When He Was Bad

by Poppy Dennison

  Someone pounded on his door, so Levi pushed out a long breath and rose to answer it. He wasn’t surprised to find Whitney glaring at him from the other side.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Whitney stomped into the room and grabbed Robbie’s jacket from where Levi had put it on the other chair.

  “Sorry.”

  Whitney spun around and then stopped. “What’s wrong?”

  Levi shrugged and shook his head. He didn’t want to think about it.

  Whitney dropped the clothes on the floor and hurried over to him. “Levi, talk to me. What’s wrong?”

  He sighed and rested his forehead against Whitney’s. “You know how much I care about you, right?”

  “Of course. What’s going on?”

  “I think we’re going to have to take a break for a while.”

  Chapter Six

  “FIVE HUNDRED,” Robbie said to Hudson as he paused by the jock’s locker.

  “Five—are you kidding me?”

  “That’s the going rate. Take it or leave it.”

  He continued walking his fingers around the bag of pills in his jacket pocket. Hudson didn’t have to know he’d picked them up at the drugstore, found some generic brand of vitamins he could pass off as drugs. Not like Hudson would know what the pills were supposed to look like.

  As much of a hardass as he pretended to be, Robbie hadn’t been able to actually give his old friend drugs that could really fuck him up. Pot was one thing. People could judge as much as they wanted, but he didn’t see the harm in it. He hadn’t gone into anything harder, and it wasn’t exactly like pot was hard to come by.

  That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to take the cash, though. If Hudson was going to be stupid, Robbie would take his money. There were a couple other bills his mom hadn’t found, and he could still help her out, even if she didn’t want him to.

  He wandered into the locker room by the gym and checked to make sure no one was around. No such luck. The new kid, Mack, sat on one of the benches with his head in his hands. He seemed like a nice enough guy, not that he’d given Robbie the time of day since Kelly’d gotten his claws into him.

  He turned to leave, but Mack looked up and saw him. “Hey,” he muttered.

  “Hey.” Robbie wasn’t altruistic enough to ask him if he was okay. He’d rather get Mack out of the room so he could hide his stash. He wasn’t stupid enough to keep stuff at his house, and he sure as hell wasn’t dumb enough to put it in his locker. No, he’d found an empty locker in the gym, put a lock on it, and only came around when there was a free period.

  “What are you doing here?” Mack asked.

  Robbie shrugged. “Came to sneak a smoke. Was going to go out the side door.”

  Mack stared at him for a long moment. “I can’t figure you out.”

  “Nothing to figure out. Just stay away from me, or all your friends will have something to say about it.”

  “Kelly has a picture of you in his room.”

  Robbie arched a brow. “Oh really?”

  “Yeah. From when you were kids. What happened?”

  “Life happened.” Robbie turned on his heel and stormed from the room. He’d find another time to come back.

  WHITNEY JERKED away from Levi, causing him to flinch.

  “We are not taking a break. Have you lost your mind?”

  “Whit, listen, I’m only thinking about—”

  “No, fuck that. I’m not listening until you tell me what the hell is going on! And get out of those clothes. Do you know how many rules you’re breaking? Wardrobe doesn’t leave the set. You know that.”

  Levi shucked the jeans down his hips with a glare. Unfortunately, he’d not taken off the boots, so he had to hobble back over to the chair to unlace them.

  Whitney cackled. “You look ridiculous.”

  Levi clamped his mouth shut and refused to answer; he simply continued taking off the boots and jeans. He tossed the jeans at Whitney and kicked the boots out of his way before stripping off the shirt.

  “There. Your precious clothes are off. Happy now?”

  He sounded petulant and angry, but Whitney refused to be baited, knowing well enough that if he snapped back at Levi, his gorgeous man would use it as a reason to bolt.

  With a wicked grin, Whitney closed the distance between them and ran his hands over Levi’s chest. “Well, I’ve got you almost naked and at my mercy. Of course I’m happy.”

  Levi whimpered. “Whit, please. Listen.”

  Whitney slowly coiled his arms around Levi’s neck. “No, you listen. We aren’t taking a break.”

  “I just don’t want any of my bullshit to affect you.”

  “Oh, honey, it won’t.”

  “You don’t know that,” Levi argued. “And I never want anything I do to—”

  “Stop,” Whitney said gently. “Just tell me what happened, and we’ll figure everything out together.”

  Levi stared down into Whitney’s eyes. “You should run.”

  “I’m not a runner. I’m a sticker. As in sticking to you. Like glue. Now talk to me.”

  “Jesus, it’s like I won the lottery with you, Whit.”

  Whitney nuzzled his face into Levi’s neck and nibbled a trail up to his jaw. “Right there, you see? I’m supposed to let you go when you say things like that?” he asked, one eyebrow arched in question. “As if.”

  Whitney dipped his tongue into Levi’s ear, distracting Levi from thinking too hard and getting all of his blood to rush south. Levi finally pushed Whitney back a step to put some distance between them, and Whitney had to fight back a preen at his flushed face and panting breath. Oh yeah, he knew how to take his man’s mind off his bullcrap and turn it onto him, where it belonged.

  “So LC came to talk to me after the shoot today.”

  “Okay.”

  “Somehow the press got ahold of an incident that happened when I was a teenager.”

  “And this affects us how?”

  “It was drugs, Whit. It’ll be all over the news tonight.”

  Whitney frowned. “But honey, you don’t do drugs.”

  “I don’t now.”

  “Oh, I see. So tell me, what happened?”

  “I feel so stupid.”

  Grabbing hold of Levi’s hand, Whitney tugged him over to the bed, flopped down on the end, and pulled Levi with him. “Please, Levi, trust me with this.”

  Levi released a deep breath. “Well, when I was fifteen, I got busted with a joint.”

  Whitney wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly. “I’m sorry, what?”

  “I said I got caught with a joint.”

  “A joint or a bag of them?”

  “No,” Levi confirmed quickly. “One.”

  “One as in one. As in singular?”

  “This isn’t funny.”

  “Oh no, I know.”

  “Whit!”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Levi, are you serious? A joint? Really? This is what has you all worked up?”

  “You don’t understand. It’s on my record, Whit. It was supposed to be sealed, but someone must have talked. It was sort of big news in my town.”

  “Why is a teenager getting caught with a joint big news anywhere? That’s ridiculous.”

  “Well, see, my grandpa was kind of important in our town. He was on the school board. And Gran, well, she knew everybody. She ran the beauty shop on the town square.”

  “Wait, your town actually had a square? Are you kidding?”

  “You always pick the weirdest things to focus on.”

  Whitney shrugged. “You knew the job was dangerous when you took it. Go on.”

  “Okay, so Grandpa was so disappointed, and Gran, well, she was so mad at me. Just fuming. I had to go to court, so my mom went with me. My lawyer said it wasn’t a huge deal, that I’d just have to go to drug counseling and be on probation.”

  “Okay, that’s reasonable.”

  “Yeah, until I saw my gran walk into the courtroom. She had on her Sunday dress, and
she had on a hat. Now, that probably doesn’t mean that much to you—”

  “Oh no. I get it. When a woman wears a hat, she means business.”

  “Exactly. So the judge and his wife were friends of my grandparents. When he said counseling, my gran stood up. I wanted to crawl under the chair.”

  “Oh hell.”

  “Exactly. She said, ‘Your honor, if it pleases the court—’”

  “She did not.”

  “Oh yeah. She did. Then: ‘My grandson is not going to get out of this with a slap on the wrist; oh no, he isn’t. He is an example of what not to do and will be repairing his error with our community.’”

  “What did the judge say?”

  “Well, he just sat there for a minute. Then he asked her what she had in mind. She rattled off a list of places in the community that could use the assistance of a teenager. It was the beginning of summer when it happened, and I spent the entire three months doing community service.”

  “Oh man.”

  Levi shrugged. “It worked. I mean, the community service wasn’t that bad, but seeing that look in her eyes? Knowing I’d let her down? That was the worst. I’d have done whatever it took to get her to forgive me.”

  “I’d like to meet her sometime.”

  “You can. I’d like that. She’ll adore you.”

  “So did she forgive you?”

  “Yeah. After I worked my fingers to the bone.” Levi laughed. “Man, I hated it. I emptied bed pans at the nursing home and cleaned up trash at the park. If a job needed doing around town, I did it that summer. You should have seen the phone calls she got. All summer long. ‘Naomi, do you think Levi would be available to mow my yard?’ And the next day, I’d be there mowing.”

  “Well, she must be proud of you.”

  “She is. Hell, I’d better call her before this hits the news. Make sure she knows I didn’t do anything.”

  “Honey, she’ll know. She put the fear of God in you when you were fifteen. She won’t believe it.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So why does this mean we have to take a break?”

  “Like I said, I don’t want any of this to touch you, Whit. I mean, it was so bad when the piranhas were after Flynn.”

  “I can handle them. What did LC say?”

  “Not much. They’re going to try to figure out how to handle it.”

  Whitney snickered. “Think they’ll have you do community service?”

  Levi groaned. “I hope not.”

  “Well, it’ll serve you right if they do. Trying to take a break from us. I should call your gran and tell her.”

  With a grin, Levi grabbed Whitney’s hand and threaded their fingers together. “You wouldn’t.”

  “I so would. Now, it seems to me like you promised me some celebrating.” Whitney swung a leg over Levi’s and straddled his lap.

  “And I’ll never break a promise.” Levi kissed Whitney as he lay back on the bed, drawing Whitney down with him.

  He would never get tired of tasting Whitney, touching his body. Giving Whitney’s shirt a tug, Levi broke away long enough to pull it up and off. Whitney dropped back down onto him, latching on to his mouth again, as his hips began to grind down on Levi’s cock.

  “Fuck, Whit,” Levi groaned when Whitney broke away.

  “Take a break, my ass,” Whitney grumbled. “You aren’t getting away from me. Never letting you go.”

  Levi didn’t know how much he needed to hear the words until Whitney said them. He tugged him back again, kissed him gently. “You’re stuck with me.”

  “About time you admitted it.”

  Levi laughed and tickled Whitney’s ribs. Whitney squeaked and tried to push his hands away.

  “Cut it out.”

  God, the man made him smile. Whitney grinned at him and pressed his ass down against Levi’s hard cock. Levi moaned and wrapped his hands around Whitney’s hips to guide his movements. Everything they did felt so right. He couldn’t get enough.

  “Lube and condoms,” Whitney gasped.

  Levi flopped his hand toward the bedside table but couldn’t reach. Whitney grumbled and climbed off him to strip out of his shorts and boxers. Levi pushed his own down his hips as he scrambled farther up onto the bed to grab the supplies in time for Whitney to climb back onto him.

  Whitney kissed his way down Levi’s chest, turning him quickly into a quivering mess of want and need. When he finally made his way to Levi’s cock, he looked up at Levi with a smirk before licking a trail from base to tip.

  Levi’s hips arched off the bed, and he cried out Whitney’s name.

  “Shh,” Whitney whispered. “I’ll take care of you.”

  He heard the snick on the cap of the lube before Whitney reached behind himself. He braced one hand on Levi’s chest, groaning lustily as he prepared himself. Levi stared at his face, watched each transforming expression.

  “Whit,” Levi groaned. “Please.”

  Whit picked up the condom from the bed, and it slipped through his lube-slicked fingers. He laughed, and Levi scooped it up from where it had landed on his stomach. He tore the wrapper open and slid it on his cock before reaching for Whitney, who moved to straddle Levi.

  “Been waiting for this,” he said as he licked his lips and lifted Levi’s cock. He gave it a stroke, coating it in lube, before positioning it at his hole. Whitney began to push himself down, and Levi held as still as he could. Every instinct in him wanted to shove his hips forward. He craved being buried so deeply in Whitney’s body he couldn’t tell where he ended and Whitney began.

  It didn’t take long before his wish was granted and he was all the way inside Whitney. Whitney threw his head back as he began to slowly raise and lower his hips, stretching himself the rest of the way. Levi waited for the signal that Whitney was ready, that he could finally move without hurting Whitney.

  Whitney kept up his slow ride until he finally leaned forward and gripped Levi’s shoulders. “Fuck me,” he demanded.

  Levi couldn’t wait to comply.

  He tightened his hold on Whitney’s hips and drew his knees up. Pushing his heels into the bed, he shoved his hips up and thrust deeply. Whitney keened and threw his head back. “Yes,” he purred. “More.”

  Levi couldn’t tear his eyes away from the blissed-out expression on Whitney’s face. He maintained his pace, trying to keep that expression the same, make it burn hotter.

  Whitney cried out at a particularly hard thrust and grabbed his cock. “Like that. Just like that.”

  He began to stroke himself in time with Levi’s thrusts, biting his lip and looking down at Levi in wonder.

  Levi felt the same. He watched Whitney’s breath quicken, sweat dripping down his stretched-out neck, his hand a blur as he jerked himself to completion.

  “Close, Whit.” Just looking at him was enough to push Levi to the edge.

  Whitney nodded and cried out, his release spurting over Levi’s stomach. Levi didn’t need to hold back anymore and let his own orgasm wash over him, through him. He filled the condom as his body trembled with the force of his release.

  Levi helped Whitney move to the side, then disposed of the condom. He curled up around Whitney, kissing him gently as Whitney snuggled closer and tried to catch his breath. After a few moments, Whitney opened his eyes and grinned.

  “I knew it would be spectacular.”

  “Better than the Flash,” Levi joked.

  “Do not go comic geek on me right now.”

  “What can I say? You’re my Kryptonite.”

  Whitney groaned and smacked Levi’s chest. “Shut up. I’m begging you. Let me enjoy this moment of bliss before you ruin it.”

  “Too bad I’m not Bruce Wayne. I could call Alfred for a snack.”

  Whitney cracked up and buried his face in Levi’s neck. “I clearly didn’t fuck you senseless. I’ll have to do better next time.”

  Levi snickered. “I’ve never been a chatty one after sex, but man, I’m kind of stupid happy right now.”
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  Whitney raised his head. “Yeah?”

  “Oh yeah. And I can’t wait to do it again.”

  He pressed a quick kiss to Whitney’s forehead and closed his eyes.

  Chapter Seven

  AFTER A few blissful days with Whitney, Levi found himself at a loss of what to do without him. Their schedules were bound to diverge at some point, and Whitney had left early in the morning to work. Levi wasn’t on the filming schedule until later in the day and had already rehearsed his lines for his next scene.

  He fiddled with his game console, but he wasn’t really interested in playing. He could go hang out at the pool, but almost everyone else was on set and he figured he’d be just as bored at the pool by himself as he was in his room.

  When his phone rang, he jumped up and answered it on the first ring.

  “Levi, I need you to come down to the wardrobe room right now.”

  “What’s wrong, Whit?”

  “Can you just come down here? I need your help.”

  Whitney sounded panicked, his voice thready and fast.

  “Sure. I’m on my way.”

  Levi threw on his shoes and grabbed his wallet before running downstairs and taking one of the mopeds kept on standby for the cast and crew. He sped away, trying to keep from worrying but failing miserably.

  By the time he reached the wardrobe room, he was almost as worked up as Whitney. When Whitney saw him, he ran over and threw himself into Levi’s arms.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t find Ryder’s bag.”

  “Okay. What can I do?”

  “Help me find it. It was here yesterday, Levi, but if I lose it…. Fucking hell. I was the last one to have it. I had to send Blair to set today without it. It’s his signature piece, like Robbie’s jacket is for you.”

  “So where do you think you put it? We’ll start there.”

  Whitney’s trembling had eased, and he pulled away. “In the cabinet with the other accessories. It comes in its own carrying bag, so I’m careful to always make sure it’s clean before I rebag and store it.”

  He led Levi over to the cabinet. Much like everything else in the room, it was completely organized. Clear baskets were labeled either by character or type of accessory. Levi knew what Ryder’s bag looked like, and it was clear it wasn’t in the cabinet.