Chapter 18 Levi
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Levi
The only thing that was keeping me sane at this point was my camera.
Avery and Mateo were gonna be the death of me. I hadn’t seen them since I’d interrupted them, but that was probably for the best. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to say a damn thing without thinking back to how flushed they’d both been.
I knelt down as I took a couple of photos in the courtyard at Whynot Stay, listening to the trickle of water from the fountain behind me. It was quieter during the week, although there were still a few guests here.
My finger pressed the button a few times, every photo only slightly different. I stilled as a butterfly drifted down onto a cactus flower, its wings winking brilliant colors at me.
“How’s it going?”
“Fuck.” I jumped up, startled to see Mateo leaning over the courtyard fence and watching me.
He winced apologetically, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You scared the butterfly more than me,” I grumbled.
Although that wasn’t true. The butterfly was still on the flower, not giving a shit about the beautiful firefighter next to us.
Mateo was wearing firefighter pants with suspenders over a navy T-shirt. His muscles bulged, even when he was relaxed.
“Taking pictures?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“What for?”
“Fun.”
Mateo smirked. “A man of many words today.”
His teasing made me smile back and I shook my head. “I’ve been called worse.”
“Hmm. I can’t see why anyone would call you anything bad.”
“Well, you’ve never had your ass beat in the rink by me.”
Mateo’s laugh rang through the courtyard.
I slipped my camera strap around my neck and stepped up to the fence, leaning next to him and meeting his warm gaze.
I swore Mateo had the prettiest eyes. Dark lashes, brown irises that swallowed me right up, light wrinkles at the corner from smiling so much.
I was pretty sure any wrinkles of mine were from scowling.
Maybe I could change that one day.
“I can’t play hockey,” Mateo said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hockey stick in real life.”
“I don’t know why you ever would out here,” I said. “The only reason I ended up playing was because I also grew up in Minnesota. Have you ever visited?”
“Minnesota? Nope.”
Mateo leaned in a little closer, his face close to mine. Close enough that my eyes kept dipping to his mouth, to his mustache, to the way I wanted to kiss him. I could kiss him right here and now. Fuck.
“At some point I want to do a road trip and hit all the states,” he continued. “Would be fun to do with another person, though. Maybe even two people.”
His insinuation didn’t miss me, although I wondered if he was serious. Did he really mean Avery and me? Was I being presumptuous?
“I’ve done some small trips,” I said, my throat suddenly parched.
“With a partner?”
I shook my head slowly, gaze back on his mouth again. “Never. Most of my trips have been for work the last few years. So usually with a group of grown men who just want to drink and get laid.”
“Does that mean you stayed on the bus knitting blankets for kittens?”
I barked out a laugh. “No. It does not.”
“Didn’t think so.” He flashed a knowing grin. “Can’t see you being a nun, exactly.”
“I’m the furthest thing from it.”
“Oh really? I have my doubts.”
I scowled at him. “You’d be surprised by what I’m into.”
“I’m sure I would not be. But let me guess—rolling around in bed with an artist and firefighter?”
Fuck. My thoughts evaporated. I opened my mouth to speak, but wasn’t even sure what to say. The idea of being between whatever was happening the other day at Avery’s hit me, and I bit back a groan, looking away.
“I’m sure the two of you are doing just fine,” I muttered.
“Well, you won’t know until you see for yourself.”
I was a goner. Mateo was going to make me implode. My cock hardened just enough to press against my jeans, all my blood roaring in my veins.
Why did he have to be so hot?
How was I even supposed to respond to him?
Yeah, I’d really like to join both of you and roll around in bed until the three of us are hot little messes—
But, there were three problems.
Avery was Austin and Dallas’ sister.
Mateo was their friend.
And I was leaving Whynot. Soon.
He winked at me and leaned back, straightening his back. His smile faltered slightly, his expression growing more serious. “I feel like I have things I want to say, but—”
“Mateo, come in. Mateo.”
A radio attached to his belt interrupted us. Our eyes locked for a split second.
“Sorry,” he whispered.
“It’s okay. We…”
“We’ll talk another time, okay?”
I nodded as he picked the radio up and pressed the button on the side. “What’s up?”
“Those kids are at it again. They’re popping fireworks in the park, and someone called it in because they saw smoke.”
“Fucking, of course.” He rubbed his face as he pressed the button again to speak. “I’ll head over.”
He clipped the radio.
“Need any help?” I asked. Why I was offering, though, I had no idea. I wasn’t a firefighter. It wasn’t like I’d even know what to do except bodycheck someone.
“I’m okay,” he chuckled. “There’s a couple of teenage boys that have been doing some dumb shit. The second they see me, they’ll be out of the park in a blink. I just need to make sure nothing actually catches.”
“I’ll see you around then.”
Mateo nodded. “Don’t be a stranger. Let’s get lunch soon.”
“O-okay.”
My voice shook just a little bit. Mateo headed to his truck and I held up my camera, thinking about grabbing a picture of his broad back, his muscles, the waves of heroic energy falling off him in waves.
But a moment like this, I didn’t want to watch through a screen.
Even though I was a photographer, there was not a single photo that could be taken that would do that man justice.
He was just too damn hot.