Ivy’s Point Of View
I wish the ground would open up and swallow me right away. I haven’t even said a word about last night, but my facial expressions seem to spill the tea hot and furious.
I nod in response to her question. "That good and more," I answer, and Callie shrieks in delight.
"Well, I can see that." She points at my neck as affirmation.
"What is a hickey? Does it last forever? Do you get it from every sexual partner you encounter? I mean with four men leaving hickey marks on me... I only have so much skin on my small body."
I can see a look of confusion on Callie’s face. She purses her lips as she watches me. I can see tears form in her eyes as she makes a funny sound in her throat.
Is she going to cry? What have I said? I wonder if she is trying to stop herself from breaking into sobs. Does she perhaps feel sorry for me getting these hickey marks from all these Alphas?
I nearly fall off the bed when Callie bursts out laughing. I look at her, perplexed. What is so funny? Is this hickey mark thing common knowledge to every woman except me? Perhaps I should have tried to study more about these things. I probably sound very dumb right now.
Callie’s giggling dies down. She takes my hand in hers as she smiles at me. I can tell she is trying her best not to burst out laughing again. "A hickey, my dear Ivy, is a hot kiss a man gives a woman. The kiss burns with such passion it leaves a mark. Well, that and the sucking. It is also known as a love bite. It’s just proof of the passion you shared with Alpha Chase last night, that’s all."
I look at her intensely as more questions begin to formulate in my head. Was this a frequent occurrence then?
As if sensing my questions, she explains, "It is not something that happens all the time. Just once in a while, it can be thrown in during the waves of passion. If you don’t get one, though, that doesn’t mean there was a lack of passion."
I nod. I think I understand. I feel the corners of my mouth curving into a smile. Chase gave me a hickey.
Ah, for a newbie, I should treat this as a medal for a job well done then.
Why would I have to hide this under some concealer? I would love for Marissa to see it. I smirk when I think of how she would react. It will surely wipe that stupid smug look she always wore.
I shake myself from my thoughts. I have more things I need to tell Callie.
"I was so scared, but Alpha Chase was gentle. He made me feel like the most precious woman to ever walk the earth."
Callie kicks her feet out of the sandals she is wearing and reorients her body to face me. She brings her feet up onto the bed. Now sitting cross-legged next to me, she bats her pretty eyelashes.
I giggle. She looks like a kindergartener getting comfortable for storytime.
"How is he in bed? Is he as big as I assume he is? Did you lie on your back with your legs up afterward? It betters the chance of the seed reaching the egg."
I feel my face burn up. That is a very intimate question I didn’t want to answer. Some secrets are best kept for my eyes and heart only.
However, I will keep the ’lying on my back afterward’ thing as handy advice for next time.
"I have nothing to compare him to," I remind her. "I was scared of spending the whole night with him," I confess, directing the conversation away from her prying question.
I am glad when she doesn’t push the matter. Instead, she replies to my confession. "Why? Did you think he would eat you while sleeping?"
If by eat she meant to eat my... I shake my head. I can’t believe I am now having such dirty thoughts. Well, Ivy is surely no longer a virgin even in the head. I am a woman now. Chase’s woman.
"Ha, I usually kick people out of the bed in their sleep. Wouldn’t that be a major problem? To kick one of my suitors..." I unveil one of my deepest secrets.
Callie nods with a grin plastered across her face.
Then, I continue, "That’s one of the reasons I could never go to slumber parties as a child. I once went to a sleepover at this girl’s house when I was nine. I kicked not only her but everyone else who had come for the slumber party. When I woke up the next morning, I was alone in her big bed. Everyone else had decided it was safer to sleep on the floor. Imagine spending the morning with everyone complaining of painful ribs and giving me the dirty eye. I was mortified."
Callie bursts out laughing again, and this time I join her.
"Hey, we all probably were kickers as children. But, you are an adult now. I am sure you grew out of that phase. In fact, you are a woman, as of last night." She winks at me, and I can’t help but giggle.
Yes, she is right about me being a woman, but I am not so sure about the kicking part.
I shift on the bed, and my stomach growls in response. I am hungry. I didn’t eat properly last night, and now my belly is yearning for its daily quota.
"You need to take a bath now and then have some breakfast. We still have a wonderful day ahead of us, before another eventful night."
My stomach drops. Partly because she is here, and I don’t want her to be a spectator as I bathe, and more pressing, I really don’t want to be with anyone else tonight. I want Chase. My Chase.
Willa’s eyes become shrewd, taking me in as though she’s seeing me in a new light.
"You are glowing!" she says. I feel a warmth creep into my cheeks. I feel rejuvenated after my bath. It was a peaceful soak, and I had been relieved when Callie had walked out of the room, allowing me to bathe in private. For once.
The soapy warm water seems to have made the hue in my skin radiate.
The hickey marks on my neck appear to be brighter as well.
I wince and move my head back as Willa brings a brush with concealer close to the marks. I don’t want the marks covered. I want to broadcast them to the world. She looks down at me and smiles.
"I don’t think there is a need for that," I say. I really am proud of my hickey marks. I can hear a faint groan coming from Willa. It appears she doesn’t quite agree with my decision.
"I think it is best if we cover them. The lunch buffet we have planned is going to host lots of people. It is bad enough that everyone already knows about your private affairs with the Alphas, but actually walking around with a hickey or two will only make matters more awkward."
I lick my lips as I regard Willa through her reflection in the vanity mirror in front of me. I mean, the mark is special to me, but I think she has a point: walking around with this will just be a reminder to everyone about my position here to fuck four Alphas. I know this is probably a secret elation and win that I should keep to myself. I nod my head at her. She smiles and proceeds to cover my love bites with a generous amount of concealer. When she is done, I take a look at myself. There is hardly any evidence of the marks that grace my neck. Now, all I have to cling to are the memories of the gentleness Chase had ravished me with. That reminder is enough to cause a warm feeling to surge inside my chest.