Page 54 of Breaking the Habit

“I bet this angle is nice,” Levi cracked.

“If only pictures could capture smell.”Click. Click.“I think I’m a little drunk just from sitting here.”

“Real funny. You wish science worked that way.”

Riley was quiet, lining up a shot. Levi grunted and launched himself up onto parallel bars to start his leg lifts.

“So you had a pretty wild night?” She propped herself up on an elbow, camera resting on the floor.

“Wasn’t too wild, actually.” He glanced over at Travis, who was talking to a receptionist in the gym doorway. “Pretty tame in comparison to some nights.”

Riley was quiet, examining something on the floor. Then she brought her knees to her chest.

“How did your pictures go with Nikki’s family?” Levi asked, voice straining through another set of leg lifts.

“Great. We had a lot of fun.” She flashed him a smile, but it faded quickly. She toyed with her camera strap for a moment, then pushed to her feet. “I think I’ve gotten enough pictures for today.”

Levi finished his last rep and then hopped to the floor. “You sure?”

“Yeah. I’m late for some editing, so…” Her smile looked forced. Something was off with her, and maybe he’d only noticed it now that the headache meds were kicking in. “I’ll see you later.”

Riley trotted off before he could protest. But what would he say? He grabbed the parallel bars again and launched into another rep, his mind burning as much as his muscles.

The rest of practice was brutal. Travis went hard on him out of sheer enjoyment of his suffering, Levi suspected. But every residual drop of hangover and alcohol had been expelled from his body via sweat, so by the time he hauled himself out of the locker room showers, he felt like a new man.

One who was ready to pay a visit to Riley at her studio.

Levi dressed quickly in the street clothes he’d brought. He ran into Travis on his way out the main hallway. He was there with Amara, who looked like she’d popped in from work due to her business casual attire.

Levi walked up to them, jerking his chin toward Amara. “Hey, Amara. It’s good to see you.”

“Hey, Levi. Congrats on the win this weekend.”

“Thanks. I won hard and then I partied harder.” He clapped Travis on the back. “Boss ain’t too happy about it.”

Travis grunted.

“Seriously, though, Trav?” Levi gripped his shoulder. “I’m not slacking on this league. I swear to you. You’ll see. I’m gonna fucking win it all.”

Travis met his intense stare. “Good.”

“I’m not made for losing,” Levi said. “I fucked up this weekend. But I’m not going to disappoint you.”

Amara looked particularly won over even if Travis didn’t, so his job was done.

“Can we have a cookout sometime, too?” Levi asked as he scuffed his way down the hallway. “Like, thirteen steaks…everything cooked in butter…and fudge.”

Travis finally grinned. “You sound like a fighter who’s been depriving himself to win the title.”

Levi cocked a finger at him before pushing out of the gym. That, at least, was a good sign. Maybe he’d served his penance. After all, wasn’t the hangover punishment enough?

All that remained was Riley. He’d fucked up with her too somehow, he could feel it. And although he didn’t know what lay on the horizon for them, he didn’t want things to be weird.

His brain knew the right path forward: keep it simple. Keep it sexy. Keep it light. Levi had never been in the market for a girlfriend, and he wasn’t starting now.

Part of him knew that would be fine by Riley. But the other part of him knew that she might not be the problem at all.

It might be him.

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