toward Levi’s. “I don’t need none of it no more. I’m gonna have plenty of money soon. And when I do, I’m leaving.”
“Leaving? When?” I asked him.
“Leaving.” Richie marched across the street. “And I’m never coming back.”
Side by side, Levi and I watched him go inside the bar.
“Diffusing a drunken brawl wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I asked you to step outside,” he said.
“I know.” I didn’t. I mean, I assumed diffusing a drunken brawl didn’t figure into it, but honestly, I didn’t know why he’d asked me to come outside. Or why I accepted. Not that I couldn’t imagine both Levi’s motivations and my own. But what I imagined shouldn’t be what I was imagining, anyway, so the way I saw it, I shouldn’t be imagining it in the first place. “It wasn’t exactly a brawl,” I pointed out instead.
“It could have turned into one.” He gave me a quick, sidelong look. “What would you have done then?”
I pursed my lips. “I don’t think of myself as a superhero, if that’s what you’re worried about. And I’m not especially brave. I could see that it wasn’t really serious. Richie’s an easy target, that’s all. A couple guys with a few too many drinks in them and Richie. As soon as I realized what was going on, I knew it wasn’t a good combination.”
“So if things got out of hand, you would have gone in with fists swinging?”
In spite of the fact that I’d told myself a couple thousand times that where Levi was concerned, I had to curb my emotions, I laughed. I held my arms out at my sides. “Do I look like a fighter?”
Bad move, because Levi took the opportunity to take me up on my offer and check me out thoroughly. His eyes were blue, and more than a time or two, I’d felt their icy touch. That night, though, they were as warm as a summer sky. He looked over the black shorts I wore with a top the color of ripe strawberries. His gaze moved up to my face and I hated myself for it, but I found myself holding my breath.
“We’ve been avoiding each other all summer,” he said.
“Not avoiding. We’ve been—”
“Avoiding.”
Since he was right, I didn’t bother to argue.
“It’s because of what I said, right?” I knew what was coming. Which would explain why I sucked in another breath and held it until my lungs felt as if they were on fire. “When I told you I knew you were never married.”
Across the street, the crowds that had been outside during intermission slowly snaked back into the bar, and I took the opportunity to watch them while I considered what to say. I decided on, “I could ask how you found out.”
“You know it’s not that hard. Modern technology and all that. It’s easy to dig up information on just about anybody.”
I turned back to him. “Then maybe I should ask why you cared enough to look.”
He tugged his left earlobe. “Now that’s the real question!” Levi took a step closer. “What if I told you I couldn’t help myself? After everything that happened last spring, I was interested in you. Heck, more than interested. I was intrigued.”
“So you decided that instead of getting to know me better, you know, by stopping by for coffee or asking me out on a date, you’d do some Internet snooping.”
I thought he might be offended, but he laughed. “Let’s call it research.”
“Let’s say that what you found out isn’t something I want other people to know about.”
Levi tipped his head back toward the bar where I knew Chandra, Luella, and Kate were waiting and where, no doubt, they’d pepper me with questions about what had happened when Levi and I came outside. “Your friends?”
“Know what I’ve told them.”
“And you’ve told them . . ?”
“What I want them to know.”
“Fair enough.” As if he were facing a firing squad, he held his arms close against his sides. “But as long as we’re being truthful—”
“Hey, Levi!”
Whatever Levi was going to say, he didn’t
“Leaving? When?” I asked him.
“Leaving.” Richie marched across the street. “And I’m never coming back.”
Side by side, Levi and I watched him go inside the bar.
“Diffusing a drunken brawl wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I asked you to step outside,” he said.
“I know.” I didn’t. I mean, I assumed diffusing a drunken brawl didn’t figure into it, but honestly, I didn’t know why he’d asked me to come outside. Or why I accepted. Not that I couldn’t imagine both Levi’s motivations and my own. But what I imagined shouldn’t be what I was imagining, anyway, so the way I saw it, I shouldn’t be imagining it in the first place. “It wasn’t exactly a brawl,” I pointed out instead.
“It could have turned into one.” He gave me a quick, sidelong look. “What would you have done then?”
I pursed my lips. “I don’t think of myself as a superhero, if that’s what you’re worried about. And I’m not especially brave. I could see that it wasn’t really serious. Richie’s an easy target, that’s all. A couple guys with a few too many drinks in them and Richie. As soon as I realized what was going on, I knew it wasn’t a good combination.”
“So if things got out of hand, you would have gone in with fists swinging?”
In spite of the fact that I’d told myself a couple thousand times that where Levi was concerned, I had to curb my emotions, I laughed. I held my arms out at my sides. “Do I look like a fighter?”
Bad move, because Levi took the opportunity to take me up on my offer and check me out thoroughly. His eyes were blue, and more than a time or two, I’d felt their icy touch. That night, though, they were as warm as a summer sky. He looked over the black shorts I wore with a top the color of ripe strawberries. His gaze moved up to my face and I hated myself for it, but I found myself holding my breath.
“We’ve been avoiding each other all summer,” he said.
“Not avoiding. We’ve been—”
“Avoiding.”
Since he was right, I didn’t bother to argue.
“It’s because of what I said, right?” I knew what was coming. Which would explain why I sucked in another breath and held it until my lungs felt as if they were on fire. “When I told you I knew you were never married.”
Across the street, the crowds that had been outside during intermission slowly snaked back into the bar, and I took the opportunity to watch them while I considered what to say. I decided on, “I could ask how you found out.”
“You know it’s not that hard. Modern technology and all that. It’s easy to dig up information on just about anybody.”
I turned back to him. “Then maybe I should ask why you cared enough to look.”
He tugged his left earlobe. “Now that’s the real question!” Levi took a step closer. “What if I told you I couldn’t help myself? After everything that happened last spring, I was interested in you. Heck, more than interested. I was intrigued.”
“So you decided that instead of getting to know me better, you know, by stopping by for coffee or asking me out on a date, you’d do some Internet snooping.”
I thought he might be offended, but he laughed. “Let’s call it research.”
“Let’s say that what you found out isn’t something I want other people to know about.”
Levi tipped his head back toward the bar where I knew Chandra, Luella, and Kate were waiting and where, no doubt, they’d pepper me with questions about what had happened when Levi and I came outside. “Your friends?”
“Know what I’ve told them.”
“And you’ve told them . . ?”
“What I want them to know.”
“Fair enough.” As if he were facing a firing squad, he held his arms close against his sides. “But as long as we’re being truthful—”
“Hey, Levi!”
Whatever Levi was going to say, he didn’t
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