Levi Read online

  "I've been lusting after you ever since you started working for him and I'm best friends with his wife. His loyalty should lie with me."

  He smirks. "You've been lusting after me since I started? I didn't know your obsession ran so deep."

  "I'm not obsessed," I reply embarrassed.

  "Clearly. Plus, you're done with me, right? I saw the Snapchat."

  I smack his shoulder. "And how did you see that? I knew you had a Snapchat account."

  "God, woman. You hit hard. I don't have a Snapchat. The guys at work showed me."

  Brody starts signing again and Levi doesn't miss a beat. Their hands move so fast and then Levi gives Brody a five-dollar bill and Brody runs over to the line forming behind the ice cream cart.

  "Is he okay to be over there alone? How will he communicate?"

  "I'm watching him, and he communicates better than most hearing people."

  "How old is he?"

  "Eight."

  "Wow, you must have been young when you had him."

  He shrugs his shoulders and we both watch Brody as he inches his way up the line.

  "So is he the reason you don't have sex?"

  "You could say that."

  "Is he the reason you won't go out with me?"

  "It's a little more complicated than that."

  "So why don't you uncomplicated things for me and explain?"

  He doesn't reply. Instead he starts kicking the loose pebbles on the street as he glances at Brody every few seconds.

  "Where is his mom?"

  "Okay, that's enough questions for the day. We don't know each other well enough for you to dive into my life story."

  "And whose fault is that? I want to get to know you but you keep shutting me out."

  "As you can see I don't have a lot of free time in my life right now to get to know someone new. Brody is my life. He and I are just fine."

  "What about friends? Don't you have time for friends?"

  "Not new ones."

  "What about food. You’ve got to eat. You don't have time to get to know me over a meal or two?"

  "I don't think it's a good idea. Brody needs stability and you and I both know you want to be more than just friends."

  "You're a little full of yourself."

  "No, I just speak the truth."

  "Okay, maybe that's the truth, but I also have a breaking point and you've reached it. You don’t have to worry about me hitting on you anymore. I know when a man is not interested. I'm talking about us just being friends. Hanging out as friends. Something tells me you don't have a lot of those in your life."

  He takes in a deep breath as he studies me and then reluctantly responds. "You're right. I don't have a lot of friends and I guess it wouldn't hurt to have someone to talk to."

  "See. I'm smarter than I look. When are you free for dinner?"

  "I can't do dinner. I cook for Brody every night."

  "Can't you find a sitter?"

  "I could, but I don't want to nor can I afford to hire someone other than when I'm working. Besides, after dinner we have baseball practice three nights a week and games on the weekends."

  "Isn't that a lot for an eight-year-old?"

  "Brody is better than most eight-year-olds. He lives and breathes baseball and plays on the best eight and under travel team in the state."

  "Oh, okay, I didn't mean to offend. You take baseball pretty seriously."

  "I have to. I'm the coach."

  And just like that the man surprises me again. I like not knowing everything about him. It's intriguing and something tells me the more I get to know him the more I'll like about him.

  Brody comes back with no change and three red white and blue Popsicles. I may not know sign language but even I know Levi told him to only get one. "Hey, big guy," Levi signs and speaks this time and it warms my heart. He wants me to be a part of their conversation. "I said you could only have one."

  Brody signs and Levi lets me know what he’s saying. "He bought the other two for us." Brody looks up at me with his stunning green eyes and hands me a Popsicle. His thoughtfulness has me tearing up. "Thank you."

  Brody shakes his head. He holds his Popsicle with his left hand. Making his right hand flat he brings it up to his chin and then brings it away.

  "He's teaching you the sign for thank you."

  "Oh." I hold my Popsicle with my left hand so I can free up my right. Then I sign thank you just like he taught me.

  "I should get going," I say solemnly. "It was nice to meet you, Brody."

  "Here, go like this." Levi shows me a new sign and then holds my Popsicle for me. "That's how you sign nice to meet you. I can teach you how to sign his name later."

  I don’t think he realizes he's just promised me more than a sign language lesson. If he wants to teach me Brody's name that means he's anticipating I'll be around Brody more.

  Smiling at Levi's son I sign, "Nice to meet you," and then he startles me by opening his arms and giving me a hug. I hug him back, grateful for his openness and then I leave them and the farmer's market behind so I can go home. It's only then that I remember I requested an Uber a while ago. The driver is already long gone by now with five dollars of my money for not showing up. I request another ride and my new driver is here in less than a minute. After I get in and make small talk I grab my phone and text Levi.

  Me: So, as your friend, I noticed we never made plans to hang out.

  He texts back almost immediately.

  Levi: Huh, I guess we didn't. I'm a bad friend.

  Me: I'll teach you how to change that.

  Levi: What are you doing tomorrow morning?

  Me: Normally I'd say sleeping but I'm guessing you have a better proposition for me.

  Levi: Let's meet for breakfast.

  Me: Why not dinner? I could always help you cook.

  Levi: I don't need help cooking. I am a master.

  Me: Okay then let’s meet for lunch.

  Levi: No

  Me: Why does it have to be breakfast?

  Levi: Because breakfast is the shit. I'll learn a lot about you by what you order.

  Me: Great. Now I'll be up half the night second-guessing all of my options. I'm determined to order the right thing.

  Levi: It feels good to be on the other side of things.

  Me: I don't know what that means.

  Levi: I mean it feels good not being the one in this friendship up half the night second-guessing.

  Chapter Nine

  Kendall

  I'm nervous.

  I can't remember the last time a guy made me nervous. My palms are sweaty, my stomach is in knots, and my knees are so weak they barely kept me upright when I walked in. My body is completely betraying me and this isn't even a date. This is breakfast between two new friends–nothing more.

  We're meeting at the IHOP near Forbidden Desires because we have a mandatory quarterly staff meeting this morning. There's a subway stop just a few blocks over. It sucks that the staff meeting falls on our day off but Noah fits a lot of info into that hour meeting and I have to be there to pass out paperwork and take notes. Security has to be there because a good twenty minutes involves going over any incidents that occurred in the club that shouldn't have.

  It's five before nine. Levi texted me to meet him here at nine-fifteen but I was too anxious to stay at home any longer. So now I'm sitting in a booth with a glass of water, waiting for the waitress to bring me the coffee I ordered, as I try to calm my bouncing legs down. I can't remember the last time I was out with a single guy and there was no promise of sex afterward. I like sex and I'm not ashamed to admit it, but I'm not promiscuous. Actually, most of my hook-ups are with repeat offenders. Although there was that guy in the bathroom of the club, and I let the instructor at my spinning class go down on me, and there was that one time I made out with my Uber driver. He was twenty-two, hot, and I had consumed way too many fruity drinks.

  Maybe I am promiscuous after all.

  The waitress drops off
my coffee and a carafe for refills and I drink my first cup like it's water, which will not help my nervous bouncy legs. I pour a second glass and sip slowly as I think about what I'll say to Levi when he gets here. I want to make sure the conversation flows comfortably, but I don't want to reveal any weird habits or stories that could turn him off.

  I finish my second cup, and then a third, and when I pour my fourth the carafe is empty. "Would you like me to bring you more coffee, Miss?"

  "Yeah, that would be great."

  "Would you like to place your order while you wait for your friend?"

  "No, he shouldn't be too much longer."

  She smiles at me sympathetically and walks away. I check my phone and it's nine-thirty. He's fifteen minutes late. When the waitress comes back my stomach growls.

  Fuck it. I'm just going to order.

  "Can I get the strawberry pancakes with lots of whipped cream on top and two sides of bacon?"

  "Sure, anything else?"

  "If I eat anything else you'll have to roll me down the street for work."

  She laughs. "Okay, I'll go put your order in."

  The minutes tick away slowly and I catch myself glancing at the time on my phone more than I'd like to admit. I should text him, but I don't want to appear desperate. It's not like he forgot we had plans. He was the one to text me this morning. He decided on the time and place.

  When my food arrives, I start to get worried. He either blew me off, which would be a first for me, or something terrible happened. Just as I'm about to cave and call him my phone rings and Levi's name flashes across the screen.

  Thank God.

  "You better have one hell of an excuse for ditching me inside an IHOP."

  "I'm so sorry. There was an emergency at the school and I left my cell phone at home so I couldn't call until I got back to my apartment."

  "Is everything okay?"

  "Uh, I think so. Can you tell Noah I won't be able to make the staff meeting?"

  "Sure. Are you positive you're okay? You seem frazzled."

  "I just had to pick Brody up from school. He and about half the other kids in his class have lice."

  "Yuck."

  "I know."

  "The joy of public school."

  "Brody doesn't go to public school. He attends a school for the deaf."

  I knew that. Did he tell me that? How could I forget that?

  "Well, do you need any help?"

  "No, I've got it, but thanks. I'm just going to pick up one of those over the counter treatments and then spend the next twenty-four hours picking through his hair in between vacuuming, laundry and sleeping."

  "Sounds like the perfect way to spend your day off."

  "You're telling me."

  We're both quiet and I should let him go so he can start taking care of Brody. "I’ll let you go, but you owe me more than breakfast next time because now I'll be eating alone"

  "You're still going to stay for breakfast?"

  "Absolutely. You can't tease a girl with the hopes of strawberry pancakes and not deliver."

  "Did you get whipped cream on top?" he asks.

  "Is there any other way to eat strawberry pancakes? I got bacon on the side, too."

  He groans into the phone. "I've got to tell you, knowing you're about to eat all that food is a total turn on." Is he flirting with me? "We're definitely rescheduling, Kendall, and for more than just breakfast."

  I clear my throat. "So I pass the breakfast test?"

  There's a pause before he answers. "You ace the breakfast test."

  Chapter Ten

  Levi

  It's amazing how a bug roughly the size of two millimeters can fuck up your entire day. Although the school nurse, pharmacy technician at the drug store, and the woman behind us in the checkout line all told me how common it is for children to get lice, I never had it as a child. I didn't understand what the big deal was. It's just some bugs and I'll wash the bugs out.

  Wrong. I was so wrong. The bugs have taken over Brody's entire head and you can't just wash these fuckers out.

  After treating his head with the stuff from the drug store, I spent close to two hours going through each individual strand of his coarse hair trying to pull out the nits those sneaky lice laid all over his head. This was after I finally could differentiate between a flake that easily moves in hair, and a somewhat translucent nit that sticks to the strands of hair near the scalp. Brody sat there like a champ as I played one of his favorite movies for him and tried to go through his hair with my big hands.

  I've vacuumed the apartment twice and now I'm in the process of washing his sheets. I'm exhausted and this day feels like it will never end. When I finally get a chance to sit down on the couch I grab my phone to call Noah but see I've missed a text from Kendall.

  Kendall: The meeting was boring. You didn't miss much. Oh, and we're at a record low for security issues at the club. Well done.

  Me: You act like I had something to do with that.

  Kendall: I give you all the credit. You're strong and capable.

  Me: I'm also usually busy walking the secretary out of the Forbidden Desires office when security issues arise. Those other guys are the ones who deserve the recognition.

  Kendall: I'm going to pretend you didn't just blame me for not being there when the fights break out ;) How's Brody doing?

  Me: He's fine. I think he's actually happy he gets to watch TV all day and miss school.

  Kendall: Did you get all the nits out? I looked up lice and the CDC says it's important to not miss any nits or you might have a reoccurrence if the eggs hatch.

  She looked it up. That's sweet that she was worried about him.

  Me: If I don't get rid of this and he has an outbreak a few weeks from now I'm shaving his head.

  Kendall: You can't shave his head! He has such beautiful curly hair.

  Me: Hair grows back. Besides, I'm bald.

  Kendall: And bald is sexy on you. It's just cruel on a kid his age. Promise me you won't shave his head! If he has another outbreak I'll take care of it. I'll do anything to protect those curls.

  Me: You're weird...and I kind of like it. I promise I won't shave it but I'm holding you to your promise. You're treating his hair if this happens again.

  Kendall: Deal.

  ***

  Kendall: Is the little guy going to school today?

  Me: No. The school has a rule that students have to show no signs of nits for three days before they can come back to school. Looks like he'll be home the rest of the week.

  Kendall: Poor kid.

  Kendall: So does that mean you'll be out of work all week?

  Me: I can't miss work. Laura will be here shortly and watch him so I can sleep. I usually sleep when he's at school since I work all night. When I wake up I'll have just enough time to check his head again before taking the subway in. He's missing baseball this week, too. Luckily the assistant coach is running practice since I can't. It's true what they say. It takes a village.

  Kendall: Laura's the one from the farmer's market, right?

  Me: Yes. She was heaven sent I swear. One of Brody's doctors set me up with her agency when Brody was eleven months. At the time she was studying sign language in college so she helped teach Brody how to communicate until Brody started attending a pre-school for the deaf. She also took the time to teach me and hooked me up with some online courses. If it wasn't for her patience and wisdom I don't know if I would have had the strength to keep learning.

  Kendall: Wow. That's really amazing.

  Me: Brody is the amazing one. It's hard for deaf children to learn spoken and written English. American Sign Language and English are so different, but Brody works hard and thrives at English. He's eight and reads at a fifth grade level. He's better than most hearing kids his age.

  Kendall: You sound like a proud dad.

  Me: I am. He's gone through so much in his short life and he's kicking ass. I attribute a lot of his success to Laura.

  Kendall:
Have Laura and you ever hooked up?

  Me: Why are you asking me that?

  Kendall: Because you seem very fond of her.

  Me: That's because she's my nanny and has been great to Brody. I consider her part of the family.

  Me: And before you ask she's like the sister I never had. Completely platonic.

  Kendall: Okay good. I'm willing to be just friends with you if that's all you can handle, but I'll fight any woman who tries to get with you while I'm in the friend bubble.

  Me: I never knew you were so territorial.

  Standing up from the couch I discreetly leave the room and make my way back to the bedroom. Just knowing she still wants me and is willing to fight for me, makes me horny. I can't control the tent forming underneath my pants. I had to leave the room before Brody started asking questions. It's a couple years too early for that talk.

  Kendall: Does that bother you?

  Me: Nope. It's hot. I can't remember the last time a woman said she'd fight for me.

  Kendall: I'm a fighter in bed, too. Just putting it out there in case you're willing to scratch the whole friend thing.

  Me: I think it's wise we stay friends. I don't think I could handle you. If I'm being honest...

  Me: Friends are honest, right?

  Me: Just thinking about how you fight in bed has me hard.

  I shouldn't have just texted that. Sometimes the truth should stay hidden. I'm slowly breaking my own rules and I can't let anything happen between us. It wouldn't be fair to Brody. It would be selfish. But damn, I want her. I hate that she's having this influence on me, but I can't control it.

  Kendall: Is this your way of flirting? Because if you were with me right now I'd help you ride that problem out. I wouldn't stop until you released your problem all over me.

  HOLY. SHIT.