13
Levi stepped out to join Emery, now barefoot, his damp hair slightly flipping out at the ends. His jaw was tight, but not like before. This time, it looked like regret.
He stood behind her for a second, then slowly lowered himself to the step beside her. A few inches apart. Not touching.
“I checked on June,” he said quietly.
Emery kept her eyes on the gravel drive, her voice barely audible. “How is she?”
“Mad,” he said with a dry, humorless huff. “ Refused to go back to sleep unless I promised you would still be here in the morning. She cried. Said she didn’t want you to go.”
That cracked something open in her.
His voice cracked a little. “And then she asked if I made you sad.” He ran a hand over his face. “And shitty part is... she’s right.”
He finally looked at her. And for the first time all day, the storm was gone from his eyes. Just guilt. Just the truth.
“I was out of line. Hell, I wasn’t just out of line—I was an asshole. I came home pissed and tired and already feeling like a failure, and instead of handling it like a man, I took it out on you— the one person who goes out of your way to make my life easier and actually gives a damn.”
Silence settled between them.
“I didn’t mean what I said,” he added, his voice now raw. “I don’t want you to leave, Emery. I want... God, I want you closer. And I’ve done a piss-poor job of showing you that.”
Emery swallowed, eyes still stinging. “Then why did you say all that?”
“Because I’m an idiot. I'm scared, I guess,” he admitted, leaning his elbows on his knees.
“Because this thing between us—it’s real.
And real feels dangerous when it's only ever led to hurt in the past, and everything else in my life is up in the air. But that’s not your burden to carry.
You’ve done nothing but show up and take care of my messes and my girl, and I treated you like shit.
I’m a damn fool who thought pushing you away would hurt less than letting you in. ”
“I’m sorry,” Levi said again, quieter now. “I’m sorry for the way I talked to you. I’m sorry I didn’t come to you sooner about this, and I’m sorry if I made you doubt even for a second that you belong here—because Emery…” He turned to face her fully. “You do.”
She studied him for a moment, the way his shoulders slumped with the weight of his apology. The way his voice broke just enough to mean it.
Then, finally, she exhaled .
“I’m still mad.”
“You should be.”
“But I don’t want to leave, either,” she added.
Their eyes locked, the quiet stretching into something softer. Forgiveness started to settle, still tense, but real.
Levi reached over slowly, tentatively, and let his pinky graze the back of her hand where it rested on the porch.
She didn’t pull away.
Levi stayed quiet beside her for a while, the two of them now sitting shoulder to shoulder on the porch, the last light of day fading into the kind of dusky blue that made everything feel a little softer.
Crickets had begun their routine song, and the world felt just hushed enough to allow the truth to settle between them without the sharp edge from before.
She turned slightly, she wasn’t looking at him—just down at her free hand, fingers picking gently at the distressed knee of her jeans.
Eventually, she spoke, her voice small.
“I didn’t think you’d come out here. I thought that you were done.”
His chest tightened. He hated that it was what she was used to. One bad bump being enough for someone to walk away. He hated that he’d put that look on her face. That uncertainty. That hurt.
“I don’t wanna be done with you,” he said quietly.
She finally looked at him then, something uncertain but vulnerable in her gaze. “Then you can’t act like you’re just a bad day away from pushing me out.”
Levi exhaled, deep and shaky, and shifted closer. “I know,” he murmured. “I’ve been so used to doing everything alone, I’m re-learning how to make space for someone who actually wants to be here.”
His hand gripping hers this time, lacing their fingers together. “But I want to learn. I want to get it right with you. ”
She blinked, tears pooling in her eyes. She let herself lean into his side, her temple resting lightly against his shoulder. He turned just enough to press his lips to the top of her head, lingering there—an apology in the quiet way he held her.
“Let’s do it again,” he said against her hair. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“What do you mean?”
Levi leaned back just enough to look at her, his eyes still a little heavy from the weight of the day, but something new flickered in them now—resolve.
Emery blinked. “Do what again?”
Without answering, he stood, squeezing her hand and hauling her gently to her feet. She let out a small, startled laugh as he tugged her inside, back through the screen door, into the kitchen, where the air still smelled like the dinner she had made that now was cold as it sat on the stove.
“Levi—what are you doing?”
He didn’t answer right away. Just moved with purpose. Grabbing his keys, his wallet, his pocket knife, and shoving each one back into his jeans pockets like he was resetting a scene. Like he was hitting rewind on the last four hours.
She stood at the stove, where he'd left her, watching as he turned to her with a fire in his expression she hadn’t seen in days.
“I’m gonna walk through that door,” he grinned slowly. “Just like I should have after not seeing you for two damn days.”
“Levi—”
“No.” His voice was firm, but not unkind. “I could kick my own ass for walking in here, seeing you—you in my kitchen, looking the way you do, and not kissing the hell out of you like I meant it.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “You were tired.”
“I was a goddamn idiot.”
Before she could argue or agree, he stepped out onto the porch, gave it half a second, then opened the door like a man arriving home to something he wanted .
“Are you seriously—” She didn’t get to finish.
He was across the kitchen in three long strides, one hand cupping her jaw while the other curled around her waist, pulling her up onto her toes as he kissed her—deep, confident, unapologetic.
His mouth moved over hers like he meant to make up for every second of silence, every cold word he’d thrown.
Her hands flew to his shoulders, gripping tight as the kiss stole the air from her lungs. She could taste the heat of the day on him, something earthy and raw and entirely Levi.
When he finally pulled back, his lips hovered just over hers, breath warm, one hand still holding her neck gently.
“Hey, baby. I missed you.”
“You’re ridiculous,” she whispered, dazed.
He smirked, brushing a thumb across her bottom lip. “Yeah? And you’re gorgeous, standing here in my shirt.”
She rolled her eyes, trying not to smile. “Don’t let it go to your head. ”
“Too late,” he murmured, dipping his head to kiss the edge of her jaw, trailing heat down the curve of her neck. “This image is branded there now. Permanently.”
Her knees went soft. “You’re in rare form tonight.”
He lifted his head, gaze serious now. “I’m not gonna waste another second acting like this is temporary. It's not. I’m gonna show up for us from now on. Starting now.”
Her heart thudded so hard she could feel it in her fingertips.
“Then kiss me again,” she said quietly.
And he did. His hands trailed down her body and landed on her hips, gripping firmly as he turned her away from the stove and guided her effortlessly to the bare counter across the kitchen, his lips never leaving hers.
Her back was now pressed against the counter as his large frame pinned her in place.
Her hands trailed up his arms, kneading his broad shoulders that were strong from carrying the weight of the world, solid enough to endure his day-to-day labor, but now holding her like she was something delicate.
Not like she was fragile like a flower, but like she was something special to him.
Levi dipped his head lower, his breath hot against her jaw as he murmured, “You’ve got no idea what you do to me.” His lips brushed the shell of her ear, and she swore she felt her knees weaken.
She smiled, her hands now rubbing the back of his neck and pulling at the ends of his hair. “I think I’m starting to get the idea.”
“You keep touching me like this, baby,” he growled, voice low and rough. “And I’m not gonna be able to stop.”
Emery didn’t want to stop. Not tonight. Not ever. She nipped at his bottom lip—gentle at first, but increasing to more of a bite at the same time her fingers gripped tighter into his hair. “Then don’t.”
Levi didn’t need to be told twice.
He lifted her in one smooth motion, and she wrapped her legs around him instinctively as he set her gently on the counter.
His body pressed to hers, solid and warm, the tension of him struggling to hold back.
“Been thinkin’ about this,” he murmured against her lips, slipping his flannel from her shoulders for her to pull her arms from the sleeves.
One hand trailed down her side, pausing just under the hem of the tank top she still had on.
“The way I catch you looking at me. The way you talk back… damn, it drives me insane.”
With perfect ease, he lifted the hem of her top as she raised her arms above her head, making it easy for him to remove and toss it aside.
His eyes flashed, taking in the sight of her sitting on his counter, with a dark blue lace-trimmed bra that she filled in a way that he'd be willing to bet money it was designed just for her.
He found her lips again, his hands framing her face as he kissed her with the kind of hunger he’d tried to starve for too long. It wasn’t soft; it was full of heat and promise, and Emery matched it with every breathy sound she gave him.
She let her fingers slide beneath his white tee, nails grazing the skin at his waist. “I want you, Levi.”
That was all he needed.
He stepped back far enough to lose his shirt.