Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
LEVI
Stevie looks horrified. She scrambles off my lap the second the motherfucker’s voice pierces through.
My window is already partially open, and Stevie turns the car on so that I can push it down the whole way.
“I’m so sorry, Officer.” Stevie’s officially freaking out. She tries to pat her hair down, but there’s no use in trying to hide what we were doing. It might be obvious, but not illegal. Maybe if he had caught us in five more minutes… Nope. Not going there.
Praying that my boner isn’t completely visible to the guy, I take a deep breath and look him in the eye with a tight smile.
“What are you two doing here? Nowhere else to go?” His voice is pure sarcasm, and this is one of those rare times where I don’t want to be the nice guy, because I want to deck the man who interrupted Stevie and me about to…
about to…fuck, I’m not sure what. We were entirely in the moment.
She was gone, and so was I. It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced that feeling.
It’s rare, and I hate the fucker the more I think about how great it felt.
Stevie seems like she’s going to have a panic attack and doesn’t answer the question, so I do. “We were just headed back home. We’re sorry, Officer.”
He rolls his eyes. “License and registration, ma’am.”
Fuck. Me.
Stevie’s face pales. “I don’t have—”
“I was the one driving, Officer,” I lie, kind of. Keeping my breath steady, I shrug and grab the back of my neck, pretending to look ashamed. “It was easier to make out this way.” Kissing isn’t illegal, but driving without a license or permit is.
He tilts his flashlight again, causing me to cover my eyes partially. “Have either of you been drinking?”
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
“It was only a kiss, sir,” I respond calmly.
“Yeah, we were just making out. We live together, but we’re only roommates. I don’t drive or drink at all. I haven’t had one sip since last spring, and he only had two beers, but that was hours ago.” Stevie’s voice falters at the end.
My eyes nearly bulge out of my head and I let out a heavy sigh. She realizes her mistake a second later and looks at me apologetically.
Those beers were hours ago, but I know that the only thing the officer heard was her nervous, fast-paced voice mentioning possible lewd behavior, driving, and alcohol.
The officer doesn’t react like I expect him to. Instead, he looks down at my pants, his eyebrows turning inward.
Looking down, I see that the button is still undone. As if this could get any worse.
Then his eyes shift to Stevie’s shirt, which is slightly raised above her navel.
Shit.
“I’m going to need the two of you to exit the vehicle and walk over to me slowly.”
Fuck me again.
Stevie immediately puts both hands up, as do I.
“Officer, we weren’t doing anything except kissing.”
He reaches for his radio. “Simmons, I need some backup in lot C.”
“Copy that, Dick. I’m only a minute away.”
I would laugh at the irony, except Officers Simmons and Dick are informing us that we’re headed to the station.
Driscoll’s jail has always been small, or at least that’s what I’ve heard. Now I know that it’s true.
My roommate and I are currently behind bars because we dared to do something lewd in public. This is not how I expected my night to go.
The holding area has a couple of benches and is currently occupied by me, Stevie, and a guy named Ian.
Ian is a freshman, as he has said for the thousandth time, and he paces back and forth from wall to wall.
Ian is also terrified that he’s going to get kicked out for…
honestly, I can’t remember. I’m focused on me and Stevie right now.
“I cannot believe my idiotic mouth landed us in here,” she mutters, putting her hands into her pockets and leaning her head against the bars.
She’s been this way since they put us into the holding area. As I watch her unnecessarily nervous expression, I laugh a little.
Stevie snaps her head to me. “Levi, this is not funny!” Her bottom lip juts out, and it’s still slightly swollen from half an hour ago.
My throat dries at the view. “You’re right.” My attempt at being sincere in my words fails since Stevie seems to notice my slight smile and pokes my shoulder harshly. “Hey!”
“Stop smirking like that. We’re in jail.” She sits next to me, crossing her legs. Her hair is slightly disheveled thanks to me and my handiwork. Fuck if it doesn’t make her look sexier. “I hope your call is going to save us.”
After some convincing, Stevie relented and agreed not to use her one phone call for now. I told her to give me an hour, and if we weren’t out by then, she could call whomever she wanted.
My way will work, and I’d like to avoid having to explain to both of her moms how we got into a jail cell on a late Saturday night.
“It will. Stop worrying about it.” I shove her shoulder with mine playfully.
She repeats the movement.
Looking at the ceiling, I smile again, and Stevie shoves me one more time.
“Did his name have to be Dick?” Cracking my neck, I catch Stevie rolling her lips inward. “You want to say Officer Dickhead so badly, don’t you?”
She avoids my gaze. “No.”
“Ha! Knew it.” My callout is followed by silence.
I really can’t let the night end uncomfortably.
That kiss, the movement of her hips, and the sounds she made.
Fucking hell. I’m in trouble. She was the first one to make a move, but even so, I’m not an idiot.
I know it was partly due to the adrenaline rush from the drive.
Speaking of the drive…where did that come from?
The woman is full of surprises. Every day it’s something new.
“Maybe my call won’t work,” I say casually, breaking the silence.
She whips her head to me. “I’m going to have to call my moms?
They’re going to kill me, Levi, and that’s nothing compared to what they’re going to do to you.
” She stands and then sits back down, clearly on edge again.
“None of this would’ve happened if we hadn’t kissed,” she seems to say mindlessly.
It’s my turn to look at her and scoff. “You started it.”
Stevie gasps. “You didn’t stop me.”
Shrugging, I pick at some dirt on my pants. “I’m only human.”
“Oh, shut it.”
“You shut it.”
We look at each other and burst out laughing. Everyone around us is watching like we’re batshit crazy. Maybe we are, but at least we’re having some semblance of fun, unlike Ian, who is practically hyperventilating in the corner.
Oddly enough, I think being in jail is helping what happened between us not become an odd thing. We’re not ignoring each other, which is exactly what I fear will happen once we get out.
The cell door opens, letting another unfortunate soul into the small space. I take a second to look at who’s coming in, and I’m met with a face I haven’t seen since last summer.
“Levi?”
“Ray?”
He walks over to where Stevie and I are and shrugs awkwardly.
The last time I saw this man, he was bent over a tanning chair, fucking his pool boy.
Since then, we have had one conversation, and he told me everything I needed to hear.
The gang had known him since we started dating right before he graduated from Driscoll.
They liked us together, but I never loved Ray, and he obviously didn’t love me.
“Holy shit, it’s been so long.” Ray shakes his head.
“Yeah, it’s been a while.” I clear my throat. “Visiting friends? They get you into trouble?”
He looks at his feet. “My boyfriend goes here, and unfortunately, being in jail is all on me.”
At that awkward confession, I wait to feel something. A sting or a twinge of jealousy, but there’s nothing. I don’t hate Ray. I never did. Was I fucking pissed? Absolutely.
What I hated was the reason why he cheated.
He was scared I was going to leave him for a girl, scared that he wasn’t enough.
That’s not something you can ignore and continue to be friends with the person afterward.
As much as it stung at the time to hear him say that, it was a while ago, and the pain is gone.
“I’m happy for you, Ray. Really.”
His body relaxes. “Thanks and— Wait, why are you here? It was Jake, wasn’t it?”
That gets me a little heated. We’re not suddenly buddy-buddy because I was polite to him. Who the fuck is he to assume—
“It was me.” Stevie waves from the bench, looking embarrassed.
Shifting my eyes back to Ray, I see his brown eyes narrow in my roommate’s direction. “And who’s this? Your girlfriend?”
There’s a slight edge to his tone, and I plaster on a fake smile. If he gives her any shit, I swear—
“Actually…” Stevie stands straight, matching Ray’s five-foot-ten frame with her heels. “I’m his roommate, Stevie.” She extends a hand, and they shake.
Ray’s face relaxes a little at that. “Roommate?” he states more than asks, and I nod. At my confirmation, he smiles.
“We were caught making out, and the cops thought we were doing a little bit more than that. Which wasn’t a complete lie.” Stevie lets out a gentle laugh.
Ray’s face drops, and I’m stunned.
Never did I expect her to admit that. Maybe it was a slip of the tongue. Either way, it’s out there now, and she can’t take it back. What the fuck prompted her to do that?
Stevie’s smile hasn’t wavered, yet even with the strong front she’s putting on, which most definitely turns me on, there’s a glimpse of pink on her cheeks and ears.
“Wait, seriously?” Ray asks me.
I don’t rip my eyes away from Stevie while I answer. “Bambi here isn’t a liar, so it must be true.”
Stevie glances my way, her grin disappearing for a moment. I give her a wink, which makes her bite her lip and… Shit, I’m getting hard again.
“Levi Clarke and Stephanie Winters,” an officer calls.
We both swivel our heads toward the hallway where the officer is calling our names from, and right behind him is Jake. He spots Stevie and me, gives us a quick once-over, and turns to the officer manning the large cell.
“Officer Norman Simmons! Long time no see.”