Leon seemed to be ignoring her. He parked the truck under the tree where it usually remained and slammed the door shut hard when he jumped off. She couldn’t guess where he had gone this early in the morning.
She shaded her eyes with a hand as she watched him approaching her. It seemed like he was going to completely ignore her and walk past her, instead of acknowledging her presence there. Even though she was taken aback, Ivy realized that she had to say something, quickly before he was gone.
“Leon!” She blurted out, like she was accusing him of some crime. He stopped in his tracks when he heard her voice, only a few feet away from her. But he was in no hurry to turn and look.
“What’s going on?” She asked, dropping her hands to her sides. Ivy couldn’t pretend any more that she wasn’t confused. That she didn’t want some answers.
“What are you talking about?” He asked, finally facing her. His brown eyes narrowed on her, strained by the harsh sun on one hand and concentration on the other. He seemed unhappy to have been stopped in his tracks.
“I’m talking about us. And you skipped breakfast.” Ivy said, stepping towards him. She realized that she had been yelling out of anxiety, when there was no need to. He was close enough to hear.
Leon shrugged his shoulders, his cowboy hat was shading his eyes but Ivy could see the coldness in them.
“I wasn’t hungry. What do you want me
to say?” He asked. She felt her lips quiver. She was growing desperate. She wished he would just forget about the barriers he had built around himself, and just give in to their emotions. She wished that he would just scream and yell and tell her what was on his mind, instead of being so passive and aggressive. Most of all, she hoped she might be able to throw her arms around him, just hug him tightly. She really really needed that. But he was treating her like she had done something wrong.
“Did you put me to bed last night?” She ventured to say, and watched as his chest grew as he sucked in some air. He seemed annoyed with her, with her questions.
“Yes, you had fallen asleep. What else was I supposed to do?” He growled, like she had accused him of something awful.
Ivy held up her hands in a defensive stance, her voice cracking under the pressure of Leon’s reaction.
“I was only asking. I wasn’t blaming you. Jesus!” She said, her breasts rising and falling as she tried to catch a breath. She knew her cheeks had turned red, she could feel the back of her neck burning up. Why was he acting this way? After being so tender the previous night. After carrying her to bed and tucking her in. What had changed so drastically?
“Anything else?” He asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
“Well, I just wanted to talk.” She continued, a little afraid of asking him anything else now. She wasn’t sure what might set him off.
“Talk about what? What is there to suddenly talk about?” He asked, clenching his jaws. He looked really annoyed, as though he honestly couldn’t understand why she was wasting his time.
“About us. About what happened last night!” Ivy was screaming again. She couldn’t hold her emotions in check any more. She felt like she was going to burst now.
“Now is not the time. And there is nothing to discuss. You seemed to be enjoying yourself last night.” Leon’s voice had dropped, but he was speaking through gritted teeth, Ivy could see an angry vein throbbing down the middle of his forehead.
“Of course I did. But I still want to talk about it. And why you’re behaving this way with me now.” She said, crossing her arms over her breasts. She could feel her nails digging into her flesh as she held her arms tightly. It was like she was trying to defend herself against Leon, even though he hadn’t even made a move towards her. And she knew he wasn’t going to.
“Look, Ivy.” He was suddenly deathly calm. Something had switched off in him. The throbbing vein had disappeared from his forehead, his eyes had become softer. He was staring at her, but not angrily any more. “There is nothing to explain, nothing to talk about. What happened last night will never happen again.”
With that, Leon was gone, back into the house, leaving Ivy standing at the door with her jaw hanging open. Will never happen again? But it had been his idea to begin with. He was the one who had turned up in the kitchen and initiated a menage. He was the one who encouraged Archer to make her come. Why was he suddenly behaving like he didn’t enjoy it? Like they had done something wrong?
Ivy could feel herself trembling as she stood, watching the screen door of the house swinging in the soft warm breeze. Leon had disappeared into the house and she was left alone, completely in shock. She didn’t know whether to feel guilty or angry with the things that he had said.
Did he not want her any more? Was he repulsed by her now? What had she done, for him to react this way?
She didn’t go looking for Archer, but he found her in her study some time later. Just when she had settled in to take an accountancy class. That was the only way she figured she could get her mind off Leon, and his behavior.
“Hi.” He said softly, entering the room without knocking.
Ivy flipped around in her chair, startled by his presence. But she was immediately comforted by the kind look in his clear blue eyes. He looked handsome, still with his stubble, and looming in the room. He stood in front of her with his cowboy hat in his hands. He looked like he had something to say, but didn’t have the words for it.
“Hi.” Ivy replied, forcing a smile on her face.
It was a pleasant change to be in Archer’s much calmer, easy going presence. Especially now, right after Leon had lashed her with an onslaught of cruel coldness.
“I was wondering if we could have a chat.” Archer said, walking closer to her. She had to crane her neck to look up at him from her sitting position, and a sudden flash of memory returned. Of Archer’s face between her legs, his lips on her wetness, his tongue stroking her. She blushed, and he must have noticed too, because he smiled. Those dimples appeared on his cheeks. He was thinking about it too.
“Yes, I would like that. I tried talking to Leon, but he wasn’t interested.” She said, looking up at him from under her heavy lids.