His sad eyes now hold something else, almost irritation? Why would that be?
“Is everything okay?” I ask.
“Yup.”
Yup? So out of character. I shake my head. Back to the mission, I guess. “Has he said anything about Sophie?”
Levi’s walled off expression relaxes to a wry smile. “Sophie.”
I can’t believe it. A few days ago we were all up in a tête-à-tête that totally freaked me out, and now he thinks I want some other guy? Leo, no less? Charming, confident Levi is far more vulnerable than I realized. I’m hit with a flutter and a pang. I guess I almost went out with Matt just last week. Pulling one of his looks, I raise my eyebrows and quirk my lips.
“Sophie. No, I don’t believe I’ve heard him mention her.”
He took my impression of his you-like-me face as insistence he go on? I sigh. Do girls practice these things in the mirror?
“You’re going to play Hitch on Leo for Sophie?” he asks.
“Precisely.” Now that he’s back to normal, I check that I have all of the helpful details in my notebook.
When I glance up, awe and amusement glow in his eyes. How does he have entire monologues with his face? I can’t seem to communicate a single thing with a look today.
“I need to get to class. Can I be of further assistance to you?” he teases.
“I’ll let you know?” Will I get away with that response? I sure do. “Thanks, Levi.”
Off he goes with a single nod and backpack in tow. I suck in a breath in an attempt to still my heart and consider the task at hand. Yeah, right. Levi, man among boys, is vulnerable to me, focused on me, invested in me. I should be floating to the sky, but instead the sky is falling.
CHAPTER TWENTY
I pressagainst the armrest of my trusty old couch to adjust my propped-up feet. I still feel like I’m getting away with something sitting like this while I work. My fingers are restless on the keyboard as I try to fix the code in front of me.
Sensing my distraction, Austin pounces, spinning around in his office chair to question me. “How’s KitKat? Didn’t you have coffee with her this morning?”
He calls her that to tease me, never to her face, though I’m sure she’d laugh and play along.
“She asked me, you know. It’s progress.”
“The pretty lady makes a move.” He feigns intrigue. “Did she escalate to high fives?”
I shake my head at him, still in good humor. I get this a lot lately. I may as well have had a No Girls Allowed sign taped to my forehead for my entire time at Mayberry, so it’s no secret to the other Flooders that I’m breaking down my impenetrable walls forher. The guys haven’t tried anything with Kit, but brotherly ridicule at my apparent failure is enjoyed by all. They’ve seen girl after girl traipse through the floor to my room, and evidently it’s hilarious that I’ve chosen the one who seems impossible.
Austin pulls on a signature plaid button-up for study group. “Still holding out hope?”
“There’s something about her, man.”
“She’ll come around. She’s just got the hard-to-get thing down to a science. Besides, you’re still beating out the other guys who’ve tried. Two and a half coffee dates is nothing to scoff at with this one.” He slaps me on the back.
Until I set him straight, Austin thought I was mostly interested in Kit because she’s the biggest challenge. Not a chance—there’s far too much to lose. Best case, I end up heartbroken or callous. Worst case, I fall in love with her and sacrifice my entire life’s peace committing to someone who chose me for my money. I know, that escalated quickly, but I have a whole childhood to explain my terror of that outcome. It was enough to keep me away from girls for years after seeing Genevieve’s true colors senior year. But something bizarre is happening. For the first time ever I’m willing to consider someone for real. Almost … in a forever kind of way. Forever has been a new kind of f-word for me. I don’t even think it. For so long I’ve seen every girl as a threat, someone who puts me at risk of a marriage like my parents’. And now, a future together isn’t coming into focus with a girl I’m certain will return my affection, but with one I’m certain will decide based on the real me.
It’s possible I’ve enrolled in a crash course on rejection, the public and humiliating sort. People at this small school like to gossip—ask me how I know—but I won’t let that deter me. Kit’s worth it because I’m so confident that I can trust her in every other way. I know that I know that she’s the only one worth all the risks—the risk of being tricked like my father was, the risk of getting hurt again, the risk of public failure. I run a hand through my hair. This is a doozy of a crush, if I can even call it that.
“Anything I can do to help her along?” Austin asks.
“Thanks, buddy. I don’t think so. I just need to figure out why she’s holding off.”
He nods. “I asked Sophie. I think she would’ve told me, but she says Kit’s a vault.”
Yep, a vault. “Your wingmanning is fire. If it weren’t for you, I’d be limping along just trying to get her to show up at the same place and time as me.”
