Chapter 17
Tab
Experiencing Levi Soucy outside the confines of Nashville and disregarding the idea that we’re supposed to be hiding things is surreal.
Once he drives past the city limits, it’s as if a weight lifts off us both.
He grins at me from the driver’s side, then turns his hat around backward, and I think my ovaries explode.
I roll the window down, taking in the beautiful late-fall day. It’s like I’m in my very own Taylor Swift song getting lost upstate…except I’m not wearing a scarf.
I’m usually not a poetic person, but it feels like the kind of day for the ages.
The one where things shift and beliefs you thought were true collide with reality.
Forget about Levi’s reputation, he can’t fake the way he looks over at me, and I simply can’t discard the flip-flop of my stomach when he does either.
There’s a conversation that needs to be had before this goes too much further. But today, we can enjoy this. An opportunity to slip away together where we can just be Tab and Levi. We can leave the worries back in Nashville.
Levi veers the truck off the highway. “We need gas, and then I’ll look up a good place to eat. Any preferences?”
“I like a good burger,” I tell him. “Barbecue. Something like that.”
He pulls into the gas station, puts the truck in Park, then grins. “You got it. I told Davis you weren’t a fancy restaurant kind of girl.”
“You told Davis about me?”
“Well, I told everyone about you. They don’t know that you’re you though.”
My stomach feels like a flurry of butterfly wings. “What did you say?”
He leans over to kiss my cheek, then whispers, “Nice try.”
Then he gets out of the car to pump the gas.
Levi Soucy pumping gas. Obviously, he does, but that’s only one thing that strikes me as so normal while we’re out.
He pumps his own gas. He probably cooks his own meals and calls his mama on the phone.
He has stories from when he was a kid, like we all do.
Maybe he has some trauma in there. Past high school sweethearts and best friends.
Levi is like the rest of us, even under all that charm.
I check the side mirror. He has the pump on automatic, and he’s standing back, probably searching for nearby restaurants on his phone. Even though he is normal, his appearance isn’t. You can see him from a mile away and know that he’s top-tier level of man.
The pump stops, and I peer away so he doesn’t catch me watching him. Within a minute, he’s back in the truck. “I found a place a few miles down the road that has everything you talked about, plus some comfort food.”
“Let’s do it.”
He pulls out and fits his phone in a holder on the dash, pressing Start on the GPS app.
“So…I thought we could play a game of question and answer,” I say, glancing over to get his reaction.
“Oh dear. How deep do you plan on going?”
“I’ll throw you a couple soft ones at first.”
“Deal, as long as I can reciprocate.”
“Absolutely.” I watch as he merges onto the highway. “Sports you played as a kid?”
“Oh, T-ball, soccer, lacrosse, basketball—but I wasn’t very good at it—and football, of course.”
“That’s…a lot.”
“I like being active, and the competition. Did you play anything?”
“Volleyball, actually.”
“You don’t say. All the hot girls in my high school played volleyball, so that tracks.”
“Okay,” I chuckle. “Trust me, I was not pretty in high school. Braces, awkward, all the things that make you unpopular. Let me guess, you were homecoming king.”
He groans. “Ugh, don’t bring that up. Our quarterback was homecoming king. I was one of the court, though, but I wanted it bad.”
A giggle escapes. I can picture him being upset he didn’t win but trying to brush it off with all his charm.
“Hey, it was hurtful!”
I laugh harder. “I’m sure it was. Did your quarterback make it to the league?”
“Actually, no. He peaked in college.”
I hold my fist out and he bumps it with his own. “High school sweetheart?”
He sighs with a bit of a wistful smile. “Her name was Jill. Her daddy didn’t like me, but we held on through the first year of college before she called it off because of the distance. She just had a baby with her husband. I haven’t talked to her since she broke up with me.”
“So no baby gift?”
He purses his lips. “Should I have sent one?”
“A better person might’ve.”
A laugh comes straight from his belly, bubbling over and filling the inside of the truck. It puts me at ease. “Have you sent anything to your exes?”
“No, they’re assholes.”
This makes him laugh harder. “I was beginning to wonder who else I had to compete with.”
“Well, yes. Clearly, all my exes are lining up to date me again, damaged and all.”
The truck’s cab goes silent, and I peer over to find his jaw twitching. “You need to stop putting yourself down. The scars don’t change who you are. Plus, you pulled a pro football player, so kudos to you.”
He hides a chuckle when I swat his arm. “You are so full of yourself.”
“I’m letting you see your real worth. I’ll have you know, I literally had a hundred girls apply for my dating show. And those were just locals. Imagine if we opened it up nationwide.”
I shake my head, smiling, and he peers over, giving me another wink. I don’t even know what to do with him. At least I’m laughing instead of thinking about my skin that might never be right again.
They say laughter is the best medicine, but maybe mine is Levi Soucy.
“Moving on… How often do you call your mom?”
“Once a week.”
I make a shocked sound of approval. Sometimes I don’t even live up to that.
“You doubted me? I’m from Georgia. We call our mamas.”
“And you went to college in Alabama?”
“Rollllll tide.”
“I looked up your stats. Impressive. I think, anyway.”
“Well, I wouldn’t be a Wildcat if they weren’t.”
“What do you think is better, roll tide or the Wildcat snarl?”
Levi peeks over, eyes wide. “No, you can’t do that to me.”
“What?”
“Make me choose!”
Okay, now this is fun. “You’re telling me if you were being dangled over a cliff with the threat of dropping you if you refuse to answer, you still wouldn’t answer?”
He wipes his forehead like he’s gone into a sweat.
“Levi!”
“What? This is serious. It’s Bama we’re talking about here.”
“Okay, but it’s just me asking. Little old me. I’m not going to blast your answer to the world.”
“If you tell my teammates, I will never hear the end of it.” He pauses. “Roll tide.”
My mouth drops open in shock.
“See! I knew I shouldn’t have said it.”
“Oh my God, you’re still that young Alabamian at heart. Aww. What am I going to do with you, Levi Soucy?”
“I have a few things in mind.”
I’m still looking at him sideways when we pull up to the restaurant. The parking lot is nearly half full which bodes well for the place since we’re in an off-peak time.
Like at the café, Levi orders a bunch of dishes.
We continue our questions about each other, enjoy good food, and by the time we’re ready to leave, I excuse myself to use the restroom.
On the way back, Levi is talking with the waitress.
She’s about fifty years old and nice as pie, as my grandmother would say.
When I walk up, the woman gives me a grin. “Y’all have fun tonight.”
She walks away, stuffing bills in her apron pocket. “What did she mean by that?”
“Oh, I asked her for recommendations for things to do tonight.”
“You did, huh?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
When we walk outside, the sun is going down. An orange hue glows along the horizon, slowly slipping away, and when we arrive at our next destination, the glow is gone, leaving only the light streaming from the windows of the building in front of us once he turns the headlights off.
“What is this?” I ask cautiously, noting the horseshoe above the door. The parking lot is full, and a group of people walk out laughing, nearly drowned out by a country song blaring in the background.
“A honky-tonk bar. You and I are about to have the best time.”
“Are you kidding me?” My lips break into a grin as I get out of the car, and Levi is quickly behind me.
He throws his arm around my shoulders. “They’re having a line dance class right now, but then afterward, there’s some music and karaoke.”
I laugh. “Do you sing karaoke?”
“I’ve been known to from time to time. Play your cards right, and you’ll find out.”
“Now that I have to see.”
Levi pays the cover, we get our hands stamped, and then we step into a different world.
To the right, there’s a dance floor with line dancers and a stage.
To the left, there are tables to sit and a bar.
There’s neon everywhere, mixed with country paraphernalia.
Cowboy hats and cowboy boots round out most outfits.
Levi grabs my hand and tugs me toward the dance floor.
“Levi, I don’t know the steps!”
“We’ll pick it up!”
He leads me to the back, sets me behind someone, and then stands next to me. I’m not unfamiliar with line dances, and I even know a few, but this is “Shivers” by Ed Sheeran, and there are a lot of steps.
We laugh and misstep our way through the song, and it ends too soon to have memorized any of it.
However, watching Levi was my favorite part.
He can move, and his hip swivels were absolutely on point.
He even took his sunglasses off for it, but then when the song ended, he put them back on, sliding his arms around my waist. “Let’s get a drink. ”
Once we have drinks in our hands, we saddle up next to a tall top. “The waitress told you about this place?”
“She said it was the best place to have a good time around here.”
“I believe it.”
We drink our first round, then they announce that “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” by Brooks & Dunn is next. Levi and I look at each other, and without words, we both head toward the dance floor.
The music starts, and apparently Levi knows this song, too. I can’t keep the smile off my face as we do the steps, dancing, feeling the music. I can’t say I’ve ever had a boyfriend who was okay with dancing with me in anything other than a slow song before.
He’s like magic in a bottle. When I’m around him, life looks different. I’m not reminded constantly that I’m scarred, or that I’m unsure about the future. Everything just seems right.
We finish the song with Levi spinning me into him and dipping me. He kisses my throat and then helps me back up.
“I think we need to do this more often,” I tell him.
He leads me off the dance floor, and we end up at the bar for another drink, then he leads me to a sit-down table in proximity to the stage while they start the karaoke.
“Okay, go-to karaoke song?”
“It’s usually ‘Livin’ on a Prayer,’ but we’re in a honky-tonk bar, so…”
I wait, wondering what he’s going to say.
“‘Should’ve Been a Cowboy’ by Toby Keith.”
“Why is that perfect for you? I can’t wait to see what you got.”
They call for people to sign up, and Levi leaves to put his name in.
I have to admit, I’ve never done karaoke.
It’s not my thing. I’m the fun but awkward girl.
Even though everything else about my personality might say I’m comfortable standing in front of a room of people and belting out a song I barely know, I’m not.
But you know what? There’s no time like the present.
When Levi returns from putting his name down, I jump up, looking at their sheet of songs. “What are you going to sing?” he asks when I sit back down.
“It’s a secret,” I tell him. “Just you wait.”
My stomach tightens with nerves. Partly because Levi is being very affectionate and partly because once other people start singing, my brain asks me what in the hell I think I’m doing. Not everyone is great, but there are a few who are, and the others make sure everyone else has a good time.
The guy on the stage ends his rendition of a country song I don’t recognize and bows, taking off his cowboy hat. “I think you need a hat like that, Soucy.”
“I actually have a cowboy hat. I’m mad I don’t have it with me.”
“You do?”
“And let me tell you, I look damn good in it.”
I chuckle. “Of course you do.”
The announcer calls out for Michael Jordan, and Levi pops up. “What?” I laugh.
He winks at me. “I couldn’t use my real name.”
He runs all the way up to the stage and grabs the mic like we’re all at his personal concert.
So Levi.
From the very beginning, he has everyone eating out of the palm of his hand. As soon as the first few notes sound from the speakers, people cheer. He’s only a few lines in when he finds me in the crowd and sings:
Miss Kitty, have you ever thought of runnin’ away?
Settlin’ down, would you marry me
If I asked you twice and begged you, pretty please?
I’m still recovering from that when he hits the chorus, and I’m gobsmacked. Can this guy do everything? Levi is a killer singer, and the crowd hears it, too. They’re all into it and singing along with him.
They start clapping, and I clap with them, and when he finishes, a few whistles fill the bar while he makes his way back. He tugs me to my feet and lays a kiss on me that curls my toes. After pulling away, he asks, “Did you hear your part?”
I only vaguely remember a line about marrying and settling. “You’re crazy.”
“I know. But I mean it, Rapunzel. We’re end game.”
He offers his hand to help me back down, and I can barely breathe. Levi takes up all the available space in my brain. I watch him from the corner of my eye as he enjoys himself, singing and applauding for the others. I’m so entranced by him that it almost doesn’t register when my name is called.
Luckily, I thought ahead. I grab Levi’s hand. “I’m going to need your help with this one, cowboy.”
“‘Picture,’ huh?”
“You and me,” I tell him.
I lead him up to the stage, my legs shaking. Everyone recognizes Levi from before, so the applause is off the charts. It takes a moment to get another mic, but when the song starts, I just take a deep breath and pray.
It’s easier since Levi’s singing the male part, and he’s up first. He’s so damn good that I’m in awe, and I naturally start singing the song when I’m supposed to, staring at him while I do.
He gives me a sly grin when I sing the lyrics, I’ve been waiting on you for a long time. Then the last verse we sing together feels like kismet.
I thought about you for a long time
Can’t seem to get you off my mind
I can’t understand why we’re living life this way
The last notes of the song sound, and the applause from the crowd is epic.
I jump into Levi’s arms, and he carries me off the stage with my legs wrapped around his hips.
All the while, those last lines float through my head.
It’s exactly like our life right now. Why are we living life on the down-low?
This talk with Levi needs to happen tonight.