Page 16 of Life After Levi

“How about we watch a movie?” I suggest, needing a distraction.

“I like that idea. Why don’t you go ahead and take your meds so we can get comfortable because there’s no way I can watch a movie sitting up.”

Intrigued, I ask, “How do you watch a movie?”

“I’ll show you,” she teases, grinning at me. She then gets up and walks down the hallway where I presume the bedrooms are, before she returns with two pillows and a huge fluffy throw. “Okay, stand up for a second.” Once I stand, she places the pillows on the armrest then motions for me to lay down with my back to the couch, then she plops down on her side in front of me, so our heads are on the pillows together. She reaches down and pulls the throw over the two of us then grabs the remote. “So, what do you like to watch?”

* * *

I wakeup to a face full of soft, fragrant hair and immediately know where I am. My arm is wrapped around her waist, holding her tight, while her ass is pressed into my groin. I know if she wakes up, she’s going to realize that I’m hard again.

“Sorry, man,” I whisper. “She’s a delectable temptation and I’m going to need a shit ton of lotion to survive.”

A little giggle followed by a not-so-subtle wiggle makes me realize that Emerie is, indeed, awake and she just heard me talking out loud to my dead best friend. Fuck me.

“I do that too,” she confesses.

“Do what?” I ask.

“Talk out loud to Levi,” she admits, before she rolls so we’re facing each other. How she managed to do that without falling off the couch is beyond me. “I did it before he died, too, whenever I was missing him.”

“That’s when I do it too, or like right now,” I reply.

For the first time I can remember, I feel my face heat and know I’m blushing like I got caught with my hand in the cookie jar. Still, we’ve both admitted we’re attracted to each other, and want to see where things will go, so it would make sense that I’m having a physical reaction to her nearness.

“Um, well, it’s not really a good idea to go out after dark,” she says, reminding me of her superstitious beliefs. “So, while I’m comfortable, I know you probably aren’t. I have a king size bed that’s plenty big enough for us to get some decent sleep.”

I don’t question her reasoning of why it’s not safe to go out after dark. And while I know we’re taking things very slow, I’m content to sleep by her side. “Yeah, otherwise, the hot tub will lose the effect it gave me,” I reply, my voice husky. “I promise to behave.”

She opens her mouth to say something in retort, then quickly closes it but I watch with great interest as her cheeks turn red. “Okay, then let’s get comfortable, Damien. We can fall asleep to a mundane program, I’m sure, plus I have a sleep timer on my television, so we don’t have to worry about shutting it down.”

She rolls off the couch and onto her feet without landing on her ass, which impresses the hell out of me. “Damn, you’re flexible,” I mutter as I maneuver my body until I’m sitting up. She laughs and holds her hand out to me, which I instinctively take.

We pass Levinia’s room and I burst out laughing. “A tree house?” I question looking inside the bedroom.

There’s a huge tree in one corner with a rope bridge that goes into a cubby hole and inside is a bed that’s piled sky high with a myriad of stuffed animals. Below the bridge is a desk that’s got jungle themed items such as art supplies and other various school type essentials.

“She’s always lovedThe Jungle Bookand when she found out Mowgli lived in the trees, she begged Dale and my dad to build it for her. They even made sure that there’s enough room so she can have a bigger bed later on down the road. It’s solid, too, and if you look closely, you’ll see that there’s a hidden door in the trunk of the tree.”

I can’t resist the temptation of checking it out, so I walk inside and find the latch in the tree trunk. When I open it up, I start laughing because there’s a mini fridge that they painted brown to match the bark of the tree and above the mini fridge, there are several shelves with snacks neatly stored. “So, she’s pretty much set when she starts school,” I remark as I get a closer inspection of the desk.

“She plays school all the time with her stuffies,” Em replies, a look of admiration plastered on her face. She glows with happiness anytime a topic arises that has to do with her daughter and her accomplishments. “Right now, they’re all on break or something since she’s been at Miriam and Dale’s house. She’s got a great imagination which I think will probably drive her teachers crazy, but I refuse to discourage her.”

“Bet she’ll be creative like her dad was,” I murmur. Levi had a way with building something from nothing, and man, he could tell stories that would pull everyone into the world.

“Well, she’s got some great examples, that’s for sure. Between his parents and mine, she’s been allowed to explore her little world. I’m just glad she doesn’t insist that Bonnie come live with us. I’m okay with a cat or a dog, but I don’t want a chicken living in my home.”

At that, I burst out in a gut-wrenching laugh, because she’s got such a disgruntled look on her face. “Come on, take me to bed, woman!”

ChapterTen

Emerie

One thingthat’s definitely different between Levi and Damien is how they sleep. While Levi and I only had that one night of intimacy, wedidfall asleep frequently while watching movies. He would cuddle, but a lot of times, I think it’s because that intimate connection was important to me. Damien on the other hand? He’s a cuddler through and through. Thank goodness my daughter is as well, otherwise, I’m sure I would feel stifled.

“I take it this is Vinnie’s side?” he asks as I pull down the comforter and blankets so we can crawl into the bed and snuggle into the sheets. Looking over, I see her lamp on the nightstand and start giggling.

“What was your first clue?” I tease as I get comfortable, turning on my side to face him.

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