by Kelsie Rae
Realizing he’s still waiting for a response, I say, “Because we have more important shit to talk about. But you’re in the clear. She’s single. Which means that if you can get her to see the current you instead of the asshole from your past, then you might have a chance.”
“And how do we get her to see that?”
“She volunteers at a place called Forever Grey. Maybe you can run into her.”
As the wheels turn in his head, Conner nods, forming a plan.
“I can do that. Do you know when she’s usually there?”
“She usually runs in the mornings, although sometimes it isn’t until after her shift at Get Baked.”
“That’s not exactly helpful.”
Seriously? Does he want me to hold his hand through this whole damn thing?
Frustrated, I run my hands through my hair before growling, “Fine. I’ll set up a time to run with her then bail at the last second. Sound good?”
He nods. “Perfect.”
Shoving away from the chair, I pull out my phone and leave Conner to his PB&J.
My gut tightens as I type out a text, but I ignore it.
Me: Hey. I’m sorry about today. Let me make it up to you.
Charlie: And how would you do that?
Me: I’ll bring Chinese tonight, then we can run it off tomorrow morning.
The little bubbles pop up, notifying me that she’s typing a response before they disappear for a solid minute. As my eyes stay glued to my phone, I almost run into Alex, one of Montague’s employees.
“Shi—” I correct myself. “Sorry, Alexandra.”
“No worries,” she replies with a kind smile. Alexandra has always been friendly yet professional. She’s also personable as hell, so it doesn’t surprise me when she asks, “So are you coming to the grand opening of the Jelani Arts Center?”
My phone vibrates in my hand, and it takes everything inside of me to slide it into my slacks instead of reading Charlie’s response. Clearing my throat, I reply, “I wouldn’t miss it. I’ve heard you’ve been working around the clock to make sure everything’s perfect.”
“It’s been a lot of work, but I think it’s going to be a real hit.”
“I’m sure it will. Tell me, did Dexter Truitt really learn to whittle from the guy the center is honoring?”
With a soft smile, Alex confirms the office gossip. “Yes. He was trying to impress my younger sister, and it worked like a charm.”
“Ah, so whittling is the way to a girl’s heart, huh? I’ll have to try it sometime.”
She grins. “Right? Maybe you and my husband can take a class at the arts center together. Just don’t ask Dex to teach you. He’s still competing with a pre-teen YouTube star and is failing miserably.”
A deep laugh escapes me as I consider the CEO of Montague Enterprises having a rivalry with someone on YouTube.
“Speaking of the infamous YouTube star,” Alex continues. “I need to put in a call to him right now. I’ll see you later, Levi. Oh, and I wanted to tell you”—she leans forward to whisper conspiratorially—“the bigwigs have definitely noticed all the hours you’ve been putting in. Keep up the good work. You’ve got this.”
Then she walks away, her heels clicking along the tile surface as I’m left reeling from her comment.
The bigwigs have noticed all the hours I’ve been putting in. The bigwigs have noticed me.
I might actually have a shot at this, after all.
My hand vibrates with another reminder notification. I scan the screen.
Charlie: Deal. Don’t forget the Beijing Beef.
Charlie: And egg rolls!
With a husky laugh, I reply.
Me: Orange chicken and spring rolls. You got it.
Charlie: Smartass. I’m gonna make Suzette give you a naughty dog tomorrow.
Face stretching into a smile, I begin to type out another smartass remark before remembering my deal with Conner. Slowly, the smile slides off my face as quickly as it appeared.
Me: See ya tonight.
Chapter Eleven
Charlie
“You’re here!” I wrap my arms around Levi’s neck for a full-body hug as if I didn’t see him earlier today.
I overreacted this morning, and the guilt has been eating me alive all day. He was only trying to help this morning, and I bit his head off for it. It isn’t his fault that I’m in love with him, and he has no idea. And it definitely isn’t his fault that he doesn’t feel the same way. We can’t change how we feel. Trust me. I’ve tried.
Chuckling, he returns the embrace before resting his right hand on my hip. My insides turn to goo at the contact, but I release him before he notices.
“You’re not mad at me anymore?” he asks, his face painted in disbelief.
“You brought Beijing Beef. How can a girl be mad at you with Beijing Beef?”
“Interesting…Beijing Beef and whittling. Noted.”
I quirk my brow. “Whittling?”
With a laugh, he mutters, “Don’t ask,” then steps into my little one-bedroom apartment. It isn’t much to look at, and most of the furniture is mismatched and secondhand, but I still love it.
“I forgot to ask for a fork since you’re a rookie,” he adds as he plops down onto the couch and starts opening the styrofoam containers.
Glaring at him, I round the kitchen counter in search of a blasted utensil. Once I have one, my tired legs carry me to the couch, and I fall down beside Levi.
Apparently, sprinting the last mile while angry is a great way to burn out your muscles.
“Ouch,” I mumble under my breath before reaching for my dinner. The smell of sweet and spicy sauce wafts through the air, making my mouth water.
“You okay?” he asks, concerned.
Waving him off, I explain, “Yeah, my legs are just exhausted. I’ve been running almost twice a day to make sure all the dogs at Forever Grey are getting enough exercise, and my legs aren’t too happy about it.”
Setting down his chopsticks, he reaches for my ankle and pulls it onto his lap. I groan as soon as his talented fingers start digging into my aching muscles.
“Oh my hell,” I moan, the Beijing Beef forgotten on the chipped coffee table. Eyes closing, my entire body melts into the cushions as I let him massage my legs. Thanks to my cotton shorts, there isn’t any fabric in the way, and I say a quick prayer of thanks to the razor gods for making sure my skin is silky smooth under his calloused hands. “You have no idea how good that feels.”
“I think I have an idea.” I can hear the amusement in his tone and peek one of my eyes open to see a smirk shining back at me. “So tell me, do the other volunteers push themselves this hard, or is it just you?”
“You know how stubborn I am. Once I’m all in, I’m all in. And that includes volunteering to help cute little doggies who like to run just as much as I do.”
“Good point. Speaking of stubborn….”
His voice trails off, which only piques my suspicion.
“Yeees?” I drag out the word before shifting to get comfortable when a very large, very erect something brushes against my upper thigh.
My eyes pop open, and I sand crab crawl backward until only my foot is resting next to him on the couch, completely forgetting what we were talking about.
“You okay there, Naïve Nancy?” he teases, still rubbing his thumbs against the arch of my bare foot.
“Umm….” I cover my face. “Don’t call me naïve and yup. I’m just dandy.”
“Good. Because if you were naïve, my little NRB would’ve made you uncomfortable, and we wouldn’t want that, now would we?”
“NRB?” The question slips out of me before I can stop it.
“No reason boner,” he clarifies with a smirk. “You do know what that means, right? Or do I need to go into more detail?”
“Nope! Nope! I’m good. Juuust dandy.”
“You said that already,” he quips, clearly enjoying my discomfort.
Tugging my foot from hi
s lap, I set it on the ground then grab my lukewarm dinner from the coffee table.
“Smartass. I know what a….” The ‘B’ word gets caught in my throat.
“A boner?” Levi offers innocently.
“Yup. I know what that is. I’m just not used to one being in the same room as me.”
With a condescending laugh and a pat on my knee, he mutters, “You’d be surprised.”
My eyes dart over to him as a piece of Beijing Beef hangs off my fork a few inches from my mouth. “Oh, would I?”
“Yup. You’re a girl with a kickass body, Charlie, no matter how hard you try to hide it with your giant hoodies and baggy T-shirts. It doesn’t take a genius––or a guy with X-ray vision––to imagine what you’d look like naked.”
Holy shit! Did he just say that?
Stunned, my entire body freezes as I try to process his comment. This is foreign territory. Hell, we’re not even on the same planet compared to what we normally talk about. I’ve never been so confused, aroused, curious, embarrassed, and so many other things in my entire life.
“But,” he continues. “Like I said, this was an NRB,”—he emphasizes the acronym—“so the whole attracted to you boner is a non-issue. Don’t worry, my little Naïve Nancy. Happens all the time. Doesn’t mean a thing. But, like I was saying before, you’re stubborn.”
Oh. Right.
I shake my head before stabbing my dinner with more force than necessary, even though I’d already had a perfectly good bite prepped and ready from moments before.
“And?” Shoving the bite in my mouth, I wait for him to get to the point.
“And you almost never change your mind.”
“Which is pretty much the definition of stubborn,” I reply, snarkily. “Get to the point, Levi.”
“Conner feels terrible for the way he treated you years ago. He told me about running into you on the subway and how uncomfortable he could tell you felt. I just…I don’t want you to be pissed at him anymore. For your own sanity. That’s all.”
Annoyed, I take another bite and catch Levi staring at me from the opposite side of the couch, his food untouched.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I want you to be happy. And holding a grudge for this long can’t be healthy.”
You know what else can’t be healthy? I want to say. Being attracted to your best friend, that’s what.
“Hmmm…,” I hum through another bite.
“Don’t hmmm me,” he mimics. My eyes drop down to his mouth as the sound vibrates past his lips. “He’s my friend, Charlie. And you’re my best friend. I want you guys to get along. Please? For me?”
Damn you, Levi. Damn you and your stupid eyes. And your stupid mouth. And your stupid muscles. And your stupid smile. And your stupid requests that I’m helpless against. Damn all of you.
“Fine. I’ll try to let the past go and only focus on the present. But so help me, if he ever makes another comment about how I look or that I have a boy’s name, I will neuter him where he stands.”
Grinning, Levi pulls me into a quick side hug then reaches for his cold Chinese food.
“That’s my girl.”
Chapter Twelve
Charlie
Bouncing on the balls of my feet, I stretch my arms over my head for the hundredth time while waiting for the infamous Levi to show his face.
“Dude. Where are you?” I mumble under my breath, trying to contain my frustration. He’s never late. That’s not how he works. Hell, that’s not how either of us works. With another sigh, I search the empty street before resting my hands on my hips and tapping my toes against the damp concrete.
“Levi, I swear to—”
My phone vibrates.
Pulling it out of my pocket, I read the message.
Levi: Don’t hate me. There’s an early meeting that I completely forgot about. I’ll make it up to you later, okay?
Disappointment swells inside of me, but I push it aside.
Me: No worries. Good luck at your early meeting.
Sliding my phone back into the elastic pocket on my shorts, I jog down the road without my best friend. And even though I saw him twice yesterday, his absence is still glaring.
When I reach Forever Grey and open the door, my heels dig into the ground.
“What are you doing here?”
Two heads swivel in my direction. The first is Suzette’s, and the second is Asshat Conner Daniels’.
“Uh…hey,” Asshat greets me with a chin lift.
“You two know each other?” Suzette interrupts, eyeing us both carefully.
Ignoring her, I address the guy who’s totally stalking me. “What are you doing here?”
“Filling out paperwork?” He motions to the clipboard.
“No. I mean here. As in Forever Grey.”
“Levi told me about it. I try to run a couple of times a week when I’m not going to the gym. Figured I might as well kill two birds with one stone.”
As soon as my best friend’s name slips from his lips, I turn into a blaze of fury.
“Did Levi set this up?”
“Set what up?” he asks, looking at me like I’m a crazy person.
My finger wags between us. “This. This little not-so-coincidental meetup. Did Levi set it up?”
“Levi told me about this place yesterday. He said it opens early in the mornings, and I felt like going for a run. That’s it.”
“And what about the early meeting?” I accuse my skin prickling in awareness.
“What early meeting?”
“The one Levi bailed on me for.”
“Levi and I aren’t in all of the same departments. We answer to a handful of different people and are working on a few different projects. I don’t know his schedule, but I do know mine. I can guarantee that I don’t have an early morning meeting, although it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for Levi to.”
“So, you’re not here to corner me?” I press, feeling like a crazy person.
With a low chuckle, he shakes his head. “Definitely not here to corner you. But I do enjoy running partners. Would you wanna run together?”
“The dogs love running with each other,” Suzette interjects, a mischievous smirk plastered on her face.
So help me, Suzette!
“I’m sure they do,” I huff.
“It’s just a run, Charlie.” The way my name rolls off Conner’s tongue causes my heart to jump. Anxiously, I wait for the venom to seep in, but there was only sincerity in his delivery. Levi’s comment from the night before rises to the surface.
He’s not the same guy you knew.
Digging my teeth into my lower lip, I turn to Suzette. “Any chance Bonnie’s available? She and I have found a good rhythm lately.”
“Sure thing. I’ll grab Benny too. He’s new, but they seem to get along really well. I’ll be right back.”
Ooo, Benny’s new. Maybe I can convince Bonnie to use her dog communication skills to pull Conner into oncoming traffic.
Suzette disappears into the back of the shelter, leaving me alone with Conner as he fills out the paperwork. The sound of his pen scratching against the waiver grates on my nerves.
“Did you know I’d be here?” I accuse.
Finishing with the questions, he sets the pen on a counter that separates the back room from the front then turns to me.
“I knew you came here regularly, and I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed if I ran into you. So tell me, why Bonnie? And who’s Benny? Should I be worried?”
The desperation painted across his face is enough to get me to crack a smile. A big part of me wants to make up some horror story about how Benny has a penchant for ripping off testicles or something, but I restrain myself.
“I haven’t met Benny yet, but I’m pretty sure you’ll be fine.”
His relief is palpable. “Phew. You had me worried there. Especially when those pouty lips turned into a devious smirk for a split second.”
“Devious smirk
?”
“Yeah. Don’t think I didn’t notice the wheels turning in your pretty little head. I bet you were trying to come up with a way to scare me off.”
I almost laugh at his apt assessment but bite my lip at the last second to contain it. “Maybe.”
“And you didn’t play your hand? I’m surprised,” he teases.
Rolling my eyes, I quip, “The morning’s still young. Anything can happen.”
“Touche,” he laughs. “But you never know, maybe I’ll be able to keep the luck on my side.”
“Don’t hold your breath.”
The door squeaks as Suzette opens it with two anxious greyhounds in tow.
Bonnie’s brindle-colored head whips around in search of a friend, and I fall on my knees to greet her as soon as she’s within arm’s reach.
“Hey, Bonnie girl!” Rubbing my hands along her face, my joy is overwhelming. “How are you, pooch? Ready for another run?”
“If you keep up this vigorous exercise, she’s going to start getting bored when other volunteers offer to take her for a walk,” Suzette comments.
Grimacing, I stand up and reach for the leash. “Good point. Would it be better if I took out a different dog?”
“Not after a greeting like that. Bonnie would be depressed for a week if she didn’t get to go! And besides, I’m totally teasing you. Don’t stress at all. We’re grateful for any and all volunteers who are willing to donate their time. These dogs need it more than you’ll ever know.”
I look down at Bonnie girl, her chocolate brown eyes staring back up at me.
“And here’s Benny,” Suzette introduces, offering the leash to Conner. Benny is a dark grey instead of the striped brindle like Bonnie, but he’s still super adorable.
“Hey, Benny!” I raise my hand and let him smell my palm. Satisfied I’m a good person, Benny licks it from wrist to fingertips, and I smile in return.