Bringing both hands to Thessaly’s face to cup her cheeks, Levi backs Thessaly up against the door of the closed market. Pressing their wet bodies against each other, they soak up every drop of rain lingering on their lips. Consumption and hunger, followed by lust and passion – it’s a kiss made for the movies.
It’s a kiss in the rain.
Taking a breath and staring into Thessaly’s mascara-smudged eyes, Levi moans, “Ready?” Without an answer, Levi peels her away from the door and lifts her over his shoulder. She doesn’t fight him this time, and she doesn’t even bother with the placement of her dress.
Glancing at their reflection in the window of the market, Levi smirks as his eyes follow the outline of Thessaly’s lacy thong. He moves his hand to her ass to cover the exposed undergarments, and then takes a deep breath.
Darting back into the rain, Thessaly’s head smacks against the muscles in Levi’s back. Without thinking, she blurts, “How did you get this body?”
Levi replies, “Peace Corps.”
“Impressive. I’m the building on the left – with the glass door.”
Approaching Thessaly’s apartment building, Levi sets her down gently and takes her hand. “Well, that was fun.”
“I guess I’ll have to beat you at shuffleboard some other time.”
“Right,” Levi patronizes.
“Would you like to come up? I could make some honey vodka lemonade.”
Sighing, he replies, “Tempting, but I have a busy morning tomorrow. I should get home.”
“Oh, yeah. Me too. Big, crazy day!”
Levi leans in to kiss Thessaly, but feeling rejected and embarrassed, she turns her head so that he makes contact with her cheek.
Taking a step back, Levi mutters, “Tess, I want you.”
“Okay,” she whispers. “But I’m confused.”
Levi bites the inside of his cheek while staring at the empty space above her head. After scratching his chin, he locks eyes with Thessaly and smiles. “You know that awesome feeling back on the farm when you’d snatch a peach from a low branch?” Stepping closer and gliding his finger along her damp cheek, Levi lowers his voice to hush. “The skin is like velvet, and the scent is sweetly intoxicating.”
Thessaly’s mouth puckers like a fish as she follows the movement of Levi’s lips. She wants to be kissed – she wants to be the peach. “Saf-pea,” she mumbles.
“Yes, Tess, a soft peach,” Levi teases. “Now, an impatient man would rip into the tender flesh and swallow up the golden fruit like a novice – missing all the sweet juice that trails down his hand as he selfishly reaches for another.” Levi kisses Thessaly’s forehead and whispers, “But I will wait,” moving his mouth to her ear, he adds, “until you’re ripe.”
“I’ve dug my hands into the earth more times than I can count, and each time, I think I’m saving the world. But there will always be a hunger – humans crave more.”
Chapter Seven
Levi: You’re so sexy when you’re wet.
Smiling, Levi rereads his text and powers on the treadmill. Removing his T-shirt, he jogs on a slight incline while gazing out the window of his Brooklyn loft. At nearly twelve-hundred square feet, and with ceilings twenty-feet high, Levi’s loft is considered an industrial mansion in the middle of Vinegar Hill.
Early morning ships and the occasional yacht sail along the East River – it’s normally entertaining, but Levi can’t seem to focus on anything other than Thessaly standing in the rain. He quickly glances at his phone, waiting for her reply – because if he’s right about Thessaly Sinclair, she’ll have a snarky comeback . . .
Tess: I’m so embarrassed! I never get that wet on a first date.
Nailed it.
Slowing the treadmill as he pecks at the screen, Levi thinks of something clever.
Levi: Then I did something right.
Tess: Maybe it was my position? Over the shoulder, ass in the air.
Levi grins, remembering the shape of Thessaly’s cute butt bouncing in the rain.
Levi: We could do this all day.
Tess: We could, but I’m running late for a photo shoot @ The Hive.
Levi: Please tell me you’ll be naked.
Tess: Topless and covered in honey. The family will be so proud.
His erection growing, Levi misses a step on the treadmill.
Levi: Can I stop by?
Tess: NO! You’ll make me laugh.
Levi: I’ll bring cupcakes . . .
Nearly tripping over his shoelace as he types the ellipses, Levi stops the treadmill and sits on the couch. He waits patiently, imagining her smiling at his offer.
Tess: Deal. I like strawberry with cream cheese frosting.
Levi: Delicious.
Tess: And sprinkles. Or like those curls of white chocolate.
Levi: I’ll see you this afternoon.
Tess: I may regret this.
Tossing his phone on the couch, Levi drops to the floor and completes two sets of twenty pushups. Flipping to his back, he folds his arms over his chest and brings his knees to his waist for a set of fifty crunches. He never played organized sports, and he rarely goes to a gym, but the three years he spent in the Peace Corps afforded him with a physical appreciation of general health, and a body with lean muscles that makes all the girls swoon.
After graduating from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Development with an emphasis in agribusiness, Levi landed a prestigious job with an environmental law firm in Washington D.C. He worked fifteen-hour days as a consultant to lobbyists, pouring his agriculture knowledge into projects he didn’t believe in. So one night, after beers with a few of his buddies from college, they made a drunken pact to volunteer for the Peace Corps. Whether or not the other guys actually applied, Levi will never know, but he did – and within a year, he packed his bags and shipped off to Belize.
Broken Spanish, weekly immunizations, and a bout with dehydration were mild setbacks to the rewarding experience of watching a community harvest a small crop. Along with three other American Peace Corps volunteers, Levi led a team of ten farmers in the agribusiness community project. His main objectives were to teach families financial literacy, like bookkeeping and report analyses, and to facilitate product development through marketing.
In the midst of helping the world become a better place, Levi met a beautiful girl from California. Taylor Johnson was a former Miss California, a graduate from Berkeley in Women’s Studies, and the daughter of a Congressman. Levi and Taylor would have been the perfect couple – future leaders changing the global perspective of farming and business. But once they left the adventurous bubble of Belize and settled into the normalcy of Brooklyn, the relationship once fueled by wanderlust, soon became an awkward friendship.
Taylor eventually moved back to California to work as a liaison to the Mexican government, and Levi started Brooklyn Soil with a silent business partner. Within twenty months of opening the doors, Levi has elevated the rooftop project into an actual business with satellite farms all over New York City. But it’s his humanitarian projects that bring him the most joy – well, that and the six-figure income for doing something he loves.