Chapter 77: I support you

"Ivy, where are we going? How long will it take?" Joshua shouted from behind. They had been riding the bike for almost an hour now and yet they had not stopped for dinner. His stomach was rumbling and was creating riots due to the lack of food.

"We are almost there." True to her words, she stopped the next moment.

"What is this place?" Joshua looked at the small restaurant in front of him. It had a funky look to it. It was quite flashy, yet had a sober atmosphere.

"This place makes the best pizza you have ever eaten. Come." Ivy walked in the front without waiting for him.

Joshua followed her looking around him. As soon as he entered inside, a strong smell of spices and bread hit him. It was tantalizing. There were not many people inside.

"Hey Ives." A man in his teens came to them and hugged Ivy. He was just a few inches taller than Ivy and had black curly hair.

"Hey Caleb." Ivy hugged him back.

"You did not come with Aria?" Caleb asked looking behind her.

Ivy sighed. She knew that the boy had a crush on Aria. However, it was merely an admiration. Nothing more.

"She is in London."

"And who is this?" Caleb looked at the man standing beside her.

"This is Joshua."

They took their seats at the far end, away from the entrance and Caleb handed them each a menu card.

"I'll have the usual," Ivy said without even taking a glance at it.

"What about you?" Ivy looked at Joshua.

"I don't know. What do you suggest?"

"I have ordered Chicken-Bacon Parmesan Supreme Pizza. It's good. I suggest you try something else. Like Supreme Pizza. It's good."

"Okay. I'll have that."

"I'll have a coke with it. Make that two."

"Sure." Caleb gave her a smile and nodded at Joshua.

"Do you come here often?"

"Yes. Whenever I don't feel like cooking, I come here with my sister."

"You cook?" Joshua was a little surprised.

"Yes. My sister, Aria, is a doctor. So, she was busy studying most of the time and right now she is busy at the hospital. While, I had nothing to do. So, I learned to cook; it's necessary you see. One of us must know how to fill our stomachs. And also, I like cooking, it's fun."

"Wow." Joshua had always thought that among the sisters it was Aria who would have learned to cook. Never in his dreams had he thought that Ivy was the one who could cook. She just did not look like the one who spent time in the kitchen.

"Cut down your sexist thoughts. I can here them till here." Ivy interrupted his conception.

"I am not.."

"Hold your breath. You don't have to pretend. Anyway, who fired at that man in the club. As far as I know, I did not see any gun in your hands."

"That was the work of the police."

"Are you sure? I feel something amiss, like something does not add up. The timing of the police was quite a few minutes later than the gunshot." Ivy said, deep in thought.

"Here is your pizza." Caleb arrived with their order right at their moment, successfully gaining Ivy's attention.

Joshua thanked the boy mentally, he had saved him from an explanation. It was he, who had shot him. However, that was something he wanted to hide from her.

Caleb placed their pizzas in front of them. "Enjoy the pizza."

Joshua stared at the delicious pizza in front of him.

"Take a bite." Ivy urged. Joshua picked up a slice and took a bite. It was delicious. The cheese along with the vegetables blended together perfectly. He could catch a taste of pork. It was wonderful. Truly, it was one of the best pizzas he had ever eaten.

"How's it?" Ivy looked at him expectantly.

"It's good."

"I told you."

Ivy started eating her pizza and she moaned in delight. It had been two years ago when she found this place and the taste had remained the same since then. In fact, it was only getting better.

"Thank you for today," Ivy said in between taking a bite of a slice.

"Was it necessary to go to that sort of a place just to confront your ex-girlfriend? Also, she is not that pretty, you deserve someone more beautiful."

Ivy gave him a glare. She was annoyed that he assumed her to be a lesbian. How did he even get that idea?

"She is not my girlfriend."

"Yeah. I know. She is your ex."

"No." Ivy raised her hands in the air in annoyance.

"I am straight. I like men, she was not my girlfriend."

"You don't have to lie to me Ivy. I support all kinds of love, even if it is forbidden."

"She is not my girlfriend. I don't like women that way. She was someone we wanted to interview on our news channel."

"Then, why was she running away from you? It's not like you eat her up in secret, do you?" Joshua chuckled.

By then, Ivy and Joshua had finished their pizza and had exited the restaurant.

"She did not appear at the scheduled time for the interview and it was very important."

"It's a good story, but I don't believe you. Ivy, I told you, I support you. You don't have to hide your sexual preferences from me."

Ivy smacked her head. She didn't know how he ended up with the misconception and how to clear the misunderstanding. She thought for a while and an idea popped in her mind, although it was something she never wanted to do. However, clearing the misunderstanding was more important. If the rumor spread about her being gay, especially in her workplace, then it would be quite difficult for her in the future.

"I know how to make you believe me."

"How?"

Ivy pulled his head and smacked her lips to his. Joshua was struck with a thunderbolt with the sudden peck, it was unexpected. She did not go any further other than giving him a kiss on his lips. She pulled before he could register what had happened.

"See. I told you I am straight. If you had believed me, I would have not had to kiss you." Ivy rubbed her lips.

"Did you dislike the kiss?" Joshua was a little disheartened with her actions.

"Yes. Why would I want to kiss you when I don't even like you? I had to do it just to prove my point." Ivy turned her face away from him. She was not sure how she felt about the kiss. It was quite good actually, his lips were soft and cold, something which made her feel excited when she kissed him. However, the second part was true, she did not like him. Not yet.

"Now do you believe me?"

"Yes. However, I can't accept that you kissed him just like that. And you did all this just to prove your point. How absurd."

"I didn't have another choice. You were clearly being delusional when you assumed that I was into girls, even when I told you that was not the scenario. So, I had to resort to this. Anyway, the kiss means nothing okay."

"Sure, if you say so. For a moment, I thought that you had fallen for me."

"In your dreams. It's getting late. Come, I'll drop you."

"Okay."

After dropping Joshua at his house, Ivy returned home. Though he had insisted her on dropping him at his office, she had taken him to his house instead.

She changed into her nightdress and immediately succumbed into a deep sleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. Maybe it was the exhaustion or the excitement from the previous events, she fell asleep at once.

However halfway in between, she had a wet dream. In that she was kissing Joshua, this time it was more than just a peck. He kissed her fervently, his hands tightening around her waist. After, kissing her lips for a few seconds, he pried open her mouth and shove his tongue inside.

Before anything further could happen, Ivy woke up with a start. Her breathing was a little erratic and her heart was hammering fast. She looked around and realized that she was at home, in her bed. There was no Joshua or no kissing involved. She sighed in relief, for a moment she had thought that her dream was actually real. She lied down again, but she could not get any sleep. Her thoughts were filled with Joshua.

On the other side, Joshua too was also unable to fall asleep. He was reminiscing the brief kiss he had with Ivy.

It was the first time that both, Ivy and Joshua, could not fall asleep because of the other sex.