Page 47 of Hooked On Him
But either way, I call this a win. Slow and steady wins the race. And the more I spend time with Levi, the more I get to know him.
He really is a workaholic, that's for sure. But when he told me he turned down an extra shift, he seemed so proud of himself. As long as I’ve known him, he’s always hated to let people down, often putting himself in situations that would make him feel uncomfortable so he didn’t upset people. That hasn’t seemed to change at all, really, since coming to college. If anything, it's gotten worse.
What Levi doesn’t know is that when we were in high school, Charlie and I made sure no one messed with him, afraid they would take advantage of his soft-hearted nature and kind soul.
The more I see him now, the more I hate myself for allowing us to drift apart.
Another thing Levi doesn’t know is that right when we left for college, Brogan approached me and told me to back off. He said that he knew I had feelings for Levi, but he was in a relationship, and I had to respect that.
At the time, no one knew about my sexuality, and part of me feared that if I didn’t agree to what Brogan wanted, he would have outed me.
I was a fool for letting that piece of shit have any hold over me. As soon as I came out to the world, I should have gone up to the asshole and told him to go fuck himself.
When Charlie told me how in love Levi was with Brogan and how they planned to spend the rest of their lives together, it killed me. It made me wish I had been ready to accept who I was sooner, and that maybe if I told Levi how I felt about him, I could have had my chance.
What none of us seemed to know was just how toxic their relationship really was on the inside, even though everyone on the outside thought it was perfect.
When everything came out about Brogan and Levi, Charlie felt like shit for not being there for his brother, for not protecting him. He didn’t know. None of us did. None of it was his fault. It was Brogan’s. He’s the only one to blame.
I know Levi thinks we’re only fake dating. And I know I need to wait and see if Levi will end up feeling more for me, like I do for him. But it’s not going to stop me from treating him like he deserves to be treated.
He hasn’t called me out on calling him baby, so I have no plans on stopping that. He doesn’t seem to think it’s weird when I cuddle him, or hold his hand, or kiss him goodbye, even when people aren’t around.
I’m glad, because I love it. To me, none of this feels fake or forced. It feels so fucking right. I could see myself spending the rest of my life with this man. I just have to hope that he will end up feeling the same way someday.
For now, I’ll take what I can get.
“So, how did everything go?” Charlie asks. “Did you get everything moved into Gabe’s place?”
“Wait, what?” My brows furrow as I stare at Cole. “You moved in with your boyfriend?”
“Only temporarily. I needed some place to stay while they redo the plumbing in our apartment building.”
“Hold the fuck up. What’s going on? Since when did your apartment need to have the plumbing redone?”
Cole looks at me like I’m stupid. “Ahh, since a few days ago. When the pipes exploded in, like, three different apartments. Thankfully, it wasn’t ours, but in order to replace everything, they have to keep the water shut off and have access to everyone's apartment. Our rental insurance covers it, and we’re getting compensation for rent to stay somewhere else for now, but I thought I’d save myself the money and just room with Gabe.”
I blink at him, so damn confused.
“You mean Levi didn’t tell you?” Charlie frowns.
“No.” I grind my teeth together. And it really fucking stings that he didn’t.
“Makes sense why you weren’t over on Sunday to help bring his stuff back to Mom and Dad’s place.”
“And why the fuck didn’tyoutell me? I’d have been over to help,” I growl.
Charlie holds up his hands. “Don’t bite my head off. I assumed you were busy or something.”
Why didn’t Levi tell me? This is something you get your boyfriend to help you out with.
But, I guess to him, we’re not actually together. Fuck. Did he not tell me because he didn’t want to bother me or something?
“So where is Levi staying now?” I frown.
“He moved back in with Mom and Dad. He was not happy about it,” Charlie laughs. “He’s currently looking for a room to rent for a bit and leaving his stuff at Mom and Dad’s.”
“Why does he hate it?” His parents are some of the nicest people. I guess being in college and living at home isn’t for everyone. I sure as fuck would never move back home.
