Page 65 of Lock 'em Down

As expected, Leif orders a Coke. He winks at me, letting me know I should indulge, so I ask for a Blue Moon.

Tarek hooks us up with wristbands while Sam grabs drinks.

“You got us the hookup,” Leif comments, noticing the VIP stamped on the wristband.

“My sister’s dating one of the musicians.” Tarek flips his chin toward the stage.

Leif snorts. “Man, that must be rough. Musicians tend to have the same reputations as athletes.”

He says it as a joke and while it probably holds some weight, not in my experience. Nope, in my experience Leif is a million times better, sexier, and sweeter than the musicians I used to know.

Sam returns with our drinks, and we head to the VIP section where there are more opportunities to order drinks and food and less people. We cross into the section and grab a corner table that’s still available. I slide onto the chair and turn to people watch when my eyes narrow on a guy a handful of tables over.

He’s tall and thin, more fit, less lanky than I remember. His hair still sticks up at odd angles. He’s got fresh ink on his arms and a few piercings in his ears, one small barbell through his eyebrow. When he turns, his blue eyes—not electric, nothing like Leif’s—meet mine. A flicker of recognition flares in his eyes, like he knows me from somewhere but can’t place me.

I grip my pint glass and suck in a breath.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Levi Rousell stares back, his eyebrows pulling together like I’m a puzzle he’s having a hard time solving.

My heart rate doubles, and my hands grow sweaty. My mouth fills with saliva as adrenaline pumps through my veins, causing a bubble of nausea to swell in my stomach.

Leif is facing Sam, talking about something I can’t hear, so he doesn’t see the panic that washes over my expression. It coats me in a sticky sheen that has nothing to do with the Tennessee temperature and everything to do with the man now standing from his chair and stepping toward me.

Levi strides closer and I sit ramrod straight, trying to get my breathing under control as memories from three years ago flash through my mind like a highlights reel.

Levi kissing me on a Barcelona beach.

Levi pushing me down into the sand and me, gripping at his shoulders, pulling him closer as I gave him my virginity. He still has no idea that he was my first.

Hell, he has no idea who I really am.

Levi and me wandering the cobblestone streets of Grenada late at night. Clubbing until sunrise in Madrid. Waiting for him backstage at a concert where thousands—thousands!—of women screamed his name in Ibiza. And he walked off that stage to my waiting arms and kissed me hard.

Levi wasted and slurring, falling so hard he split his eyebrow and needed stitches. Levi’s hold on my arm so tight it became painful. A ring of bruises appeared the following day and he laughed it off.

He laughed everything off. Even me.

And now, he stands in front of me, his eyes clear, his expression thoughtful.

Next to me, Leif turns, his eyes cutting from me to Levi and back again.

“Cam? You okay?” Leif asks.

“I know you from somewhere,” Levi announces.

“Holy shit! You’re Levi Rousell. From The Burnt Clovers!” Tarek stands and hold out a hand. “I’m a big fan.”

“Thanks, man,” Levi says, shaking hands with him easily.

He’s a completely different man now. I guess rehab really changed him. He used to barely acknowledge his male fans and make a pass at their girlfriends instead. But this version of Levi looks healthy. Happy.

I frown, staring at the guy I used to compare every man I met to and realize that this is my chance. This is my window to get the closure I need. To tell him how badly he fucked shit up for me. And he can’t place me? I carried around the mistakes of my time with him for the last three years, allowing them to overshadow everything I did. Every relationship I tried to start. Every decision that required trust in myself.

And he…he doesn’t even remember. Not really.

“Knox, what’s going on?” Leif’s voice is in my ear. His large hand is on my thigh. Rooting me to this moment. To the present.

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