Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Mateo
It’d been two weeks since I met Levi.
That little fact hit me out of the blue as I walked down the sidewalk to Avery’s house.
The sunset splashed across the sky, reminding me of one of her paintings I’d snagged for myself a year ago.
It hung in my bedroom, and while it was just a landscape, I’d stared at it countless times while wondering if I’d ever get the chance to love her.
And now that chance was here. It felt fitting that the sky looked like her.
First date nerves were making me feel jumpy, but I drew in three deep breaths, centering myself as my boot met her doorstep.
I couldn’t believe this was my first official date with Avery.
Or that it was also my first official date with Levi.
Two weeks since he’d shown up in Whynot, and he’d turned our lives upside down in the best way possible. I wasn’t exactly sure what would happen between the three of us in the long run, but I knew what was going to happen tonight.
I tightened my grip on the leather bag I carried. Her little house was my favorite. She’d gone out of her way to spruce it up, a drop of rainbow in the dull beige of the rest of the street.
I took another steady breath. My heart was beating out of my damn chest. The photos that Levi and Avery sent me yesterday had been on my mind for the last twenty-four hours.
Non-stop. Hell, getting through work today had been torture, just knowing that I had to wait until tonight to touch either one of them.
I’d packed a few things in my bag. Not that I needed them to dominate Avery and Levi, but I had a feeling we’d all enjoy what I brought. If we got that far.
I held up my hand to knock on the door, but it swung open. Levi’s rugged face greeted me, his brows lifting as his eyes darted to the bag.
God, I loved making this man blush. He knew there were kinky items in here, and there was already a little bit of power in that—in knowing that my presence alone got him wondering what our evening would be like.
“Hi,” he rasped.
“Hi,” I said, stepping into the doorway. I kicked it shut behind me, all of my nerves vanishing. “Where’s Avery?”
“I was helping her . . . uh . . . cook. She’s in the kitchen.” He was flustered, and that was really cute.
“Great. Kiss me.”
It wasn’t an ask, it was a demand. His breath whooshed out of him as he backed me against the door, swooping his mouth down to meet mine. He tasted like sweet tea and lemon and like a man who was going to be kneeling for me later tonight.
Levi drew back, clearly rattled. I was rattled too. I hadn’t felt this sort of connection to someone before.
It just felt different.
A throat cleared and we both looked down the hall. Avery stood there with a smirk.
Wearing a blue paisley apron.
And a black sleeveless latex bodysuit.
Her hair was drawn back into a bun, her lips painted dark red.
My knees felt weak. I suddenly understood why Levi was so damn flustered.
The latex hugged her body in a way that had me drooling, shiny and reflecting everything around us.
There was a ring at the zipper, begging to be tugged all the way down between her breasts.
“I know it’s a first date, but . . .” she trailed off. “Am I too much?”
“Fuck no. You’re never too much.”
I dropped the bag to the floor and strode down the hall straight to her. Avery squeaked as I lifted her, pulling her against my body and kissing her hard. Her arms wound around my neck as I poured all of my hunger into our kiss. My hands glided over the smooth latex to her ass, and then further.
And I paused.
“It has a hole,” she murmured.
I felt Levi’s hand on my back and looked up at him, eyes wide. “It has a fucking hole.”
“Are we even gonna make it to the bed?” he asked sincerely.
Were we? Jesus. I needed to think straight. We needed to have conversations about kink and about safety, about all of the adult-ing things that came along with being into BDSM.
“Yes,” I finally said, leaning up to steal another kiss from our gentle giant. “We should have dinner and talk first. Although, if Avery is partially naked, I think it’s only fair that we are too.”
Levi smirked. “I think that’s fair.”
Avery winked at both of us as she twirled away, giving us the perfect view of her ass as she walked back toward the kitchen. The latex was so shiny, it reflected both of our awestruck expressions.
“I won’t complain if you’re both a little less dressed,” she said.
“Goddamn,” Levi whispered.
“Yep.”
I swallowed hard. I was thirsty, but water certainly wasn’t going to quench it. My hand fell to my belt and I undid it, the metal clanking as it unclasped. Leather slid over denim as I tossed it to the floor. Levi joined me, the two of us undressing down to our boxer briefs right there in the hall.
“Best first date I’ve ever had,” Levi chuckled.
I grinned and my gaze stuck to him like glue. The outline of his cock was apparent, his slight erection making my mouth water.
All of the things we’d be able to do together . . .
Just the thought of having Avery suck him was enough to make me groan. “I need to get away from you before I drag you into Avery’s bed.”
Levi raked his fingers through his flaxen blond hair. “Same. I’ll do the honors.”
He slid past me, but not before his hand settled on my hip for a moment. Little sparks erupted as his fingertips grazed my skin.
“You dick,” I mumbled as he headed to join Avery in the kitchen.
I leaned against the wall, watching the two of them. I pushed my glasses up the bridge of my nose and smiled to myself as the two of them bumbled around each other. A little awkward, a lot cute, and even more hot.
The way he looked at her made me feel things.
For a man that looked so grumpy the first day he showed up in Whynot, when Avery was looking the other way, his gaze completely melted for her.
His eyes turned to honey like she was the sweetest thing in existence.
His posture softened, a smile tugging at his lips in a gentle, almost shy way.
He had it bad for her, and I loved that.
The apron and latex combo was going to be in my dreams for the rest of my life. The way it hugged Avery’s body elicited a needy desire inside me to peel it all off.
But, I was getting ahead of myself. Aside from the raw sexual tension in the room, and the fact that I had brought an abundance of sexy things with me—I wanted to spend time with the two of them without pretending.
It was a weight off my shoulders to not have to act like I didn’t want them both anymore.
“We made lasagna and a salad,” Avery said. “Hopefully that’s okay.”
I finally left my voyeur spot for the bar. “That sounds great. Can I help with anything?”
A smile touched her red lips. “You can keep standing there looking like a hot professor.”
My brows shot up. “A hot professor, huh? Is that what does it for you, Blue?”
Now she grinned. “No. A firefighter and hockey player do it for me.”
Levi picked up the lasagna with oven mitts, chuckling as he carried it to her little table. They’d found a folding chair from somewhere and added it to the table, which was a good move, because otherwise one of us would be perched on the barstool.
I grabbed the salad bowl from the bar before she could and joined Levi in setting the table.
“How was work?” he asked. “Save any cats?”
“Not today,” I said, glancing up at Avery as she brought cold water and tea to the table.
We all picked a seat and settled in, crunching together to fit at the table. She’d bought fresh flowers at some point and they sat on the windowsill. Or maybe June had dropped them off. I already knew she and Evie were in on our date, forever the best cheerleaders for Avery.
Just like Austin and Dallas were always pushing me, too.
I felt a flash of guilt for sitting here with their sister on a secret date.
We never kept things from each other—especially when it came to dating.
I’d been there for Austin more times than I could count, especially when he’d gotten his hopes up about someone or after a night he thought might turn into something more.
That was the thing about Austin Whynot. For someone who constantly sabotaged his sister’s dating life, he was a romantic—maybe even more than Dallas. He just buried it beneath all the stress wrapped tight around his heart.
“How was your day?” I bounced back to them. “Did you even make it out of bed before noon?”
Avery laughed. “Only because I had classes to teach. I don’t need the elderly population of Whynot knocking my door down.”
“I don’t know. I think they’d enjoy what they might see,” I teased. “Levi looks damn good naked.”
He wrinkled his nose, his cheeks rosy as he piled salad on his plate. “I don’t need them seeing me like that. For your eyes only.”
Avery snickered. I took a bite of lasagna and groaned, a little surprised. “Did you make this?”
“Yep. Me and the frozen section are in cahoots.”
I laughed and took another bite. “Would never have known.”
“You certainly did,” she chided. “You know I don’t cook like that.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I do know that.” I knew a lot about Avery, actually. In the back of my mind, there was this little part of me that’d been taking notes for two years.
Levi raised a brow, studying the two of us thoughtfully. His green eyes sparkled with amusement. “How in the hell have the two of you waited this long to get together?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but my words failed. Avery turned her attention to me and let out a soft hum.
“Well,” she said. Her hand settled on top of his and she gave him a gentle squeeze before picking up her fork again. “I think there’s a short answer and a long one. I think the short answer is maybe we were just waiting on you, Levi.”