15. Bay
FIFTEEN
bay
Levi said he’d find me.
With the girls and Travis at my side, I’m a coat rack, a shelf, and a moneybag for all the shit my sisters wanted to do today at the Beach Fair.
Thankfully, Ellie dipped to hang out with her friends; however, she took fifty bucks from me and promised to be back by nine so we can leave. However, Mae has been running me from game to game, from ride to ride. Every food truck we pass, she wants something. Then she has to go to the bathroom. Then she wants to play another silly-ass game and win the biggest stuffed animal there.
I’ve run out of hands.
But my patience has stayed intact, probably because my anxiety has taken a front seat, waiting for Levi at every turn or corner. Pending the moment when he and I go at it again for the last time.
Not sure how he’s going to pull this off since he’s aware I have my sisters with me, but I’ll let him solve that problem. I have my hands full.
Literally.
“Bay, I have to go to?—”
“My God,” I whine, yeah, whine, because I swear, we were just in the bathroom five minutes ago. “Girl, we’re cutting back on the liquids. How do you have to pee again?”
She shrugs, gnawing on a sucker and looking up at me expectedly to take her there.
“I got it,” Travis says, coming in for the rescue, then dips his tone. “We’re gonna hit up a game on the way back. Levi is down the way.”
Key for—game time.
Travis knows what’s up, has to. There’s no way I’d be able to compose myself over the last few days, and he’s been picking up the slack by coming over and keeping me company.
Levi’s jealous.
I ordered from Levi’s favorite Italian place the other night and took a bunch of pictures for him just to show off. Even video-called him while eating just to tell him how good it was. The conversation was filled with a few choice and colorful words, but he loved it.
Now, it’s time to show the world how much we fake-hate each other.
And, I don’t know why we’re doing it here, but Levi must know something I don’t, so I’m just rolling with it.
My stomach turns for the hundredth time, nausea hanging out with me for the last few hours, but I’m ready.
I have no other choice.
I feel him before he even comes into my peripheral. It comes with years of years of knowing each other. Levi is like my soulmate, my emotional support, strength, and silent defender.
It just sucks that it had to come down to this, where we’re using our relationship as a weapon.
“Is this how it’s always gonna be?” Levi exhorts, nice and loud over the music and carnival rides, which for him isn’t hard to do. He begins circling my body like a lion waiting to pounce on his prey, but this little zebra has a few stripes left to play. “I have to see your fucking slut ass all over the damn place?”
Ouch. Dick.
Unhurriedly, I crane my head to find him centering out in front of me. Juice and Hot Rod flank his sides like the faithful soldiers they are. They all looked pissed to see me until Juice gives me a quick wink, and I hate him because I almost smile.
“On your nine,” Levi mutters. “About thirty yards away are the Forsaken Fucks all lined up in a row.”
I want to look, but I keep my pinched brows on Levi. “So, I’m assuming the slut comment was unnecessary?”
“It may have been loud enough,” Levi replies, careful to keep his voice down, and I’m glad the boys are a bit away so that we don’t have to keep throwing shots at each other. “But we’re going to have to up the ante so that it doesn’t look like we’re kissing and making up.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Follow my lead?”
“If I have to,” I reply, holding in a sigh, right before Levi reaches out for my face, and I instantly slap it away.
“Perfect,” he mutters, then grabs a fistful of my hair and yanks me forward so that my chest collides into his.
“Stanton is getting impatient,” Hot Rod informs us, and my heart skips a beat at the simple hint that he’s always wanting to come rescue me.
Juice smacks at Mae’s stuffed animals in my hand, and I balk at him when some dropped to the ground.
I lunge for him, making it look like he pissed me off—he kinda did—but Levi’s hold keeps me grounded to him. He leans forward, nestling his face into the crook of my neck. I practically melt as my palm finds his hard torso and I begin to forget what we were supposed to be doing. The smell of sandalwood hits my nose first before the aftermath of motor oil and mint quickly follow, and I breathe him like a for-real psycho ex-girlfriend.
“Are we breaking up or making up?” Levi whispers in my ear. “Make a move.”
Lifting my knee, Levi immediately breaks away from me, even though I wasn’t going to actually hit him in the balls. I’m more irritated with myself than anything because I’m over here fucking around.
My best friend’s chest bumps mine, and I almost fall on my ass from the force of his massive frame.
“The goal is to get one of them over here,” Levi emits. “If they don’t, we’re failing and they’re not buying it.”
“Then you better hit me or something because—” He glowers at me.
“Have you lost your fucking mind? I’m not going to punch you in the face.”
I reach for his fingers that are still laced in my hair, as if trying to get him to let go. “You’re not a big enough villain yet. Matteo was the other day with Torin. You are with Reeve, but Torin still thinks of you as a bitch.”
Levi’s green eyes narrow. “I’d love to hear those words come out of his mouth.”
“I’m just telling you what I think.”
“That stupid little prick has tried so many times to take me out and missed .”
“ Focus. ” You better do something to get them over here.
“This is so fucking stupid.”
I respond back with a semi-hard punch to his ribs for good measure and sneer, “It was your idea. And we can’t go back now.”
Levi’s expression is full of irritation, but we both know this is the only way. “I’m going to ask for forgiveness later.” I give him a small nod, waiting for him to step back and let me have it when he doesn’t move.
“Are we going to do this now or—” Levi’s mouth slams into mine with so much ferocity that it takes my breath away. I fight back from grabbing onto his white t-shirt and seeing how far this will go now that he’s initiated it, but that’s not what we’re here for.
However, Levi isn’t making it easy when his tongue slides easily enough between my lips and the forming whimper that almost breaks free from my throat.
Break this, Bay. This isn’t real.
My foot comes off the ground before my knee slams right into Levi’s junk. Instantaneously, he breaks the kiss and bows over, but he doesn’t release my hair.
“ Geezus ,” he growls out, seething air through his teeth before turning up his face to look up at me again. “You’re the only woman I would let do this to me, know that.”
And that’s when his free hand begins undoing the button of my jeans.
I jerk back on instinct, feeling the roots to my hair being tugged from my scalp and I reach for his hand that’s causing the pain. That’s when I kick his shins and he retaliates when he kicks out one of my ankles from underneath me and causes me to lose balance, falling to my knees with a hard thud.
Right in front of his cock.
“You prick ,” I snap, face angled up at him with slitted eyes. I didn’t have to fake that emotion too much. It actually hurt.
Levi’s palm falls to the back of skull, prompting the idea of me going down on him in front of everyone here—kids included.
“Incoming,” Hot Rod recites at the exact moment Levi bends over me, lips levitating over mine. “Kiss Ellie and Mae for me. And don’t defend me. No matter what happens.”
His tongue licks along the seam of my mouth, tempting the line again when he’s suddenly yanked back and disappears from my line of sight.
The scene in front of me is chaos.
Torin throwing a punch into the side of Juice’s head. Cairo staring off at Hot Rod and Reevie…He’s gone full-blown rage on my best friend turned villain.
I think they bought it.