Standing from the desk and shutting off the lights, Levi wraps his arm around Thessaly’s waist and guides her into the elevator. As the elevator starts its descent, Levi declares, “I’ve never tasted a riper peach.”
When the doors open to the ground floor, Levi walks Thessaly to the main entrance of Brooklyn Soil. As Levi pushes on the handle to the revolving door, he clears his throat to wake the security guard napping in the corner. “Good night, Felicia,” he jokes.
“Now what?” Thessaly asks as they spill onto an empty sidewalk.
Pressing his mouth against her ear and sliding his hand to her ass, Levi whispers, “Now we fuck.”
Squinting his eyes and tightening his lips, Levi asks, “F-seven?”
Arching an eyebrow and peering over the top of her Milton Bradley naval plans, Thessaly replies, “Miss. G-two?”
“Miss. F-six?”
Thessaly sighs. “Hit. Do you ever get tired of people always assuming you’re the really good guy?”
“Not really, why?” Levi scrapes the remaining ice cream from his bowl and shrugs his shoulders.
“It bothers me when people describe me as sweet or super nice. B-four?”
“Miss. H-two? Why is that a bad thing? The alternative to being nice is a bad thing.”
“Hit. And, you sunk my battleship.” Licking her spoon, Thessaly adds, “But sometimes being likeable is boring.”
“You’re not boring, Tess. And trust me, life on the opposite end of the human spectrum is a miserable way to live.”
“A-seven? How would you know?” Thessaly ladles a spoonful of melting cookie dough ice cream and slurps through her lips.
Looking down at his plastic ships, Levi says, “Hit. Because there was a time when I was a complete asshole.”
Shocked, Thessaly drops her spoon. “No way!”
Scratching his chin and watching Thessaly’s face sadden, Levi takes a deep breath and explains. “I was a bully in high school. I spent two years mercilessly torturing a kid in the grade above me.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I could lie and say it was because of my douchebag friends. Or maybe I just wanted attention. But the truth is, picking on that kid was a twisted rush of excitement.”
“Levi,” whispers Thessaly. “What did you do?”
“Nothing physical, but my parents found out I was a cruel bastard and we moved to Harrisburg. They enrolled me in a private school and cut off my contact with almost everyone.”
“Oh.” Thessaly sighs.
“But then a few years later, I spent the summer with Dani on the farm, and I saw the kid working as a cashier in the supermarket.” He leans forward and exhales. “Marshall Lewis dropped out of high school to take care of his mother going through chemo.” Levi’s eyes, the color of the deep water, begin to tear. “A week later, after I asked around about Marshall, I returned to the store and quietly approached him. He recognized me immediately – what victim doesn’t memorize the haunting face of their tormenter?”
“What happened?”
“I apologized. Like six times. And at first he refused to accept my apology, accusing me of wanting to clear my own conscience, but then he reached out to me.” Levi takes a sip of water and then continues. “I was sitting on the porch of our farmhouse watching the fireflies when Marshall rode his bike down our main road with a six-pack of beer.”
“So he forgave you?” Thessaly shifts in her chair and bites the inside of her cheek.
“Not exactly, but he did pity me. And then he asked something of me that required my trust more than my remorse.”
“What did he want?”
Leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his bare torso, Levi replies, “Marshall asked for my help. So I spent the final two weeks of my summer vacation designing a small garden in the back of his house. Tomatoes, herbs, and . . .”
“And?” Thessaly asks, fighting a smile.
“You know, a little something for medicinal purposes.” He winks.
Laughing, Thessaly quizzes, “So the moral to your story is to be kind.”
“I don’t preach morality, Tess. But the moral of my story is to always use hydroponics and cannabis seedlings at the start of germination.”
Nodding as she licks the stubborn hot fudge from her spoon, Thessaly mutters, “I actually did know that – whose turn is it?”
Knocking his Battleship board off the table and laughing, Levi quips, “You win.”
As Levi stands and clears the bowls from the table with a devilish grin, Thessaly glances at the trail of auburn hair disappearing into the waistband of his shorts.
“I normally do,” Thessaly gloats.
Running water over the sticky bowls in the kitchen sink, Levi mumbles, “As per our agreement, winner has to get naked.”
Feeling a surge of excitement engulf her body, Thessaly rises and makes her way toward the king-size bed next to a large window. With her back to the kitchen, she removes the T-shirt she borrowed from Levi and tosses it on the floor.
When Thessaly looks over her shoulder and smiles, Levi shuts off the running water and raises his eyebrows. Casually strolling to her backside, Levi admires Thessaly’s milky-white skin and perky ass before making his move.
Ripping off his shorts and pressing his hard shaft against the small of Thessaly’s back, Levi bites her ear and pushes her against the cool, tempered glass of the window. He runs his tongue along the curve of her neck while cupping her breasts. “I need to taste you again” he growls.
But wanting to feel all of him, Thessaly arches her back and reaches behind her. Panting and clawing at his hips, she emits a wild moan.
Sliding his hand to her hip and pinning her arm beneath his, Levi asks, “Remember how we met?”
“Yes,” Thessaly whispers, closing her eyes.
“You totally wanted me,” Levi teases, trailing his long fingers across her pelvis.
Opening her eyes to watch their reflection in the window, she purrs, “Yes.”
Stroking her clit and biting her neck, Levi hums, “And I really wanted you.”
“Yes.” Thessaly gasps.
“But I was outside.” Gliding two fingers along her lips, Levi adds, “And I wanted inside.”
“Mmm, yes.” Collapsing into Levi’s chest and dropping her head back in pleasure, Thessaly shudders and slows her breathing.
“And now?” Levi asks, penetrating her rhythmically with his fingers. “We’re on the same side of the window.”
“I’ve been a guest at sixty-seven weddings and seventeen engagement parties. It was my own wedding that made me feel unwelcome.”
Chapter Twelve
Waking to the smell of fresh coffee and the heat of the eastern sunlight, Thessaly opens her swollen eyes and moans. Recognizing her phone charging on the side table, and the glorious feeling of soreness between her thighs, Thessaly sits up and searches for Levi. Shielding her sensitive eyes from the blinding sunshine peeking in the window, she tucks the sheet under her arms and scans the loft.
“Morning,” Levi says.
Following the sound of Levi’s voice, Thessaly finds him, slouching in a leather chair, wearing only dark denim jeans and a brilliant smile. He reaches for his coffee mug on a nearby tray table and slowly takes a sip.
“Were you watching me sleep, Levi?” Thessaly scrunches her nose and then grins.
Returning the mug to the table and rising from his chair, Levi replies, “Nah, I was watching you wake up.”
“Come here,” demands Thessaly.
Strutting toward the bed, Levi stops abruptly and crosses his arms.