by Lacey Black
I take care of business in the bathroom and brush my teeth before heading into the kitchen. I’m surprised when I reach the coffee pot, mostly because I didn’t prepare it before bed last night–or this morning. Whatever. There’s only one person who could have done it, and that thought causes those butterflies to take flight in my stomach and warmth to spread through my body.
Smiling, I start the coffee maker and throw a slice of bread in the toaster. There’s a small pile of mail on the counter, and after tossing away all of the junk, I have three new bills to pay. My toast pops up, slightly on the burnt side to Levi’s dismay, and I grab a jar of homemade apple butter. Levi and I made a bunch last fall after someone brought in several buckets of fresh apples from their tree, into the hospital. The result was a dozen jars of cinnamony apple butter that goes perfectly on an English muffin or toast.
I make a mental note to check into getting more apples, since I’m halfway through my last jar.
Instead of heading into my room to watch Levi sleep like a completely hopeless loser, I grab my coffee and toast and head into my office. I finish off my toast while my computer fires up, and before long, I’m staring at my desktop. Emails await me, this I’m sure, but it’s the dating site app that I find my mouse hovering over. Two clicks later, and the site pops up on my screen.
Ignoring the new “matches” the system has chosen for me, I bring up the message screen. Not surprising, I find one from SimpleMan. Instantly, I recall Friday night when Levi started to play the song, his arms wrapped around me. Funny that they have the same song, right? I mean most people when they have their pick of any Skynyrd song either pick “Sweet Home Alabama” or “Freebird.”
Clicking on his message, I smile.
SimpleMan: It’s early in the morning and I’m just heading to bed. Hope you have an amazing day, Angel.
Just going to bed?
The message was sent at 6:56am.
I wonder what kind of job SimpleMan has? When we were getting to know each other, he said something about public service but he’s never really said what that is. Maybe he has a job like Levi’s where he works odd hours.
Weird, right?
Shaking off the strange feeling settling into my gut, I type out a reply.
AngelEyes: Just heading to bed? What do you do exactly? My day will consist of laundry, lunch with my family, and maybe dinner with a friend. Sleep well, Simple.
Uneasiness stirs in my stomach causing my coffee to not settle well. Heck, that could be from the drinking last night too. Shutting down the app, I bring up my email. After scanning through and deleting the junk, I send two replies to my boss regarding my current project before logging off completely and heading towards the living room.
Unable to stop myself, I gawk openly at the man sleeping in my bed. I still have this odd feeling that I can’t shake as he softly snores against my spare pillow. Why, I’m not sure, but something tells me I’m missing something. Something big–and not in the good way.
I just wish I could pinpoint what.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Levi
It’s midafternoon when I finally pull myself from the deep coma I was in. Work was fucking brutal last night with several minor accidents, one fatality involving a truck, and even a few water incidents, thanks to the overload of tourists still trying to get the most out of what’s left of their summer vacation.
My head is fuzzy but I can tell instantly where I am. This bed is softer than the one I normally sleep in and carries the scent of a certain woman who gives me more boners than a Penthouse magazine.
And speaking of boners…
In typical guy fashion, I scratch my nuts and gaze around the room, searching for the woman who might be able to help me with my little problem. She left the curtains closed and a glass of water on the nightstand. The apartment is quiet; the only sound is the gentle hum of the air conditioning and the ticking of the clock on the wall, which tells me she’s not back yet from lunch with her family.
Grabbing the glass of water and chugging half of it before hopping up, I head to the bathroom on a mission. Even in here, I’m assaulted with a rich vanilla scent that reminds me solely of her. Smiling, I grab her toothbrush and paste and scrub the grossness off my teeth. It doesn’t even weird me out that I’m using her brush.
The kitchen is clean and tidy, the coffee pot already washed and sitting in the drying rack. I take the glass pot and fill it halfway with water before dumping it in the maker. It’s something I’ve done a million times for her, but for some reason, it feels a little more domesticated now.
There are a few bills stacked up on the counter right next to the place I imagine bending her over and sliding between those luscious ass cheeks. In fact, it was around three o’clock this morning when that naughty little image entered my dirty brain, rendering me completely bone-ified for the next hour. Do you know how hard it is to drive around in an ambulance with another dude when you’re sportin’ wood? Hard. Wood. Get it?
Anyway, I’ve been fighting a raging boner since the early hours of the morning, and there’s only one woman who can satisfy my craving. Snuggling against her this morning was killer, but I was too exhausted to do anything about it. Now, don’t get me wrong, if my girl had wanted a little early morning nookie, I’d have risen to the challenge. But since she was still out cold, I took the opportunity to cuddle in close and pass the hell out.
Her fridge is kinda bare, except a couple of chicken breasts and some veggies she picked up for dinner tonight. I love to grill and I can’t wait to show her a thing or two with those breasts. (The chicken’s, not hers.)
Digging in the fridge, I find that apple butter she loves and some fruit. I’m sure she has something in the cabinet to throw in the toaster. I just need a little something to tide me over until dinner since I missed lunch with her family.
I hear the key in the lock and the door start to open before I can pull my face out of the refrigerator. “Glad you’re back. I’ve got a little problem that only you can take care of,” I quip, smiling at myself, as I think about spreading her out over the counter.
“I’m pretty sure, whatever that problem is, I am the last person you want to assist you.” Turning to face the door, I’m statue-still, mostly naked, and staring straight at Abby’s father, Brian.
“Shit,” I whisper harshly.
“Yeah,” he says, averting his eyes. Apparently, I’m not the only one who realized I’m standing in a pair of boxer briefs with a raging hard-on in his daughter’s kitchen. That pretty much squashes my boner and any future erections I may have for a while.
“Uh, excuse me, sir. Let me grab some…pants.” Hightailing it to Abby’s room, I find the shorts I was wearing when I slipped across the hall around seven this morning and top it with my wadded up, wrinkly tee.
I don’t embarrass easily, but this might not be one of my proudest moments. Realizing that I just propositioned my girl’s father for some afternoon dick-play isn’t one of my finer moments, that’s for sure.
Hanging my head, I make my way back to the front room and find Brian standing pretty much in the same spot I left him in. “Abby forgot her sweater,” he says, setting the white short-sleeved little top on the counter.
“Yeah, she always complains about getting cold in the diner,” I add, scratching the back of my neck.
“She does.”
Awkward silence descends, making this officially the worst impression I could possibly make on a parent of the girl I’m seeing. “So, I bet you’re wondering what I’m doing here. In Abby’s place and not my own,” I stammer like an idiot.
“Not really,” he says, making my eyes jump up to his. “Come on, Levi, you and Abby are the only two who haven’t realized that there’s more than friendship building between the two of you. Sure, it started that way, but you’ve been slowly dancing around it for a long time.”
Unable to speak, I just nod.
“Abby met you when she needed you most. Her mom had just d
ied and our family was a mess.” His eyes shine with tears, but he keeps them locked on mine. “It was brutal raising six girls between seventeen and nine, alone. They needed their mom more than anything. Shit, do you know how many nights I begged for the Lord to take me and spare her?” He casts his eyes downward, probably so I won’t see the tears fall, but when he returns them to me, I know that’s not the case. He’s not afraid to cry in front of me. He’s lost in the memory and pain of losing his wife.
“If I can butt into your business for a few moments, it’d be to say this: If you love my daughter, don’t let her go. Show her every day how much she means to you because if you’re not paying attention, it could be taken away from you in the blink of an eye. I lost my love to cancer, Meghan lost hers in a car accident. Those events were going to happen whether we wanted them to or not. What is important is how much we loved while they were alive.
“I’m not saying Abby’s gonna be taken from you or anything like that. My point is love her. For a day, a year, a lifetime, just love her as long as you can. And when the time is right, tell her. Don’t be afraid to say those words because there is nothing greater than the feeling you get when she says it back. By God, son, show her because my little girl deserves the moon and the damn stars. Are you the one to show her?”
Swallowing is difficult, but somehow I get the word out. “Yes.”
Brian smiles at me, a real, genuine smile. “Good. I always thought you were. Even when she dragged home a gangly little ten-year-old boy with skinned up knees and crooked teeth, I knew you were the one,” he says, rendering me speechless all over again.
“You know, Levi, I’ve always thought of you as the son I never had. Trish and I tried and tried again, but it just wasn’t in the cards. You were at our house more than anyone else, and I’m damn proud of the man you’ve become.”
Jesus, he’s going to fucking make me cry like a baby.
“Thank you, sir.”
“I know things just got real heavy for us, and I apologize. I didn’t come over here to ambush you or anything. Hell, I didn’t even expect you, but the opportunity presented itself. My little girl is an amazing woman and I want to make sure the man she loves is worthy. You’re worthy, Levi, if you take the chance and follow your heart.”
“Love? Abby loves me?” My eyes search his for any sign that he’s pulling my leg, but all I see is sincerity and understanding.
Smiling, he says, “Of course she does, son. She’s always loved you.”
We’re quiet for a few minutes, both lost in our own thoughts. He wasn’t kidding when he said it got heavy, but it’s what I needed to hear. I knew I was falling for her, but until he put it all in perspective, I didn’t realize how much she really meant to me. I love her. Fuck, I’ve been in love with her for years.
“I never thought I’d say this, but do you have any idea how happy I am that it was you who caught me half naked in Abby’s kitchen and not Orval and Emma?”
Brian laughs. “Well, I’m not so sure any father wants to find someone in his underwear in his little girl’s kitchen, but I see what you’re saying. Did I ever tell you about the first time they caught me with Trish?”
Shaking my head, he smiles again, grabs a beer from the fridge for himself and a water for me, and sits down across from me at the table. “We were on our fourth date, I think, when things got a little hot and heavy in my ol’ truck. You know how it is,” he adds with a sheepish grin. “I never intended for it to go as far as it did, but when you’re young and dumb, sometimes things happen. We were parked on the back of her property, about a hundred yards from the house. There were trees between us and I thought, for sure, there was no way they could see my truck from the house.
“Anyway, afterwards, we were barely dressed when there was a knock on the driver’s side window.”
“Oh shit,” I say, fighting the urge to laugh.
“Yeah, not exactly the impression I wanted to make on her parents. Orval just stared at me with this stern look, and Emma started in on Trish. Asked her why she hadn’t saved herself for marriage like she did. Then Orval just looked at her and said, ‘What are you talking about, woman? You didn’t save yourself for marriage. We barely made it through our first date before I had you naked.’”
I can’t help it, I die laughing.
“Yeah, poor Trish was mortified, afraid I was gonna run for the hills. And maybe I should have, but I might have fallen in love a bit with those two ol’ kooks that night. Emma had just looked at Orval and said, ‘Oh, yeah. Never mind.’ And then asked if we needed more rubbers.”
I guess now we know that kinda thing runs in the family, huh? Poor Jaime and Ryan didn’t stand a chance. I can’t believe the same thing happened to her parents thirty-five years prior. That’s probably why Orval and Emma like telling that story so much about having to bail them out of jail following the cops finding them parked along a field; it reminds them of the time they busted Brian and Trisha.
Sitting with Brian, I find myself listening to story after story, each one better than the last. I can’t help but wonder if I’ve ever smiled as much as I have in the last thirty minutes listening to Abby’s dad share moments from his past.
This is just the kinda crazy family I’ve always seen myself being a part of.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Abby
Before I can insert my key into the lock, I hear laughing coming from my apartment. Giving the knob a turn, I find it unlocked, but I’m more surprised to find my dad sitting at the kitchen table with Levi. My dad is drinking a beer, while Levi takes a sip from a half-empty bottle of water.
“Dad?” I ask, stepping inside and setting my purse on the counter.
“Hey, honey. I just stopped by earlier to drop off your sweater. You left it at the café,” he says, standing up to give me a kiss on the cheek.
“Oh.”
“And your dad was just telling me about when he was dating your mom,” Levi says with a laugh. “Your grandparents were a hoot way back then.”
“Well, they were definitely something,” my dad replies with another grin. They both stare at each other for a few moments, and I can practically see the private conversation pass between the two of them. I look around, wondering if I stepped into some wacky alternate universe that looks like my apartment, but it’s inhabited with aliens. That’s the only way to describe the weirdness going on right now.
“Anyway, I should go. I’m sure you two have plans before Levi heads to work.”
“You can stay,” I stutter, meeting him at the door.
“I have an early flight in the morning. I thought I’d drop by Meggy’s and see how she’s doing before heading home.” The sadness in his eyes is evident.
Meghan attended the family luncheon, but definitely wasn’t herself. She was quiet and forlorn and barely cracked a smile, even when our grandparents started their perverse antics over dumpling soup. And why would she be? Today would have been Josh’s twenty-eighth birthday.
“Okay, Dad. Give her my love.”
“I will, sweetie. Enjoy your evening,” he says, placing a kiss on my forehead. Then he turns back to Levi, who’s standing beside the table. “Good to see you again, son. We missed you at lunch,” Dad says, extending his hand to Levi.
“I’ll be there next time,” Levi replies. My head volleys back and forth as they continue to talk as if they’re long lost buddies.
Dad bids us goodbye once more before slipping out of my apartment, reminding me to lock up.
“That was weird,” I say, turning to face Levi.
“What?” he asks, stepping forward and pulling me into his arms.
“What were you guys talking about? I felt like I interrupted something.” My hands wrap around his neck as my soft body collides with his much harder one.
“Guy talk, angel,” he says before his lips claim mine. The kiss starts sweet, but the moment his tongue sweeps across the seam of my lips, it ignites into something more. My entire body starts to hu
m with anticipation and excitement. But it also feels like he’s using the powers of his magical lips to distract me from something.
Pulling back, I gaze up at his lustful eyes. “Confession time,” I whisper, sliding my thumb over his bottom lip.
Levi sighs. “Fine. He might have walked in here when I was wearing nothing but my skivvies, pulling something to eat from your fridge.”
I blink once. Twice. “What?” I whisper, sure that I misheard.
“Don’t fret about it. We talked. It’s all good,” he says, trying to continue the kiss we started.
“You talked? About what?”
Again, he sighs and takes a step back. “I might have said something about wanting to use you to alleviate my hard-on.” I gasp. “I didn’t know it was your dad!” he exclaims as my hands cover my mouth.
“And he didn’t kill you?”
“Why would he kill me, angel? We talked and he knows how I feel about you,” he says, covering my hands with his own and moving them from my face.
“How you feel?” I whisper, my heart hammering in my chest.
“Yeah, he understands that our friendship has grown into something more. He knows I’m crazy about you and enjoy spending time with you. He realizes that my feelings for you have developed into something bigger than anything I’ve felt before, and as scared as I might be, I really want to explore that with you.”
“You do?” Is that my voice? Why does it sound like I’m choking?
“I do. Do you know what you want? We don’t have to put any labels on anything, but I’d be comfortable saying we’re dating. Exclusively.”
“Really?”
He smiles down at me. “Why does all this surprise you so much?”
“Well, you haven’t exactly been a relationship kinda guy, Levi. In fact, I don’t recall you ever having a one, let alone anything exclusive.”
“You’re right, this is all new to me. Turns out, I’m an Abby kinda guy and as long as I have you, I don’t care about all of those labels and bullshit. I just want you,” he whispers moments before reclaiming my lips.