Page 36 of The Holiday Fail

“Austin and Jim will be here to pick us up soon. You better get ready,” he said in that same tone of careful indifference.

I hated how closed off he was right now. It was so different from the animated Levi I’d gotten used to. Whether it was when he was delighted or even pissed off at me, it was better than this solid barrier he’d put up between us.

I made a quick sound of confirmation, then escaped to my bathroom to take the hottest shower of my life, hoping the water could burn away some of the ache that had settled around the edge of my heart.

I didn’t feel any better after the shower and numbly dressed in a pair of jeans and a button-up I thought were good enoughfor tonight. I left the top two buttons undone, copying the way Levi had it the night we went out to dinner, but it didn’t look the same on me.

Pushing my hand through my hair, I let my bangs fall and styled them until they framed my face. This was as good as it was getting, so I spritzed on somecologne and exited my room.

Levi was sitting on the couch playing on his phone when I came out. He looked up when I entered, standing as he slid his phone into his pocket

I was shocked to learn those skin-tight pants even had pockets.

“You look, um, you look good,” he rasped out.

His compliment re-lit the fire in my soul. I stood a bit straighter, smiling a real smile for the first time in what felt like forever.

“Thanks,” I replied. “You too. You look…”

Mouthwatering. Bewitching. So damn beautiful I don’t want anyone else’s eyes on you.

“…stunning,” was what I ended up saying. It seemed the least incriminating of the adjectives that floated around in the front of my mind when I looked at him.

Levi’s gaze fell to the floor, and a sweet-looking pink crawled up his neck as he murmured a soft ‘Thanks.’ His hands played with the loose thread at the base of that mesh shirt.

I wondered if I pulled on it, and kept pulling, would it unravel the entire shirt until he was forced to change into something else?

Though before I could get an answer to that question, the sound of a car horn jolted the both of us out of the moment.

“That must be Austin and Jim. You ready?” Levi asked. I wanted to tell him I wasn’t but nodded instead. We shrugged into our jackets by the door and headed to the truck parked outside.

Jim and Austin greeted me warmly, like they hadn’t been told about what had happened between Levi and me. I was honestly surprised Levi hadn’t bitched about me to his friends. I would have completely deserved it, and the fact he hadn’t showed, once again, the kind of person Levi was. The kind of person I’d hurt.

And that made me hate myself just a little bit more than I already did.

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 wantedme, 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 eachother. 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.

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