Hooked On Him

Chapter 1

Levi

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I groan, tapping my fingers against the steering wheel. Anxiety fills me as I start to panic.

Of all days for this to happen to me, why today? I hate traffic.

If I’m late for my twin sister’s wedding, she is going to kill me. Megan is not one to ever let someone forget when they do her wrong. I’ll never live this down.

There’s only myself to blame. I knew I shouldn’t have taken that extra shift at work last night, knowing I was going to be dead on my feet today.

But I have a hard time telling people no. My unhealthy habit is being a people pleaser. The very idea of someone being mad at me makes my skin crawl. That’s exactly why I’m freaking the fuck out.

I love my sister, we’re as close as siblings can be. She’s my best friend. So, if I miss any moment of her big day, I’m going to hate myself for it.

“Please, for the love of god, move!” I scream, laying on the horn as the light turns green.

The person in front of me sticks their finger out the window, flipping me off, but thankfully, they move, turning left and opening up the lane for me.

I gun it, probably speeding at this point, but honestly, I’ll take the speeding ticket over missing my sister’s wedding.

Five minutes later, I’m pulling up to the church. Frantically, I search for a parking spot, but there’s nothing in sight.

“You have got to be kidding me,” I groan, closing my eyes as I lean my head against the steering wheel.

Taking a few deep breaths, I try to tame my racing heart.

Breathe, Levi. Just breathe. It’s not a big deal. We’re doing okay on time. The ceremony doesn’t start for another fifteen minutes. We got this.

A car horn makes me jump. Looking in my review mirror, I see cars behind me. “Shit.” I continue down the street, looking for a spot, any spot. But I’m not seeing a single space to park.

“Fuck it,” I mutter as I zoom further down the street and park in the nearby McDonald’s. I’m most likely going to get a ticket or get my car towed, but at this point, I’d rather eat the cost than miss the wedding.

Throwing it in park, I quickly check to make sure I have everything.

Phone. Check.

Keys. Check.

Wallet. Check.

Slamming my car door shut, I take off down the street towards the church.

You know what I don’t recommend? Running in dress shoes.

I’m halfway down the block when I slow down, panting heavily. “I really need to start working out,” I groan, lungs screaming as I suck in air.

And I’d love to. I miss it. I just don’t have time.

I don’t seem to have time for anything these days. Not for friends, family, sleep, or sex.

God, I really miss sex. It’s been at least two years since the last time I had it. A nice release would be really good right about now.

Stop thinking about sex, Levi, and get your ass to the church!

With a protesting groan, I continue to run.

By the time I reach the church, I'm gross, sweaty, and I’m panting like I just ran a marathon.

Looking at my phone, I see I have ten minutes to spare. Just enough time to get myself presentable and slip into the church. If I’m lucky enough, maybe no one will realize I just got here by the skin of my teeth.

I lean against the stone wall of the church, tipping my head back against the hard surface as I focus on steadying my breathing.

We’re okay. We’re here. Everything is fine. No need to panic.

“Need a drink?” a husky voice asks, making me jump.

My gaze meets a set of bright blue eyes, stunning me momentarily. I blink a few times, my brain not quite catching up fast enough to the moment.

The side of his lips quirk up at the sight, giving me an amused smile.

Lips parting, I try to answer him, but it seems that I’ve forgotten how to fucking speak. What the hell is wrong with me?

The man in front of me is Austin, my brother’s best friend. Someone I’ve grown up with, seen almost every day of my life, until we went to college.

So why, now of all times, do I suddenly forget how to speak?

“You good, Lee?” Austin asks, his dark brow lifting in question.

“Ah, yeah.” I blink a few times before I clear my throat. “Fine.” And then I die inside due to how high-pitched my voice goes.

There’s this twinkle in his eye, telling me he’s loving my awkward fumbling.

“Good,” he chuckles. “So, is that a no on the water?”

“Huh?” My brows furrow together, not sure what he’s talking about.

“You look out of breath. I thought you could use a drink.” He gives the water bottle in his hand a little shake, emphasizing what he’s talking about.

“Oh.” I push myself off the wall. “Ah, sure, thanks.”

When I reach for the bottle of water, my fingers brush his, and I swear there’s this zap that shoots through me at the contact.

Snatching my hand back, I quickly look away and uncap the water bottle, taking big, long gulps.

When I’m done, I place the cap back on and hand it back to him.

“Thanks,” I say, wiping my mouth off with the back of my hand.

My eyes land on the water bottle, cheeks heating in embarrassment when I realize how thirsty I must have been because it seems I nearly chugged the whole thing. “Shit. Sorry.”

“It’s no problem.” He chuckles. “Keep it. There’s more inside.”

“Right.” I nod, taking the bottle back.

We stand there awkwardly, neither of us saying anything to the other. I use this moment to check him out.

Fuck. Me.

Austin looks good. Too damn good. His dark hair is styled longer on the top, shorter on the sides. He stands over six feet tall, a good half a foot taller than me. And I can tell he works out by the way his dress shirt hugs his muscles. I guess that comes with the territory of being a rugby player.

I mean, he’s always been a good-looking guy, but I haven't really seen him since he graduated high school.

We used to be close friends. I wouldn’t call us best friends; that title is for my brother, Charlie. The two of them did everything together. But since Charlie and I were only a year apart, we were close, and I hung out with him and his friends a lot over the years. Including Austin.

With him being in the grade above me, he went off to college with my brother while I stayed in high school for another year.

By the time I joined them at college, the two of them had already created this whole new life with new friends, and I felt like I didn’t fit in anymore.

My brother tried to include me in things, inviting me to parties or outings with his friends, but it wasn’t really something I enjoyed. I never like parties.

Drunk people annoy me. Pretty ironic, seeing as how I work at a bar and serve drunk people all the time. But hey, money is money.

“Is there a reason you're out here?” Austin eventually breaks the silence.

“Huh?”

“The ceremony is going to start in like ten minutes.”

“Shit.” My eyes snap over to the front door of the church before I take a few steps forward, looking around the place to see if I can spot my date.

Yup. My date. My date, whom I’ve never met before, whom I let my best friend, Cole, set me up with.

I knew it was a stupid idea the moment he mentioned it, but I was desperate.

The idea of showing up here alone made me depressed.

My mom has been bugging me for a while now, asking me why I haven’t found myself a nice man to settle down with.

My sister was getting married, my brother has been seeing his girlfriend, Claire, since high school, so I guess that meant it was my turn to find someone.

It’s not that easy, something she never seems to understand. I know she means well, but the constant pressure to start dating someone is one of the many reasons why I don’t even go home for the holidays. That and also I’m always working.

That, and I don’t really have any free time. Between school and work, I’m lucky enough to have time to breathe, let alone date someone.

So, when I vented to my best friend, and he suggested he would hook me up with one of his friends from the team, I stupidly said yes. Like I said, I was desperate.

He promised me his teammate was a good guy and wasn’t a fuckboy like the majority of the people on the team.

That was something I had a hard time believing, though.

But I said yes, because this was a date for the wedding, not someone to have a relationship with, so I didn’t really care if he slept around or not.

The only thing I cared about was if my brother was going to kill me when I showed up here with one of his teammates.

Yup. My best friend is on the Freemount University rugby team as well. Although he is nothing like the typical jocks. He might be built like one, but that man is more nerdy than I am. And trust me, I have plenty of my own nerdy moments.

Anyways, I agreed to his harebrained scheme of a blind date because it was either show up at the wedding with this mystery guy, or come alone.

If my brother has a problem with it, I’ll tell him exactly that. He knows how Mom can be, he’ll understand. I hope.

God, I really hope.

“Are you okay?” Austin asks after I search for this mystery person, that I just now realize... I have no idea what they look like.

“Yeah.” I let out a breath of frustration because even though I don’t know what he looks like, there’s no one here anyway.

He was supposed to be outside waiting for me. Maybe he went into the church already. “Just waiting for someone.”

“Ahh.” Austin chuckles, and damn it, it's a nice sound. “Hot date or something?” he asks, wiggling his brows.

“Or something,” I mutter, grabbing my phone out of my pocket. “Excuse me. I have to make a call.”

“Sure.” Austin nods, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’ll leave you be.”

He turns around and walks back up the steps, heading towards the door. Part of me is disappointed. This was the first time we've talked in years. While it was awkward as hell, I don’t like the idea of it being over.

I forgot I was calling Cole until I hear him answer. “What’s up, my bestie? Having fun at the wedding?” he asks in a playful tone.

“No, I am not. Because I’m standing outside waiting for this mystery date you set me up on, and he’s nowhere to be seen. What the hell, Cole? If this guy is standing me up, let me know now.”

“What?” he asks. “Cade should be there. He texted me that he arrived, like, a half hour ago.”

“Well, this Cade dude isn’t here. I’m waiting out front like you told me to.”

“You sure he’s not there? Maybe he’s inside.”

“I’ll go check. But if I can’t find him in like two minutes, I’m heading into the wedding alone and calling this a bust. If I get stood up, Cole, I’m never letting you set me up on a date again,” I growl as I jog up the steps, heading into the church.

“He’s there, I swear.”

“Okay, then tell me what the hell he looks like so I know who I’m trying to find.”

“He’s tall. Has dark hair, dark beard,” Cole describes. “Oh! And he’s wearing one of those red flower things.”

My brows furrow as I look around the lobby of the church. “You mean boutonniere?”

“Yeah, that!” Cole says. “I told him to wear that so he stands out and you can find him easier.”

“You should have just sent me a fucking photo of the guy,” I mutter, seeing a few people mulling around the lobby, but none of them match the description Cole is giving me.

“Huh,” Cole muses. “Yeah, that probably would have been a good idea,” he chuckles.

“You suck.” I sigh heavily.

“Sorry, man. He really is there. I promise. Let me call him and tell him to come find you, okay?”

“Whatever. I’m going to the bathroom real quick, then heading into the ceremony. I’m not missing my sister's wedding for this guy. If he really is here, tell him to meet me outside after the ceremony.”

“Okay. Will do. Sorry, man,” Cole says.

“Yeah. Talk to you later.”

Hanging up, I run a hand over my face and try not to let this get me too worked up. If he really is here, he can wait until after I watch my sister get married.

Searching for the bathroom, I spot a sign for the men's room. As I’m about to head in, I nearly crash into Austin, who’s coming out.

“Shit, sorry.” I stumble back. It takes me a moment, but I see that he’s on the phone.

“Yeah...” Austin says absent-mindedly. “I think I found him.”

Found him?

What does he mean by... Oh fuck. No. No. This has got to be some kind of joke. It’s not him, it can’t be.

Tall. Dark hair. Dark beard. And... yup, there it is, sitting in the pocket over the left side of his chest is a red rose.

But his name isn’t Cade, it’s Austin.

And then it hits me. His fucking last name is Cade. Austin Cade.

Fucking hell, my best friend set me up on a blind date with my brother’s best friend.

You have got to be fucking kidding me.