Текст книги "S.O.B. "

Автор книги: J. C. Valentine

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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

“I don’t know what comes next,” I admit. “But I can promise you that whatever happens, I’m all-in. I’ll make this work, whether it’s here or Chicago or someplace else. Just don’t write me off yet. Promise me that you’ll give me a chance to figure this out.”

Rubbing her forehead, Vista huffs. “Why should I? Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t draw the line right now and end this once and for all.”

Meeting her eyes, I feel my heart climb into my throat. It’s time to come clean. To lay everything straight so there will be no misunderstanding. “Because, princess. I risked everything when I came here for you.”

Her sharp inhale and the way she holds my gaze steady in hers leaves me feeling stripped bare. There is no hiding what I feel for this woman. Not anymore.

Drawing in a steady breath, I take the leap that could break me worse than any bone ever has. “I’m in love with you.”

22

This would be the time where I say I love him, too, but I can’t form any words. I’m in shock. That has to be it. Levi Black is in love? With me? But…he’s never even had a steady girlfriend. I can’t wrap my brain around it.

“Run that by me again,” I say, my voice nothing but a whisper.

Flipping onto his side, Levi faces me, his blue eyes focused on mine with an intensity that is flat-out scary. Especially on him. I’ve never known Levi to be serious about anything. Except soccer. And women. And having sex with women.

Reaching out, he takes my hand. Drawing patterns on the back of my fingers with one of his, he says, “I love you, Vista. That’s what I came here to tell you. Since the day you walked out that door, I’ve been working my way back to you.”

I...don’t know what to say. I can’t think. I can’t... Withdrawing my hand, I flip onto my back, and then toss back the blankets, setting my feet on the floor and reaching for my robe that hangs on one of the bedposts.

“Too much?”

Standing, I turn back to look at him. “Yeah, too much.” Way too much, too fast. It’s everything I’ve dreamed of hearing from the man I love, but…Of all the women he’s been with, why me? Who am I but a girl whose mom married his dad? How the hell have I possibly tamed this man when no one else has ever come close? It doesn’t make sense to me.

Levi’s frown runs deep, but it’s clear that it’s not going to deter him. Sitting up, he tells me, “It’s a lot to take in. I’m still getting used to it myself, but, Vista—princess—I swear it’s true. I know I’m the last person in the world you’d ever expect to fall in love with someone, but I love you. I do, and if you need me to take out an ad on a billboard or something to prove it, I will. I’ll call Vincent right now and he’ll get on it.”

I feel my own frown fall into place in response. “Who’s Vincent?”

“You met him once. The first day you came to stay with me.”

Who..? Oh, that guy. I feel my eyes widen at the memory. “The guy with the beard?”

“Yeah, that’s him,” Levi says, a smirk playing on his face as he scratches his nails over his own chin hair.

“I don’t think I like Vincent,” I tell him. Granted, it turned out to be an all-around bad evening and I could be projecting my anger toward Levi and his audacity to bring women back to the apartment against him, but anyone who runs with Levi is bound to fall under the same scrutiny.

Damn, does that mean that I fall under the same axe of judgment?

“You don’t know Vincent. He’s wild, but he’s a good guy, once you get to know him,” Levi defends.

Do I hear a story in there somewhere? I shake my head. This conversation is getting way off track, fast. “Levi, I don’t even know what to say to you right now.” Wait, yes I do. “Is this about the baby? Is that why you’re saying this? Professing your love? Because if you’re worried about making an honest woman of me or dodging the press coverage or something, I don’t want any part of it.”

“That’s not even close to the reason,” Levi insists as he shoves back the rest of the blankets and scoots toward me.

I can’t help it. He’s completely naked and now he’s completely exposed, too. A girl can only take so much. My gaze drops to his crotch. Damn, he’s seriously well-endowed. Like, seriously. I feel my cheeks begin to redden as his cock stiffens right before my eyes.

Placing his feet on the floor, Levi reaches out for me. I go to him, powerless to say no. With his arms locked loosely around my hips, he presses his lips to my stomach first before peering up at me through his thick black lashes. “I’d love you even if you weren’t having my baby,” he says sincerely. “I was already coming to tell you that before I even knew you were pregnant.”

Thinking back, I know he’s telling me the truth. He was shocked, seriously upset, and even went through a brief period of denial, and all before my eyes. There’s no faking that kind of reaction, so I have to believe him. Which makes this seem all the more unreal. Levi, the famous soccer player and infamous Lothario, is in love with me?

Sighing, I lean a little deeper into him, feeling his arms fasten tighter around me. “Assuming I’m in agreement here...how is this going to work, Levi?” I ask him as doubts begin creeping in. “You’re off traveling the country and I live here. Even when you do happen to be home, that’s still a hell of a commute. Not to mention the fallout when word gets out about us. Your dad is going to be crazy pissed.”

“Fuck my dad and fuck the media,” he replies fiercely. “I don’t give a shit about any of that. I told you before, this is our life. They don’t have any part of it except being voyeurs. So they can make all the judgments in the world, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to live by them. And neither should you.”

Standing, he rubs his palms down my arms, looking me straight in the eyes. “I’ve loved you for forever, Vista. Since the moment you walked into my life. There isn’t anything that anyone can say or do that would ever make that change. Can you say the same?”

Holding his gaze, I fumble for words. “I don’t know, Levi,” I answer honestly. “I’ve never dealt with anything like this before. I don’t know what I would do.”

“Then we’ll figure it out together.” Taking my hand, he begins leading me toward the bathroom. “Just know this,” he says as he cranks the water on. When his blue eyes meet mine, they’re swimming with laughter. “You can run, you can hide, but I’ll always follow. Always.”

“Well, that’s not creepy at all,” I joke. But in all seriousness, I hear what he’s telling me. Levi is willing to fight for what he wants. He’s willing to fight for me. It’s actually pretty romantic, and I can’t not be touched by that. I’ve never had a man care enough to follow me across the states to be with me. Even my own father ditched out on me before I was born.

Levi’s smile steals my breath as sure as if he’d kissed it out of me. That’s what this man does to me. Even if I wanted to deny the feelings I have for him, I’d never be able to deny how badly I want him. How badly I’ve always wanted him. It’s taken four years to come to terms with it, but now I know that, this time, I won’t be the one who walks away.

***

Levi hovered over me when I called Juliet, the adoption coordinator, and told her that I’d changed my mind. It was a long phone call that required a lot of patience and a hard heart. Juliet didn’t want me to go even though she was happy that I had changed my mind. Companies like hers have a personal stake in both parties’ outcome. In the end, she just wanted me to be sure and happy with my decision.

The only thing I can say that I regret is going to her in the first place.

It was a difficult decision to begin with, which should have told me what I already knew but refused to acknowledge: I was never meant to give up my child.

I know now that I would have regretted it for the rest of my life. Whether or not Levi is in the picture once our baby gets here, I know that I will do anything it takes to make sure this baby is happy and healthy. Anything.

I’m sitting in a patch of grass beneath filtered sunlight that falls through the tree canopy, leaning against a tree trunk with a giant root digging into my left butt cheek, while licking melting ice cream from the sides of the cone holding my large vanilla twist covered in colored sprinkles and a little set of candy eyes.

The day is turning out to be incredible. All I can think about is how I’m going to get to hold my baby in a few months. The idea of all the sugar and calories I’m packing away right now doesn’t even register because I am in heaven.

“I like how you work that cone, princess,” Levi comments while looking sidelong at me. He chose to eat his ice cream in a cup with a spoon, which is blasphemy as far as I’m concerned. It ruins the experience.

“I know a lot of tricks you might like,” I tell him, enjoying how his eyes light up with excitement. I actually have no idea what I’m talking about. I’m not very experienced in the sex department. Including Levi, I’ve only been with three men in my lifetime and with the exception of Levi, the sex was pretty straight forward. Needless to say, I’m in need of some instruction, but I have a feeling that Levi will be the perfect teacher.

“Wanna know what that ice cream reminds me of?”

I shake my head, grinning as I stick out my tongue to catch a rivulet of melted chocolate. “Don’t even say it.”

“What? I was just going to say that it reminded me of childhood memories,” he says, chuckling in a way that is one hundred percent devious.

I know damn well that’s not what he intended to say, but why encourage him? When we’re finished with our treat, we climb back onto Levi’s motorcycle. The day is too nice to go back home or spend it indoors, and Levi must be thinking the same thing, because he heads in the opposite direction.

It’s the scenic route. One that is filled with tree-lined country roads that go on for miles. Propping my chin on his shoulder, I close my eyes and smile to myself as the wind whips against my face.

When he finally slows the bike down and pulls off the road onto a gravel path, it’s nearing sunset. We’ve been riding around for hours. It’s so easy to lose track of time when we’re together. It’s as if the rest of the world ceases to exist.

I’m not sure where we’re at, but the setting reminds me of a park. Finding a little turnoff that breaks into a slab of concrete with spaces marked out for parking, I’m certain that I’m right. Levi parks the bike sideways, taking up two spots, and cuts the engine.

As I remove my helmet, my gaze can’t help straying outward. Beyond the guardrail is a steep embankment that drops off without warning. But for all the danger it presents, there is no denying the pull of the stunning scene before us.

Huge, rolling hills covered in trees and wildflowers, even a few birds soaring through the blue, cloud dappled sky, make it the most stunningly beautiful view I have ever laid eyes on. I am struck speechless at the sight.

“Welcome to Makeout Point,” Levi says, watching me for my reaction.

My eyes fly to his. “Are you kidding me?”

He holds my gaze for a moment, before breaking into a laugh. “No. Well, kind of. It’s not actually called that, but it’s the equivalent. The internet says it was designed as a lookout point, but you know teenagers come up here to punch their V-card all the time. Or, at least, that’s what I would use it for,” he says thoughtfully.

Climbing off the bike, he clasps his helmet on the handlebar. I move to do the same. After handing my helmet off to him, Levi secures it next to his, then takes my hand and urges me back onto the bike. More specifically, onto his seat, facing backward.

“Stay there.”

I do what he says, wondering what he’s up to. It doesn’t take very long to find out. Swinging his leg over the seat, Levi straddles it facing me. I don’t know what he has in mind, but my heart seems to think it’s something big. Maybe it’s the way he’s looking at me, like he wants to eat me. Or maybe it’s the way the sun hits him just right, bringing out the copper highlights in his beard. Instantly, I want to lean in and kiss him, just to feel it scratch against my skin.

Looping his hand around my lower back, Levi tugs me closer, forcing me to lift my legs up and lay them on top of his. The position brings us so close together, I can feel the hard ridge of his cock pressing against my core through his jeans. “Do you like it here?” he asks me while tenderly brushing my hair out of my face.

Turning into his touch, I kiss the center of his palm. I’d rather show him how I feel than try to come up with the words, because there’s no vernacular capable of describing it accurately. I’m floored by our surroundings, moved to emotions just from being here. “I love it.”

Leaning in, Levi presses his lips to mine. Grabbing onto the backs of his arms, I hold onto him while I return his ardent kiss. When his tongue strokes over my bottom lip, a tremor of need shoots through me and I moan into his mouth.

Smiling against my lips, Levi kisses me once more before drawing back. Cradling my face in his hand, he rubs his thumb back and forth across my cheek as he considers me. “I have this crazy fantasy in my head that involves you naked on the back of this motorcycle.”

My eyes widen in surprise. My body heats as I picture what he’s described. “Levi,” I say, a thread of insecurity making its way into my voice. “We’re in public.”

“There’s no one here but us,” he reasons as he draws me closer.

“But someone could come.”

Nuzzling my neck, his hot breath flows over my wild pulse as he murmurs, “The only one who will be coming is you.”

Holy shit. My thighs are on fire. How does he always seem to know just the right thing to say to get me worked up? “I’m not getting naked out here.”

“Why not?” he asks. Running his tongue down the side of my neck, he stops at the swell of my breasts, bathing me in wet kisses. “You didn’t seem to have a problem with it at the pond.”

That was different. We were in a totally secluded area that clearly hadn’t seen any visitors aside from Levi in years. Holding his face in my hands, I bring his eyes up to mine. “No. I’m not going to do that out here.”

He studies me closely for a few moments before shrugging. “Fine. I can work around the clothes.”

Deftly, I feel his hands slip into the stretchy fabric of my yoga pants and tug them down over my hips. Before I know it, my bare ass is meeting warm leather. “Levi!”

He stops my hands before they can get a hold on the fabric to pull them back up. Passing me a warning look, he holds the waistband hostage around my thighs until I drop my arms back down to my sides.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about that day at the pond,” he muses.

Releasing my pants, Levi traces his fingers lightly up the sides of my thighs. When he reaches the top, he moves inward, following the crease until his fingers find my entrance. I hiss as he spreads me open to his gaze and runs an experimental finger through my wetness, spreading my juices over my pussy lips and around my clit in long, languid strokes as if he has all the time in the world.

Biting his lip, he sinks a finger into me. It takes all my willpower not to throw my head back and shout his name. I want to look at him. I want to see his face, every expression as he garners pleasure from mine.

“The way you rode my dick in the water?” he continues. “I want you to do that here. I want to fuck you on my bike. That way, whenever I look at it, I’ll think of you.” Plunging a second finger into my hole, he presses against my cervix as he pumps them slow and steady.

Oh God. I can already feel my orgasm building, and he isn’t even inside me yet.

I hear the sound of metal teeth tearing apart as Levi releases the zipper on his jeans. Looking down, I watch as he uses his free hand to tug the tight fabric down low. His cock springs free, the fat head aimed directly at my pussy as if it has a homing beacon attached to it. Flexing his hips, my core clenches as it brushes up against my clit.

“The best thing about this,” Levi says as he pulls his fingers out of me and smears my wetness over the head of his cock, “is that I don’t have to worry about condoms anymore.”

Aligning himself, Levi and I watch together as he rocks forward. My breathing quickens as I watch the head part my swollen folds and feel the thick mushroom tip begin to stretch my inner walls.

“God, that looks so good, princess,” Levi grunts as he gently works his way inside of me. Shifting both of my legs over one arm, he presses my knees back as far as they will go without crushing my belly, and pushes in a little deeper. “I love how your tight little pussy swallows me. Am I hurting you?”

I gasp a no as he works his way in another inch. No amount of pain would ever make me tell him to stop. I love the way he feels inside of me, taking up every inch of space, filling me to capacity.

“Good, because I don’t think I can stop.” I watch Levi and the way his expressions switch between pained and euphoric as he continues thrusting into me. He’s loving this just as much as I am. My pussy clenches around his thick length as I grow more and more excited. Knowing he’s watching as he enters me is so erotic, it has me climbing toward an orgasm faster than if he’d spent time working me with his mouth.

With that thought, my orgasm bears down on me, spreading through my whole body. I want to feel Levi’s mouth between my legs, his tongue and lips on my clit. He has a magic mouth, and I want it all over me.

As my orgasm begins to recede, I look up to see Levi’s gaze fastened on our joined bodies. His brows are drawn down low over his eyes, his bottom lip caught between his teeth as he increases his pace, his cock sliding in and out, making sloppy noises as he hits deep. The bike rocks the faster he goes, and I reach up to grab onto the handlebars, afraid I’ll fall. But I won’t. Levi would never let that happen.

I feel the width of him increase, tightening our connection as he reaches the point of no return. Holding my legs in the crook of one arm, he reaches out to grab onto my hip, using it as leverage. His fingers dig into my flesh, the bite of pain welcome as I watch this beautiful man find his release.

When he’s done, his muscles fall slack and his eyes stay closed for the longest time. Long enough that I become aware of my surroundings again and that we are in plain sight of anyone who might happen upon us.

“Levi.”

The sound of my voice snaps him out of his post-coital haze and without a word spoken between us, Levi helps me back into my clothes and rights his own. Turning me around, he places me in front of him, my back to his chest, and wraps his arms tight around me. Resting his chin on top of my head, we stare out at the golden hills now bathed in the florescent colors of the sunset.

“Tell me you’ll come with me to my game.”

Levi’s gruff command slides across my still heated skin like a gentle caress. Teasing my fingers over his strong forearms, I can’t find any reason to deny him. In the short time that we’ve spent together, I’ve come to see a side of Levi that I never knew existed. A side that is full of hurt and disappointment. A side that just needs someone to show him that he is worthy of love. Plus, life is too short not to spend it smiling.

Reaching up behind me, I slide my fingers into his hair as I tilt my head sideways and back so I can meet his eyes. “Okay.”

A soft smile twitches at the corners of his mouth, and Levi leans in to steal a sweet kiss.

23

After guiding me to a seat among the players’ friends and family and close to the action, Levi made me promise to stay put until he retrieves me. Then he left to get ready for the game.

I’m so out of my element. The stadium is packed, fans for both teams everywhere creating a sea of red, blue, black, and white on my side, and black and gold dominating the opposite. The noise level is deafening, but the excitement that charges the air fills my chest and helps me understand why people love this stuff. Especially when the players take the field to begin their warmups.

I’ve never been a big soccer person. Hell, I don’t follow sports at all, but I follow Levi. Like he possesses some magnetic draw, I can’t take my eyes off him. Behind me, I hear women squealing over the men as they perform some simple drills, and I smile to myself. I bet he’s loving this.

When I’d said I would come here and watch Levi play, his whole mood shifted. He’s normally upbeat, but he was over the moon ecstatic to be able to bring me back with him. I never realized how much something so seemingly simple could mean to him.

I barely had enough time to call Janey and inform her of my plans before he was putting me on the back of his bike and driving us out of one city and into another.

His hotel room is larger than my entire apartment. A hell of a lot nicer, too. It makes me feel kind of ashamed to have had him there, but the thing about Levi is that he doesn’t judge. At least, not on the outside.

I don’t know why I thought he was anything like David Black. Levi is a much better man and human being than his father could ever claim to be. He is loving, considerate, honest, generous, goofy, and smart. He might just be some sexy, young soccer player to the world, but to me, he is everything. He’s given me my smile back.

Once the players finish their warmups, they take off back inside to, I assume, get ready for show time. It doesn’t take long for them to return, and when they do, their arrival is impossible to miss.

Music pounds throughout the stadium and the announcer shouts over the sound system, introducing each of the players over the excited roar of the crowd, beginning with Levi’s team, the Chicago Fire. The fans surrounding me are on their feet shouting, clapping, and stomping so hard the ground quakes beneath me. The commotion effectively drowns out the boos that filter from across the stadium as each of the players take to the field, their faces and stats displayed on the enormous video board.

They save the best for last. As soon as I see Levi, my smile grows wide enough to make my cheeks ache. Levi is devastatingly sexy in his red and blue uniform, his tattooed arms on full display. Hell, he even manages to make knee socks sexy.

When his face hits the big screen, the noise decibel goes through the roof and Levi lifts his arms up, flashing a cocky smile to his adoring fans. Then, as if in slow motion, his tropical blue eyes locate mine and with the kind of suave, carefree way he has about him, he puckers his lips and blows me a kiss.

A pang of nervous energy hums through me, squeezing the air from my lungs and making my heart pound madly in my chest. I hear chatter around me brought on by his attention, and I know people are questioning our connection. My face grows hot, but I keep my attention plastered to the field. My eyes glued to one figure in particular. I can’t take my eyes off him, my attention fixed even as our side of the stadium erupts into raucous boos when the announcer begins introducing the home team.

Once the players kick off, the game rushes forward. It’s a struggle to keep up with what is happening, especially since I know next to nothing about soccer. All I know is that there’s a ball and a goal and what direction Levi is headed.

It doesn’t take a soccer guru to know, however, that Levi is in his element. Even if I didn’t know that he is one of the top and most sought after players in the league, his footwork alone would give him away.

He’s absolutely breathtaking to watch. The speed in which he runs is astonishing. The fluid way in which he weaves in and out of other player’s paths, kicking and passing the ball to his teammates, faking left and right, using his knees and head to send the ball through the air all keep me riveted. Every time he takes a hit, my heart stops, and every time he recovers and rushes forward it sends it thudding into overtime.

I’m sitting on the edge of my seat, chewing my bottom lip, as I watch Levi race alongside one of his teammates, guarding the ball as he kicks it downfield.

As they close in on the goal, so does the other team. It’s coming to a head and, from where I sit, it looks like a pileup waiting to happen. They’re all converging on one spot, on a collision course with one another.

A burly guy charges up from the left, headed straight for the guy controlling the ball. The crowds on both sides of the stadium are out of their seats shouting, and I’m certain something terrible is about to happen. I can feel it in my chest. This unbearable tightness threatening to smother me.

Then it happens.

Levi’s teammate kicks the ball backward with his heel, Levi moves in to retrieve it, and then, with a move that’s pure speed and agility, he spins around, toes the ball into the air, and jumps. As his feet leave the ground, Levi’s body contorts, rounding backward in a flip. At the same time, his leg comes up, connecting with the ball, and sends it flying over his head.

The goalkeeper lunges a second too late and the ball strikes the net.

It’s a score for his team, but I don’t have the time or luxury of enjoying the moment. What happens next steals what little breath I have left. The linebacker looking guy slams into Levi before he’s finished his flip, sending him sailing through the air. His body slams into the ground with a force that knocks my heart down into my stomach.

The referee’s whistle blows to signal the end of the game. The Chicago Fire’s won.

But Levi…he’s not getting up.

Soon, everyone notices. The coaches and medics rush to him, the teams stand aside, worry clearly marring their faces. The crowd murmurs. The announcer speculates. I hold my breath, my vision blurring as I watch the man I love lying there, motionless in the grass.

Please, God, let him be okay. I send as many prayers as I can to whoever is listening, hoping at least one of them makes it through. Levi needs to be okay. My hand finds my stomach as I think of our child never getting to meet its father, and I almost shatter apart right here. I can’t do this without him.

I don’t know how long he lays there, but it feels like an eternity. When I see the coach stand up and the other players back off, I hold my breath. Please repeats on a constant loop as I stare down at the field, at the spot where Levi is spread out in the grass. I catch a glimpse of his grass-stained cleats first, and I swallow down the lump of fear that’s been steadily rising in my throat since he went down.

The next part of him that’s revealed is his right leg, followed immediately by the left. There are some minor scrapes, but I don’t see anything concerning. No breaks that I can tell. Thank God!

The medics rise up and the circle of staff loosens even more, giving the first full view of Levi as they help him stand.

He’s standing.

I slap my hand over my mouth as a cry of relief explodes from my lips. Tears burst free and roll hot down my cheeks as I watch him take a few experimental steps. The scowl on his face tells me he’s pissed, which is great because it tells me he’s not in pain.

Almost as if he’s just realized that everyone is still watching him, he looks up. I can almost hear the crowd’s collective breath as they await his verdict. Then, with typical Levi aplomb, he shoots his right arm into the air and pumps his fist. The fans go absolutely nuts, celebrating the team’s victory without missing a beat. Levi’s injury scare is already forgotten.

As he walks closer, flanked by two medics and a couple of people I don’t recognize as teammates, his gaze lifts into the stands. He finds me in seconds, and as soon as our eyes meet, I feel my chest constrict all over again.

Waterworks. I dash the tears away, forcing myself to smile for his sake. Damn these pregnancy hormones.

Levi’s expression pinches and he veers left, saying something over his shoulder as he heads directly toward me. Swinging himself up into the stands, he ignores the medics’ protests and leaps up the few rows separating us. Once he’s standing in front of me, he grasps my face between his large, calloused hands.

“What’s wrong, princess?” he asks softly, making my heart clench as my emotions surge up all over again. His thumbs drag across my cheeks, taking the tears with them. “Are you okay?”

“Me?” I screech through what have become hiccupping sobs of profound relief. Throwing myself against him, I wrap my arms tightly around his waist and bury my face in his chest. “Are you okay? I thought you died!”

His arms form a protective circle around me, and I sigh deeper into him, breathing in the smell of grass and sweaty man. I’m going to need a shower after this, but I can’t bring myself to care.

Slowly, I realize that Levi is shaking. Or, more accurately, his chest is shaking. Pulling back slightly, I look up at him, concerned, only to realize that there’s nothing wrong with him.

“You asshole! Stop laughing!” I slap his chest, which only sets him off more.

Gripping me tighter so I can’t break away, Levi says, “I’m sorry. I’m not making fun of you. It’s just that you’re so cute with your red eyes and snotty nose thinkin’ I’m dead.”

“I can’t believe you’re laughing at me! I was devastated,” I say as he pulls me closer, pushing my face into his chest and kissing the side of my head. I should be mad, but he’s in my arms and he’s okay, and right now, that’s all that matters.

“You should know you can’t get rid of me that easily, princess.” Drawing back, Levi pinches my chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing me to look up at him. Sobering, he inspects my face, which must be a total mess. “I’ve never had anyone worry about me before,” he says quietly and with no small amount of wonder.

His confession strikes something deep inside of me—sympathy, anger, sadness. I feel them in equal measures. No one should know the kind of loneliness that this man has. Now that I know to look for it, I realize that all of Levi’s cockiness and arrogance have been nothing more than a façade designed to protect himself so he could pretend that he isn’t hurting inside.

I see in his eyes how much me being here—for him—means to him. It’s such a small thing, and yet it’s a big deal. Right here, right now, while staring into his eyes, I make a silent vow that he’ll never have a reason to doubt how much he’s loved.