CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
LEVI
I’m in the Pilates room waiting for Scarlett. I never thought I’d say this, but I am really looking forward to stretching everything out. I’m so pent up with tension right now, in so many ways. I need a release.
Scarlett enters, the soft scent of her vanilla soap immediately taking over the space. I take a deep breath, allowing it to ground me. Her hair darker, still damp from her shower, dressed in her typical pink active set. She smiles at me as she grabs a couple of mats, setting them on the floor.
“Levi.” She looks at me pointedly.
“Scarlett.”
“We both know that you shouldn’t have been wakesurfing today.” My head drops. Here we go with the lecture. She continues, “I want you to stretch out any tension it may have caused.”
I sigh, though it’s mostly for show – of course I’ll take the alone time with her.
“Let’s get it over and done with, Quinn.”
She nods before taking her place on the mat, coming down onto all fours. My mind immediately flashes to a different way of seeing her on all fours – preferably without any clothes on.
I snap out of it, getting down onto my own mat and mimicking Scarlett’s position.
“Alright, Carter, we’re starting with our thread the needle.
” I stare at her blankly, waiting for her to continue.
Surely she doesn’t expect me to know what that is?
After a couple of moments, she continues.
“Wrists stacked under your shoulders, and knees stacked under your hips. Stay soft on your injured shoulder, though.”
I adjust my position and Scarlett looks over to me contemplating my position for a moment before she shuffles over, moving my knee into what I assume is the appropriate position before she gets back into her own.
“Good. Now, spine long and neutral. Gaze straight down on the mat.” I do as she says.
“Inhale, Levi.” I take a deep breath through my nose.
“As you exhale, take your right arm and slide it across the mat but keep your palm facing up as you slide it across the floor.” I look toward Scarlett, mimicking her movement as I attempt to keep my shoulder soft and relaxed.
“Perfect, Levi. We want to stop when there’s a mild stretch through the shoulder, yeah?
Don’t overextend it. Let your torso rotate naturally. ”
I listen to my body as I go through the movement stopping once I hit that slight stretch through the back of my shoulder.
I hear Scarlett shuffle behind me. “Good, Levi.” She praises, softly running her hand across my shoulder, sending goosebumps across my skin.
“Breathe in.” I inhale. “Breathe out.” I exhale.
I repeat another two times before I come out into the starting position.
“How do we feel, Levi?” Even more tense than when we started due to your touch.
But, of course, I can’t admit to that, so instead I say, “Good.”
“Alright. Let’s go again.”
I inhale before exhaling as I slide my right arm under my body, rotating softly through my torso to the point where I feel that soft stretch through the back of my shoulder and I hold. “And release.” I slide my arm back out the way it came, placing it softly back on the mat.
We continue to work through the movements, and I feel my body starting to slowly relax. I’m not sure how long we’ve been working for at this point. I’ve lost track of time and I ‘ve been enjoying this alone time with Scarlett more than I care to admit.
Scarlett softly runs her hand over my shoulder, using featherlight pressure causing me to suck in a breath.
Neither of us even considers moving or speaking for a second.
Slowly, I sit back on my heels rolling out my shoulder softly, feeling the tension slightly looser than it was before.
She slides her hand from my shoulder up my neck to cup my jaw and opens her mouth to speak before the door slams open causing us to both snap away from each other.
I grit my teeth as I glance toward the door to see none other than Hudson Moore. I could kill him right now.
“We’re starting to play darts downstairs. I was told to come grab you guys.” Is all he says before he takes off down the stairs again, toward the back deck.
I shake it off before I stand holding my hand out to Scarlett to help her up and we silently make our way downstairs.
…
We split into two teams. Scarlett and Gigi on one, myself and Steele on the other. The room falls quiet as I aim the dart at the board before I wind my arm back slightly and release. The soft thud of the board sounds. Not quite a bullseye but close enough and a soft cheer sounds from the boys.
“You’re up, Quinn.” I say as I move to grab my beer while Scarlett grabs a dart and sets up. She rolls out her shoulders, tilting her head from side to side making a show out of it. A grin pulls at my lips. She’s so cute.
“Let me show you how it’s done, Carter.” She smirks.
I’d expect nothing less from Scarlett Quinn. I’m almost convinced that there’s nothing that she can’t do.
Her tongue pokes out of her lips slightly, her eyes narrow as she pulls back her arm, throwing the dart.
Thud. The room is silent for a second before it breaks out in cheers.
Because of course she got a bullseye. The guys pull her in for small hugs as she makes her way over to me until our chests are flush against each other in a challenge.
She faces off with me as Steele has his go, getting the outer bullseye. At least someone is pulling his weight because God knows I’m no help.
Gigi goes next getting a double, making me think Benny and I might actually have a shot of beating the girls.
Silently, Scarlett reaches behind her to grab a dart before handing it to me, something mischievous glinting in her eyes as she tilts her head toward the board, signalling that it’s my turn.
I sigh as I stand walking toward the dart board as Scarlett moves toward Gigi where they start giggling about something.
I test the weight of the dart in my hand before I start to align it with the board.
Winding my arm back, I feel a dull ache throb in my shoulder which I ignore.
I throw the dart, causing a sharp pain to shoot through my shoulder as the dart hits the outer part of the board – no points. My head drops.
In my peripheral vision, I notice Scarlett’s head snap toward me, eyes narrowed. I know at this point that there’s no way I’m getting one past her.
I move to the side as Scarlett steps up for her go. She nudges me with her hip as she picks up a dart. “Just another thing I’m better at than you. That’s gotta hurt, Carter.” She arches a brow before setting up and throwing the dart.
Another bullseye. I shake my head, but can’t help the smile pulling at my lips, though, she’s not smiling.
She turns, crossing her arms over her chest pushing up her breasts as she cocks her hip.
I roll my eyes, turning back to the game as Steele steps up. Scarlett moves into my space, pushing me softly to guide me into the corner of the room. I already know what’s coming without her saying a word.
“Levi, how’s your shoulder?”
“It’s fine.” I say on a shrug, flinching slightly at the tightness in the shoulder.
She narrows her eyes at me, before turning and stalking out of the room.
I sigh, turning back to the game to see Gigi and Steele starting to get more competitive and the other guys entranced in whatever battle is going on.
They won’t miss us when we’re gone, surely. So I follow Scarlett into the house.
I find her in the kitchen, moving around doing mindless cleaning. Fuck. That’s never a good sign.
“Scarlett?” I wait for a reply only to never receive a response, so I try again. “Scar.” She whips around. Her brows are drawn together slightly, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Is everything okay?”
I know that it’s not okay. I just don’t know what’s wrong, and that's frustrating to me.
She sighs exasperated. Throwing her head back, she takes a few deep breaths. She centres herself before she looks back at me, pinning me in place with her eyes. Pushing off the counter, she moves toward me purposefully, pointing a finger at me. “When are you going to stop lying to me, Levi?”
My jaw drops open. “Lying to you? How have I been lying to you?”
Scarlett rolls her eyes, unimpressed and I feel my cheeks starting to heat, whether from embarrassment or anger, I’m not too sure.
“Your shoulder, Levi.” She waves her hand at me, causing me to fold my arms across my chest defensively.
“You’re obviously still injured but you play it off like it's nothing and that everything is fine. Everything is not fine, Carter. You need to let me in, otherwise you’re preventing me from being able to do my job.
I want to help you get better, but you need to meet me halfway. ”
Her chest is heaving by the time she is done. I know she might be right but I’m having a hard time accepting that right now. I know my body better than anyone. If I needed help, I would ask for it.
“Scar, God. Can you just give me a minute to breathe? Please. I haven’t had a moment to myself in weeks. I’m dealing with this injury the only way I know how, and you know that. I don’t know how to open up more than I already am.”
She just shakes her head at me, looking up at me with those soft, green eyes. “That’s not good enough. You need to let me in otherwise there’s not much further I can go with you. It’s not just your reputation on the line here, Levi.”
Fuck. Is that all she thinks I care about?
I thought things were finally headed somewhere with Scar but trust me to fuck it all up. “Okay.” My voice comes out quiet and we bask in the silence for a few moments.
Scarlett juts her chin at me as a sign to follow her. We walk through the halls quietly, save for the slight murmurs coming from outside. She walks inside the bathroom, but I stop outside the door, not wanting to make the wrong move and go in just in case.
I hear some rustling before her hand reaches out, grabbing my shirt to pull me into the bathroom. Scarlett is walking backward, toward the counter and I notice some type of pain relief cream sitting out.
My eyes snap back to meet hers, my posture dropping slightly.
I really just wish I didn’t have to be reminded of this injury all the time.
I know that she’s concerned, but it just makes things harder to deal with.
I already feel weak enough being limited without the constant reminder of it being worse than I had thought originally.
She cups my jaw, stroking her thumb softly against my cheek. “Just get out of your head, Lev.”
I let out a shaky sigh as I reach down with my good arm, wrapping it under her thighs to lift her onto the counter.
Scarlett grips the edge of my shirt and looks up at me, seeking permission. “May I?” Her voice is soft, almost as though she’s trying to avoid startling me.
I nod my head ever so slightly and she starts to drag my shirt up my torso.
A shiver runs through me as her cold fingertips skim my skin.
Once she gets to my shoulder, she meets my eyes again as she starts to slide my good arm out of my shirt.
I grit my teeth at the dull pain through my bad shoulder as she pulls my shirt all the way off.
Scarlett contemplates me for a second, her eyes dragging over my skin before her hands follow, making their way from my shoulders down to my abs.
Leaning back slightly, she grabs the cream, uncapping the lid and setting it to the side.
An intense smell fills the room instantly, making me scrunch my nose involuntarily.
Squeezing out some of the cream, she begins to warm it by rubbing it between her palms.
Looking up at me through her lashes, I can’t mistake the intensely serious glint in her eye - one that I wouldn’t dare to challenge. “Tell me if it starts to hurt.”
I nod yet again, though she shakes her head at me. “Words, Levi.”
“I’ll tell you if anything hurts, Scar.”
“Good.” Her hand makes contact with the front of my shoulder, and I flinch away slightly from the contact before relaxing.
She starts to dig her hand into the muscle, slowly working her way toward my injured joint, my muscles growing more tense under her touch.
Her eyes snap to mine, quickly checking in. “Too much?”
“No. We’re good for now.”
She searches my eyes for a second before continuing, adjusting her pressure this time, growing a little bit lighter with her fingers the closer she gets to the sore part of my shoulder.
My muscles start to flex underneath her fingertips - though, not really from the injury. More from the effect she has on me.
“Relax, Levi.” Her voice is soothing, yet my muscles just can’t seem to relax yet.
“I’m trying. It’s… hard.”
Her hand slows, coming to an almost stop on my shoulder. Her eyebrows are drawn together, green eyes swirling with confusion. “What do you mean?”
I shrug my good shoulder softly. “I don’t know… Just everything that’s happened between us has made me a little tense. That’s all.”
Her hand drops from my shoulder as she twists to rinse off her hands before turning back to me.
“What exactly would help you with that situation, Carter?”
I look down at the floor before her hand tucks under my chin to lift my head back up. “Use your words, Levi. I won’t ask you again.”
My heart skips a beat at the demand, wanting to do nothing but obey her every single time. “I want you. In any way that you’ll have me.”
Only a second passes before she starts to lean in. Then, I realise that I’m also leaning in as well. Scarlett’s hand reaches out to cup my jaw. “What happens at the lake house stays at the lake house?”
A low chuckle comes out. “Yeah, Quinn. What happens at the lake house stays at the lake house.”
And before I know it, her lips crash into mine.