by Kelsie Rae
“I know,” he growls. “But you and I graduated at the top of our class. We know what hard work is, and we were scouted by dozens of Top 100 corporations before we decided on Montague Enterprises. I know what I’m passing up, but I also know that if I do get the job, I’ll always question if I only got it because my dad knows a guy. That’ll haunt me.”
“So, you want to withdraw?” I ask aloud before mentally adding, because that would make my life so much easier.
“Of course, I don’t want to withdraw. I’d be a fool to not grab onto this opportunity with both hands.” The conflict is clear in his expression. “But I’d also be a fool not to pursue Charlie, and I know how much the final position means to you. How much your mom needs it.”
I open my mouth to object when he raises his hand to silence me.
“I know about her health issues and that she doesn’t have anyone else. I figured this would be a reasonable solution.”
“For me to help you date my best friend, and in return—”
“I withdraw my resume for the final position,” he finishes for me.
I look at the opportunity from every angle I can before realizing there’s a major flaw in our plan.
“Charlie doesn’t date.”
“I know she doesn’t like me—”
“No. Charlie doesn’t date. Period. She’s never dated.”
“Why the hell not?” Conner asks, shocked. “She’s fucking gorgeous.”
Flinching back, I mentally pull up an image of my best friend. She grew out her long, dark hair as soon as she was old enough to do it herself. Her arms and legs are toned from years of playing softball and running like it’s an addiction. And though I’ve never seen her with an ounce of makeup, her light blue eyes and pouty mouth have always fascinated anyone she talks to, even if I’ve never really admitted it to myself.
“Yeah. I guess she is.”
“You guess?” Conner laughs at the disbelief in my voice.
“I guess I’ve never really thought of her like that.” My laughter mingles with his while I say a quick prayer to whatever gods might be listening that I won’t get struck by lightning for voicing such a bullshit lie.
Shocked, Conner leans forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees as he probes, “So you’ve never….”
“Never what?”
His brows furrow. “You’ve never slept with her or anything?”
“Dude, the only thing I’ve done with Charlie is beat up assholes who give her attention she doesn’t want. But even that’s rare. She’s more of a guy’s friend than a girlfriend.” Scratching the light scruff along my jaw that’ll be gone tomorrow morning before work, I nod to myself more than him. “That’s actually exactly what she is. She’s just…one of the guys.”
And maybe if I keep telling myself that I’ll actually believe it.
“There’s no way in hell I would’ve had as much restraint as you,” he argues. “Five minutes in the same room with her, and my mind was already in the gutter.”
“Which is why I shouldn’t even consider accepting this insane idea,” I grumble.
“Come on, Levi. You know I’d treat her right.”
Conner’s a good guy. He might’ve been an ass growing up, but he turned out all right, which is why the next words slip out of me, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
“We’ll see.”
Chapter Nine
Charlie
A soft breeze blows my ponytail back and forth, making my hair tickle my upper back as I wait for Levi in front of Get Baked. Rolling my shoulders, I do a few quick stretches while scanning the street.
With a grin, I finally spot him.
“Hey, stranger. Took ya long enough.”
He smacks the brim of my baseball cap in greeting. “Give me a break. I didn’t get to bed ‘til two in the morning.”
“Which means you got a solid four hours of sleep,” I tease, fixing my hat. “Don’t be a wimp. Besides, you’re going to like this surprise.”
“Then let’s see whatcha got, Charlie.” His frown tilts up on one side, giving me hope that Mr. Grumpy Gills will perk right up with the right amount of sass.
Walking side by side, we make small talk before arriving at Forever Grey a few minutes later.
“How are they open so early?” Levi asks, eyeing the vinyl logo on the door with open curiosity.
Tugging on the door handle, I step inside and explain, “Most people run in the mornings or later in the evening. They’ve had better luck getting volunteers if they work around those hours.”
The lobby is vacant, so I ring a bell on the front desk while Levi rocks back on his heels, inspecting the place. Thirty seconds later, Suzette appears through a door that leads to the back of the shelter where the dogs are kept.
“Hey, Charlie. Back so soon?” she asks before her eyes land on Levi.
Mouth dropping, she scans him up and down, taking in his black basketball shorts that showcase his calf muscles and a dark red T-shirt with a Nike logo plastered on the front. It’s not tight per se, but it still has a way of hugging his chest and leaving little to the imagination.
Yup. I know exactly what she’s thinking because those same thoughts hit me like a truck when he rounded the corner a few minutes ago.
Hot. Damn.
Clearing my throat to get her attention, I say, “Yup. And I brought a friend to help me. Levi, this is Suzette, one of the head volunteers at Forever Grey. Suzette, this is Levi. He’s going to take one of the dogs out too if that’s okay?”
“Yes, of course. Let me just….” She shuffles a few papers on her desk before finding a brown clipboard with the waivers. “Here they are. If you could sign these, that’d be great. Then I’ll get you two lined up for a couple of running partners. Speaking of partners, are you dating anyone, Levi?”
I nearly choke on my surprise, fighting the urge to laugh––or to slap a hand over Suzette’s mouth––when Levi’s chuckle grabs my attention.
“Not at the moment, no. Why do you ask? Is that a requirement?”
“Obviously not when we both know Charlie’s single. You do know she’s single, right? And gorgeous. Why are you single, Charlie?” Suzette turns to me with a wicked glint in her eyes that makes me want to claw them out.
Cheeks beet red, I stumble over my response. “I…uh…I’m sorry, what was the question?”
Levi bumps his shoulder into mine. “She asked why you’re still single, which is a pretty good question, actually. Why don’t you ever date anyone?”
“Uh….” My attention bounces between my two interrogators. “I’m sorry, but did I just cross into an alternate universe?” Finally landing on Levi, my gaze narrows into tiny slits. “Since when do you care if I date anyone?”
He raises his hands in defense. “Hey, I’m not the one who brought it up.”
“Nope. I did,” Suzette interjects, clearly enjoying the conversation way more than I am. “And I think it’s an excellent question. Anything you want to say?”
“About why I don’t date?” Face burning, I laugh in an attempt to cover my shaky response. “Not really.”
“Come on, Charlie…we’re all friends here, right?” Suzette prods with an evil grin. “You should go on a date or two. Maybe I can set you up. Or maybe Levi knows someone? Levi?”
Being put on the spot, Levi clears his throat and tugs at the collar of his T-shirt. “I mean…I guess I can? If that’s what you want. Charlie?”
Both sets of eyes are on me. One with hesitant curiosity, the other with open mirth at the situation she just tossed me into. Digging my teeth into my lower lip, I search for something to say but come up empty.
Must. Get. Out. Of. Here.
“Maybe we should cut the small talk for the day and uh…just get those dogs,” I mutter in an attempt to change the subject.
Thankfully, Levi backs me up. “Yeah. That’s a great idea. I have a meeting in a couple of hours, and I can’t be late. It was nice to meet you, Suzette.”<
br />
Clearly disappointed, Suzette purses her lips before turning on her heel. “I’ll go get a few rascals. Wouldn’t want you to be late.” Then she disappears to the back, leaving an awkward silence in her wake.
“Sooo…,” I drag out the word. “How ‘bout them Yankees?”
With a deep chuckle, Levi rocks back on his heels with his hands in his pockets. “Yeah. How ‘bout them Yankees.”
Leashes in hand, we push ourselves until our dogs are panting, and my chest is heaving.
“I give up! I give up!” I shout, finally slowing my pace as I watch Levi race up the hill with ease. “You’re too damn fast, Levi!”
Glancing over his shoulder, Levi waits for me to catch up. He matches my turtle-like pace, though his long strides still seem to eat up the distance faster than my short ones. Once he’s within arm’s reach, I tug him back. “Slower, Speedy McGee.”
“Sorry, slowpoke,” he teases.
“How are you still faster than me?” I whine.
With a wink, a cocky Levi explains, “Because I’m older and wiser.”
“Older, yes. Wiser? My ass.”
Tossing his sweaty arm around my shoulders, he pulls me into his side, and it takes everything inside of me to act disgusted instead of breathing in his musky scent that clings to his skin.
“Ew! Levi, you stink!” I squeal, attempting to wiggle away from him.
His arm tightens around me. “I smell like I just ran four miles and kicked your ass, Charlie. Now you get to bask in it.”
“Yay me.” I roll my eyes before peeking up at him. A drop of sweat rolls down his stubbled cheek before dripping off his chin. My mouth waters, but I squeeze my eyes shut.
“Thanks for inviting me today. I needed this,” Levi’s voice rumbles through his chest.
“You did need this,” I agree. “You’ve been pushing yourself too hard lately.”
“I don’t have a choice, Charlie.”
“You’ve always done well under pressure, Levi. But I’m afraid that this time, it might be too much.”
“It’s just coming at me from more angles this time, but a solution kind of fell into my lap. I’ll be fine. Promise.”
“What kind of solution?” I probe as Bonnie stops near a patch of grass to sniff something. Buddy, Levi’s companion for the day, follows suit. Leashes tangling, I find myself almost chest to chest with Levi as he answers, “Nothing crazy. Just….” His eyes explore my face, searching for something, though I have no clue what it is.
“Tell me, Charlie. Why don’t you date?”
“Who says I don’t?” I murmur, offended that he’d make such an assumption. I mean, it’s true. But he doesn’t need to go out of his way to point out the lack of attention I get from the opposite sex.
Sensing my defensiveness that’s bubbling below the surface, Levi drops his arm from around me and tugs his dog to keep moving. Bonnie and I do the same.
“I dunno. I guess I just assumed that since I haven’t met anyone….”
“I’ve never met any of your sexual conquests, either,” I challenge.
“Yeah, but that’s because you bit my head off the last time I asked a girl to tag along when we hung out.”
“Good point,” I mutter, remembering the night I finally snapped a couple of years ago and left him at the theater. But it had nothing to do with the girl. I was simply jealous. Which makes me wonder…. Would he be jealous if I brought a different guy around? Would it bother him the way his conquests bother me? Peeking over at him, I shake off the thought. Of course, it wouldn’t. Because he doesn’t look at me the way I look at him. He never has. And he never will.
His deep voice pulls me back to the present as he points out, “But I’ve never asked you to keep your dating life separate from me.”
Aaand, there’s my answer.
I feel like a boa constrictor is wrapped around my chest, my breathing forced as I ask Levi something I’m not sure I want the answer to.
“So, you’d be okay meeting guys I’m interested in?”
We round the corner as he considers my question, his jaw flexing for a brief second before he raises his head and stands a little taller. “Yeah. I mean…as long as he’s not an ass. I just want you to be happy.”
“I am happy,” I interject. “Since when do I need a guy to make me happy?”
“You don’t,” he rushes to clarify. “I guess I just don’t really understand how you’ve never been in a relationship or anything. Hell, have you even been kissed?”
I falter for a split second, unable to believe I’m having this conversation. And with Levi, of all people.
Kill me now.
Bonnie tugs on the leash to get my feet going, and I shake my head in an attempt to focus and not fall down the rabbit hole of what the hell is happening right now? I’m as innocent as they come. Hell, I’ve never even held hands with a guy. Why? Because the only one I’ve ever wanted to hold hands with has always been too busy sticking his up any skank’s skirt within a twenty-foot radius.
“I’m not sure that’s any of your business,” I mutter, shying away from him but rushing to keep up with Bonnie’s tugging.
“Hey.” Levi grabs my arm to stop my retreat. Body tense, I let him inspect me from head to toe, feeling more like an alien than a normal girl who’s begging for a guy to notice her. To notice her as a woman who has thoughts and feelings instead of a friend who needs dating advice.
“What’s wrong, Charlie?” he murmurs quietly.
“Nothing.”
“Tell me.”
I want to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Instead, I give him exactly what he’s asking for, and I don’t sugarcoat an ounce of it. “Fine. I’ve never been kissed. I’ve never been on a date. I’ve never done anything. Hell, I wasn’t even asked to a high school dance, remember? Is this what you wanted to hear?”
“Charlie—”
“Don’t.”
“Charlie—”
“Seriously. Don’t.” I shrug out of his hold, keeping a safe distance between us.
“Charlie, you were never asked to a dance because I told all the guys to leave you alone. I knew what the punks in high school were thinking and what they wanted, and I didn’t want them coming near you. I’m—”
“Levi, I really don’t care right now, and I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m not in the mood, okay? In fact, I think I’m going to take Bonnie for another mile. You can just drop off Buddy at Forever Grey. I’ll talk to you later.”
Then I run back down the hill in the opposite direction until the muscles in my legs ache as bad as the one in my chest.
He wouldn’t let guys come near me in high school? Why? That doesn’t make any sense. Especially when he’s so gung-ho about my current dating life.
Gah!
And they say girls are complicated?
My ass.
Chapter Ten
Levi
“Alright. If we’re going to make this work, then you gotta treat her like gold.” Pulling out a chair in the break room while knowing I only have five minutes before my next meeting, I watch Conner chew his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
After a few seconds, he swallows. “That won’t be a problem. Anything else?”
“You gotta promise me that she never finds out I had anything to do with this.”
“Deal.”
I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.
There was just something about this morning with her. I knew I’d been overprotective during high school, and that I probably shouldn’t have intervened so much with her dating life. But to hear that she’s never even been kissed? She’s twenty! How the hell is that even possible? What’s holding her back? She needs a push in the right direction, and if I have to make a deal with Conner to get her to live her damn life, then so help me, I will.
I breathe a slow sigh then rest my elbows on the table.
“Fine. I want you to know that I’m not just doing this for you or for the jo
b. I’m doing this because she needs to get out of her shell, and I think she needs a little push in the right direction.”
There. I said it out loud. So, why am I still feeling so damn guilty?
“Then push away,” Conner replies, clearly invested in the conversation.
“She likes sports. She’s obsessed with baseball and running. Loves pizza and burgers. Hates fish. Her favorite candy is Nerds, though she’ll tell you it’s chocolate. She runs when she’s scared and almost never yells. When she’s nervous, she’ll pick at her clothes and avoid eye contact. She also––”
“Dude. First, you should probably just email me all this shit because there’s no way I’ll remember all of it. Second, how am I supposed to use this information?”
Frustrated, I run my fingers through my hair before blowing out another breath. “I’m not the one trying to date her. You are. I’m giving you all the ammo I can think of to make that happen, but the ball is still in your court.”
He shakes his head. “That’s not how this works. Yes, I think all this info is a great start, but I’m still going to need your help.”
“Then you’re going to have to be more specific,” I bite out.
“How do I convince her to give me a chance?” he returns with just as much venom.
Apparently, I’m not the only one with a lack of patience for the day.
“I don’t know. Right now, she’s pissed at me too.”
Pulling away, Conner takes another bite of his sandwich after asking, “And why’s that?”
“Because I asked her if….” For some reason, divulging the fact that my best friend has never been kissed seems like crossing a line. “I asked her if she was seeing anyone.”
“You didn’t know if she was single?”
“I assumed, but we don’t really talk about our love lives.”
“Why?”
Because she doesn’t want to hear about mine, and I never bothered to ask about hers, I think to myself, feeling like a dick for being so self-absorbed. Still, the thought of her being with someone makes my nose wrinkle, so maybe it’s self-preservation more than self-absorption. Or maybe I’m just trying to make myself feel better, and that I’m not really a shitty friend.