Page 28 of Our Hearts Knew Better

“There’s so much space.”

Levi leaned into the open space beside me. “It could get cramped.”

I faced him at the amusement in his tone, wrinkling my nose in teasing defense. “Not for one person.” I peeked back inside. “It would be a cool place to live.”

“You think?” Levi asked, like he hadn’t considered the thought, and peeked inside too. My body made a little bouncing motion, a sway in my chest, at making him see things in a new way, as he was doing with me, even if those things were small.

“For sure. I’d love living in an open floor like this. Everything right where you need it…” I pointed at different areas for each vision. “I could have a big bookshelf over there. A dresser there. Mini kitchen here. The bed will go there. A jungle gym for my cat can go there—”

“Cat?” He sounded skeptical and I shot him the most mock disappointed look I could muster.

“Don’t tell me.”

He chuckled. “I like cats.” His defense was pushed so strongly, I smiled. “It’s just most people I know would’ve said dog.”

I shrugged a shoulder in a teasingly haughty way as my feet moved me closer to him. “I guess I’m not everybody else, either.”

I was getting better at flirting, more comfortable in the stance. I could tell from the way there was still no trace of awkwardness, and from the sudden change in Levi. His breathing thinned with my proximity, his eyes locked with mine, a distinct bob in his throat.

Then he let it all out, a corner of his mouth lifting the slightest bit as he blinked at the floorboards, his exhale a breeze through my hair as he passed me with a rasped, “You’re not.”

The bouncing motion found me again and I released an exhale of my own before meeting him at the railing.

“Wow,” I breathed at the view. I could see tops of trees and rolling land for miles, so high I was convinced I could touch the sky if I tried.

“Not afraid of heights,” Levi said like a secret, close to my ear, sending a shake through me with my laugh.

“I don’t think I can be afraid of anything right now.” My heart did tumble when I looked down, but that only made me want to look down more. “Anything outside my window,” I corrected to the memory of the creaking sound bracing my body again.

Levi blew a breath through his lips. “I’m afraid of everything outside my window.” He shook his head with his thoughts, a flash of that fear in his widening eyes. “I couldn’t imagine losing…” He blinked toward the ground below as he trailed off, the smallest scrunch of that shame in his mouth for pinpointing our actual different lifestyles and for bringing up how I lost my family, my mom, in ways he didn’t want to lose his.

They were tied together, but he didn’t need to tie himself up over it.

He did have a much better life, one he still offered to me, and it was a comfort that he instinctively felt he could still talk to me like this. He had nothing to feel ashamed about.

He was nodding to himself, coming back into that realization, as I bumped his shoulder. “You know who you’re talking to,” I said with a smile. “It’s your life. It’s a life I’d like to have.” His eyes locked with mine as my voice lowered. “So I like hearing about it.”

His dimple appeared. “What else do you wanna know?”

Being near Levi while he talked about his family and how he grew up was like sitting by a cozy fire and drinking the sweetest hot chocolate.The life.But right now, I wanted to know more about his job. Picture him in action on the day to day while I was still stuck in the night.

It was another game. Our arms brushed and bumped as he launched into his life selling bait and tackle, renting bikes and boats, and I imagined walking through the doors and watching him from a perch on the counter, as if. . .

My mind was instinctual to close certain uncertain doors, but my heart was knocking too hard on this one, so it flew wide open, letting in me, letting in Levi, as I watched him from my perch on that counter, as if it were almost closing time and I was waiting for the plans we made, as if we were each other’s date for the evening.

As if we weredating.

My cheeks warmed and I couldn’t open my eyes to see if he noticed the change in color, but I didn’t simmer down my smile.

He told me people would return with a story about what they’d caught out on the water. “The biggest son of a bitch you’ve ever seen, kid,” he mimicked a man from today’s story, deepening his voice and holding out his hands, leaning into the role in such a way that jerked a laugh from my chest, echoing loud toward the sky.

When Levi would light up like this I could see more how he and Adam were friends. They both shared that sparkle, only Adam wore his on his sleeve.

Levi’s dad would come in with stories to tell, too, to him and to everyone in their radius who wanted to listen, and everybody did.

His mom would also come in sometimes with some food freshly cooked or baked.

“Your family sounds like a dream,” I said, still inside mine, glancing up at the stars from where we were now both sitting back against the railing, our legs stretched out with our bodies angled toward each other.

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