by Jewel E. Ann
“Tell me what to do, Gus.” Parker closed her eyes. A second later, she opened them to a dog barking. “Okay, I hear you.” A grin stole her face as she ran up the stairs. Grabbing as many toiletries as she could carry in one trip from the bathroom, she threw them in the suitcase, latched it, and lugged it down the stairs. She snagged her purse off the kitchen table and shoved her feet into her blue Chuck’s.
The second she opened the door, her lungs took their first breath since the day Gerald arrived at her door. It felt amazing. Tears stung her eyes. “Wait!” she yelled, dragging her suitcase across the impossible rocky terrain of her drive, chasing the white SUV driving away next door. “WAIT! LEVI!” She waved her free hand. The torque of her purse and suitcase wrenching her shoulder made her grimace, but she didn’t stop until Levi started to turn onto the main road.
Grabbing a golfball-sized rock, she pitched it at the vehicle. It pinged against the hatchback. Red brake lights illuminated. Her grin reappeared as she resumed her mad dash. The driver’s door opened. Levi stepped out with a wrinkle of confusion along his brow as he moved toward the back of the SUV, staring at her for a long moment before inspecting the vehicle.
“You dented my rental.” He ran his fingers over the small dent then looked back at her as she slowed to a stop, breathless.
“Sorry, you wouldn’t stop.”
His eyes shifted to her suitcase and then back to her. “Didn’t know I needed to stop.”
Parker adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder and tucked her hair behind her ears. “I like to cook. Most of the time I eat a healthy, balanced diet. But sometimes I need random junk food from a convenience store. I need you to accommodate my needs without judgment. Can you do that?”
A twist of the tiniest smile played across his lips as he wet them. “I think so. What does that have to do with you damaging my rental?”
She tugged her suitcase forward, dropping it at his feet. “I’m saying I think I need you.”
Torturing her with nothing more than that barely-there smile, he inspected her and her baggage. Turning, he opened the back and put her suitcase on his, next to the boxes. Rags barked from the backseat, tongue out, tail wagging. Levi walked around to the passenger’s side and opened the door, his grin growing bigger by the second.
Parker hopped in the front seat, unable to control the excitement on her own face.
“Being needed,” he said. “It’s a pretty amazing feeling.”
She blinked back her tears. “It’s indescribable.”
*
They made it a good twenty miles down the road without saying a word. Quick sideways glances and subtle smiles said all that mattered. When it sank in that she had in fact done the most spontaneous thing of her entire life, Parker fished out her phone and sent a text to her mom.
Parker: Please don’t make this about you, but I’ve left to look for my life. I love you and you are needed in my life more than you’ll ever know. TTYL xo
She silenced her phone, knowing it would explode with texts in a matter of seconds.
“Letting people know where you are in case this turns into an abduction?” Levi grinned, keeping his eyes on the road.
“Hope you’re not planning on demanding some sort of ransom. My family doesn’t have that much money … except for my sister and her husband. But I’m pretty certain they wouldn’t pay up.”
“Damn! There goes my rent money.” Levi grabbed his sunglasses from the drink holder and slipped them on.
“Are we going all the way?” she asked.
Levi shot her a quick sidelong glance then shifted in his seat while clearing his throat. “Um …”
“Oh jeez!” She laughed. “That sounded so wrong. I meant are we driving straight through and just switching off driving, or are we stopping for the night?”
He massaged the back of his neck. “Oh, well, it’s a minimum of a twenty-one-hour drive. We’ll make several stops along the way. I’m in no hurry. Are you?”
“I’m just along for the ride. Once we get out of Kansas, it will all be new scenery to me. Drive as slow as you want.”
“I don’t drive slow, quite the opposite, but we might take a more scenic route.”
“Fine by me.” Parker said goodbye to her familiar surroundings one flat field at a time. “I have no job, no money, no direction, nobody—except my parents—missing me.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Levi loved brilliant ideas, drawing tall buildings, racing down the interstate at insane speeds, and making Parker smile. He didn’t know for sure what changed her mind, but he didn’t wait to find out. The faster he could get her out of town—out of her head—the better. By the time they reached Wichita, it was past dinner time. It surprised him that she didn’t say anything about being hungry. Parker didn’t say much at all. She seemed content staring out the window, maybe watching the road passing, maybe reflecting on something he couldn’t understand.
He had time to figure her out, but he didn’t want to rush any of it. She would surrender those pieces in her own time. Everything given. Nothing taken.
“I thought we’d never stop. I’m starving.” She unbuckled as they pulled into the hotel’s parking garage.
Levi gave her a narrow-eyed look. “I asked you at least a half a dozen times if you needed me to stop.”
“No.” With stiff movements, she eased out of the car and stretched her arms over her head. “You asked me if I needed to use the restroom, not if I needed to eat. You let Rags out at two different rest areas, but never did you stop for food.”
He got Rags out, attaching his leash. “I want to know what you need, even if I don’t ask it in the correct way. Okay?”
She grinned, a little shy, a little foolish guilt as she shrugged. “Okay.”
“Let’s get checked into a room and then we’ll grab some dinner.”
They let Rags do his business then went to the front desk.
“We need a room for the night, please,” Levi said to the gentleman at the front desk.
“Two beds,” Parker whispered in Levi’s ear.
“Two queen beds, please.” He didn’t give her a second glance. She asked him to forget about what happened so he couldn’t use it as an excuse to assume it would happen again.
“Did you have a reservation?” the front desk clerk asked.
“No.”
“We don’t have any rooms with two beds. In fact, I only have two rooms available, and they’re both suites.”
“We’ll take them.”
Parker nudged his arm. “No. Don’t get two suites. One is going to be plenty expensive. I’ll sleep on a sofa or in a chair.”
He twisted his lips, looking down at her. She would sleep on the sofa? He’d never allow it.
“There’s an extra fee for pets.”
“That’s fine. Well take one of the suites, thank you.”
They took the elevator to the twelfth floor.
“We should stick to more affordable hotels for the rest of the trip.” Parker grinned with a wrinkled nose. “And maybe plan it out tonight so we can make reservations and not get stuck with suites. You realize they probably had a cheaper room, but you were too agreeable. You really should have pushed him harder for a regular room.”
“Hmm … maybe.” Levi twisted his mouth, looking straight ahead at the mirrored elevator doors and the reflection of the beautiful woman beside him with a shaggy dog in the middle.
They stepped off the elevator and made their way to the corner suite at the end of the hall. Levi opened the door and carried in their suitcases as she led Rags inside by his leash.
“Dang, this is a nice room. How much is it a night?”
“I don’t know. He didn’t say, and I didn’t ask.”
“What?” She let Rags off his leash to sniff the huge suite. “You just don’t want to tell me.”
“True. If I knew, I probably wouldn’t want to tell you, but if you asked enough times, I’d either tell you or have to sweat th
rough my lie.”
“Oh …” She winked. “No Lie Levi.”
“I don’t love that name.” He frowned.
“Sorry. I’ll come up with something more original.”
“Levi works.” He sat on the purple velvety-looking sofa, arms stretched across the back. The simple-but-elegant furnishings had rich fabrics.
Parker followed Rags into the bedroom, situated in the corner of the building, showcasing two different nighttime views of the city. The king bed had an inviting, puffy, down comforter and equally fluffy pillows. White painted double doors opened to a spacious, marble walk-in shower and a separate soaker tub.
“Monogrammed robes. Yup, you’re spending a fortune on this room.”
He looked over her shoulder as she continued to gawk at the bathroom.
Parker turned, invading his space with hints of vanilla and lavender that still clung to her skin after hours in the car. Levi wanted to do very dirty things to her. The night in the back of the pickup wouldn’t stop replaying in an endless loop in his head.
He took a step back to give her some space and so he could breathe. “I saw a McDonald’s on the corner. We might want to eat cheap.”
He eyed her suspiciously. “Do you like McDonald’s?”
She shrugged. “It’s fine. I don’t usually eat fast food but in a pinch, it works.”
“There’s a restaurant downstairs. We could eat there.”
“Probably pretty pricey. McDonald’s is fine.”
“I’ll call down and order something to be delivered.”
“What?” Her head jerked back. “Don’t do that. Then we’ll have a delivery fee. I’ll go down and get it.”
He sat on the edge of the bed and dialed down to the restaurant. “What sounds good?”
Parker shrugged. “Anything. I’m not picky.”
Levi ordered two of their specials for the night and a bottle of wine. He covered the speaker to the phone. “Do you like wine?”
Another shrug as she stared out the window. “If it’s good wine.”
“What do you consider good wine?”
She laughed. “The kind that doesn’t taste bad.”
He removed his hand from the speaker. “Forget the wine. Two bottles of beer, IPAs, something local if you have it. Okay … thank you, bye.”
Parker turned to face him, her hands behind her back, resting on the ledge of the window. He leaned back on the bed, fingers laced behind his head. His T-shirt rose up a couple inches, exposing some skin. Her eyes zeroed in on it for a few seconds before meeting his gaze.
“Comfy bed?”
“It’s not bad.” He patted the area beside him.
With a pensive expression, she studied the bed for a few seconds before walking over and easing onto it, keeping as close to the edge as possible without falling off. He wasn’t so sure that she wouldn’t fall off if he moved and caused the mattress to shift even an inch.
“Tell me what being a person in your life involves. My job description is a little sketchy.”
“Well …” He pursed his lips. “You travel with me if I want you to and if you want to. We eat together. Walk Rags together. Golf together. Go to concerts, movies, and Broadway shows. Attend car shows. Get coffee. Exercise—”
“Exercise?” She rolled on her side, head propped up on her bent arm. “And by exercise you mean?”
“Whatever you like to do. Interval training, rebounding, whatever.”
“And your favorite exercise?”
Rolling toward the middle, he mirrored her. “What about it?”
Parker swallowed hard, cheeks blooming red. “Did you ask me to be a person in your life to have sex with me?”
The corners of his lips curled. She didn’t say again. “No.”
“Really?”
Levi cocked his head a bit, giving her a frown. She nodded once as if acknowledging his truth. It was a half-truth. After years of practice, No Lie Levi figured out how to give half-truths without breaking a sweat or fidgeting too much.
“Hypothetically, if a woman had sex with you, would she have to worry about anything like … I don’t know, maybe STDs?”
Levi grinned. “Not unless the last woman I had sex with gave me something.”
Her eyes narrowed before giving him a sour smile. “Well, I hope for your sake she didn’t give you anything, and I hope for her sake you didn’t get her pregnant.”
He trapped his lower lip between his teeth and nodded slowly. “Terrible assumption on my part, but I’d guess most single women her age are on some sort of birth control, but … I pulled out anyway, so the chances are pretty slim that she’s pregnant.”
“You did not pull out.”
He chuckled. “How would you know? Were you there?”
She picked at invisible lint on the bed. “Well … no. But, I’m just saying if I were having sex with a guy, I’d know if he pulled out.”
“What if you were too drunk? What if you were doing something so fucking stupid you couldn’t remember the end?”
“Can we talk about something different?”
“You brought it up.”
“Well, now I’m dropping it.”
“Then we drop it.”
“Show me your tattoos,” she whispered.
“Tattoos? How do you know I have more than one?”
Biting her lower lip, her eyes roamed his body as if she was trying to figure out the answer. “Just a hunch.”
Levi held out his arm. She traced the outline of a skyscraper.
“Explain.” Her eyes shifted to meet his gaze. A toothy grin that he adored took over her lips.
“It’s the first building I designed.”
Her shiny eyes reflected depths of places he hoped to go some day. “Where is it?”
“Right here. On my arm.” He chuckled.
“No kidding. I mean where is the actual building?”
“On my arm.”
She glared at him.
He laughed. “I’m serious. I designed it for an insurance company in Manhattan. Two other architects submitted designs too. Mine wasn’t chosen.”
He didn’t want to move as Parker absentmindedly continued tracing it. Maybe if she touched him, she’d remember how it felt when he touched her. Because he wanted to touch her again so fucking bad.
“I’ve designed over a hundred structures, this one is still my favorite. I’ve brought out the blueprints dozens of times trying to figure out what I could have done differently—done better. But even now, eight years later, I still can’t find a single thing I’d change. I think it will forever be my best design.” He laughed. “And the only one that doesn’t actually exist.”
“I like that story.”
He curled his arm across his stomach as if she’d punched him in the gut. “No! Don’t say that. It’s a terrible story. So tragic.”
“Over a hundred of your designs are out there in the world, probably being occupied by all walks of life. I bet millions of pictures of your ‘art’ exist in cyber photo world, even blown up on peoples’ walls in sleek frames. So what if the one you didn’t get to share exists only on your arm. You get to see it every day, like a car you love, or a favorite coffee shop on your way to work, or the wet nose of your dog nuzzling your face before your alarm goes off.”
Or the girl before me.
She tugged at her lower lip, but it didn’t hide her grin—the grin he wanted to kiss off her face more than anything else at that moment. But … she would have to give it to him. He would take nothing from her again. No more regrets.
“Think about it, Levi, it’s pretty cool that you’ve made so many ‘marks’ on the world, but the one you love the most will be with you for the rest of your life.”
“Nice spin.” He smiled. “Maybe you’re selling yourself short by looking for a job as a sports reporter. I think your ability to spin things would be a huge asset in the political world.”
“Yeah? Well, we’ll see how my current job goes. I need to make a
good impression so I can have a glowing recommendation when my dream job calls me in for an interview.”
“So far, I’m very impressed.”
“Thanks, boss.” She winked. “Now, where else are you inked?”
“My back. Surprised? As in nothing you have ever seen before?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Sometimes people think they see things they don’t. For example, if it’s dark outside. Just saying … So what’s back there? Wings?”
He chuckled. “No.”
“Buddha?”
“No.”
“Serpent? Skull? Tribal markings? Wolf? Samurai? Angels? Jesus? Devil?”
Laughing, he rolled onto his stomach while pulling up his shirt.
“Oh, not what I expected.”
Again, her finger traced it. He jumped, feeling her touch in certain places that needed to calm the fuck down.
“It’s raised.”
“It’s over a scar.”
“From what?” Her fingers ghosted along his side and lower back.
“Stab wound.”
She stilled. “Someone stabbed you in the back?”
“Cowardly, huh?”
“A mugging?”
“Nope. Consequences of the truth.”
“Someone stabbed you for telling the truth?”
“Yes. My best friend in high school got hooked on drugs and stole a car one night. When the police asked me about it …”
“You told them the truth,” she whispered.
Levi nodded. “He found me before the police found him. Then my mom found me face down in our garage, bleeding out from a stab wound.”
“When life happened …” she read the words that covered his scar.
When her soft, warm lips pressed to it, he stiffened—everywhere. He wanted to roll over and pull her to him. It pissed him off that his stupid scar got the kiss that his lips desired.
Rags barked when room service knocked at the door.
Parker leaped off the bed like a teenager caught with a guy in her room. Levi lumbered to standing at a much slower pace, the kind that gave his erection time to relax.
“Time to eat.”
*
The gravity of hopping in the car with Levi had yet to settle into Parker’s conscience. She felt a what-the-fuck moment on her horizon; until then, she let herself explore life lived in moments instead of expectations. Her high-school sweetheart derailed her future. Gus did too. They promised her love and hope.