Page 27 of Levi

“You sure about this? I mean, Paul really does pour ’em strong, and those men are going to be animals after that win tonight.”

She looks at me, her lips pursed, and I'm almost positive she's realizing I'm right. But like always, she surprises me.

“You forget I'm used to this. I've gone out with y’all after wins before. Hell, I even went home with you on those nights, so this is really no different,” she says with a smile before linking her arm in mine. “I mean, unless you can't handle that you're not fucking me tonight. That's definitely different.”

“Like I said, your rule, not mine,” I say, and then we're off.

Let's see if I can make it the whole night without getting in a fight. I'm starting to think it was easier not to fight on the ice than it'll be at the bar watching guys drool over her, knowing that I may be taking her home but I'mnotfucking her, even though I want to.

Really, really bad.

CHAPTER12

QUINN

“Want another margarita?”Jax asks me as he sits across the table from me, his dark-tan skin and killer smile on full display. I feel Levi’s arm wrap around my shoulder, pulling me into him with a familiarity that almost shocks me, but I don’t show that because I don’t want him to stop.

“Back off, fucker. I’ll get my girl a drink,” Levi says, his tone more clipped than usual. He’s doing a great job of being a fake boyfriend. I doubt Jax even meant anything by it. I’ve seen him out at a bar; he flirts so effortlessly it’s second nature for him. For Jax, it doesn’t even always lead to fucking—he just loves to talk and spend time with people.

Jax sits there, his eyebrow quirked up as he watches Levi, a little smirk forming on his lips. He must’ve noticed Levi’s jealousy, too, but he doesn’t say anything. Just sort of gives Levi a little nod and moves on to ask the rest of the table…well, everyone except Levi, but I’m probably the only one who noticed.

“So, that margarita…would you like one?” Levi says with a big smile, and it’s cute. It’s the smile I remember falling for when I first met him, the boyish smile that reminds me of when he was an adorable teenager.

“I mean, I was just offered one by a cute boy, but you sort of interrupted that,” I joke, and I feel his fingers grip my shoulder tighter—not in a way that’s painful, but in a way that feels more secure, more valued. In a fucked up way, the way he’s holding me makes me feel more cared for, and that’s scary because I don’t want to feel cared for. At least not by him.

Not when I know I can never really have him. I may have had his body countless times, and right now, I may be his “girlfriend,” but I'll never have his heart, and that's hard for me to swallow. Not when all I've ever wanted was a chance to be his.

Which is why I made the rule in the first place that we weren't going to be fuck buddies while this was going on. Too many opportunities for it to spiral out of control and for me to forget how to keep my feelings locked up.

Nodding, I give him a smile, leaning back into his arm as he holds me, his eyes locked onto mine, and for a moment it feels like we’re the only two people in this room. “Are you having fun? We can always leave if you're not.”

“No, I’m actually having a lot of fun. I only feel bad because I feel like you’re sitting here babysitting me instead of up playing pool or hanging out with your friends,” I tell him, looking around to see Cooper and Nash playing pool against Tabitha and Lena, two girls I’ve seen out with the team before when I’ve gone out with them here in Nashville, but they’ve never really talked to me except a simple hello when introduced.

My petty assumption is that they don’t give me the time of day because they’re always trying to steal Levi’s attention from me, or at least that’s how it used to feel. The last few times that I’ve seen them, though, they’ve seemed to sort of gravitate toward Jax or even Cooper, which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone because those two are some of the biggest playboys on the team…maybe even in all of Nashville.

They’re just little flirts who enjoy casual hookups, often with different women—but they all have their “rosters” as I like to call them, their typical friends they’ll call when they want to get their dick wet. But it definitely goes both ways, and those girls they hang out with, they know the drill.

They’re not looking for a ring on their finger. They’re looking for a fun time with a professional athlete they can talk about with their friends.

“Who do you think I want to be hanging out with?” Levi says, looking around the room. “Either my friends are at this table with me, or they're off flirting somewhere, and I’m not about to intrude on that.”

I hear the words he’s telling me, but it’s hard for me to really understand that he’s not out searching for the same things. It’s not very often that we’ve been in the same city. I mean when I was in California, it was more often for him to fly there with the team because we had three NHL teams in the state, all within a few hours apart.

But even then, he would always hit me up to let me know he was in town, and we would sometimes meet up together or I’d go join him and the guys for a night out. I’d never reach out to Levi because I wanted him to get the opportunity to call his other girls, or even to just meet a new girl and have a one-night stand, but he always texted.

I mean, probably notalways, because there has to be other women. I wouldn’t expect him to talk to me about it. We both know what we are—or were. Fuck buddies with no strings attached. Outside of that, we had zero commitment or attachment to each other.

Yet I’m still absolutely positive that he has to feel like he’s missing out on the same life his friends have, picking up girls at the bar or whatever, so I think I’ll always attempt to give him an out.

“I mean, don’t you want to hang out with them? I guess I just feel like I’m the biggest cockblock in the history of cockblocks and don’t want to do that to you if I can help it,” I tell him, my gaze shifting from his as I scan the rest of the bar.

“You realizeyouwere the one I called if I wanted anyone, right?”

“I mean, yeah, I realize that it was a convenience thing, and we already know each other and know in what areas we aligned—but I know that’s not the end all, be all for you and hookups, and I’m just trying to respect that you have needs.”

“Don’t worry about me. You know I’m taken care of,” he winks, and I force a smile.

Just then, the waitress comes back over, and Jax and Levi place their orders for another round of drinks, Levi making sure to order my margarita before Jax can, and I just roll my eyes. These two are ridiculous, but it still surprises me to see this more possessive side of Levi.

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