautiful calligraphy. The loops and lines of her name were meticulously done.

She ripped open one end, being sure not to mar the calligraphy on the front. Inside was a small store bought card, which she stared at in confusion. On the front was a cartoon image of a dog looking up at a crescent moon. She opened it and, inside, in a cartoony font, were the words, “I miss you to the moon and back.” There was no writing on the inside of the card. She flipped it over and looked on the back, but nothing was there either. “Ellen,” Ivy called over the house. “Who is this card from?”

Ellen walked back to the living room and took the card from Ivy and looked at it. “I don’t know, dear,” she responded. “It was in the mailbox...”

“But there’s no stamp or anything. Someone must have hand delivered it. Have you seen anyone at the house?”

“No,” Ellen said with a shake of her head.

Ivy took the card back and looked at it. The cartoon dog on the front was looking over its shoulder to the viewer and had an odd, grimacing smile. It sat alone on a hilltop with nothing but the moon above it. She looked at the envelope and her beautifully stylized name next to the card.

“Maybe it’s from a friend who heard you were back from a visit,” Ellen offered as she walked away.

“Maybe...” Ivy said as she slipped the card back into its envelope and put it in her purse. This didn’t sound like the kind of thing one of her friends would do. Why would they come all the way to the house only to leave an unsigned card and leave? Maybe it was Blake. But no, this wasn’t Blake’s style. He hated store bought cards and thought they were a waste of money. He would also never leave anything unsigned. Blake didn’t hide or sneak around; he did exactly what he wanted when he wanted.

She shook her head is if that could clear the thought of him from her mind. She needed to stop thinking about him. She couldn’t let him in again. Blake hadn’t changed at all in the last five years. He was still the arrogant selfish jerk he had been in high school. He was still charming and witty and funny, but his negative traits overwhelmed the positive ones and she needed to remember that.

She slipped the card and the envelope into her bad.
There’s no way it’s from Darryl,
she reminded herself. He had moved back east and last she heard was living in New York City. There was no way Darryl had come all the way across the country to give her an unsigned letter.

“It’s not Darryl,” she whispered as she zipped the card and envelope into her bag. She said it like a prayer or maybe something more like a wish.

“Ready to go?” Ellen asked, sticking her head into Ivy’s room.

“Sure,” Ivy answered, painting an excited expression on her face. She and Ellen were going to look at flowers and the country club where she and Jonas would hold their small wedding.

Unlike Jonas, Ellen had never been married before; Blake’s father had skipped town not long after his birth. She was excited for her upcoming wedding even though it was going to be on the smaller side.

Ivy drove down the residential streets of her hometown. They weren’t that strange or unfamiliar to her. She had moved to Seattle about six months ago and had been back to see her father almost every weekend. Now that Jonas had Ellen he would need to see Ivy less and she still wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She wanted her father to be happy, of course. She just wished he had found happiness with someone else. But that wasn't fair. Ellen was sitting next to her, amiably chatting about flowers and food and invitations. She was a nice and good woman and Ivy was happy her father had found someone worthy of him.

“Have you two decided on a honeymoon location yet?” Ivy asked.

“Well, we want to go to Hawaii, but your father is so worried about leaving his store for two weeks. Has he really never taken a vacation?” Ellen asked.

“We used to do long weekend trips,” Ivy answered with a smile. “Sometimes going to the beach or camping. But you shouldn’t let him use the store as an excuse. He has an excellent assistant manger and he deserves the time off. Besides, I’m only an hour away. I can go look in on it for his peace of mind.”

“You’re a good daughter,” Ellen said. “I always liked you when you and Blake were together. You were good for him.”

“Thanks. But that was a long time ago. Blake and I are different people now.”

“Not Blake, he’s exactly the same as ever.”

Ivy agreed with a nod. But she was desperate to change the subject. She didn’t want to talk about Blake. She didn’t want to think about him. But no matter how hard she tried to put him behind her, he kept popping up in her vision.

“Roses and lilies are my favorite flowers,” Ellen said as they wandered the fragrant smelling floral shop. There were brilliant red roses with sharp thorns, white lilies with pink centers, and tall, purple irises.

“Maybe you should have roses for your bouquet and lilies for the centerpiece,” Ivy offered.

“I think that sounds lovely,” Ellen offered. “There are so many colors to choose from. It could be a veritable rainbow of flowers in the hall.”

“That sounds nice,” Ivy said. And it did sound nice. She was going to keep herself together with her father’s upcoming wedding. She was not going to let Blake and his teasing ways get to her.

“Ivy,” Ellen said, turning with a single rose in her hand. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“Of course,” Ivy answered. She figured it might have been a money question. Ivy worked in finance and she was used to people asking her questions about their 401k or investments they wanted to try.

“I’m just so happy that you approve of my relationship with your father. It means the world to me and to Jonas and I really want you to be involved in the wedding. I was hoping I could ask you to be my Maid of Honor.” Ivy looked at Ellen in shock. But before she could speak Ellen continued quickly. “It wouldn’t be much work. I don’t want a bridal shower or anything like that. Just someone to come with me to buy my dress and help me get ready the day of. I don’t have any sisters-”

“Ellen, I would love to,” Ivy answered taking the other woman’s hand in hers.

Tears filled Ellen’s eyes and she looked away quickly, wiping them with a smile as she turned to look at a heart-shaped arrangement.

Ivy was not going to be some spoiled teenager who ruined her father’s wedding. She was going to do whatever it took make sure it went off without a hitch. She would help Ellen as best she could and she would work at the hardware store herself if that was what it took to get her father to enjoy his honeymoon.

“Jonas is going to ask Blake to be his Best Man,” Ellen said. “What do you think Blake will say?”

“An opportunity for Blake to be at the center of the action, there’s no way he’ll pass it up,” Ivy answered. Plus, she knew Blake would take every chance he could get to tease Ivy. But he would also be good at it. Blake was a lot of things, but he was a good friend and you could always rely on him.

Chapter Five

“Blake!” The shout echoed across the gym as all the heads turned to look at him. A short, stocky, but strong looking man jogged over to Blake and threw his arms around him.

“Hey, Paulie,” Blake said as he returned the hug. “It’s good to see you, old man.”

And with that, Paulie socked him right in the stomach. “Call me and old man with your guard down, that’s what you get,” he said with a loud staccato laugh. He threw his arm around Blake’s shoulder as Blake coughed and tried to catch his breath from the shorter man’s surprisingly strong punch.

Paulie pulled Blake over to a corner where a punching bag hung from a chain, swinging slightly back and forth. Blake put his bag down and began to tape up his knuckles as Paulie hurried around him, getting water bottles and pads ready for the training.

“I saw that Vegas fight; boy you were good,” Paulie said, slapping Blake on the back. “You hung back, you waited and when the opportunity presented itself wham, bam! You push him into a corner and then you give him that kick to the face. I bet that guy couldn’t see straight for a week.”

The Vegas fight had been Blake’s biggest fight to date. It was a live in front of a screaming crowd and was simulcast on HBO. For the weeks leading up to it he was a celebrity -  interviews, photo shoots, and fancy lunches with reporters. It had been great and he was ready for more. The only thing that left a bad taste in his mouth was that Ivy hadn’t noticed. He had his fifteen minutes of fame while she had been looking the other way.

“Go outside and run around the block. I’ll be timing you and when you come back we’ll do some burpees and get you nice and warmed up,” Paulie ordered as he pulled out his stopwatch.

Dutifully Blake started jogging making his way to the door and then outside into the misty mid morning weather. He took a deep breath of the wet air. He could taste the rainwater on his tongue and he could smell the wet earth around him. He liked living in the city, and he never wanted move. But it was nice to come out to country, to breath fresh air and see trees above him. He made a right and continued around the block. He was in great shape and his heart rate slowly increased as sweat began to form on his brow. He liked to work out. He loved his job and this was part of it. Working out, pushing his body as far as he could go and coming out stronger on the other side.

He finished his lap around the block and re-entered the gym where Paulie was waiting. Blake jumped up and then squatted down until he was on the floor; he completed one push up and then jumped up again. He did twenty burpees and even in his excellent shape he was winded at the end when Paulie finally let him stop.

Paulie was a good coach and Blake was focused and ready to train. When he trained and when he fought, there was nothing else happening in the world. There was only his body, his muscle memory working on its own. Paulie stood behind the large punching bag as Blake brought his fist up and jabbed with his left hand and then his right.

His mind was blank; he wasn’t thinking about anything. He was just moving, focusing on staying on his feet and hitting the bag as hard as he could. But as he hit and kicked at the bag, he started seeing something else: Ivy, with her long dark hair and her flawless skin, Ivy who always seemed to be making herself smaller, gathering herself up, pulling her knees up when she sat down. She was always protecting herself.

He remembered the blush on her pale skin. He remembered the way he used to brush his fingers across her red cheek. She would giggle and look away and he would tilt up her head so she had to look at him. He had loved her more than he had ever loved anything else. Blake fell back as the bag hit him full in the chest. “What the hell, man!?” he demanded as he stumbled to his feet.

“Where’s your brain at?” Paulie demanded. “It’s not here, not in this gym. So where is it?”

Blake opened his mouth and then closed it, he had no answer.

“It’s a damn girl, isn’t it?” Paulie asked. “Women, I love ‘em, but women and fighting don’t mix. You can’t be thinking about your girl while you’re punching another man. Women are soft and delicate, they don’t belong in the ring or at training. You need to put her away.”

“It's’ not-” Blake started.

“Don’t make any excuses to me,” Paulie spit. “I’ve been doing this my whole life. I know what a man obsessed looks like. But the only thing you need to be obsessed with is tomorrow’s fight. Keep your mind there; think of the ring and the crowd. Think of your opponent. You have a lot of natural talent, but that will only take you so far. Now you need to work on your mental game. You need to learn to compartmentalize. Put your girl in a box and close that box up when you're in the ring and when you’re training. She only comes out when you have the time to really think about her. When you can give her your full attention, that’s when you think about her or she’s going to be the end of you.”

Blake nodded. Paulie was right. He hadn’t seen the bag coming and it wasn’t a small bag. He hadn’t been focused on his training. He had been lazy and complacent and that was the best way to lose a fight.

“She beautiful?” Paulie asked.

“Stunning,” Blake answered.

“Well, when you’re here, I’m the only lady in your life. Take your pretty girl and put her in a room and close the door; she’ll still be waiting for you when you’re done. Go take a lap.”

Blake nodded and headed for the door. He knew Paulie was right. Blake had been training with him since he was thirteen. As a fatherless child, he couldn’t not get into trouble. He kept getting into fights at school and out of school. Kids challenged him and with every fight he got a little better until he wasn’t scared of fighting anymore. He was good at it and he didn’t miss an opportunity to fight when one came along. He was suspended multiple times and arrested twice, but still he didn’t stop. Finally, a guidance counselor offered boxing as a training for Blake, he said it might be a good way to get Blake’s aggression out. He was right. Blake spent every day after school training in Paulie’s gym. He kept his grades up slowly so he could keep coming to the gym. Paulie was the closest thing to a father Blake had ever had. He had taught Blake how to shave, how to drive, and the right kind of deodorant.

The cool air outside was bracing, and Blake ran faster both to warm himself up and spend less time outside in the mist that was about to turn to all out rain.
Put Ivy away. Not forever, but just for now. Just while I’m training, just while I am in the fight.
He knew how important the mental game was. So as he ran around the block he imagined a long hallway with a door at the end in an old fashioned house. He took Ivy by the hand and opened the door and put her inside. He closed the door and ordered her remain there.

But it was pointless. Even as he was trying to put her away she was popping up in his thoughts. He would see her again tonight and many times after that. He was already thinking about when he would see her next. He sped around the block and back into the gym.  He focused on Paulie’s instructions, focused on his muscles as he lifted weights, focusing on each one individually.

Paulie himself put on the mitts. Blake was worried about him; he had to be in his sixties. He didn’t want to accidentally hurt him, but he also could never insult him.

“Don’t hold back,” Paulie threatened putting the training mitts up.

“When are you going to get someone else to hold the mitts, Paulie?” Blake asked.

“When it hurts too much for me to hold them two days in a row. But that hasn’t happened yet. The hardest hitters have been in here and I’ve outlasted them all.”

Blake squared his shoulders and jabbed at the mitt and then took a full swing at it. Paulie didn’t even wince as he absorbed the hit. Maybe he wasn’t too old just yet. Blake focused on the mitts in front of him and he hit them solid and center square; it was enough to send any man stumbling back.

He was exhausted by the time he was done. He was covered in sweat and even with the tape his knuckles were bruised and raw. Under Paulie’s direction he stretched and hydrated and finally headed home.

Ivy and his mom were still gone and it felt strange to be in Ivy’s house without her. But Jonas’ house was nicer than his mom’s apartment and she had moved in three months ago.

They came home while Blake was in the shower. He was leaning against the wall, letting the hot spray of water massage his back when he heard Ivy enter. Ivy whom he had barely manage to keep out of his thoughts was back with a vengeance. If only she were in here with him, the warm water cascading down her skin.

No, that was no good. Paulie was right, she was too distracting. He stepped out of the shower and right into Ivy as she was barreling down the hallway. “Have a nice day out?” The blush crept up her chest and over her cheeks as she answered yes and hurried away from him.