Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
STEVIE
“Done!” I lay my pencil down and wait for the timer to sound.
Levi looks at his watch, impressed. “And with five minutes to spare, Bambi. Not bad.” Lifting my chin, I give him a bat of my eyelashes. “No bragging till I check out how many you got right.”
“That gives me time to jump on the treadmill then.” I hop off the stool from the breakfast nook and grab the remote, turning on the walking pad. I pick up the attachment that transforms it into a treadmill and lock it in place.
“Don’t overexert yourself.” Levi doesn’t spare me a glance as he taps the pen he’s checking my answers with to his lips. His white T-shirt tightens with the movements as he writes something down. I follow the flex of his muscles. All he needs is a pair of glasses, and it’s Clark Kent reincarnated.
It’s been so long since we’ve had sex. I miss having him inside of me.
“Focus,” he says, and I snap my eyes up to his face, where I find him smirking. He rubs the side of his mouth. “I think you have a little drool right there.”
Rolling my eyes, I stick my tongue out and turn on the TV. Jess and Rory fill the screen as they stroll along the streets of Stars Hollow.
Normally, Levi would run over and carry me to the bedroom with the look I was just throwing his way, but it’s only been a week since I’ve gotten back from the hospital, and the recovery has been as expected.
Not slow but not extremely fast either. I’ve been using the treadmill to build strength in my lower body again, since being in the hospital bed for three days weakened my legs.
Other than that, everything has gone back to normal.
My parents and Jenn stayed with us for a couple of days and only left when I insisted that I was feeling perfectly fine and needed to study.
They were reluctant at first, and Jenn felt guilty because of what had happened with my drink, but all of them knew Levi would take care of me.
I also told Jenn it wasn’t her fault a million times over.
It’s not just Levi who’s been here for me, either. His grandma and mom have called every day at eleven a.m. on the dot, and Em, Kami, Jake, Cam, Luna, and even Brad drop by from time to time.
Emma, being Emma, has brought me two muffin baskets, a bouquet of flowers, and an edible fruit arrangement.
When I told her the gifts were completely unnecessary, she responded by telling me that it was how she was raised and that her dad would bring sweet treats whenever she was stuck at home sick.
Although I’m pretty sure she’s doing it because she feels guilty as well.
Kami and Luna have been bringing me smoothies and vitamins that they made sure to check with my parents before buying.
Meanwhile, the boys have been helping Jake with the whole Tiffany situation.
They needed to be able to take care of it without repercussions for what Levi had done to Andrew a couple of months ago.
Jake and his lawyer spoke to my parents and convinced them to let the professionals handle it. In the end, my moms and dad knew that his lawyer was a shark and would stop at nothing until he got the results we wanted. And that he did.
Now, I’m not sure how it happened, and Levi told me that knowing less is better, but everything ended up with Tiffany being expelled and put in a psychiatric facility for an indefinite amount of time.
It was either that or court. I told both Jake and Levi that I wanted to avoid that at all costs.
Her family has a decent amount of money, and it would’ve dragged on for months, possibly years.
That was the last thing any of us needed.
Levi isn’t delighted and would rather she rot in a cell.
I don’t blame him. Although something tells me that neither the institution nor her parents are going to let her go home anytime soon.
These past few months helped me realize how manipulative and bitchy she’s been in the past, but never did I think she’d be this evil.
I’m not exactly sure why she went this far, but no matter what, it’ll never justify what she did.
Her absence is one of the many things that has convinced everyone to calm down a bit. Even so, I’ve never had such a large group of people genuinely care for me. I still can’t believe the drastic change from where I was only a couple of months ago to where I am now.
I’m back to studying and thinking about me and Levi. Only now I have to focus on Levi’s proposal, and the fact that he hasn’t brought it back up since the day in the hospital when he showed me the ring.
I’d never pictured an ideal engagement ring in the past, but somehow, he got the perfect one. Somehow, it was me as a ring, and I still said no.
Well, technically, I told him to think about it, and I don’t regret telling him that—
“All of your multiple-choice questions are correct,” Levi says, interrupting my thoughts. He taps the notebook. “Your essay question needs a little work, but I think you’re good to go for your final.”
Slowing the walking pad down, I do a little happy dance. “Thank God.” This is the last final I have to study for, and I’ve been given some extra time by the professors, meaning I’ll be on an almost completely deserted campus. “Who knew that the history of musical theater could be so damn hard?”
Levi yawns and stretches, bringing my attention back to his arms and chest briefly. When he meets my eyes, I shy away, as though I haven’t seen the man naked dozens of times.
“Let’s order dinner.” I walk over to the menus in the cupboard since Driscoll isn’t exactly known for having restaurants that take deliveries from apps.
Levi’s eyes follow me the entire way there, and I wish he’d stop doing that.
Neither one of us has initiated anything sexual in two and a half weeks because of my shows and then the seizure.
My doctor reassured me that it wouldn’t be dangerous as long as I felt well rested, but we’ve both been hesitant.
Now, I’m going insane with horniness, and just eye contact alone is enough to make me squirm.
Shuffling through all of our options, I pull out the Thai menu. “Curry and some glass noodles—”
In a flash, I’m being pressed against our fridge, a hand wrapped in my hair, another on my waist, and a pair of hot lips on mine.
A surprised yelp leaves me, my eyes remaining open until Levi’s tongue slips in. I grant him entry, and we both moan at the contact. For a second, I think he’s about to pull away, and I’m going to have to beg him to keep going. Instead, he pushes into me harder.
Our hands roam everywhere, and my clit throbs at the need for him. As I get ready to drop to my knees, Levi reads my body language and picks me up by the waist, shaking his head.
“Bedroom.”
I shake my head next. “Too far. Couch.”
Levi smiles and goes back to kissing me, moving only a couple of steps until he reaches the couch and lays me down.
He’s not being rough with me, yet he’s not treating me like I’m made of porcelain. It’s sweet and tender, but still passionate.
Levi opens my thighs and settles in between them, both of us dressed in our loungewear. His length presses against my clit through the thin fabric of both of our pants, and I whimper into his mouth.
“Fuck, I love the sounds you make for me.” Levi cups my ass and gives it a harsh squeeze. He sits up and takes his shirt off in a millisecond.
My eyes widen at the sight. “Have you gotten fitter?” I lean up on my forearms. “Is your six-pack turning into an eight-pack?!” My voice is at a pitch that only dogs can hear now. “Are your arms bigger? Please tell me you aren’t on steroids.”
Levi chuckles and pushes me down. He grabs both of my hands with one of his and pins them above my head.
“All I’ve thought about for the past two and a half weeks is tasting and fucking you.
” His finger touches my bottom lip. “About you on your knees taking me in that sweet mouth.” He squeezes a nipple, and I squirm under him.
“I needed to release some of the pent-up energy. Exercise was the only thing that seemed to work. Even fucking my fist to thoughts of you wasn’t a big enough release. ”
I shiver against him. “Glad to know that mouth of yours is still as filthy as ever.”
He grins, but it disappears as his demeanor changes drastically, and he lets go of my hands. “I’m sorry. We don’t know if this is safe. I got carried away.”
He moves to sit up until I lock a leg around his waist, caging him in. “Look at me.” I palm his cheek, and his deep blue eyes meet mine. The love in them is evident. He’s looking out for me. Still, he needs to learn to trust that I know my limits and won’t ever take them for granted again.
“I can’t lose you,” Levi whispers.
My head rears back a bit. “What? I’m not going anywhere.” Is this about me not wanting kids? Is he going to tell me that he thought about it and that the possibility of it being just the two of us won’t make him happy?
His eyes water for a moment. “I almost lost you that night,” he chokes out. “If I’d just gone to the bar with you…”
“Shh.” I put a finger up to his lips, my chest hurting at the guilt laced in his voice. “None of that. I’m right here.” Pushing my head up, I give him a light kiss. “I’m not going anywhere.” Another kiss.
He nods, his eyes remaining closed. His face continues to look tortured, and his chest is stiff, as if he’s holding his breath. I need to ground him. I might’ve had the seizure, but it was his first time seeing me not having one, but two of them in a row.
Taking his right hand as he holds himself on top of me with his left, I guide it to my chest, where my heart is beating steadily.