by Lacey Black
“Very cool, angel,” I say, grabbing the book from her hand and flipping it over. “So, is this porn?” I ask, glancing at her with a knowing look.
“It’s romance. It’s a love story.”
“With sex.”
“The book isn’t about sex.”
“Yeah, but there’s sex in it.”
“So?”
“So, you read about sex,” I state bluntly, holding the book in my hand. Stepping closer, I whisper, “I bet it turns you on.” Her gasp echoes through the rows of porn (fine, romance) books. “Admit it.”
Turning and facing me head-on, those intoxicating green eyes stare straight at me–or into me, might be more accurate. “Fine. Yes, sometimes the scenes turn me on.”
“Damn, that’s hot,” I whisper, closing my eyes and picturing it.
“What are you doing?” she whispers back.
“Shhhh. I’m imagining you getting turned on in that office of yours, reading a dirty sex scene.”
“Stop!” she exclaims, hitting my shoulder. We both burst out laughing, big dopey smiles on our faces.
“I’m just kidding you,” I tell her, grabbing a piece of that silky hair and pushing it behind her ear. Leaning forward, I add, “I’ll wait to picture that tonight when I’m alone in my bed.”
Her eyes widen and her mouth practically drops to the floor. I love knowing that I evoke this kinda reaction from her. It makes me feel like it’s for me, and me alone. Almost like a super power, you know? No, I have no idea why guys always resort to their childhood and superheroes. They’re fucking cool, all right?
“Come on, sweetheart. Show me more.”
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 turnin
g 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.