When He Was Bad

by Poppy Dennison

  “Well, I don’t know if it’ll do a damn bit of good, but maybe, if we’re lucky, it’ll help keep you a little cooler. Here.” Whitney pushed a bag into his hands. “When they stop being cold, toss the old ones and put these in. They should last for a couple hours, but who knows in this heat.”

  “I will. Thanks, Whitney.”

  Amy appeared at the door and waved at Whitney. “Morning, boys. Come on, Levi. We’re waiting on you.”

  “No problem.” He walked to the door and turned back to Whitney. “I’ll be back in a Flash.”

  Whitney snorted out a laugh as Levi headed out the door and got to work.

  Prepping for scenes with the actress playing Robbie’s mother was always an emotional experience for Levi. It wasn’t working with Sharon, who flew in for the days she was needed on set, but getting into the mind-set of a kid from a broken home. Levi had been lucky that way. Nothing broken about his family. It did make it easier to get into Robbie’s headspace, though. He knew just how much the kid had lost, simply because he’d never lost it himself. Imagining life without his family, well, it just wasn’t something Levi could do without slipping right into Robbie mode.

  “How you doing, kiddo?” Sharon smirked and dropped her arm across his shoulders.

  “Doing good, Mom.”

  Sharon huffed out a laugh and took a swig from a bottle of water. “You did good. That was a tough scene.”

  Levi shrugged off the praise and slipped Robbie’s leather jacket off his shoulders. He tugged one of the ice packs out of the lining. It had begun to warm. He looked around for the bag of spares Whitney had given him earlier. He didn’t need to replace them, but he was packing up for the day and definitely didn’t want to leave them behind. They’d spent most of the morning on interior shots of Robbie’s house, but the lights and equipment generated enough heat that he might as well have been outside in the sun.

  “Hey, that’s a good idea,” Sharon said as she looked over his shoulder.

  “Whit came up with it to try to keep me from passing out.” He laughed as he said it, but Sharon didn’t seem to get the joke.

  “I heard what happened. Wonder when Dakota is going to write Robbie’s big whatever so he can ditch the leather.”

  “His big whatever? Nice, Sharon.”

  “Oh, come on. We’re heading for something for Robbie. Mack and Kelly are the romance. You’re the bad boy.”

  Levi huffed. “Yeah. I’m the baddie all right. I bet the fans are going to have a shit fit when Robbie starts slipping Hudson pills.”

  “They do seem slightly obsessed with our resident jock. But you love it. I don’t know who you think you’re fooling.”

  “I guess it’s true that everyone loves the bad boy, huh?”

  “The bad boy with the heart of gold. I swear, everywhere I go, I get asked about Robbie. It’s kinda crazy.”

  “It’s just ’cause I look fantastic in this jacket.”

  Sharon laughed as Levi spotted a familiar head of blond hair. Whitney came into the back entrance of the set and looked around until he spotted Levi. He waved, and Levi hurried over to him.

  He jerked Whitney into his arms and lifted him off the ground in a giant bear hug. “You are an absolute genius.”

  Whitney squeaked and thumped Levi on the shoulder. “Put me down, you idiot.”

  “Nope. Look, I’m not even breaking a sweat. And you know why? ’Cause I’m nice and cool.”

  “If you don’t put me down, I’m going to kick you in the nuts.”

  “You will not.”

  Whitney arched a brow.

  Levi put him down.

  “So it really helped?” Whitney plucked the jacket from Levi’s hands and removed the used ice packs.

  “It did. It’s still hot, but it’s so much better than it was.”

  “Good.”

  “So you done for the day?”

  Whitney gave him a look.

  “What?”

  “Since you’re still in costume, I’m clearly not. Perhaps you cooked a few too many brain cells the other day. Then again, no one would ever call you a master of the obvious, so….”

  Levi chuckled and took the packs from Whit before tossing them in the trash. “Well, we’re done, so I’m going to get changed. Sharon is too.”

  “Excellent. You guys are my last two for the day. I came over to see how much longer you were going to be.”

  “Perfect timing, then. You can walk back with me.”

  “What? You can’t walk on your own?”

  “Shut up. You treasure every stolen moment we get to spend together.”

  “Of course I do. I sit alone in my room, crying desperate tears when I don’t get to see your snarky ass at least fourteen times a day.”

  “Fourteen. Good to know.”

  “Well, come on. You just going to stand here running your mouth all day?”

  “Depends on if I get to run my mouth with you.”

  Whit rolled his eyes and turned to leave.

  Levi scrambled after him.

  “So, I have a question for you.”

  “Oh God. This should be good. Should I brace myself?” Whitney grimaced, pushing the jacket back into Levi’s hands. “And carry your own damn jacket.”

  “Fine. Wouldn’t want you to strain yourself. And I’m wondering, who’s your favorite DC guy?”

  Whitney burst out laughing. “What makes you think I have a favorite?”

  “Oh, come on. Everybody does.”

  “Everybody?”

  Levi huffed. “Quit being an ass.”

  “But you love my ass.”

  “More than you know. So answer the question already.”

  “More than I… oh, never mind. And my favorite is the Flash.”

  “You’re just saying that because you saw my Flash underwear,” Levi quipped.

  “Well, that didn’t hurt, but no. He’s always been my favorite.”

  “Why?” Levi draped his arm across Whitney’s shoulders as they walked toward the wardrobe room.

  “Because he’s fast, obviously. Can you imagine how quickly I could get stuff done? And if I forget something in wardrobe, there wouldn’t be any running back to get it. It’d be like poof, and I’d be back with it. And ohmygod, if I have to sew stuff? Imagine how fast I could get it done. No more hours of hand stitching something. And he’s snarky and sarcastic.”

  “Like me.”

  Whitney stumbled, and Levi kept him from falling.

  “Yes,” he said softly, staring up at Levi with a sweet smile. “Exactly like you.”

  They were quiet for a moment before Whitney cleared his throat. “So who’s your favorite?”

  “The Flash, obviously.”

  “Obviously, underwear man.”

  Whitney seemed flustered, and Levi couldn’t be happier. He wanted to keep Whitney on his toes and thinking about him in his underwear.

  “I bet you have an entire collection, don’t you?” Whitney asked.

  Levi shrugged and grinned. “Wouldn’t you like to find out?”

  Whitney snorted. “You wish. So why the Flash?”

  “Because I could eat anything I wanted and not have to worry about fitting into my wardrobe.”

  “Could you be a bigger dork?”

  They reached the wardrobe room, and Whitney unlocked the door before pushing it open. “Hurry up and get changed. I’m hungry.”

  “We’ve got to wait for Sharon.”

  “She doesn’t take forever and a day, unlike some people.”

  “Who, me? The Flash is my name. Speed is my game.”

  “Oh my God, you’re killin’ me.”

  Before Levi could respond, Sharon came bustling in. She grabbed her clothes out of the bin Whitney stored them in and went behind a screen.

  “See? That’s how this is supposed to work. You come in. You change. You leave me alone.”

  Sharon snickered from behind the screen.

  “Shut up. It takes me ten minutes just to un
lace these fucking boots.”

  Whitney cackled as he waited for them to finish changing. They emerged at the same time and handed over their clothes to him.

  “See you tomorrow, Whitney.”

  “Bye, Sharon.”

  Whitney put their clothes in the appropriate spots before turning to find Levi right behind him. “What are you doing?” he asked, startled, his voice louder than he meant it to be.

  “Waiting for you. We’re getting food.”

  “We are?” Whitney asked, taking a step back.

  Levi took one forward into his space. “You said you were hungry.”

  “Well, yeah. Did you think it was an invitation?”

  “Didn’t have to think. I knew.”

  “You’re such a pain in my ass.”

  “I’d like to be.”

  Whitney opened his mouth to reply and snapped it shut again.

  “Well, not a pain, more like a dull, pleasant ache that reminds you who you belong to.”

  Whitney caught his breath.

  “What?” Levi asked, his grin wicked.

  “You keep saying stuff like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like maybe you want to—”

  “Oh, I want to.”

  Whitney’s sharp exhale could not be missed. “Yeah?”

  “Oh yeah,” Levi said, putting his hands on Whitney’s shoulders and staring down into his eyes. “I know I joke a lot, Whit, but I’m not kidding about this.”

  Whitney’s soft whimper was the sweetest sound Levi had ever heard. He pulled Whitney into his arms and kissed him.

  Whitney moaned and clutched at Levi’s T-shirt. He opened his mouth, and Levi plunged his tongue inside. He’d been waiting for this moment, the right time to make his move. He wished he’d not waited so long. Whitney tasted amazing, and they fit together perfectly, just like Levi had imagined.

  When they finally broke apart, Whitney stared up at him, gasping for breath.

  Levi traced his thumb over Whitney’s cheek and smirked. “At least now I know how to shut you up.”

  “I will kill you dead.”

  Levi grinned. He couldn’t wait.

  Chapter Four

  ROBBIE STOOD in his usual haunt at the sidelines of everyone else, so it was quite a surprise when Hudson approached him. The jock looked around to make sure no one was paying attention before coming closer. Sad that they couldn’t even pretend to be friends anymore. Robbie remembered the days when he and Hudson had been inseparable. Those days were long past.

  “So what can I do for you, big guy?”

  “I need some help.”

  “Oh really?”

  Hudson cleared his throat. “So, Coach wants me to bulk up a little more and is riding me to get better results. I’m wondering if you have anything that could help me out.”

  Fuck. Steroids. Robbie didn’t deal those, and certainly didn’t want to give them to Hudson. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  Some of the other football players came over, and Hudson hurried away like his ass was on fire.

  Robbie stared after him. He wasn’t one to lecture, but even he knew the dangers of steroids. He’d come up with something. It was what he did, after all. And he’d make sure Hudson paid out the ass for the trouble.

  WHITNEY COULDN’T think of much to say on the walk back to the hotel. He answered Levi’s questions on what he wanted to eat, quipped back in the easy way they normally bantered, but he couldn’t get his mind off their kiss. They’d shared an easy flirtation for months. Whitney enjoyed it, liked knowing he’d get to laugh every day that he saw Levi. But getting involved with someone he worked with—it broke every rule in the book and rarely, if ever, ended well.

  Levi carried the take-out bag of sandwiches they’d picked up from a local restaurant. He had his other arm around Whitney’s shoulders. The extra weight felt natural, as if they’d always walked around all cuddled together like a couple.

  “You done being quiet yet?” Levi asked.

  Whitney darted a glance up at him. “Maybe.”

  “Did I mess things up?”

  “No.”

  “Look, Whit, if you aren’t interested in me like that, we can just pretend it never happened.”

  “Shut up.”

  He wrapped his arm around Levi’s waist and squeezed. God, he wanted to take a chance, more than he’d ever wanted to. It was a risk, but one he was willing to take. “Who do you think gives the better blow job, the Flash or Batman?”

  “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  “I did hear you. Is that what you’ve been thinking about this entire time?”

  “Well, I do think about blow jobs a lot.”

  “Same here. And Batman gives a better blow job, without a doubt.”

  Whitney scoffed. “You’re so full of crap. Batman? Seriously? He’d brood and moan and make Alfred do it.”

  Levi burst out laughing. “I bet the Flash would give Batman the blow job of his life.”

  “I bet I’d give you the blow job of your life.”

  Levi stumbled and nearly dropped their bag of food. Whitney swiped it from his hand and shook his head. “You know I’m hungry. Don’t mess with my food.”

  They walked around to the pool and found Lorelei and Eugenia eating at one of the patio tables. “Hey, Whit. Levi. You guys wanna eat with us?”

  “Sure,” Levi answered.

  Whitney set their food out while Levi dragged over a couple chairs from another table. Lorelei and Eugenia both looked at him and waggled their eyebrows. Damn it. They could tell. He’d never hear the end of it.

  “So,” Eugenia said as Levi sat down, “you finally kissed him, huh?”

  Levi sputtered. “Wh-what?”

  “Oh, don’t pretend like we can’t tell. He’s got stubble burn.”

  Whitney raised a hand to his face. Yep, he sure did.

  Levi gave a quick glance at him, so Whitney shrugged. Not like he could lie to them. They were his closest friends.

  “Yeah, I kissed him. And I liked it.”

  Lorelei giggled and clapped her hands. “Finally. Jesus. The unrequited love thing was getting old. I didn’t think you two were ever going to get it on.”

  “Oh hell.” Whitney’s face heated, and he glared at the ladies. “I hate you both.”

  “No, you don’t,” Eugenia cackled.

  “Someone’s gonna get laid.” Lorelei laughed as they high-fived each other.

  “And it’s not going to be you.” Levi waggled his eyebrows and wrapped his arm around Whit’s shoulder.

  “I’ve got a husband for that.” Eugenia smirked.

  Whitney shook his head and took a giant bite of his sandwich. They took the hint and changed the subject to show gossip. By the time Levi led Whitney up to his room, Whitney’s stomach was in knots. He wanted Levi—God, he wanted him so damn much—but part of him was terrified. Getting involved with someone he worked with wasn’t the best idea. Getting involved with a friend wasn’t the best idea either. Levi was both, and so much more.

  Levi closed the door to his room and pulled Whitney into his arms. Whit dropped his forehead onto Levi’s shoulder and sighed.

  “We don’t have to do anything, Whit. I swear. It’s fine.”

  “Aren’t you scared? What if it doesn’t work? What if we ruin what we have?”

  Levi cupped his hand around the back of Whitney’s head and rubbed his neck. “I’m not scared of that at all. Hell, Whit, I feel like I know you better than anyone I’ve ever met. We fit, you know? I was scared for a while. I can’t deny that. But once I kissed you? Man, nothing has ever felt so right before in my life.”

  Whitney raised his head and looked into Levi’s eyes. He could imagine staring into them forever. Fuck, he’d turned sappy. He lifted his hand to Levi’s cheek and guided him closer. This time, the kiss was slower, sweeter, but no less powerful than their first.

  By the time they broke apart, W
hitney’s nerves had settled. He couldn’t hide his smile.

  Levi circled Whitney’s waist with his hands and touched their foreheads together. “God,” he murmured softly.

  “Yeah.” He bit his lip and pressed another quick kiss to Levi’s mouth. “How about a shower?”

  “Together?” Levi wiggled his eyebrows.

  “No idiot. Apart.” Whitney rolled his eyes as he pushed Levi back. He pulled off his shirt and started walking to the bathroom. “What are you waiting for?”

  “Nothing,” Levi answered as he jerked his own shirt off.

  Whitney kicked off his shoes and dropped his shorts. By the time he made it to the bathroom, he was down to his underwear. He turned on the water and glared at the bar of soap in Levi’s shower. “Seriously? You have zero products in here.”

  “What?” Levi scrambled into the bathroom, completely nude.

  Whitney’s spit dried in his mouth, and he forgot what he was going to say.

  Levi grinned wickedly and stepped closer. “See something you like?”

  Whit swallowed and licked his lips. “Yep.”

  Levi climbed into the shower and held the curtain open. “What are you waiting for?” he quipped.

  “Don’t use my own words against me, ass.”

  “Mmm. Ass. Yours. Want it.”

  Whitney pushed down his boxer briefs and climbed into the shower. “You can’t have it until you get some decent products in here. Damn, Levi. Do you know what bar soap does to your skin?”

  “Uh, cleans it?”

  “How have you survived without me for so long?”

  Levi smiled and pulled Whitney against him. Their skin slipped together, and Whitney grabbed Levi’s arms to keep his balance. “I have no idea.”

  The water poured over them as they stood together for a long moment.

  Then Levi grabbed a washcloth from the hook and lathered it up with soap. He ran the cloth slowly over Whitney’s shoulder, down his arm, then back up. “You’re perfect.”

  “Not perfect,” Whitney whispered.

  “Don’t argue with me,” Levi said as he continued to wash Whitney’s body.

  “If you don’t hurry up, I’m going to….”

  “Yes?”

  “I don’t know.”