Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Warren
“I suppose I should go home,” I told Levette after another few days of recuperating. I felt as though I was taking advantage of his kindness by staying there and accepting all he was offering me.
“You are welcome to stay for as long as you like, love. The room is yours, as is everything in it. I have no need for all this space. Besides, the companionship has been extremely nice.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to overstay. The rent at that dismal apartment is also far too expensive to let the place sit empty.”
Levette looked thoughtful for a moment, tapping at his lower lip. The small action distracted me more than I like to admit. “So, say au revoir to the apartment and reside here, with me. I would be glad to have someone to talk to on a more permanent basis.”
“A kind offer,” I concluded, “but what would people say? The rumors would spread like wildfire. I will not do that to either of us.”
Flashing a devious smile, Levette tucked one leg over the other as he sprawled back on the settee. He looked regal, and I wondered just where his previous life had left him. I wanted to ask, but fear of prying into matters that were not my business halted me.
“Rumors, you say. What deliciously sordid tales would they weave about us?”
“Oh, stop!” Laughing, I hit him with one of the decorative cushions placed between us. “You know exactly what they would say.”
Levette caught my arm, holding my wrist gently as I let the cushion fall. His fingertips traced over my soft skin, sending a shiver through my body. “Would such rumors bother you?”
“It would ruin you, Levette. New Orleans would no longer feel like home.”
The handsome man licked his lips, deliberating, before letting go of my wrist. “A place is not home, mon cher. People are what tie us to a place.”
I didn’t have an adequate response, so I stayed quiet and went back to the book I was reading.
Levette had an entire bookcase filled with novels from all over the world, and I had taken to working my way through them as I stayed with him.
I would have to ask him to let me borrow a few when I went home, back to my lonely abode.
“Gerald asked me to work tonight,” I commented some time later, breaking our peaceful silence.
Levette studied me, looking at the almost-gone bruises on my face. “Do you think you are well?”
I shrugged. “I have to get back to normal life at some point. I can’t stay cooped up here forever.”
“May I at least walk you home afterwards, if you insist on going back to your dreary apartment?” His voice was soft and timid, like he was genuinely nervous about my answer. It was so cute that I was amused.
“Since when have you asked?” I laughed, putting my book down. “But if you need to hear the words: yes, mon ami, I would very much like for you to walk me home.”
The sight of finding me bleeding out in the street had been more impactful on Levette than I realized. He was a hard man to read unless he lowered his walls around you, and I could see that he was scared.
“What’s bothering you? Tell me.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt again. The idea of you being alone and something happening…I fear my heart could not handle seeing you broken like that again. I would not be able to hold myself back from destroying everyone in my path to you.”
“Oh, Levette,” I said softly, reaching out to touch his shoulder, “I will be just fine. I doubt Robert will come anywhere near me again. But you may do whatever you need to feel at peace.”
“Like murdering your brother?” he mumbled, causing me to bark out a laugh.
“No, my friend. Anything but murdering my brother.”
Levette pouted, trying to hide his smile. “You ruin my fun.”
“Murder is not the answer,” I quipped.
“I find that to be a very debatable point.”
After a few hours behind the bar, I became aware of how much I had not missed waiting on the drunkards that frequented The Carousel.
Being demeaned and treated like you were nothing was enough to grate on anyone, and I knew that I was sulking.
I had grown accustomed to weeks spent at Levette’s, experiencing fine food and good company, and had been thrust back into the dull monotony of my own life.
Levette Fortier had pulled me out of a funk, and I had thrown myself right back in.
I leaned over the bartop, wiping away spilled beer and crushed peanuts. Gerald was arguing with one of the patrons who had drunk two beers too many, and needed to be cut off. The patron, however, argued otherwise.
“Tsk, some people do not know how to handle their alcohol.”
There was no hiding my smile as I looked up to see Levette take the empty seat in front of me, resting his elbows on the area I had just cleaned, tucking his fingers under his chin.
It was insane how much his mere presence could improve my mood.
I should have been scared that he had impacted my life in such a short time, but it had the opposite effect; for once in my life, I was happy not to be alone. I cherished that feeling.
“I didn’t expect you so early,” I whispered, so as not to raise suspicion of anyone in the establishment.
Levette shrugged. “I grew bored without my humorous sidekick to make me laugh.”
I covered my chest, acted wounded. “I am merely a sidekick? How insulting!”
He raised a brow at me. “You could be so much more, mon cher.”
Panic arose in me as I turned to make sure everyone had heard, but everybody was still oblivious. Levette smirked mischievously and wiggled his eyebrows.
“Would you stop?” I hissed, though it was halfhearted. Having his undivided attention always made me weak.
“D’accord, fine. Now, may I please have some service? I’m wasting away over here.”
I rolled my eyes, stifling my laughter. “Star of dramatics, aren’t you?”
Levette sipped at the glass of red wine, looking around the room carefully. He was always assessing everything, something I noticed about him fairly quickly. “I just wanted to check in with you. Your first night back at work after your attack…”
“I’m okay, Levy.”
He titled his head and looked at me, analyzing. “Are you sure?”
“I swear.”
The bar got busy for a while after that, and I had to leave him to his drink as I tended to other customers.
Even still, I felt his piercing gaze follow me around the room.
At one point, one of the men stumbled and fell into me, making me fall on my ass.
Within a split second, Levette was there to help me up.
It happened so quickly that it felt as though time itself had stood still as he extended his hand, helping me to my feet.
He held on for a beat longer than societally acceptable and I glanced around; nobody was even looking our way.
I blinked and the humdrum of the bar flooded back into my ears.
“Are you alright?” Levette asked, his brows furrowed in concern.
I nodded, not trusting myself. “Just a little disorientated.”
Levette huffed. “This is why I thought it was too early to come back to work. You’ve been injured on the first night!”
“Levette, I’m still in one piece. You needn’t worry so much.
” I made my way back behind the bar, feeling Levette’s presence behind me as he followed.
Gerald handed me two ales and sent me to a table at the other end of the room.
By the time I was back, Levette had returned to his seat and composed himself. “I’m capable of looking after myself.”
Levette threw his hands up in frustration. “Folie! Maybe you shouldn’t have to take care of yourself. Why can’t you just let someone else help?”
I threw him an impatient glare as I cracked open some bottles and slid them along the bar. “Because I’m not a child. I don’t need to be babysat.”
“Bordel de merde!” Levette exclaimed. “I do not see you like a child. How much plainer to I have to speak? I wish to look after you because I—” He sighed, running his hands through his hair. “?a ne fait rien! Never mind.”
My heart and mind stuttered at the same time.
A thousand endings to that sentence played out in my head, and I could feel my pulse race.
Levette looked disheveled, his annoyance written across his face.
It pained me to know I was causing him such upset, but I could not convey my thoughts to him any clearer than I was, given the fact we had an audience who could potentially overhear.
“Levette—”
“Non,” he said, cutting me off. “I have some business to attend to. I will be back later as we discussed.”
My argument for him to stay was floundered by a patron calling me over for him to order. I offered Levette a placating smile and hoped that the we can talk about it later was conveyed in my eyes. While I took the order, I watched Levette storm out, the doors slamming in his wake.
The rest of the shift passed without any other incidents. By the time we were closing up, my feet ached from standing so long. Those few weeks had really thrown my body off kilter, and I would have to slowly rebuild my stamina.
“You did good,” Gerald praised, slapping me on the back. “I was expecting you to cave after an hour.”
“Such little faith in me. I should be offended!”
My boss laughed, the sound gravelly from years of smoking. “No, son, just the honest truth. You went through a lot. I’m glad to see you back on your feet and behind my bar.”
It was rare to get a compliment from him, so I nodded my head in thanks. “I appreciate that. It’s good to be back to normality.”
We had just locked up and pulled the wooden shutters closed on the windows when I saw Levette appear at the end of the street. He tipped his hat to us as he walked closer.
“You made friends fast with the new lad,” Gerald commented.
I shrugged. “Not like I have an abundance of people begging to have a conversation with me. It’s just politeness.”
Gerald gave me a knowing look, and I could feel myself shrink into my coat. “I got no feelings towards what you like, Warren. Know that now. You’re a good kid and I’m mighty glad to have you working for me. But you should be careful with him,” he said, nodding his head to Levette.
“He’s harmless,” I said, feeling defensiveness enter my tone.
My boss held up his hands in a silent surrender. “I’m just trying to look out for you, son. I been around these parts for years and seen plenty a people come and go. Some of them fit in, some of them don’t. That one…something just don’t sit right about him.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said dryly, stepping out onto the street. “But I’m perfectly capable of keeping myself safe.”
Gerald shook his head. “Some people don’t sense the danger until it’s eating them alive. Don’t let yourself be a meal, Warren.”
Levette reached us as Gerald turned his back and walked away. I could see the concern on his face as he looked me over. “What was that about? You look uneasy.”
“Just some unwanted, unwarranted advice. It’s nothing.” I turned and began walking to my apartment, hearing Levette’s pace quicken as he strode along beside me. “I didn’t expect you to be here.”
“I told you I would be.”
I looked at him knowingly, cutting through his bullshit. “You also had a meltdown a mere few hours ago.”
Stopping in his tracks, Levette grabbed my arms to halt me. He let go once he saw that he had my full attention, removing his hand and holding it over his chest so I could see the earnestness on his handsome face.
“I apologize profusely for how I acted earlier. I do not know what came over me, but I assure you, I am in my right mind now. Please forgive me.”
The frustration on his face from earlier flashed in my mind and I sighed, knowing we were both at fault. “You can’t act like that at my place of work. I could lose my job.”
“You don’t have to work, you know. I have too much money and nothing to do with it.”
“See, this is what I’m talking about. First of all, bragging like that makes you sound like a pompous ass. Secondly, I do not need to be kept like a housewife. I am capable of working.”
Levette groaned, rubbing his face. “This is an exhausting argument, mon cher. I am not trying to limit you; I just want you to know there are other options. If you want to work, work! But the idea of you being hurt will always drive me to insanity. You must be aware of that.”
My anger shattered at the way his voice broke. Levette was a fortress, but with me, his walls always seemed to crumble. It melted my heart in a way I struggled to properly appreciate or express.
“It’s exhausting for me, too. But I am not ready to discuss these things or what they would mean.
For now, I am happy to work. If you need to visit me every night or walk me home each evening, I will be glad and you’ll hear no complaints.
Just please, don’t ask me to be someone I haven’t discovered yet. ”
He took me by the hand, pulling me into the alley beside the bar. I was pushed against the wall, my back thudding against it just hard enough to make a breath escape me, as Levette blocked me in. With one hand placed at either side of my shoulders, he pressed his forehead against mine.
His lips were so close that I could feel his breath on me, hot and enticing. I closed my eyes, enjoying feeling him so close to me and wishing it didn’t have to be in the dark.
“I am a forceful person, I know. It is a negative part of me and I wish I could promise to work on it, but I am who I am. This is me, Warren. But I will never push you to be someone else, including a version of you that you are not ready to be. If I ever make you feel like I am, I need you to tell me and I will do my best to take a step back.”
I opened my eyes, locking onto the dark purple of Levette’s. I wanted him to see me, to see my honesty as I replied, “I will have you as you are, Levy. The force of nature that you are does not deter me. I welcome being swept up by you.”
Levette’s breath shuddered and I reached up, brushing his jaw with my thumb. “Let us be the versions of ourselves that we are, and discover new ones together. Just…be patient. For me, it may take time.”
His smile was small, but sent my heart into overdrive anyway. I wanted to cry as he pulled away, putting space between us. But his smile did not falter as he kept his eyes on me.
“The construct of time is nothing to me now that I have you, Warren. I will wait for you for a lifetime if that is what it takes.”