Page 80 of Perfect Storm
But then Aidan didn’t show up.
“What are you doing back there?” Levi finally called out.
Aidan was silent for a long moment. “Unloading the dishwasher?”
Of course. “Dude, get over here. We can do that anytime.”
“You mean,Ican do it anytime,” Aidan said wryly.
Ouch. Okay, so he wasn’t great about chores. That was fair. But then, Aidan had a housekeeper who showed up twice a week and did things like load and unload the dishwasher.
“How about I do it tomorrow morning before we leave for the walkthrough?” Levi suggested sweetly. He deserved a medal for not bringing up that Lora was coming tomorrow afternoon and could do it then.
Aidan didn’t say anything. That was when Levi was one hundred percent certain that he was procrastinating and not actually worked up about who was going to unload the dishwasher.
Maybe the dinnerhadbeen a date. Or was Aidan just realizing that now? Was that the reason for the sudden burst of housewifely-ness?
“Seriously, man, get over here. They’re just dishes.”
Aidan dawdled, even as he rounded the corner of the couch, and he made no move to sit down, his eyes flicking up, past Levi, to the view.
“Uh, nice view tonight.”
Levi patted the couch, feeling a little like a seductress. Except he was wearing old ratty shorts and one of his brand-new Thunder T-shirts. “Come on. Dude. Sit down.”
Aidan eyed him nervously. Trying to hide it but not even coming close. Levi had begun to recognize his tells. “Maybe I’m tired. Maybe I need to watch some film.”
“So we’ll watch it together,” Levi said. He wasn’t ready for the evening to end. It had been unexpectedly good, and hefelt reasonably certain he could convince Aidan to bridge the distance between them if he was out here on the couch. If they were in their own rooms? Much less likely.
Aidan still didn’t sit down.
Levi sighed. “Dude, I don’t bite.” He paused. “Unless you want me to, and then I’m totally down for that.”
Aidan flushed. “Is that . . .do you . . .”
“I get it,” Levi said. “You’re probably used to the kind of girls that I know hang around. Who make all the moves and make it obvious they want you. They probably climb on your lap and just say,take me, Aidan, I’m yours. I can do that, too. You want me to do that?”
Aidan’s jaw dropped. “Do I? Um. I don’t know.” He sat down on the couch, but he looked so unsure, so completely unlike the normal confident Aidan, that Levididn’tcrawl over to him, the way he desperately wanted to.
He deserved major props for self-control.
“Well, it’s up to you.” Levi hadn’t thought it needed said, but maybe Aidan had been waiting to hear it.
On one hand, Aidan didn’t look surprised. But on the other, he didn’t immediately say,okay, take me, I’m yourseither.
Hard not to be disappointed, but Levi schooled his expression into neutrality. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Aidan away with his enthusiasm.
Instead, Aidan pulled out the remote, and just when Levi had resigned himself to watching film for the next hour, he found a movie, something with Tom Cruise and lots of brainless explosions, and settled back against the couch.
Still a frustrating few inches too far away, but every five minutes he seemed to relax even further, until Aidan’s shoulder was almost touching Levi’s.
It was enough of a green light that Levi pressed his thigh to Aidan’s. Waited a breathless moment for Aidan to move awayagain, but he didn’t. Instead, he pushed up against it. Like he’d been waiting for Levi to do it.
Tom Cruise had just blown up a huge building—Levi wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or not, he was only paying about a quarter of attention. The rest of his focus was on the man next to him. The way he breathed. The way he smelled. The solid warm feeling of his leg against Levi’s.
Levi was not going to pull theneed-to-stretch, put-my-arm-around-your-shouldersmove, but he was tempted. At least another twenty-five percent of his brain power was currently being used up in the debate about whether that would be too obvious. The answer:yes.
But just when the dick part of his brain was lodging its appeal on that stupid-ass decision, Aidan turned to him.
