Page 7 of Perfect Storm
“Sure,” Aidan said sarcastically. So flippant it was obvious he didn’t believe Levi. “And at like . . .thirty-five or whatever, it’s going to be cool for me to be like, I’ve never done this before, so walk me through it.”
Levi chuckled. “Of course you’d be neurotic about being a rookie.”
“Shouldn’t I be?” Aidan demanded. “If it had been . . .well, I wouldn’t have minded looking stupid in front of him. But in front of anyone else?”
“I get it.” Levi had never felt that way, but he understood that Aidan might. He’d built his entire career on the idea that he was right and excellent and experienced. It was a foundational corner of his whole identity.
“No offense, dude, but have youevercared about that?”
It wasn’t hard to forgive Aidan for his mercilessness. He was clearly hurting and lashing out.
“No, but I’m different than you,” Levi said gently.
Aidan’s mouth clamped shut again.
“How about this,” Levi said, and it was very stupid, and he should shut up, because the idea forming in his head was insane and terrible, but he didn’t shut up. He kept fucking talking. “How about if your guy doesn’t come around—”
“Trust me, he’s not going to,” Aidan muttered with a fatalism that made Levi’s heart ache a little in solidarity.
“If he doesn’t come around,” Levi continued, like he hadn’t heard the interruption, “by this time next year, and you still want to try sex with a guy, we’ll do it.”
Levi had known what was coming. After all, it was his stupid idea. His impossible-to-resist idea, because apparently the idea of getting Aidan Flynn into bed circumvented any reasonable logic. But Aidan hadn’t.
He looked floored.
“What the fuck, dude?”
Levi just shrugged. “I mean it. You want someone to experiment with, I’m happy to volunteer.”
“But . . .” Aidan looked him over, top to bottom. And he didn’t seemagainstit, just shocked. Which boosted Levi’s ego, no question.
“But what?”
“But why the fuck would you want to do that?”
Oh, that was wild. Poor Aidan. Feeling like because Mo didn’t want him like that, nobody would ever want him like that. Levi would be more than happy to show him that was not true.
Levi cleared his throat. The fire had almost gone out now. Aidan was at least three glasses of whiskey in. Levi wasn’t exactly sober either. Maybe this was an even worse idea than it had beenbefore, but that didn’t mean Levi was going to smash the brakes now.
He wasn’t sure hecould.
“Trust me, bro, it wouldn’t exactly be a hardship.”
Aidan actually had the nerve to grin, all that cocky confidence that always drove defenses insane, the smile that meant he had you, and he was going to show you exactly how much of a crap hand you’d been dealt. Levi felt it too, hitting deep down. Making his cock twitch.
“What? ’Cause I’m . . .what was it? Hot and rich and famous?”
“The first one is plenty reason,” Levi said dryly.
Aidan mumbled something under his breath. Levi was pretty sure he heard it, but he wanted to make one hundred and ten percent sure he’d gotten it right. Because the last thing he wanted was to assume incorrectly here.
“Sorry, what was that?”
Aidan made a face, and yes, he wasstillhot when he did that. “I said,sure,yes,why not?”
“Score,” Levi said and held his hand out to high five. Aidan gave it a skeptical look.
“It’s a sex pact, bro,” Levi said matter-of-factly. “We gotta high-five to seal the deal.”
