by Morgan Black
Darkness was settling around Victoria, and the boys that had been playing Frisbee had returned to their dorms while she sat, still waiting for the old beater truck to turn the corner into the parking lot. When Victoria finally heard the rumbling of its engine she stood and slowly grabbed her bag.
Levi hopped out of the green truck and strode quickly over to Victoria. He only paused when he placed his hands on her cheeks to kiss her with such intensity that Victoria thought she might fall over.
“I’m sorry I’m late babe. Do you have any idea what traffic is like out there? Friday night…” He shook his head allowing his chocolate colored bangs to fall into his eyes. Victoria lifted her hand and used her forefinger to pull them out of his face.
“It’s not a problem.”
He squinted in the fading light as if looking for something, “How long have you been out here?”
She shrugged handing him her bag and began walking, “I don’t know… like an hour. It’s better than being upstairs with Jen.” Victoria turned around to look at him for a moment, his feet were planted and he had a scowl on his face.
“Is she still causing problems for you?” He began walking but it was more of a stomp than his typical gait.
Victoria rolled her eyes. “She’s not causing problems for me. She’s just really annoying. There’s nothing you can do to fix annoying. Trust me, I’ve tried. You forget that I grew up with Fallon.”
Victoria liked to remind Levi of how different their sisters were. Fallon had been abusive of their parents’ money, spending it willy-nilly without a care in the world. Fallon also reveled in bullying Victoria and liked to watch people squirm. Tyne, on the other hand, was practically Levi’s mother and had raised him since they were kids. Tyne started working her freshman year of high school just to help put food on the table. She had never been able to afford college, though she was now taking some community college classes locally. Tyne would never say anything to make someone uncomfortable, it just wasn’t her way.
Levi wasn’t in school either--he worked for a computer analytics company. He didn’t need the college education that most others did because he was practically a genius. But, he too had worked since he was young. Starting with a newspaper route leading up to a job as a waiter, he constantly had money flowing in to help his family. As a result, he had a sense of responsibility that most guys their age didn’t have. Sometimes it made Victoria feel protected and safe, while other times she felt like something else on his list of things to do in life.
She watched Levi’s face and could see that he was trying to shake off his annoyance with her roommate. He laughed lightly at her quip about Fallon, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes.
Victoria tried to shake off the foreboding feeling that he was in one of those angsty moods he sometimes carried around with him. She walked the rest of the way to the truck hoping the moment would pass quickly. He jogged up next to her in order to open the door. One of the qualities Victoria really appreciated about Levi was the way he always seemed to act like a gentleman. For a man who had grown up without a mother, he really did know how to treat girl right.
As he climbed in next to Victoria, she buckled her seatbelt and turned up the heat. It was odd because it was late spring and it should have started to warm up. But Victoria realized that she hadn't heard any of the usual cricket symphonies on campus on evenings like this. “Do you think it's going be cold up there? At the cabin?”
As Levi backed out of the parking lot he shook his head. “Nah, I don't think so. Besides the place has heat, just in case.” He paused for a moment, as if for dramatic effect. “You shouldn't worry about the temperature anyway. You know I'll always keep you warm.” He allowed his hand to leave the steering wheel and rest just above Victoria’s knee on the inside of her thigh. It was a gentle touch, but Victoria knew that it meant so much more.
Victoria pulled her lips to one side, giving him an assessing look. “Levi Manor, you are a bad boy!” she said mockingly. He laughed lightly and Victoria felt his poor mood from before lift slightly.
“So, what kept you at work? Another big project?”
Levi shook his head. “No, it's that asshole Dave. He's never doing his work on time. Then the rest of us have to pick up the slack. I wish they would just fire him already.”
“If he’s so terrible, then why don't they?”
Levi lifted his hand from Victoria’s leg and placed it back on the steering wheel. She saw him grip it tightly.
“Because he's the boss's son. And, honestly, the only other person they have that can do his job is me, and sometimes they don't particularly care for the fact that I don’t have a college degree behind my name. It's bullshit really.”
Victoria nodded her head in agreement. “What idiots! What does it matter if you have a college degree? You know more than most of those guys. Besides, in this economy a lot of kids are going to trade school these days.”
He sighed heavily. “Yeah, except I didn’t do that either. Without any formal education I'm not going to be able to move up within the company.” Victoria could feel the tension rolling off of him like waves. She knew it was time to drop the subject. This had been an argument since Victoria had begun taking steps towards her law degree, just like Victoria’s father had before her. She realized that one day she would make a lot more money than Levi and that bothered him. He liked to take care of her, either by protecting or supporting her. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate how much Victoria wanted to be a lawyer, or that he didn't support her decision to go through seven years of schooling, but sometimes she knew that he felt he could never be as successful as she intended to be.
As they drove through the darkening night, Victoria thought back to the night they had begun dating back in her senior year of high school.
Levi had already graduated and was working as a freelance computer analyst, but many times he still graced the high school crowd with his presence, as many of the Cape Haven alumni did. When you graduated from Cape Haven, you stayed a part of the town. It was just the way things were in the small coastal village.
It was in the spring and everyone was at some ridiculous party at Trey Valaquez's house. Trey had previously been kind of a nerd, but then his parents won the lottery and somehow he became the most popular guy in school. They liked to leave the house a lot on weekends, or maybe Trey kicked them out, no one was ever really sure. Some people said that Trey was actually a total genius and that he had rigged the lottery system so that his parents would win. Ever since, he had ruled his own little world and most of Cape Haven.
The party was something out of a magazine, with girls dressed in glittery short dresses and the guys all in suits and tuxes. Victoria remembered Levi had saved up money for weeks just to afford the suit that he would wear to the party. Tyne had tailored it for him so it would fit perfectly. Victoria had giggled while watching Tyne stick him with pins so he would look dashing. At the time, Victoria couldn’t tell him how fine he looked. Neither of them had spoken of their feelings for one another, not yet anyway.
Victoria was already at the party when Levi arrived. He liked to make an entrance and always appeared about an hour after a party had begun. He was a good looking guy and got some attention from the girls, and so, because of this, an entrance was necessary. As he walked by the side of the house and past the pool, Victoria had watched him with a smolder in her eyes. She turned away quickly when she realized he had noticed the group of girls she was with, standing in the cluster by the bar.
She was soaking up attention from other guys, giggling at their silly jokes and touching their arms in a flirtatious way. It wasn’t that they weren’t attractive, they just weren’t for her, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have a little fun. Victoria tossed a glance over her shoulder to see if Levi was oozing jealousy. But two could play at this game. Victoria watched Levi as he took the hand of the girl closest to him, a pretty brunette with blue eyes, and kissed the back of it. “You look lovely tonight. Ca
n I get your name?” Victoria wasn’t going to let him get away with that. Even if he was playing off of her jealousy, Victoria wore her emotions on her sleeve. Some people would say that wasn’t a positive trait, but it’s what nabbed Levi, so she considered it a compliment.
“Levi! Oh, I'm so glad you came!” Victoria instantly stepped between her friend and Levi in order to gain his attention. “You look so handsome.” Victoria took her hand and lightly traced the outline of his collar, stopping just above his heart before removing it. It was a subtle touch but intimate, and to others it looked innocent. But Victoria had felt Levi’s heart beat quicken, meaning she had his attention.
“And you look—” Victoria could see he was almost at a loss for words as he took in her beautiful periwinkle dress and dazzling jewelry. “—amazing,” he finally finished. “Can I get you something to drink?”
He winked and took her arm as they walked away from the bar and into the house. Once inside, they found a quiet corner in the theater room so they could sit and talk.
“Thanks for saving me back there,” Victoria said. “You know how much I hate those guys. All that they do is treat girls like a piece of meat.” She swept her light blonde hair over her shoulder and immediately sunk into the leather furniture. Victoria was so much more relaxed here, away from all the noise and the people. Levi quickly relaxed himself. He probably felt that being alone with Victoria was just like the old days back when they were kids. They could be themselves, no false pretenses needed, and it was refreshing.
“No problem, I gotcha covered.” If Victoria only knew how protective Levi felt about her back then, maybe she would have realized just how covered she was.
“So,” she said in her light, airy voice, “what have you been up to these days? Working a lot? I haven't seen much of you lately.” Victoria felt slightly defeated. She missed seeing his face at school every day, but since he graduated she felt disconnected from his new life.
“Yeah, I've been busy. And Tyne has been taking the car a lot more than I would like. But you know how big sisters are. Always doing what they want, and never really thinking about anyone else.”
“Levi!” Victoria shot up from the sofa and shook her finger at him accusingly. “You and I both know that is not how Tyne is at all. She takes really good care of you. You should appreciate her.”
Levi blushed, proving how right Victoria was. “I know. It's just hard sometimes, you know. But sometimes I wish she could just be my sister, but she's my mom, too. It's weird having a mom only six years older than you.”
Victoria relaxed at his admission and sat back down. Tyne had become like a sister to her over the years, and she would go to the end of the earth for her. “I guess that would be weird,” Victoria agreed. “But still she loves you. More than your mom did.”
Comments like that should sting people, really hurt them where it counts, but when Victoria said things like that to Levi, it just rolled off him. She was just like that, always saying how she felt. It was never to make anyone feel sorry for themselves, it was just how things were.
Victoria watched Levi sink lower into the leather sofa. He put his hand over his eyes and thought for a moment. Victoria observed the rise and fall of his chest, taking in the attractive man in front of her. They had been so close for so long she sometimes forgot how much they had grown up over the years. In his suit he looked like a grown man. A delicious one.
She snuggled up to him. He lay back on the couch and Victoria simply fell onto his thick chest. It was a small gesture, but it spoke volumes. She was comfortable enough with him to lay there with her eyes closed and enjoy a quiet moment. He pulled his hand away from his eyes and rested it on her head. Victoria laid there in peace until she felt Levi brush his lips over the top of her hair.
She opened her eyes slowly, turning her head to face him. “Did you just kiss me?”
Levi’s face showed his utter panic. Victoria watched his face go through more emotions than she thought one person could possibly feel. Fear, panic, loss…she didn’t know which ones he truly felt. Victoria sat up slowly until her whole body was directed at him and their eyes locked. Victoria yearned for more, more of his touch, of his sweet and innocent kisses.
When he didn’t speak for a long time, Victoria decided she needed to lighten the mood. “Well, that took you long enough.” A smile played on her lips. She leaned her head forward and touched her forehead to his. She pushed up on her right arm and slightly climbed on top of him in the corner of the sofa. Leaning closer, she whispered to him, “Levi? Do you promise to take care of me?”
“Yes,” was all he said, but Victoria could tell it meant so much more. It was the first promise he had made to her, and she knew it wouldn't be the last.
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