Ablaze (17 page)

Chapter
Eighteen

Angel
placed her thin wood board on the table. She ran her fingers on the smooth
surface
,
making sure no dry bits of
clay were left on top. At home, she often used earthenware or terracotta. That
was if she already had a design in mind. With polymer, she could always
practice and not worry about wasting it.

She
took the polymer out of the bag and placed it on the board. Such a wonderful
medium for sculpture. Before she began kneading the clay, she checked the clock
on the wall. Dylan said his meeting wouldn't take longer than two hours. Good
enough time to think of a new design. A simple one. Something that Dylan would
appreciate.

"Hmm,
what should I make?" She was working up on ideas when someone knocked on
the door. The restaurant was closed so who could it be? One of the Bands? But
they have their own key? She'd better look.

Through
the glass window, she saw a woman standing outside. She looked nervous. At
least that was what Angel thought since the woman kept biting her nails. The
woman was very attractive. She looked like a super model in her white strapless
mini-dress. Her skin color looked like a wet caramel. And just look at her big
curls. She must have come from a parlor before coming here. Dang, this woman
made her feel lacking. Angel couldn't see the woman's shoes, but she bet they
were a nice pair. Now, what was she doing here?

The
woman knocked again.

Angel
decided to open the door. "Hey there. Can I help you?"

"Oh,
hey, I thought I'd have to stand here and get baked!" The woman smiled. "I
saw that Dylan left."

"Yeah.
He'll be back in an hour or so."

"Good.
We have time to talk then."

"We?"

"Yeah.
I'm here to talk to you. May I come in?"

What's
this about? I don't even know this woman.

"Ah,
been a long time since I had lunch and dinner here."

"Tony
is not here, but I think I can find something to drink."

"Don't
bother. I won't stay long. You're probably wondering why I wanted to talk to
you."

"I
am. Would you like to sit down?" Angel pulled out a chair, but the woman
waved her gesture away.

"My
name is Ivy. Dylan's girlfriend--in the closet."

"Pardon
me?"

"I'm
Dylan's girlfriend. We have an exclusive relationship, but not out in the open.
You know what I mean?"

"You're
hiding your relationship."

"Dylan's
rule."

As if
someone cut her windpipe, Angel had a hard time breathing. She sat on the chair
she offered Ivy while trying to digest what she just heard. This woman must be
lying. She asked Dylan if he had a girlfriend and he said no. He said he doesn't
cheat. So if he wasn't lying, why would he spend time with her, make love with
her like two free individuals. Did he lie? Who was telling the truth?

"Sorry.
I've been so rude. Here I am shocking you when I don't even know your name."

"My
name is Angel. I'm a guest here."

Ivy
traced the edge of the counter. She looked deep in her thoughts. "Guest? When
I saw you and Dylan at the beach, I didn't think you're just a guest here."

"I…well…"
Oh, God, I've been sleeping with a man who already has a girlfriend? In the
closet, but girlfriend nonetheless.

"Don't
worry. I'm not here to pull your hair out. Obviously, Dylan didn't tell you
about me. I'm not surprised. Dylan and I have been seeing each other for over
six months now, but no one is supposed to know about it. Except maybe for his
brothers."

"Why?
I mean why hide? And you mentioned rule. What rule?"

"After
Camille, Dylan didn't want to get involved with anyone anymore. I mean
getting
involved
. After my husband died, I never remarried. Been there done that. And
then Dylan and I met. He made me realize what I've been missing. I'm a widow,
Dylan is single who doesn't want a relationship. We're perfect. We answer each
other's physical needs and keep each other company."

"But
you fell for him."

Ivy's
head snapped up. She looked at Angel with a frown. "Dylan is the most
wonderful man I've ever known. Even my husband paled in comparison. Only a
blind and unfeeling woman would not fall in love with Dylan. You probably know
how he could make a woman feel special, wanted, needed. So, yes, I fell for him
and I believed him to have feelings for me. Even though my heart screamed at
the idea of being his kept woman, I know he cared. It's just a bitch hurt him
badly and that's why he's afraid to go out in the open again."

Angel met
Ivy's gaze. "I didn't know about you and Dylan."

"No
you wouldn't. Mistresses aren't supposed to be mentioned, right? I guess in the
old days, people call my kind a mistress. But like some of them, I'm no longer
satisfied with what we've got--moments in bed or in front of the television,
sharing take out dinner or lunch. I want more. So I tried to do something about
it. At first, I was afraid. You see, Dylan expressed his message clearly. No
commitments. But I want to be a part of him, share my life with him not just a
bed. So as much subtlety as I could muster, I dropped hints here and there
about my feelings. Whether Dylan picked up my message or not, I don't know. All
I know is that he stopped seeing me. When I saw you two at the beach. I found
my answer. He found another body to warm."

"Ivy,
Dylan and I--"

"I
know what I saw." Ivy's voice quivered. "Dylan obviously moved on.
Away from me." Tears rolled down Ivy's cheeks. She wiped them off with the
pads of her fingers. "I love Dylan and it hurts so much to see him with
another woman. I, I know if you hadn't shown up, he would still be seeing me
right now. It's my fault. But I couldn't help it.

"No."
Angel stood up and took Ivy's hands in hers. She urged Ivy to sit down. "Falling
in love with someone is not a fault. I was in love with a man once. He's evil.
But I didn't know it at first. Do you think it's my fault that I fell for him?
I don't think so. When love decides to take root in our heart, there's no
denying it. It's a powerful thing."

"Thank
you. I love him so much, you know. I don't even care if he stops putting money
in my account as long as we're together. Just like in the beginning."

Angel
didn't want to hear any more about Ivy and Dylan. Yet, like a horrible
accident, she wanted to know the details. "Beginning?"

"When
he couldn't keep his hands off me. When we would spend hours and hours making
love. When we would watch the stars at night. I want to go back to that
beginning. But seeing you, I doubt it would happen again. You're beautiful,
young, and you have a quality of a rich woman. Unlike me. I'm sure with you,
Dylan wouldn't have to open a debit account."

The
stars. The poem. Jesus. I thought that moment to be special. Just between me
and Dylan. Now…

"I'm
sorry, Ivy. If I knew about you and Dylan, I would never have--"

"You're
in love with him. I can see it." Ivy covered Angel's hand with hers. "I
sympathize with you. Those Band brothers, they're something else, aren't they? They
will show you kindness, will make you fall in love and then leave you for
another younger woman. I won't be surprised if he's already found a
replacement."

"What
do you mean?"

"Dylan
is always on his laptop. I don't know why. Surfing the net he told me many
times. And then there's the meeting with a friend. I don't know who. Never that
I paid any attention to all that. Only now that he's stopped seeing me that I
began to recollect those odd behaviors. Do you know who he's meeting right now?"

"No."
It didn't even occur to her to ask Dylan where he was going or the name of the
person he said he would meet. She simply believed that he was meeting a friend.
Man or woman, she didn't know. What was the meeting about? She had no clue.

"Have
you noticed those signs?"

Oh, God.
Angel shook her head. A headache began pounding in her temples. "No,"
she lied. She'd seen Dylan use his laptop intently. Come to think of it, last
time she saw him using it, he was typing away. What was he doing?

Thoughts
about Willy came rushing back. Her ex-fiancé used the laptop to find girls
online. Was Dylan using it to find a bedmate? Dylan didn't actually find her.
She came to him. And he was probably ecstatic about that.

"I'll
go. I don't want Dylan to find me here. Angel, you're young and beautiful. You'll
find one who will love you because of you. Not for what you can do to please--well,
you know what I mean."

Angel
swallowed. She couldn't believe she fell for another cheater. What a loser. "Thank
you for coming over. I appreciate this."

"You're
welcome."

Angel
remained on her spot. She hurt so badly she wanted to curl into a little ball. How
did she let this happen? What was she thinking? That Dylan would carry her off
to paradise and they'd live happily ever after?

I am so
stupid.

She
fell for a computer nerd who molested young innocent girls. Now only after
three months, she fell in love for a man who didn't believe in a relationship.
Hell. Angel stood up and went upstairs to gather her things. She was on her way
to her room when she noticed Dylan's bedroom door open. Pushing the door open,
she spotted Dylan's laptop.

What is
he hiding?

* * * *

Ivy
opened her glove box and took out a pack of cigarettes. She turned the pack
upside down
,
then tapped the bottom,
pulled one out
,
and stuck the filter
part in her mouth. She picked up the green disposable lighter on her console
and used it to light the cigarette. In one long puff, she filled her lungs with
the cool menthol taste. Ah, menthol. She loved it. Soothing and cool. Rolling
her window down, she tilted her head back to blow the smoke out. Since the day
Dylan came into her life, she stopped smoking. It wasn't that hard. She smoked
only occasionally. Sometimes when she was thinking, or celebrating. Like right
now.

She
thought it would take more than one visit to convince Dylan's new whore to believe
her. When she saw them at the beach, she thought it would take heaven and earth
to pull them apart. They looked so much in love. But she was wrong. Oh, yeah.
She could tell Angel was hurt and most likely thinking that Dylan played her
badly.

Of
course Dylan would never hurt anyone on purpose. But most likely Angel didn't
know that. Ha! No one knew Dylan the way she did. And only
she
could
give Dylan what he needed. If she were lucky, maybe Angel would leave Pink Door
today. When that happened, Dylan would definitely come back to her. She took
another pull on her cigarette. This time without even bothering to blow the
smoke outside the window, she exhaled.

* * * *

Finally,
Dylan was able to leave Four Season's Restaurant. He thought he would have to reschedule
another meeting with Mya. He loved Mya, but when she was in one of her diatribes,
there was no stopping her. However, it was worth sitting and listening to her
give him her spiel about delivering his finished product before the deadline. Mya
extended his deadline and she liked his idea for his new book.

Dylan
walked along Pine Street as if he was floating on air. The whole time he was
sitting in front of Mya, all he could think about was getting back to Pink Door
and seeing Angel. How many times did he ask Mya to repeat what she just said
because he couldn't concentrate? So freaking many times.

God, he
missed Angel so much. The hour that they'd been apart only strengthened his
need to be with her. He couldn't believe it. In such a short time, his well-guarded
heart lowered its armor and let Angel claim it. Smiling, Dylan shook his head. He
quickened his steps, eager to get to his car. He nearly collided with a couple that
came out of a store arm-in-arm, kissing, and not looking where they were going.
The couple didn't even stop. He doubted that they even noticed him. Dylan
looked at the store. Tiffany's.

No
wonder the woman was giddy.

Tiffany's.
Dylan stopped. He looked at the jewelry on display and then to the
big black and white poster of the newlyweds. Nice. The bride was all smiles
with her hand on the groom's chest
,
showing the big rock on her finger. He bet Angel would look lovely in a wedding
gown. Would she want to go through the whole rigmarole of preparing a big
wedding after what happened? Would she open her heart to a new relationship?
God, he hoped so. If not…what if she wasn't ready. He'd cross the bridge when
it was time to do it. Right now, enjoy the moment. The sign,
Celebration
Rings,
caught his eyes. What are the celebration rings? Intrigued, he went
inside the store.