Page 69 of Just A Little Magic

“Deal.” I glanced around the restaurant to ensure no one was paying attention to us, but I kept my voice low anyway. “So anything I say you can’t repeat, right? Because you’re my lawyer.”

“Yes, with a few exceptions that I don’t think will apply here.”

“Okay, I just need advice from someone who’s seen more jacked-up relationships than anyone I know. If you’ve seen them fall apart, you’ll know how to keep them together. And you can’t say anything about it to anyone. So yeah, you’re perfect. ”

“I don’t know if I agree with your logic completely, but go on.”

“Barrett’s dad came to see me today and told me I should take myself out of Barrett’s life because I’m preventing him from getting on with his life.” Laying it out on the table seemed the easiest way to go.

Levi choked on his iced tea. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Yeah, you heard me.”

I laid out the entire conversation, and Levi just let me talk. Everyone once in a while, he asked some clarifying questions about the lodge, the agreed-upon month, and how moving into Barrett’s house really came about. When I’d finished my entire tale, he sat back in the booth and picked at his fries.

“I think there are a couple of things going on here. First, thequestion of your decade-long pining. That’s not great. Second is being ashamed of your kink.”

“I’m not ashamed of it.”

“You sure ’bout that?” Levi asked with an arched brow. “Because I see a man who’s refused to play with anyone even though he has incredibly supportive friends who are absolutely trustworthy and would never take advantage of him or allow anyone to encroach on his space.”

“People can prefer their privacy.”

“Or people can be hiding because they are ashamed. A lot of divorces involve kink. When shame enters the chat, usual caveats about safe and sane applying, it’s the beginning of the end. Barrett’s dad might be on to something even if he went about it in an ass-backward way.”

I sat with Levi’s words. He returned to his lunch and allowed me to mull them over.

“What should I do?”

My food was mostly cold, but I still picked at it. Cold burgers were still good burgers.

“Everything else aside, do you love him?”

“Yeah.”

I knew the answer to that question without any hesitation.

“Then be all in. Let himseeyou so he can make a fair assessment of what it’s like to be with you. You know you love each other as best friends, and the sex is good?”

“On a scale of zero to ten, I’d put him somewhere beyond I’d have sex with him in a public restroom. “

“Unhygienic, but fair. Climb that man like a tree.”

“Don’t get any ideas.” I wagged my finger at him. “He’s taken.”

“Well, just as well since he’s not my type.” Levi raised his hands in the universal symbol of surrender.

“What is your type?” I asked in an innocent voice. “You’ve given me enough shit that I should get a crumb.”

“The type I don’t have the time or energy to worry about getting.”

“That is annoyingly cryptic.”

“You’ll survive not knowing the details of how much I enjoy a bratty boy.”

Jakob

Owen, you’re still coming, right?

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