“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.