Chapter Seventeen
Abby
We end up spending almost two hours at the chain bookstore, staying close to closing time. When we leave, I have three new books to add to my bookshelves, and Levi has two. Both books are ones I edited: my first one and my most recent. He even promised to get all the ones in between, but I won’t hold my breath. The only books in his apartment are the ones with naked women pictured in them.
The ride back to town is light, fun, and easy. Sure, he’s my best friend and we obviously get along, but this is more than that. There’s chemistry and this now-familiar sexual tension filling the cab with each closing mile towards our building. When we reach the outskirts of town, words seem to evaporate completely. I keep stealing glances his way, and so is he. It’s an erotic slow dance towards something bigger than either of us could be prepared for. Sure, probably sex, but it’s more than that.
Much more.
When Levi parks his truck in the back of the lot, he unbuckles his safety belt and shuts off the truck. Without the hum of the diesel engine, the silence in the cab is almost eerie. “Wait there, and I’ll come around for you,” he says, his hazel eyes looking darker than normal under the glow of the moonlight.
Unable to speak, I nod. He makes quick work of jumping out and coming around to the passenger side. As he has all evening, he’s there, opening the door, and waiting for me to slide closer. At first, I was all about making sure all of my bits and pieces were covered by the skirt. You know, don’t wanna show off the goods on the first date. Though, that’s probably what Levi’s used to from other women.
By the time I slide out for the final time tonight, I don’t care much about the placement of my skirt. My body is humming with anticipation, my heart beating out of my chest with nerves. Will he kiss me? Should I invite him into my apartment when we get upstairs? If I do, is it expected that I’ll have sex with him?
Again, I’m completely out of my league on this whole dating thing. Panic starts to set in as I think about ruining the date. I’ve done so well all night, but now, at the end of the night, I’m going to mess it all up. He’ll run across the hall screaming. He’ll never want to speak to me again. I’ll lose my friend.
“Angel, I’m not sure what just happened there, but you suddenly look like you just lost your puppy.” My eyes fly up to his and the impact is instantly calming. “Breathe, sweetheart. I don’t think you’ve taken a breath since you got out of the truck,” he adds, caressing my cheeks with his big hands, never once letting his gaze waiver.
Exhaling deeply, I keep my eyes on his. “That’s better. What just happened there? You were smiling when I opened the door, but by the time I had you on the ground, you looked terrified.”
“Just getting trapped in my own head,” I mumble, choosing to be vague but honest. Levi knows me well enough to be able to see right through any lies.
“I was afraid of that.” Wrapping his arms around my back, he pulls me in close. So close I can feel the firmness of his chest and other parts against my body. “Come on,” he adds, leading me towards the apartment. The entire way, he never lets go of my hand.
We’re silent as we walk up three flights of stairs, my feet starting to protest with each step I take. I’m not used to wearing heels or wedges for any significant length of time in light of the fact I work from home. Heck, most of the time, I’m still in yesterday’s clothes until about noon. Totally gross, by the way.
When we reach our floor, I’m mentally contemplating what I’m supposed to do. Do I walk to my door and hope he follows? Go to his door? He answers the unspoken questions for me when he leads me towards my door. My gut drops to my shoes when I realize he’s ending our night out–our date.
Reaching my door, I grab my keys from my purse, not realizing that I didn’t have them already in my hand the way I was taught. Dread fills my body, replacing the desire I had just minutes ago.
Before I can insert my key, however, Levi turns me to face him. “Confession time. You ready?” I’m shocked he whips out our old game we used to play when we were younger. When one of us would call for a confession time, we each had to confess something that the other didn’t know. It’s been years since Levi and I have shared a confession, and I’m not sure why he would pull it out right now.
“Okay.” I’m not sure if that word comes out a question or an answer.
“I’ll go first. I had a really great time tonight.”
“You did?” My voice sounds shaky, even to my own ears.
“Yeah, I did. Actually, great isn’t even the right word. What’s better than great?” he asks, arching his eyebrow upward and giving me an easy smile. “Your turn.”
“Um, okay, well, as you know I haven’t been on a lot of dates, though for a while, they were always just first ones. I guess what I’m trying to say is that this was the best one I’ve ever had.” His face lights up, his smile widens. “And, I guess if I was still confessing, I’d say that I was really nervous about tonight, but even more so about now.”
Levi reaches forward and caresses my cheek. “I was nervous too. For the date, but not now. Know why?” Unable to find words, I shake my head. “Because being with you in any setting–on a date or otherwise–feels like the most natural, easy thing in the whole world. Because it’s you.”
My heart just literally stopped beating and my lungs seize up. I’m sure that my face, right now, is comical–mouth hanging open, eyes the size of saucers. But his eyes don’t hold the humor I would expect. Instead, they darken and start to smolder. My entire body shivers, but not from any cold air. It’s from his look; I feel it clear down to my soul.
“Are you still nervous?” he whispers, leaning into my personal space, but not moving his hand from my cheek.
I try to speak, but it comes out a croak. You know, like a frog. I basically regress to an aquatic amphibian. Kill me now.
“Don’t be nervous,” he whispers, inching closer and closer until our lips are a mere whisper apart. I can feel his breath fanning against my dry lips. My tongue slips out, sliding along my bottom one. His eyes dart downward as if he’s transfixed on the movement.
His free arm wraps around my back, pulling me flush against his body. I’m pliant and move easily, letting him lead. I wouldn’t know what to do in this situation if it were to slap me upside the head. See what I mean? I’m wrapped in my best friend’s arms, probably about to be kissed by him for the first time, and my mind is reminding me ever so unpleasantly that I have little to no experience in this kinda situation.
Moving his hand from my cheek to my hair, he whispers, “Abby, I want to kiss you. I want to kiss you more than I’ve ever wanted to kiss anyone in my life.”
“That doesn’t sound horrible,” I whisper back, mortification sweeping up my neck and staining my cheeks.
He chuckles lightly. “I’m glad because I’d hate for you to think it was horrible.”
“No, I think it sounds really nice. Wonderful, actually,” I tell him honestly.
Slowly, he lowers his mouth the rest of the way, our eyes lock on each other as our lips touch for the first time. It’s almost euphoric. My entire body practically melts into him, and that’s before he licks along the seam of my lips. And holy crapola, when he does that, I’m pretty sure fireworks actually explode nearby.
The first taste of his mouth is heavenly. Our tongues begin to slide with ease against one another, each stroke kindling a fire that’s burning deep inside me. He must feel it too, because his hands tighten in my hair (heck no, it doesn’t hurt), and he moves me as close as humanly possible to his body. So close that even air can’t pass between us.
That kiss ignites. My hands slide up his chest and wrap around his neck, pulling him until my breasts are plastered against him. It’s the first time I’ve ever wished my clothes would magically disappear. I’m lifting my leg, without even realizing it, wrapping it around his leg, seeking out his touch.
Levi turns us until I’m against the door. One hand slides up the outside of my thigh, gripping and pulling me into him. My hands move upward as I angle my head, allowing him to take the kiss straight past deep and into the category adjacent to pornographic. His hair is just as soft and thick as I remember, and I can’t stop myself from grabbing handfuls of his sandy-blond hair.
The result is a groan and a flex of his hip into the V of my legs. The friction causes my own moan to slide from my lips and into his mouth. We’re half a second away from getting it on in the hallway of our apartment building, and I couldn’t care less. I’m rooting for it, actually.
Suddenly, like a splash of cold water, Levi let’s out a frustrated growl and removes his mouth from mine. We’re both panting and breathless, entwined around each other as if we were one body.
“Confession time,” he whispers, nuzzling my nose with his. “Best. Fucking. Kiss. Ever.”
Again, I find myself speechless. My eyes have a hard time focusing under heavily hooded lids, but I can see the faint smile on his lips. My heart races with excitement, my blood boiling with desire. It’s everything I ever imagined this kiss to be.
And then some.
I’m just about to ask him to come inside with me when he speaks again. “I should let you get inside.”
Ice. Water.
My face must convey my shock and disappointment, because he quickly opens his mouth. “No, no, no. Not because I don’t want to come inside with you, because, angel, I really want to come inside with you.” He smirks at the double implication. “I told you from the beginning that you were different, and I’m going to prove it.”
“So you won’t sleep with me tonight?” I ask, shocked and a little hurt.
“I won’t sleep with you tonight because it was our first date, and you’re so much more than a first date lay. You’re…everything.”
I soften against him as he keeps me pinned against my front door.
“But the second date?” he whispers, licking the shell of my ear. “The second date is fair game, angel.”
Gazing up at him, I say boldly, “Confession time. I’m really, really looking forward to the second date.”
Levi closes his eyes and moans. “You’re gonna kill me.”
Setting my hiked-up leg back down on the ground, Levi runs his hands up my neck and caresses my cheeks. “I mean it. Tonight was the best date I’ve ever had and that’s because it was you. It never felt weird, even when you had your leg wrapped around my waist, rubbing that sweet pussy against my hard cock.” Oh God, cue the blush! “It felt anything but awkward. It felt amazing and so fucking right.”
“It did,” I confess.
“So I’m going to end our night with a much shorter kiss, I’m going to send you into your apartment, and I’m going to eventually fall asleep with the biggest, cheesiest grin on my face, and I want you to know that it was you who did that to me, Abs. You.”
My own cheesy smile breaks out, and I can’t help it.
“Good night, Abigail.”
“Good night, Levi,” I whisper before he brings his mouth back down to mine.
The kiss is much shorter, though it still causes sparks to fly. My body is numb, weightless with giddiness as he slowly releases me and opens my door. I feel the void of his body as soon as we’re apart, my body yearning for his touch, his closeness. “Night,” he whispers one last time before I turn and enter my apartment.
Before I close the door, I whisper my own, “Night.” His eyes never leave mine until they’re separated by the wooden door.
My fingers automatically lock both the knob and the deadbolt. I listen for his door, but it doesn’t come right away. I stand there, my back against the door, and listen to him breathe against the opposite side of the door. I can practically feel him. After several minutes, I finally hear movement. I stand still, refusing to move a muscle, even to look through the peephole. Eventually, though, I hear his door open, and after several more heart-stopping seconds, it finally closes.
Sagging completely against the door, the smile on my face feels as big as the sun. I’m sure it’s just as bright too. I glance around my apartment, making sure that everything is all right, before heading down the hallway. Instead of heading for my room though, I find myself walking towards my office. My computer boots up quickly, and before I know it, I’m staring at the PerfectDate app.
Open.
My emotions are all over the place, my body wound tight. Bringing up the messages, I click on his name.
AngelEyes: Best. Date. Ever.
Three words that speak of nothing but the truth. Smiling, I ignore the other messages and log out.
I practically float from my office and into my bedroom, removing my outfit and tossing it into my hamper. After a quick trip to the bathroom to remove my makeup and brush my teeth, I slide beneath my covers, the never-ending smile still firmly on my face.
Tonight, I went out on a date.
Tonight, I had the most wonderful time.
With Levi.
My best friend.
* * *
“Pick it up more, wussy!” AJ hollers, holding up the other side of the kitchen table.
“I am! Stop yelling at me,” I grunt as I try to steer the table through the back door.
We’ve been moving all of Payton’s belongings from her little house over to Dean’s place. What doesn’t go there is heading to our childhood home where our dad is going to store it until we have a sale. But I’ll be honest with you, the way I see Lexi eyeing some of the furniture, I wouldn’t be surprised if she isn’t making mental notes of what might be available should the need arise.
And after yesterday’s conversation, I’d say the need might arise rather quickly.
That thought just depresses me. Chris is an all right guy, but he’s definitely changed over the years. He was always very driven to be a success, but in the last three years, I’d say his relationship with my sister has deteriorated tremendously, which breaks my heart.
I want her to be happy and if that was with Chris, then so be it. But it’s not. At least not anymore, and that tears me up inside. For now, I’ll just be there and support her, knowing that when the time is right, she’ll make the hard decisions she’s meant to make.
“Quit daydreaming about Levi with his shirt off and help me maneuver this thing out the door.” AJ glares at me from across the table, twisting and turning it so that it fits through the doorway without dents and dings.
Her words register. I practically drop my end of the table, turning my neck, almost painfully, to see what she’s talking about.
And there he is.
Levi and Ryan are both shirtless and using an appliance cart to move the refrigerator from the kitchen. The man looks absolutely scrumptious in loose fitting jeans that hang dangerously low on his hips and work boots, the fitted gray tee that he was wearing earlier is hanging out of his back pocket. I literally, just stop and stare. Gawk, is actually a more accurate term.
His muscles flex in his back as he helps maneuver the large appliance through the doorway. What pulls my attention is the large phoenix tattoo across his back that moves with each stretch of his muscles.
“Really?” AJ mumbles behind me, pulling my attention back to her.
“What?”
“You act like you’ve never seen him naked,” she says with a smile.
“I haven’t!” I defend. And that’s the truth. We’ve seen each other in swimsuits and sleepwear. Yes, I know he has a large tattoo on his back and one on his chest, not to mention several on his arms. Yes, his body is lean and hard and has more ripples of muscles than most men. Yes, I’ve fantasized about what he would look like without the pants, but I’ve never actually seen him naked.
“You’re such a liar. I saw the way he wanted to gobble you up like Thanksgiving dinner earlier,” AJ quips with a smirk.
“She’s right,” Levi whispers against my ear, causing me to jump. The heat of his flesh sears my entire body and he isn’t even touching me.
“Of course I’m right,” AJ retorts before setting her end of the table down on the porch. Dean is there, wearing his shirt, I might add, and grabs her end.
“Allow me to help,” Levi says, bending over and kissing my exposed shoulder. He takes the table from my hands, allowing me to step aside and out of the way. Effortlessly, he moves the table until it’s out the door. Before he’s out of sight, he throws me a smile and a wink.
“Seriously, I can’t believe you two haven’t hooked up before now,” AJ says, stepping up beside me.
“Why do you say that?”
“You two have been doing the sexual tension tango around each other for years.” Leaning forward so that no one can hear, she asks, “How was the date?”
“How did you-” I start, but know it’s fruitless.
“How do you think? Lexi told Grandma who took out a message in the church bulletin this morning.”
Gasping, my eyes fly towards my sister’s green ones. “What?!”
“Kidding. Jeez, calm down. She did text us last night and told us all that you two finally got your shit together.”
“And that’s big news?” I ask, hating that my siblings were all communicating about me, but knowing that it was inevitable.
“Of course it is, silly. We’ve all seen it forever now; we’ve just been waiting on you two to catch up,” she says before grabbing one of the lamps sitting on the floor and heading back out the front.
Levi and Dean load the table into the trailer that’ll go to my dad’s place, while Ryan meets them around the back with two of the chairs.
“Well, how was the sex?” Lexi whispers excitedly behind me.
“For the love of God, we didn’t have sex,” I tell her, spinning around to find her, Jaime, and Payton both there with smiles.
“Whatever,” Payton grumbles, sarcastically, as she grabs one of the last few boxes in the living room.
“It’s okay if you didn’t, Abs. I didn’t sleep with Ryan on our first date,” Jaime says, picking up another box.
“Yes you did, hussy! You spent the night with him,” Lexi chimes in.
“That was the second date,” Jaime defends before walking towards the door. “Our first date was just a kiss. The most perfect kiss ever.”
My face blushes as memories of last night’s kiss parade through my mind. That kiss was single-handedly the best kiss of my entire life. It was the Super Bowl and World Series all rolled into one. No other first kiss could ever possibly measure up, which just sucks because every time I kiss someone for the first time, I’ll think of Levi and how wonderful his kisses were.
But what if there never was another first kiss?
Call it wishful thinking, but even I’m not naïve enough to know that’s probably not true. Nothing ever happens like in the love stories I read day in and day out. Levi and I are friends, sure, but not destined to be together or anything. Even though he makes me feel alive and invincible, even just from a single night of kisses, doesn’t mean he’s the one I’m destined to spend the rest of my life with.
But, boy, wouldn’t that be amazing?
Blushing again, I turn back and face my sisters. They’re all wearing matching grins. “What?”
“Tell us,” Payton encourages, stepping forward and eliminating the gap.
Three sets of eager eyes stare back at me. “It was…amazing.”
“Like your body was going to burst into flames?” Payton asks.
“Mmhmmmm,” I hum with a coy smile.
“If by the way you’re blushing is any indication, I’d say it was better than amazing,” Jaime says.
“And you didn’t have sex with him? Have I not taught you anything?” Lexi grins over the box in her arms and heads out the door.
“Ignore her, Abs. You go at your own pace. Only you and Levi will know it’s right, if it’s right.” Payton clearly slipped into the big sister role effortlessly.
“Thank you, Pay,” I say before she can slip out the door.
“But my vote is for marathon sex. I bet that man could go all night long,” she hollers over her shoulder before slipping outside herself.
“My only advice is that whenever it happens, make sure you’re not in public. Indecent exposure won’t look good on you, Abs,” Jaime contributes before following the others outside.
I’m left alone in the living room with only a couple of packed boxes and my thoughts. Yeah, of course, I’ve imagined what it would be like to sleep with Levi. Recently, it seems to be all I can think about late at night when I’m lying in bed alone. But something tells me the things I’ve pictured won’t do the real Levi Morgan’s sexual magnetism, justice.
Man, is it hot in here?
Before I can head out the door with my own box, strong arms wrap around my waist and stop my progress. His lips are warm and soft as he places a tender kiss on the back of my neck. Shivers slide down my spine and strike at my extremities. My breathing is shallow and my body is swaying back in his direction.
All of this from the slightest touch of his lips.
“Were you talking about me?”
“Maybe,” I whisper. My eyes flutter closed as his lips linger at the base of my neck.
“What were you talking about?”
“Nothing much.”
“It must have been something for Lexi to walk out and tell me she was disappointed in me.” His hands don’t move, his lips don’t move. I don’t move. I close my eyes and feel.
“She’s just being Lexi,” I murmur, my breathing labored, all of a sudden.
“So it was about sex?”
Laughing, I glance over my shoulder and meet his twinkling hazel eyes. “You know her well.”
He snorts and I feel his hands flex on my lower stomach. “I do, but I know you better.” His eyes flare with fire that resembles the same heat he had last night right before he kissed me. “I know you are excited, yet nervous to have me this close to you. I feel it, see it, know it because I know you. You want to see what else is there between us, but you’re still scared.
“Me too, angel. I’m terrified I’m going to fuck up the best friendship I’ve ever had, or will have. But do you know what?” he asks, his eyes unwavering. Unable to respond, I shake my head. “My need to find out what has developed between us is greater. It’s like a craving I can’t quench. You’re my craving.”
“As long as you keep kissing me like that, I don’t think you can screw anything up.” And that’s the honest to God truth. The man kisses like I’m the very air he breathes.
“That I can do,” he says just before spinning me around and placing his lips on my own. It’s a tender kiss, but still contains the euphoric spark I’ve come to associate with him.
His lips move gently against mine, slow and seductive. The tip of his tongue slides gingerly along the seam of my lips, coaxing my mouth open. His breath mingles with my own, minty and hot. He smells and tastes just as he did last night, only now with a hint of sweat. Honestly, the slightest whiff of him turns me into a puddle of hormonal mush, all wanton-like and ready to strip off my clothes.
Levi pulls me against his chest, his hard muscles flexing beneath my fingertips. And lest I forget to mention that his chest isn’t the only hard thing pressed against me at the moment. Good God, this man is pure sin.
“There’s still a bed in Payter’s room if you two need a few minutes!” The statement is practically shouted, echoing through the near-empty house. Levi and I jump apart, my left foot catching on one of the remaining boxes in the living room.
“Grandma!” I exclaim, my balance shifting and twisting my body. Before I go down, his arms are wrapped around me, pulling me back against his body.
“Oh, don’t Grandma me, young lady. I saw that tonsil hockey you were engaging in with that young man. In fact, I saw quite a bit of it. He has good moves,” she says with a wink and a sweet smile. My face, on the other hand, burns with mortification.
“You are so embarrassing,” I whimper, burying my face in his bare shoulder. My entire being is flooded with his scent once more, and it ignites my blood. I’d wiggle in nice and close if it weren’t for the elderly lady five feet away, probably videotaping.
“Maybe so, but I’m not the one swapping spit in your sister’s house with your entire family milling around. You should be thankful it was me who found you and not your grandpa. He’s looking for any excuse he can get to find out Levi’s intentions.”
“His intentions?” I ask at the same time Levi says, “My intentions?”
“Sure, sure, intentions. You should have heard him when he cornered Dean one afternoon at Brian’s. The poor man was red for two hours.”
“My intentions are pure,” Levi says, tightening his hand around my waist. “Well, mostly,” he adds. I glance up just in time to see his wink at the little ol’ lady behind me.
“I knew I liked you for a reason,” Grandma coos behind me, adding to the humiliation. “Well, that, and that ass you could bounce quarters off of.”
Before I can even formulate a reply, she’s gone, leaving us alone.
“Come on, Levi. We’ve got bedroom furniture to move,” Ryan says as he walks in the front door and gives me a smile. I haven’t missed the fact that strong arms are still wrapped around my body.
“Gotta get back to work,” he whispers against my ear before sliding his hand up my arm and to my cheek. In a move I’ve come to expect, he gently slides a strand of hair behind my ear. His lips peck my lips, soft and sweetly.
“Awwww.” Turning slowly, I find four of my sisters standing in the doorway, big cheesy grins on their faces.
“Let’s get to work,” I mumble as I pull myself away from Levi’s warmth. I blush horribly while he throws me another wink and turns to follow Ryan down the hallway to my sister’s bedroom.
“Come on,” I tell the girls. “Let’s get back to work.”