Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
LEVI
Jim and Austin kept the conversation going the entire ride. The closest gay club was an hour away from Wintertown, and I spent the whole time pressed against my side of the window, trying not to breathe in Andy’s scent.
He’d sprayed something spicy and delicious that warmed up my entire body. So I tried to sit as far away from him as possible in the tiny backseat of Jim’s truck and reminded myself that he was off-limits. The entire reason for tonight’s outing was to find someone else, someone who wanted me , and I’d best remember that.
I’d only been to the club a few times before. They weren’t usually my jam. I preferred the more laid-back atmosphere of a pub, where it was actually quiet enough to have a conversation with someone and get to know them.
Here at the club, the booming music rang so loud I could barely hear myself think.
There was no mistaking what the folks who came here wanted. Bodies, clad in the tiniest outfits, writhed against each other. Couples made out, grinding, practically fucking right in the middle of the dance floor, if not for the thin pieces of fabric that separated their privates. If I wanted to hook up, then this was definitely the perfect place to do it.
Austin tugged at my arm. His mouth flapped open and closed, but the music was so loud I couldn’t make sense of the words he was saying. “What?” I yelled back at him, which had him smiling and mimicking downing a shot, then pointing at the bar.
Alcohol sounded like a fantastic idea right now, so I followed them to the back.
I was surprised to find it was a lot quieter back there. The music wasn’t ear-shattering, and I could actually hear my friends speak. “I see a lot of great potential,” Austin nudged me in the ribs as he nodded toward the bar. Jim had gone up to order for us since he was designated DD tonight and wasn’t drinking. He stopped next to an older gentleman, who was sitting with his back against the bar, drink in hand as he watched the floor.
He was good looking, with light blue eyes and dark hair, with a little gray peeking through. He had his button-up rolled at the elbow to reveal thick, sexy forearms. He was exactly my type, but no matter how charming his smile was when Jim spoke to him, I couldn’t muster up any excitement.
Andy didn’t speak either, though he was close enough to hear our conversation. I wasn’t looking at him, but I knew he was looking at me by the burning gaze I felt coming from his way.
Jim returned holding three shots in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He handed us our drinks, and Austin lifted his with cheers, “To finding Levi a sexy hookup!”
I clinked my tiny shot glass to his, not really feeling the enthusiasm, and Andy didn’t hide his reluctance when he joined in. His reaction to this entire thing was heating me up more than the prospect at the bar—heating me up with anger.
He was the one who said he’d be my wingman. He was the one who’d rejected me, so he didn’t get to have opinions about what was going down tonight.
I tossed back the shot. The vodka burned on the way down, but it lit a fire under my ass about what I needed to do. I would find the sexiest man here and have a night of fun.
“Ten minutes here and I might have already found the perfect man for you,” Jim leaned in and said with a huge grin. “See the guy I was talking to over there?” He pointed to the hunky silver daddy by the bar. “Said he was here looking for a good time.” Jim finished his words with a wink.
Austin slid up to me and hooked his arm through mine. “He’s a cutie. You should totally go for it!”
I groaned. “You guys are making this awkward. Now it feels like my dads are trying to set me up,” I said with a hand over my face.
I felt a heavy weight on my shoulders and looked up to find Jim grinning at me as he pulled me closer to him. Since Austin had his arm hooked through mine, he was pulled along too.
“Since your dads aren’t here, that means we have to take care of you in their place. And I think we make great parents! Isn’t that right, babe?” Jim looked over my head to glance affectionately at his boyfriend.
Austin looked back up at him, starlight in his eyes. “We’d make the greatest dads.”
I shuddered and pushed them both away from me. “Can you two please not use me as an excuse to flirt? And for the love of god, don’t do it right above me.”
They laughed and found each other. Arms slipped around the other’s waist and sides pressed as tightly together as humanly possible. Austin fit perfectly into Jim’s side, like it was exactly where he was supposed to be. They were already lost in their own world, looking at nothing else but each other.
That ache in my heart started again, wishing that I had a beautiful relationship like theirs.
I shook my head and those longings away. I wasn’t supposed to think about it, especially tonight. I had a goal, so I turned my focus back on the sexy man at the bar. He had his back to us now and was chatting with the bartender, making them laugh. He was obviously the charmer, and perfect for what I needed tonight.
Andy caught my gaze. I debated on whether I should just talk to the guy myself, but decided since Andy wanted to be my wingman, he should be up for this job.
“I’m thinking about him tonight,” I said, going to his side and nodding to my target.
Andy’s brows furrowed even more than the default they were usually at. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Oh? And why’s that?”
“Well, he just…looks like a player,” he finished.
I crossed my arms.
“Sounds exactly like what I’m looking for,” I said, adding a low purr to my tone, just to really get the point across.
Andy stiffened, and I wondered if he was uncomfortable with the fact that I was going to hook up with another man? That thought almost had the hurt of his rejection lessening a bit.
“If you don’t want to help me, then I’ll go myself,” I said, then took a step closer to the bar, but a hand grasped my arm to stop me.
“Wait. Maybe we should think about this some more. I’m sure there’s someone better out there for you. Someone like… ”
I raised a brow, waiting for him to finish his sentence, but he never did. His mouth shut firmly closed again, and I scoffed.
“That’s exactly what I thought,” I muttered, mainly to myself.
What did it mean when the guy who didn’t want you couldn’t think of anyone I could be matched with?
What a blow to my ego.
I shook his hand off with a glare, then turned back to my target only to find the silver fox was already chatting, very intimately , with a twink.
I knew this wasn’t a direct rejection since the man hadn’t even known I was gonna go over to chat him up, but I still couldn’t help but feel like it was another shot to my ego.
My shoulders slumped, having a bad feeling that this was just a preview for the rest of the night.
“See, what did I tell you? He just wants a piece of ass and wouldn’t give a flying fuck about you,” Andy said gravely. There was a roughness in his tone that had me rolling my eyes.
“For fuck’s sake, I’m not looking for someone who’s gonna sweep me off my feet and fall madly in love with me. What part of ‘ hook up ’ do you not understand?” I emphasized the two words with jabs at his chest.
He grabbed the finger I’d used to attack him, either to stop my assaults or what, but he grabbed hold of it and didn’t let go.
“But you deserve so much more than that. You deserve what your doves promised you. The one who’ll cherish and adore you and see you and only you.”
And there was that pesky ache again. He voiced everything that I’d always dreamed of ever since I really understood what love was. First, it was through examples from my dads, and yes, they were always mushy even when I was a kid. They showed me what unconditional love and support really were.
Then Gomez and Morticia taught me that passion could be added into the mix too—not that my dads weren’t passionate with each other, but I doubted they wanted to show that side of their love to their child.
I longed for a romance like theirs, and I’d always heard from my friends and families that I was a good man and deserved it too, but I was tired of people telling me what I deserved when it felt like a curse to a love that would always elude me. If I really deserved something, then it shouldn’t be this hard to obtain it.
Exhaustion crept into my bones. This wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go, and I glared once again at Andy for touching my sore spot. He still looked at me, eyes wide, and focused completely on me.
If only the reflection of myself I saw in his eyes was a reflection of reality and that Andy did see me , but I knew I was just seeing what I wanted.
I snatched my finger out of his hand and turned away. “I’m gonna dance,” I called over my shoulder to my friends and Andy, then fled to the dance floor without looking back.
The crowd of bodies swallowed me up, and before long, I felt someone press up behind me. I glanced back to find a giant of a man with a long beard and biker vibes smiling at me with definite interest in his eyes. He settled his large hands on my hips and pressed my back flush against his front.
He was cute, and I was desperate for a distraction, so I ground back into him and tried to just enjoy the feeling of another human against me. We danced like that for a few minutes, his hands holding me tight, music thrumming through our bodies, and the hardness in his pants that grew the longer we danced, showing me he was definitely interested. I needed that stroke of ego right now.
I spun around, wrapped my arms around his neck, and leaned up to his ear to suggest to him we take this somewhere a little more private. Biker dude enthusiastically nodded and led us off the dance floor.
I caught sight of Andy out of the corner of my eye and hoped he was watching. See? Someone did want me.
Sexy biker guided me to the back where it was quiet enough to hear the pounding of my heart. This wasn’t my first hookup by a long shot, but I’d never slept with someone to prove something to someone else, and I couldn’t help but feel like that was what this was, which wasn’t fair to either of us.
Maybe biker dude wouldn’t mind being used as long as he got some tonight, but it sure didn’t feel good, and I was now second-guessing my decision. Before I could apologize to the guy and call this off, someone grabbed me and stopped our advance to the bathroom.
I turned back and glared to see it was once again Andy. “Levi, wait,” he said with a frantic look in his eyes. “Can we talk?”
“I think you need to look up the definition of wingman, Andy,” I hissed, taking a step closer to him. “Because it sure as hell doesn’t mean cockblocking the person you’re trying to help.”
“Can we talk? Please ?”
He was giving me that intense look again, staring right at me. But it was the desperation in his voice that had me pausing.
“Is he bothering you?” a booming voice sounded from behind me. My supposed-to-be hookup had his beefy arms crossed as he glared at Andy. He was already much taller than both of us, but when he stood up even straighter, he looked like an impenetrable wall.
Andy looked wary, but I was impressed by how he didn’t back down. They had a stare-off. Andy’s brows knitted even tighter together, and the biker was now scowling and fully on guard .
I feared they might really start fighting, so I quickly stepped in between them, or at least moved as much as I could with Andy still gripping onto my arm.
“It’s fine. I know him. Sorry, we need to have a talk,” I said.
I wasn’t up to date on hookup culture, but I knew it was a buzzkill to think you were getting some, then have the other person change their mind and say never mind. Even if he got angry, I hoped this stranger wasn’t the violent type.
To my surprise, and contrary to his rugged appearance, he didn’t get mad. He smiled, teasing and casual as he said, “Sure, sweetie. Come find me after if you’re still looking for a good time.” He threw a hard glance at Andy before returning to the dance floor.
“Who says sweetie these days?” Andy grumbled, his grip on my arm tightened. I sighed and headed toward an empty corner in the back, and since Andy was still holding onto me, he naturally followed as well.
“So? Spit it out. What did you want to talk about?” I leaned into his space, boxing him against the wall.
It was only when I noticed Andy’s brown eyes dilate until they were full-blown black that I realized I was much too close. Close enough to catch the spicy scent of his cologne, now mixed with a muskiness that I knew was all him.
He smelled fucking divine. I had to take a couple steps back before I launched myself at him.
Andy looked dazed too, and his eyes kept flickering to my lips, which, of course, made me instinctively wet them with my tongue, which in turn had him staring harder at them.
It was a vicious cycle, and one I didn’t actually hate. If this was anyone else, I’d have already given into what both of us wanted and kissed him, but this was Andy, and that made things a whole lot more complicated. I took another step back, and that seemed to help him find his voice.
“I just…” He paused and bit his lip. And now I was the one doing the staring. In a trance, I found his lips getting closer. I wasn’t sure who moved first, me or him, but neither of us stopped until our lips touched.
The second time I kissed Andy Morris was just as explosive as the first.