Page 92 of Well Played

He then told me to stay and relax while he went to pick up Alex at his friend’s house and suggested the three of us eat supper together. But instead, I asked if he’d be willing to handle dinner with his son while I ran some errands. He agreed, and after he left to get Alex, I grabbed my keys.

Once I got into my car, I pulled up Levi’s name on my phone.

Presley: Tell me where you are. I’m coming to you.

CHAPTER 23

Levi

Candy wrappers covered the end table by my bed. I had this nervous habit of pigging out on hotel vending-machine junk when stressed. I had no idea how long I’d be staying here, but I needed to be somewhere other than The Palm Inn. Not wanting to deal with questions about this fucked-up situation, I couldn’t go to my mother’s either.

After Presley’s text, I did tell her where I’d checked in, and now she was headed over here. As much as I dreaded what we’d inevitably talk about, I ached to see her. Excitement ricocheted through my body, as it always did when I knew we’d be alone together, except this time it was bittersweet.

The TV was on, but I couldn’t have told you what was showing as I paced back and forth. I didn’t know what was worse: the guilt or the jealousy.

This wasn’t how everything was supposed to go down. I wasn’t supposed to care so damn much about my estranged brother. But somethinghadchanged with Tanner. And I couldn’t ignore it. Knowing that he genuinely seemed to regret his actions over the years made it much harder to disregard his feelings, like I’d planned. Now I was second-guessing everything. Hadn’t he lost enough when his career ended? Didn’t he deserve a chance to have his family back? The problem was, his family now also felt likemyfamily. And I didn’t want to give up Presley and Alex. How do you choose between the woman of your dreams and your brother? Is blood automatically thicker than water? I honestly didn’t have the answer, but losing either of them didn’t seem like an option.

Presley was dead set against Tanner ever finding out about us, and I was starting to agree with her, even if I’d been adamant about telling him the truth just a day ago. If he could never find out, how the hell did Presley and I stand a chance? We couldn’t hide forever. My stomach churned. It seemed more and more like this decision was being made for us. I just couldn’t accept it.

There was a knock at the door.

I opened to find Presley standing there in a short, flowery dress and denim jacket. Her eyes were filled with worry, and despite all of this guilt, I wanted nothing more than to take her on this damn hotel room bed so we could drown our sorrows in each other.

“Why have you been avoiding me all day?” she asked as she stepped into the room.

“I’m sorry.”

Her chest heaved. “I know you and Tanner talked this morning.”

“Yeah. That’s why I left. It shook me.”

She nodded, looking down at her feet. “He told me he let you know he plans to try to get me back.”

I exhaled. “I’m glad you convinced me not to tell him about us. I don’t know what I was thinking. Now I realize it would devastate him.” Fighting the urge to pull her into my arms, I looked her up and down. “What else did he say to you?”

“He told me he wants to earn my trust back. He thinks we can get back together once that happens. He has no clue how complicated this situation is.”

Jealousy burned through my body. I looked up at the ceiling and shook my head. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Would you consider taking him back if you and I had never gotten together?”

She paused. “I honestly don’t think so. But it’s hard to say, given that I would probably be a different person altogether right now ifwehadn’t happened. But we did happen. I know now that I deserve better. And the way you treat me is the way I want to be treated. I’ve never wanted anyone like I want you, Levi. I can’t just forget about us. At the same time, I don’t want him to find out.” Her voice cracked. “It’s messed up.”

While I could tell Presley believed what she’d just told me, it was possible she was confused.

“How do you know your feelings for me are the real deal?” I asked.

Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean? When you know, you just…know.”

“There’s no doubt we’re addicted to each other sexually, but what if this is just a strong physical attraction that’s clouding your judgment?”

Her voice grew louder. “Because I think about you all of the time, even when you’re not physically with me, and because you make me happy. I’m not going to deny that I’m extremely physically attracted to you. Thatisa big part of it. But what we have is so much more than sex.”

“It means more to me, too,” I whispered.

“You make me feel safe, Levi—in a way no one else ever has, certainly not Tanner.”

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