Levi drew in a sharp breath, keeping his gaze on the backyard even though there was nothing interesting there except for dead grass and some rocks. Occasionally, a firefly would blink at us, so maybe that’s what he was looking at.
Or maybe he just couldn’t look at me.
“Yes,” he finally said. “I’d like for you to be.”
Nerves fired up in my belly. I felt like I was going to throw up. It didn’t matter how easy it was to flirt, telling someone the truth like this always made me anxious. “I want you. I’ve wanted you since I saw you standing outside Avery’s gallery. I think you’re hot. I think you’re interesting. And I feel like there’s something here.”
He was silent for a moment, his muscles tense. I swallowed hard, wondering if I was misreading everything. What if he actually wasn’t into men? What if there hadn't been any vibes between us, and I’d just been making it up?
Oh god. That would be awful.
I didn’t even want to think about the fact that I was flirting with my best friend’sotherbest friendandhis sister. If Austin ever found out, I wasn’t sure he’d forgive me.
Then again, it wasn’t any of his business. We were all adults.
Still . . .
Levi cleared his throat. “What about Avery?”
“I want her too. I suspect you do as well.”
I caught a hint of amusement in his half smile. Light shined on the side of his face from the backdoor, shadows swallowing the rest of him.
“When you flirt with me, it makes my heart stop,” he whispered.
“I hope in a good way,” I murmured, clutching my drink. “And not in a ‘I want to punch this guy’ way.”
Levi didn’t say anything. But, his hand slowly moved across the wooden slats of the swing, closing the gap between the two of us until his fingers entangled with mine.
Was it silly to feel this excited about holding someone’s hand? Maybe. But Levi’s hand was large and rough and full of so much strength and gentleness at the same time, and I was melting into a puddle on the inside.
“It’s in a good way,” he whispered. “I’m bisexual too, Mateo. Well, I mean, I’m assuming?—”
“Yes,” I breathed out. “I am. And you are.”
He nodded. “Yes. But I’m not very good at stuff like this. I mean, maybe in the bedroom. At least that’s what I’ve heard. But with relationships and romance, I’m bad. So I don’t think I can promise anything more than a physical connection, especially if I leave in a few weeks.”
My chest squeezed. While I wasn’t looking for a promise of forever, I did like Levi beyond the physical attraction.
But, I wasn’t going to walk away from a chance to be with him in whatever way I could.
“I understand,” I said. “Although, I doubt you’re bad at relationships.”
“My track record disagrees. Also, to be clear, I want Avery too. But her brothers would murder me. You too, probably. And all three of us together? I think Austin would have a heart attack.”
“Avery and I have been dancing around each other for years, but we decided to give this a chance as of last week. You kind of walked in on us finally giving things a chance. And over the last week, we’ve been texting and talking and planning. Honestly, your arrival was what made me finally do something. But we’re keeping things secret from everyone but June and Evie, becausethey’re Avery’s best friends and we don’t want to hide from them. Plus, they’ll keep their mouths shut.”
He let out a soft hum. “I have to wonder why they got so over-protective.”
“Who? Her brothers?”
“Yeah. Austin has kept a lot from me over the years, so I feel like I’m missing information.”
“I know part of the reason why,” I said vaguely. “But it’s not my story to tell. All I will say is that she dated someone that used to be friends with Dallas and Austin, and he hurt her.”
Levi’s grip tightened. “Physically?”
“I’m not entirely sure.” Even I didn’t know everything. “I think it was more mental manipulation. But no one has told me the whole story, and I’ve never pried.”
