Page 65 of Breaking the Habit

She looked at him for a few moments, as if the suggestion had shocked her. Then she quietly climbed off him, hunting down a little film camera from a desk drawer. She adjusted a few settings on it before handing it to him.

Levi turned the camera over in his hands a couple times. He hadn’t used film in years. He brought it up to his face, lined up a shot, and thenclick.

Riley looked pleased.

“That one will sell for an easy hundo,” he said.

“Ha. Maybe your face. But not mine.” She quirked her lips in a secretive smile. “You know how hot you are, right?”

He feigned surprise. “Me?”

“Oh, stop.” She straddled him again, smoothing her palms over his shoulders. “You know, if the fighting thing doesn’t work out, you could always go into modeling.”

“The fighting thing is gonna work out,” Levi said, cupping the mounds of her ass. “But I’m not opposed to whatever comes after it.”

“Well…if you ever need a fashion photographer down the road…” she said, pushing her fingers underneath the sleeves of his T-shirt.

“Huh. So you like working with Levi.” The fact that she’d not only warmed up to him but damn near melted all over him felt good. No, it felt fucking incredible. Riley was someone he wanted to win over. The type of person who made life better for knowing them.

“He pays pretty well…” Riley murmured into the hollow of his neck. “Fucks me in my dark room…” Her lips trailed up over his jawline, leaving a moist trail toward his lips. “It’s a pretty sweet gig.”

“You forgot to mention my jokes.”

Riley giggled through a kiss, then she pulled back, her eyes wild. “Okay. Be honest with me.”

“Okay?”

“What isthe bestjoke you have?” She gripped his arms. “I want to hear it. The gold standard of all your other jokes.”

He snorted. “Really?”

“Yes. I have to know.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. He’d tell her, but he couldn’t offer it up so fast. “I don’t know. This seems like a trick. You’re probably gonna go sell it online afterward.”

She shook her head. Very seriously. “I promise. Pinky promise, even.”

He offered his pinky as a test, and she snagged it with her own.

“Damn. Can’t back down on that.” He fought a grin as she got comfy on his lap. Her attention sizzled on him. “Okay. You ready?”

“Just tell me.”

“So my friend gave birth to her baby in the car on the way to the hospital.” Levi paused, stifling the laugh that bubbled up in him already, knowing the punchline. “Her husband named him Carson.”

Riley stared at him with wide eyes for a moment, and then she started shaking with silent laughter. She screeched a moment later and fell over onto her bed, covering her face.

“That is so stupid!” she moaned. “But also so good.”

“It’s the best one,” Levi affirmed, lying out on the bed next to her. She rolled to face him, and he did the same. He fingered the exposed swath of skin as she propped up on her elbow to look at him.

“Why are you so into dad jokes?” she asked.

“You already asked a question,” Levi said, his chest tightening reflexively. “Now it’s my turn. Why are you so obsessed with John Stamos?”

“Obsessed? Isn’t that a little strong?”

Levi pointed over her shoulder. “I’m staring at a computer printout of his face right now. Which is next to a dangling keychain with his face as Uncle Jesse. So I’m calling obsessed.”

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