Page 49 of Puck My Stepbrother
“I know I’m the one that wanted to talk, but…”
I cut myself short. If my lips kept moving, I would say more than I wanted to. I’d feel more pain and risk looking weak in front of Quinn. And I only wanted Quinn to see me as a pillar of strength.
19
QUINN
Istood in the living room entrance, watching Levi. Leaning back on the couch, he draped his arm over one side, rested his foot on the coffee table, and looked engrossed inMonday Night Football. So far, he hadn’t noticed me. Trust me, if he’d known I was there, he would’ve invited me to sit down with him. Knowing Levi, he’d suggest I strip first.
Something struck me as different about Levi now, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. My own behavior seemed off, too. Before, I would’ve turned the other way if I’d spotted Levi in the room, wanting to avoid contact at all costs. Now I wanted to admire him from a distance.
Watching him whisked me back to high school, when I’d steal looks at him whenever I could. Sometimes he’d be playing field hockey outside, always hustling, his athletic exploits on full display. Other times, he’d pass me in the hall and melt me with his gorgeous features and smile. And my God, those eyes…I’d looked at him all right, but I sure as hell couldn’t be caught doing it. He appeared so relaxed now, not like the super-intense guy I’d known forever. He seemed less like the bully who’d pursued me nonstop since moving into the house and more like a real stud.And he emitted a different vibe than the guy who’d fucked me in his bedroom.
Levi was beautiful.
Okay, I know what you’re thinking. I’d always found him hot, no matter how much I loathed admitting it. Longing for his gorgeous face and muscles was nothing new. Since he’d opened up to me, his beauty had reached beyond his magnificent features. Before, I’d considered his actions an extension of his personality. Assholes do asshole-ish things, in other words. Because of that, his beauty had never reached its full potential. Now that I understood his history, that’d begun to change. Levi Dunn wasn’t just a bully who loved torturing his favorite target.
I couldn’t admire him from afar forever, so I shuffled into the room, wanting to learn more about Levi’s history.
And I had plenty of my own story to tell him, too.
When I approached the couch, Levi still hadn’t noticed me, making me feel like I moved more discreetly than anyone else on the planet. I towered over the couch, watching him, understanding that the feelings he’d claimed to have for me were real.
Finally, Levi glanced over his shoulder, his eyes landing on me. A small smile appeared on his face.
“Quinn? What are you doing down here?”
“Just going into the kitchen for something to eat.”
Total bullshit. I wanted to see Levi, even if acting on that desire went against my better judgment. I wanted to look at him again like I had in the old days, drinking him up. Part of me didn’t dare seek more, but desire was in my heart and soul no matter how hard I fought to keep it at bay.
“The living room is turning into our regular meeting spot,” he said.
“I guess so.”
“Gonna sit down?”
At first, I approached the far end of the couch, meaning to keep my distance. That spot would be safe, right? Instead, I pushed his leg aside and sat in the middle. Levi’s eyebrows lifted at that, like he’d also expected me to sit as far away from him as possible. I could have avoided him entirely, but that’s not what I wanted.
“I was thinking about that stuff you told me the other night,” I said.
“The stuff about my dad?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry that happened to you. It’s really shitty.”
He shrugged like it didn’t matter. No, the shrug said he was too tough to let it bother him. I saw through the bullshit, whether he liked it or not.
“Did your dad throwing you out of the house change anything about how you feel…or how you view yourself?”
“Fuck no. I knew I’d always liked guys. I probably liked more girls overall, but I felt way more intense about the guys I did like.”
“You mean like me?”
“No, dude.” He shook his head. “Not like you. You’re in a completely different category from any guy I’ve ever known.”
Before, I would’ve dismissed that as an attempt to dive into my pants. Guys like him said anything and everything necessary to get laid. He liked my body and was the horniest man on the planet. But it seemed different now. And I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me feel desirable, sexy even. Either way, I didn’t know how to react.
“My dad’s really not in my life now,” he said, “and that’s just as well. I never see him, and I don’t miss him.”
