Page 63 of Sour Lollipops and Sweet Nightmares
“Yes… no… that’s not the point.” I stomped my foot on the floor. “Issac had no right to touch me like that.”
“You find him attractive but don’t, he’s good-looking but he’s not,” Levi sang while rolling his eyes. “You really need to stop sending mixed signals.”
I was not sending mixed signals, was I? Kash did approach me for sex. And Jimmy invited me up to his room. Was I giving men the wrong idea? Could this all be my fault?
No!
I shook my head. “Stop twisting things.”
“Hey.” His shoulders lifted in a shrug. “I’m not the one who’s confused.”
Maybe he had a point? I read situations wrong all the time. “I didn’t want him to do that.”
“Maybe you should’ve told him to stop then.”
“I did.” Didn’t I? Even if I didn’t… “I was crying.”
“Some girls cry. Intimacy can be an emotional thing,” Levi said so casually that I began to question everything.
That was true. Intimacy, in particular for me, was difficult. Perhaps I got it all wrong? Levi wasn’t being cruel right now. Which he would be if they were out to get me. If anything, Levi was being extremely understanding, even if he was all for tormenting me in the cafeteria.
I rolled my eyes over Levi’s stance, looking for a sign of trickery or deception. The only thing I found was a friendly smile. It was alluring and welcoming like the rest of him. I couldn’t stop staring at him. He was so pretty, with his soft, kissable lips and thick, dark hair. He didn’t want to hurt me, did he?
For some reason, I didn’t flinch when he reached out and grabbed my hand. I just stood there, looking down at his hand on mine as tingles shot up my arm.
“Listen,” Levi tipped his head, drawing my attention to the bright sparkle in his eyes. “Do we look like the kind of guys who need to force girls to do anything?”
Well, no, they didn’t. Any one of them could get any girl or guy they wanted. So why would they need to come after me? Who was I? I was the bad guy here. That was who I was.
“Come on,” Levi held his arms out. “Let’s hug it out.”
Sighing, I stepped down the few stairs I’d climbed and wrapped my arms around him. “I’m sorry I pepper-sprayed you.”
I shouldn’t have overreacted like that.
“It’s okay.” He rubbed his hand down my back. “There was no permanent damage.”
Something in the back of my mind screamed at me to stop touching him and run away. It was like an itch that I couldn’t quite scratch, or the innate sense of danger that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. Somewhere deep inside, I knew this was wrong, but I couldn’t make myself step away from him. It was like being lost in a fog.
“What is happening to me?” Even my voice sounded far away. Or maybe I was whispering? I couldn’t tell.
Levi chuckled in my ear, “You should be glad I’m not his second.”
Who’s second, and second for what? “I don’t understand?”
And why was I still hugging him?
“You’re adorable.” Levi pulled away and pinched my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “You should go apologize to Issac. I know he’d like that.”
I don’t know why, but that sounded like a good idea.
I nodded, “I will,” and headed up the stairs.
What a nice guy. Most people wouldn’t be that understanding. I misjudged Levi.
As I rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, the cloud fogging my brain lifted, and my eyes narrowed.
Wait a minute…
