𝔼𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕟

Chapter 31 : Happy birthday

On Monday morning, Alex wakes up to the smell of bacon and laughter coming from downstairs.

He drags his feet, not completely ready to face another day of being ignored by the one person he can't seem to shake.

Alex takes a hot shower and tries to convince himself that no, washing his hair with the same shampoo Ivy uses is not psychotic. He just needs the comforting scent of vanilla surrounding him.

When he's done with his morning routine, Alex puts on a brave face and takes a deep breath before swinging his door open and makes his way to the kitchen.

He finds only Mason, Luca, and Tyler around the kitchen island, lost in a fit of giggles.

"Morning," Alex greets, and the laughter dies down.

"Hey, Al," Tyler grins, and Luca offers him a plate filled with food, to which he nods gratefully.

"Where is everyone?" Alex pops a tomato in his mouth.

"Kinwo went to see his family, Dexter is having breakfast with his colleagues, and Ivy is having a 'girl day.' "

"Girl day?" Alex feigns indifference.

"Ivy is a neat freak," Luca groans, "not only with her space, but physically as well."

Alex seems puzzled still, so Mason elaborates with a fond look on his face,
"Once a month, Ivy goes to this beauty salon where she gets her nails done, hair removal, spa treatment. The whole thing. She comes back late in the afternoon, completely refreshed."

Alex 'hums' his understanding and goes back to his eggs.

They talk about Luca's family and Mason's health until the conversation shifts to Tyler's girlfriend, Sam.

"She's perfect," Tyler says like it's a problem.

Luca dabs the corner of his mouth with a cloth, "When do you plan on telling Ivy?"

"I was thinking of bringing Sam here after Ivy's birthday. I'm just worried it'll ruin Ivy's mood if they don't get along."

"Well, too bad for Ivy," Mason says, surprising the rest of the table.

Alex gapes at his friend, and Tyler focuses intently on his bacon.

"What?" Mason drinks the rest of his water, throws his napkin on the table and stands up, "I'm sorry but if you like this girl and she's nice to your sister, Ivy doesn't get a say in this. You are going to build a life with someone eventually, Ty. So will Ivy. You either learn to navigate that together or lose each other along the way."

Alex is stuck on the idea of Ivy building a life with someone who most probably won't be him.

Alex knows he likes Ivy.

He cares for her like family. But he also wants to throw up at the idea of her being with someone in that way.
He doesn't understand what it means. He feels the physical pull every time she is around, and the need to know everything there is about her is all-consuming.

But he also knows that if he had to choose between their friendship and losing her forever, he would want to keep her in his life, one-sided feelings be dammed.

Mason pats Alex's back on his way out, leaving a stunned Tyler behind.

"I mean, he's not wrong," Luca shrugs.

Tyler pushes his olives around in his plate and huffs, pointing his fork at Alex, "What do you think?"

"I agree you should bring her here. Make Ivy's day special first so it's easier for her to get on board with the 'girlfriend' idea."