Page 32 of The Marriage Deal
A lot, and I didn't want to think about it any longer. "I'll return it no matter what he says."
Jess frowned. "I mean, technically, what's his is yours. So."
"Jess!"
"Anyway. Enough about you lovebirds."
"Jess!" I tried to slap her, but she darted away before I could reach her. Her laughter attracted the attention of a few tables around us. Good thing I didn't tell her about the kiss. That would only have led her into believing there was something happening between Levi and me. But there wasn't, right? Those kisses meant nothing, as much as they had made me question my previous partners. No one had ever come close to the way Levi kissed. Every time his lips touched mine, my soul sang. And whenever I thought of his kisses, my lips would tingle, yearning to feel him again.
"I can't believe those two were there," Jess said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I know for a fact he does not give a fuck. Since when did Mr. Cicero care about medieval history?"
"Wyatt does love quoting Cicero a lot," I said, noting something I didn't realize about him. Wyatt was one of those guys who thought spouting famous quotes made them profound and not the parroting monkeys that they were.
"Ugh. I don't know how you could stand that guy for that long."
"Excuse me? You were the one who thought he was hot and sang praises about his jawline."
"Now that he's a cheater, I find his jaw to be too square, actually. He should put down the jawliner gum. Did you know that's a thing kids these days are into now? Chewing gum to boost their jaw muscles. They call it looksboosting."
"Looksmaxxing."
Jess frowned. "What did I say?"
I shook my head, hiding a smile. "Nothing."
Jess's face fell suddenly as her attention went to the entrance of the cafeteria. I was sitting with my back to it, so I couldn'tsee what caught her attention. "Oh, no." She dropped her burrito onto her plate.
"What now?"
"They never eat here, especially since." She snorted. "And now they're holding hands."
Tired of the mystery, I glanced over my shoulder to see Wyatt and Billie stroll into the cafeteria hand in hand. "Fuck." My appetite zapped in an instant, making the food in my mouth hard to swallow. I didn't want to be here anymore. Their arrival stole my joy.
I stood up, and immediately Jess shot her hand out and grabbed my arm. "Don't. It will only make you look like the guilty party."
I had forgotten about the rumor Wyatt spread about me and Levi. I sat back down and drew my tray away. "Still, I don't want to eat anymore."
"Just act normal." Her gaze was on Wyatt and Billie. I sat frozen, staring straight at Jess, my back stiff, refusing to look at them.
"Oh, oh."
"What now?"
"Why did people pick this day out of all boring days to make it eventful? Your husband just walked in."
My heart skipped a beat. I peeked over my shoulder again and saw Levi join the queue a couple of people behind Billie and Wyatt. He seemed oblivious to them and to the rest of the world. He was typing something on his phone as he absentmindedly shuffled along with the queue. Billie and Wyatt got their food, scanned the cafeteria and pointed at us.
"Fucking hell."
They made their way to our section of the cafeteria and sat at the table next to us. My entire body froze, not sure what to do. Jess pushed my tray with hers and signaled at my food. "Eat,"she mouthed. I picked up the fork and dug into the salad. It was hard to swallow at first, but I powered through. Billie and Wyatt had chosen a table with a bench and sat so close together they were practically humping each other. A red mist formed in the corner of my eyes. And when Billie chuckled, I could not take it anymore.
I sent a text to Jess.
Me: I'm leaving.
Jess: Don't. The drama is only starting.
I was about to ask what she meant by that when I felt a familiar presence beside me. Morning dew and oak filtered into my nostrils as Levi placed his tray beside mine and sat down on the chair next to me. In all my years here, Levi has never eaten cafeteria food. He orders his food from this town's only Michelin-star restaurant when he can't go there himself. He had a burrito similar to the one Jess was eating. And a can of ice tea. I don't think I've ever seen him eat anything that could be remotely called fast food.
