“I’m so angry at you. I’m so mad at Carr. I’m disgusted you two are together and all I want to do is beat him to death. Then that fucking incident today just pissed me off more.” He looks at me and he is on the verge of tears. “I went onto that ice ready to kill someone and I can’t believe I was ejected. NHL scouts will see that and it’s because of Carr.” I stare at my brother. He’s the one I run to whenever I need someone to talk to, cry on, or just be there for me. He is everything to me, he is my twin.
“Levi is meeting Daddy on Friday.” Trevor’s eyes widen. “If Daddy doesn’t like him, I won’t see him anymore.” Trevor grins at that. “But if Daddy does like him, you can’t say anything else. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Chapter Eleven
Levi
Back at my place, I’m in my room doing schoolwork. I can’t concentrate because my mind can’t decide what to focus on first. Should I think about how McCarthy is being a dick to Presley? Something I never saw coming, but I don’t know much about their relationship anyway. Or how about I called Presley my girlfriend not once, but three times to officially damn myself in a relationship with her? After that first time though, I couldn’t help but say it again. It didn’t hurt watching McCarthy’s furious expression either.
Part of me wants to cut him some slack. I want to laugh at the thought, but the more I push him, the more he’s an ass to Presley. I rather he direct his anger at me than her. She doesn’t deserve his backlash from my actions. I can understand he doesn’t like her seeing me, but still. When he talked to her so hatefully and disrespectfully this morning, I was like a bull seeing red with such rage. I still can’t believe my reaction, especially since my plan doesn’t garner much respect for her either.
I’m getting pissed just thinking about what McCarthy might have said to her after I left. Maybe I should check on her. I groan and shut my textbook. I can’t think straight with all this shit going on in my head. Presley can handle herself, right? She doesn’t need me checking up on her from her jerk of a brother. Why am I feeling a little guilty over this? Especially when by the time this is over with, she’s going to need him from where I’m going to be a jerk. This is too much thinking. I need to relax.
I text Presley and tell her where to meet me. If she wants, of course. Why I want her to come when all I want to do is relax from this mess where she’s standing in the center, I don’t know. Gavin and Andrew pay me no attention as I grab my jacket and leave. When I arrive at the old building, I wait outside, leaning against the bricks with the chilled wind blowing by. Presley hasn’t answered me yet, so I don’t know if she’s coming or not. I’ll give her ten minutes before I head up.
“Okay, Levi,” I snap my head to the right where she’s walking towards me. “What the hell am I doing on this campus in front of a creepy building?” Presley stops in front of me with her hands on her hips. “Is it even used anymore?”
I chuckle and can’t resist pushing myself off the building, grabbing her hips, and pulling her to me. She quirks that eyebrow up as she tilts her head back to look at me. I give her a short kiss and smile, already feeling a little relaxed.
“Just follow me, Smarty,” I say taking her hand and leading her inside. Every other light was on as we walked down the hallway to a door leading to the stairs.
“Levi,” she begins in a whisper sounding a little scared, I think, as I push the door open.
“Don’t worry, Presley. You’re safe with me, I promise. You trust me, right?” I gaze into the brown eyes until I see that she trusts me. She nods to affirm what I see. “Then c’mon,” I say pulling her with me as we begin to go up the stairs. After the fourth floor, she speaks up.
“Where are we going?”
“To the roof.”
“It’s cold,” she starts to object.
“I’ll keep you warm, Smarty,” I smirk at her.
Presley rolls her eyes and a few minutes later, I’m opening the door to the roof. There’s a greenhouse covering half of the roof thanks to those students studying plants. On the other side, it’s empty with nothing but scattered leaves from the plants. There’s a door on each side of the greenhouse, and I decide to walk through it since I have Presley with me.
“These are pretty. I wonder what they are,” Presley says, stopping me to look at a pot of pink flowers. She runs a finger over a petal and my heart drops as I realize what they are.
“It’s a zinnia.”
She turns her head to look at me. “How’d you know that?” she asks curiously.
I wonder if I should tell her or just shrug it off. With a deep breath, I decide, why not? “They were my mom’s favorite flower, especially the pink ones.” Presley squeezes my hand, and I hold my breath waiting for her response, wondering how much she might want to know.
“I can see why she liked them,” is all she says with a glance back at the flower.
“C’mon,” I tell her, tugging her once more. We walk to the other side without incident and leave all those plants behind. I stop at the edge of the roof and let go of her hand.
When I hoist a leg over, Presley practically screams, “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to have a seat. Calm down, Smarty. I wouldn’t have brought you up here so you can be a witness to my suicide.” When I’ve got both legs dangling over the wide ledge, I hold my hand to Presley who shakes her head. “Presley, it’s two feet wide. You’re not going to fall off. You can even sit Indian style so your legs won’t hang off. Now, c’mon.”
She takes a step backwards and I cock my head to the side. “Not a big fan of heights, Levi. I’m fine over here.”
“We all have to face our fears sometime, Presley.” My voice is low and gentle.
“You’re not the one who’s scared!” she snaps as she crosses her arms over her chest.
I hold out my hand again. “Sit with me. You tackle this fear and once you do, I’ll get over one of mine, okay?” What the hell am I doing? “Presley,” I say when I can tell she’s thinking it over. “After I share and you still don’t want to sit here, we’ll get off. This is just another place where I come to think and relax.”
Having provided her an out, she steps over to me and takes my hand, squeezing the life out of it before she even moves to sit on the ledge. Presley’s eyes move between me and her soon-to-be seat before she huffs.
“How am I even supposed to get up here?”
I chuckle and earn myself a glare. “Face the other way and sit.”
“I might go too far back, -”
“No, you won’t. Quit being such a baby,” I smirk.
She opens her mouth to say something, but stops. I guess her want to prove that she isn’t acting like a baby overtakes her fear momentarily. She gets on the ledge and then slowly turns herself around to sit with her legs folded in front of her.
“I could kill you right now if I wasn’t terrified for my life.”
I try and fail to hold back a laugh. I scoot closer to her and wrap an arm around her to keep my promise of keeping her warm. The air is a little bitter, but the wind has stopped for now.
“Spill whatever it is you want to share before I vomit,” she demands, relaxing just enough to lean into me. I was hoping she would forget about that somehow, but she hasn’t. I could just tell her about something else, right? But when those light brown eyes look up at me, I give in like a fool.
“I, um,” I clear my throat, already feeling it trying to shut off my air supply. “My mom. I don’t normally talk about her. Ever,” I add. I’m regretting this before I even start, especially with those sad eyes of Presley’s watching me.
“What was she like?” she asks, trying to help me get my thoughts out. I could have kissed her for that, but I don’t. Instead, I answer her question.
“Amazing.” I look out over the campus because it’s easier than looking at Presley. “She never yelled at me. She was always so calm and collected. She never let what she was feeling get the better of her.” I chuckle at th
e thought. “Well, actually, the only time her emotions got the best of her was when she was watching hockey. She’d yell and yell just like she was as invested as the players. It was hilarious to see such a little woman throwing her hands around, screaming at the TV, her face got so red when she yelled. Mom was just as passionate about hockey as she was about her family.
“Between her and Dad, there’s no way I could have grown up doing anything other than playing hockey. I remember nights where she and my old man would go at it for hours over which team was better. Hers or his. She was just as cool as me talking to you right now. They would smack talk each other, especially when their teams played one another. You’ll never hear anyone talk trash to someone with such love for the person and dislike for the team at the same time. Every time Mom would try and convert Dad into a Pittsburgh fan with their animated conversations, Dad would always end it by telling her the same thing.
“He told her, ‘Only an amazingly perfect woman who loves Pittsburgh like you do can love a man who loves the Flyers.’ I always thought it was cheesy and that she would roll her eyes at him, but she never did. Momma just smiled and kissed his cheek.”
I take a risk and look at Presley. She’s watching me so intently as if she’s waiting for me to break. It won’t happen just like it hasn’t happened since the day I found out she was sick.
“What happened to her?” she asks quietly with hesitation.
I sigh. “She got sick.” That’s all I’m willing to share and I hope Presley gets the point.
“I’m sorry, Levi. I can’t imagine what that must have been like for you. Thanks for sharing that with me.”
I kiss her forehead because I don’t know what to say. Me, who always has something to say, can’t think of a damn word. The realization of everything I just told this girl, who I’m supposed to be only playing with her feelings, hits me and I don’t like that I gave in.
“C’mon. We should go.” Without waiting for her to say something, I turn and hop off the ledge before helping her down. I stuff my hands in my jacket pockets as we cross the roof and head down the stairs. My one job in this is to mess with McCarthy’s head and all it has done is mess with mine.
“Levi, wait up.”
I stop to see that I’m about ten steps lower than Presley.
“I can’t keep up with your long legs,” she adds.
“Sorry,” I murmur. We start walking once she’s beside me, and I stay next to her.
“You really didn’t want to tell me that, did you?” she questions quietly.
Well, shit. “No, it wasn’t that, Smarty.” I take her hand in mine as reassurance. “It’s just been a while since I’ve talked about my mom.”
“Then why talk about her now? To me?”
I don’t know! Who knows why all this mess keeps spewing from my mouth. I can’t tell her that, though. “I told you I would get over a fear if you did.”
“Well, why are you scared to talk about her? It can’t just be that it’s too sad, right? I mean, I get that, but -” Presley sneaks a look at me and stops. “Sorry, I’m rambling.”
“That’s a story for another day, Presley,” I say firmly as we step outside. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
Nothing is said during this time and I appreciate the silence. She pulls her keys from her pocket and presses the button to unlock her door as we approach her car. I open the door for her, but she doesn’t get in yet. Instead, she reaches up to clasp her cold hands behind my neck and pulls me down. Her kiss is tentative at first as if she’s unsure. Because I don’t want her to hesitate about kissing me, I press her against me and part her lips with a sweep of my tongue.
I wonder for half a second where her hands are going when I feel them leave my neck, but I can’t focus on that for long when Presley kisses me like this. It’s a kiss filled with such desire that it lets me know she wants me just as bad as I want her. A freezing sensation chills each side of my lower back and I realize her hands slipped underneath my shirt. I leave her lips to kiss along her jaw with one last caress before I pull away.
“I’ll catch ya later, alright?”
“Don’t you want to come back to my place?” she questions with a sexy grin causing me to laugh.
“Maybe next time.” Presley’s lips form a slight pout and I wonder if she even knows she’s doing that. It’s barely a movement, but I notice. “Drive safely,” I order, stepping back so she can get into her car.
As she slips into her seat, she shakes her head and says, “Who would have thought that out of the two of us, you would be the debbie downer? See ya, Levi.” Presley closes her door and I start the walk to my SUV when she pulls away.
~ ~ ~
When Presley called me earlier to remind me about tonight, she seemed more worried than I am right now. Walking into the arena, instantly I spot my favorite redhead sitting behind the glass and I walk over to her, passing people until I reach the empty seat beside her. The game has just started and Presley looks relieved to see me.
“Hey,” she gives me a quick peck on my cheek. Next to her is an older man, I’m assuming this is her father. “Daddy,” she turns to the man. “Daddy,” she tugs on his sleeve. The man finally turns to look at his daughter. He is older with hard features. His dark brown hair has a few gray streaks at the temple. His thick mustache is perfectly groomed and his brown eyes are a mirror image of Presley’s. “Daddy, this is Levi Carr. Levi,” she turns to me. “This is my father, Benjamin McCarthy.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. McCarthy.” I stick my hand out for him to shake. His grip is strong, but he only nods and says nothing. He turns his attention back to the ice. Maybe this is who McCarthy gets his personality from, I think. Presley looks over to me and just rolls her eyes. I have a feeling this is going to be a long night.
We all watch the first period intently, but once it’s time for the intermission, Mr. McCarthy decides to talk.
“You played in high school with Trevor, correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“My boy tells me you play college as well?” He’s looking at me as if he’s daring me to say yes.
“Yes, sir. I’m the captain of the Roxboro Lions.”
“Roxboro? Why aren’t you playing here? Could you not get on the team here?”
Seriously? “That’s not why, sir,” I smile as politely as I can. “I wanted to attend Roxboro and I received an academic scholarship from them. It has nothing to do with my ability to make this team, which I could.”
“Academic scholarship? Really? What is your major?” He looks at me with more interest now than when Presley introduced us.
“I’m a chemistry major.”
“Chemistry?” Mr. McCarthy seems more intrigued in our conversation. “Are you pre-med?”
“Yes, sir. I would like to work in pharmaceuticals because creating drugs is something that’s important to me. There are a lot of diseases out there waiting for cures,” I add to make it seem more like that’s my main reason behind pursuing this field.
“My, my Presley, a hockey playerand someone with brains. Levi, you know that’s a booming career right now. What position do you play?”
“I play center,” I answer easily. Presley is just sitting here, staring at the ice. She’s quiet the entire time her father and I talk and I wonder what she’s thinking.
“Well, I’m sure that Presley told you that I was a forward back in my day. Yep, I played right here at JWU. I was going to go to the NHL, but I hurt my knee my senior year. So, I just kept my studies up and chose a different career path. Now, I’m going to watch my only son go into the NHL.” He is beaming with pride, but he never says anything about Presley and how he’s proud of her goals. I’m getting the feeling that there is some tension between them.
“If he makes it into the NHL, that will be great. Presley has a good future ahead of her as well. I’m sure you’re proud of both your children.”
“Oh yes, Presley does well in her studies.” Mr. McCarthy says with no enthus
iasm in his voice. Presley still just sits there. “Levi, Trevor will make it, lots of scouts have been talking to him. Any scouts looking at you or do you not want to go to the NHL?”
“I’ve actually been talking with some as well. I attended a camp this past summer at Pittsburgh.”
“Pittsburgh? Well, they seem to be doing well this season. Trevor was talking to the Chicago Blackhawks. Even though I was hoping that he would talk with some New York scouts, but Chicago is a young team that is going places.” I can tell right off that Mr. McCarthy isn’t a Pittsburgh fan. Presley is about to jump in and defend her team, but JWU takes the ice for the next period.
First impression of Mr. McCarthy? Not all that great. He talks pretty much as if Trevor is his only child and Presley is more like one of his son’s friends that he doesn’t care for. They’re twins. Can he really have a favorite out of the two? Based on what I’ve witnessed so far, yes. Presley is doing just as well as Trevor, but her father seems to care less. I can only hope that her mother treats her better than these two.
Chapter Twelve
Presley
Is this game ever going to be over? I’m sitting here as Levi and Dad talk about hockey and school. My biggest contribution to the conversation is a head nod when Levi asks if I’m okay. The majority of the time I stare at the ice. It seems like I’m always invisible when Dad is around. In my dad’s world, Trevor is the star in his eyes, I am just a girl.
As Trevor and his team take the ice, I feel Levi squeeze my hand. His sympathetic smile warms my heart and makes me feel better. Ever since Levi opened up about his mom, I can’t stop thinking how wonderful he is. Levi is nothing that I thought he was or what my brother told me about him. He is caring, sweet, and an incredible person. The fact that he even cares about my feelings right now means something to me.
The three of us turn our attention to the game. My father cheers Trevor on, and I just clap. My father makes his little comments about the other team throughout the second period and I’m thankful that the second intermission is starting. I excuse myself to the ladies room. It isn’t like anyone is going to miss me anyway. I never go to the bathroom. I just stand in the lobby for a few minutes. I need to ease the dull pain in my head that I conclude is the stress of my father being here. When I finally head back to our seats, I see Levi sitting next to my dad now. Just as well, I thought, and I sit in Levi’s seat. I can hear my dad talking about Trevor, the NHL, and my dad’s medical practice. Levi is polite to my father and inserted his comments here and there. I can tell my dad likes Levi and I’m glad. I like Levi and would like to continue to see him. I can’t believe I thought he was going to have any type of underlying plan. I mean he thinks of me as his girlfriend, that is definitely something.
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