I stifle a groan—walking around in the blistering Tennessee summer heat while a bowling ball takes up residence in your uterus is not for the faint of heart—but Ivy looks so damn excited, I can’t say no to her.
Hell, I’m curious to know what she could have to show me in Fox Hole that I haven’t already seen a thousand times.
She leads me around the corner just off Main Street, stopping in front of the nearly empty parking lot in front of The Inkwell and the empty building attached to it.
“You brought me to The Inkwell? That’s nice, Vee, but you know I don’t have an artistic bone in my body. There’s no way I’m going to take up tattooingas a hobby, even if Cliff were dumb enough to hire me. And needles make me nervous, so body piercing is out?—”
“Lilah. You’re not getting into tattooing. Look at the sign in the building next door.”
I lift my hand to shield my eyes from the sun and squint. The ‘For Sale’ sign that has adorned the window of the empty building for months has been replaced with a ‘Sold’ sign. And right below it…
“Coming soon: The Strawberry Jam’Boree”
“Ivy…what the hell is going on?”
“I bought them, Lilah. Cliff is retiring. The Inkwell is mine. Well, ours, since I like to think of us as partners in all things.”
She…bought The Inkwell? When? Why? Why didn’t she tell me?
“I was waiting for the right moment,” she answers the question I didn’t realize I’d spoken out loud. “With all that’s going on, well, I know you don’t like change. You like your lists and your routines. I didn’t want to throw more chaos on top of the circus we’ve been dealing with. But now that Earl is gone and Sadie is almost back in school and Little Bean is ready to pop, I figured it’s time I looped you in.”
“But what about Lilith & Lace?” I’ve known Ivy was planning on staying in Fox Hole for good. She’dnever back out on a promise to me like that. But I’d been preparing for a life where she commuted between here and Nashville, at least occasionally.
“Devi has already taken over L&L. I’m still the owner, but now she’s handling all the business operations. I’m more of a silent partner.”
“But…but Vee…you love Lilith & Lace. Lilith & Lace is your baby.”
She places a cold hand on the swell of my belly.
“Little Bean is my baby. Sadie is my baby. You are my baby. Lilith & Lace is just a place I worked.”
Tears prick the corners of my eyes, adding to the moisture of sweat—both from the heat and a general sense of nervousness—gathering on my skin.
“Okay…okay. So you bought The Inkwell. What does that mean for me? If you’re not trying to rope me into tattooing, that is. Can I be your receptionist or something? I think a job would do me some good once Little Bean is old enough.”
“Lilah, baby. I bought the spot next door, too. It’s zoned for a commercial kitchen. Your brother has already drawn up a few tentative plans to turn it into whatever you want. You can make and sell jam, you could make my world-famous HJ sandwiches and become a hot lunch spot. Maybe go in a more kitschy direction and sell jams and Fox Hole souvenirs to thetourists who pass through town on their way to Knoxville. Whatever you want. It’s yours.”
Ivy bought me a business? I mean, I know that’s not how that works, but how else am I supposed to phrase it? She’s gifting me something that is completely mine. A place where I can spread my wings and figure out who I am again. The tears are falling in earnest now, and I wish it weren’t so damn hot out so that I’d be wearing a sleeve to wipe my snot on at this moment. I don’t know what to think. I don’t know what to say.
“We’re gonna get to work next door to each other?”
Ivy smiles, wiping away a stray tear with her thumb.
“Right next door. So we can visit and chat with each other whenever we want.”
“Just like now,” I laugh through my tears.
“Just like now.”
An hour later,I’m still covered in sweat and leaking tears from my eyes, but this time it’s because Ivy has already wrung three orgasms from my body and I’m screaming towards another one.
“God, Lilah baby. You look so fucking good like this. So beautiful when you let me ride you.”
“Vee, I can’t come again. It’s too much, please.”
Instead of backing off, Ivy hits a button on the Magic Wand she’s holding onto, increasing the vibration on our pussies.
“You can do it, honey. Stay still and let it happen.”
