Page 66 of Immersed
“Just curious. What kind of pizza? What about drinks? Coffee, soda, alcohol?”
“Pepperoni pizza. Black coffee, usually. Sometimes beer.”Levi found himself smiling despite the weirdness of the conversation. There was something almost childlike in Asher’s rapid-fire curiosity.
“Favorite smell?”
“That’s... random.”
“Just answer.”
Levi thought about it.“Coffee brewing, I guess. Or that smell right after it rains.”
“Petrichor,”Asher said.“That’s what it’s called. What about textures? What do you like to touch?”
The question made something uncomfortable shift in Levi’s chest. There was an intimacy to it that felt strange, invasive in a way he couldn’t quite identify.
“I don’t know. Soft things, I guess? Cotton, maybe.”
“What about rough textures? Do you like contrast?”
Why does he care about what I like to touch?But Asher’s voice held such fascination, like he was cataloguing every detail about Levi’s preferences with delighted attention.
“Sometimes,”Levi admitted.“Like... tree bark, or concrete. Depends on my mood.”
“Favorite season?”
“Fall. Less people outside, good weather for staying in.”
“Favorite time of day?”
“Early morning, before anyone else is awake.”
Asher made a small sound of approval.“I like that too. The world feels more... honest then.
This is the side of him that isn’t terrifying,Levi realized.The part that was just... curious. Human.
“What about you?”Levi asked.“What are your favorites?”
“Dark chocolate. Black coffee, like you. The smell of rain on hot asphalt.”Asher paused.“And you. I like the way your skin feels.”
“Okay, that’s enough,”Levi said quickly, alarm bells starting to ring in his mind that things were going off the rails.
But Asher continued with that same innocent, curious tone.“I like how soft your lips are. And how skinny your arms are, but there’s a little muscle there. And the smell of your sweat when you’re scared.”
Jesus Christ.The way he catalogued these intimate details, like they were just normal preferences, as if he were discussing favorite colors, was making Levi’s stomach hurt.
“St-stop,”Levi said, but Asher kept going.
“I like how your pulse gets faster when I touch your wrist. And the way you shiver sometimes when I’m close to you.”
Without thinking, Levi spun around and pressed his palm flat against Asher’s chest, pushing him back a step.“I said stop.”
Asher went quiet, but his face transformed. A slow, delighted smile spread across his features.
“You touched me,”he said softly.
Shit.Levi jerked his hand back.
“That was to make you stop talking,”Levi said quickly, backing away.
