Page 63 of Hooked On Him
Grabbing his textbooks, I close them and place them back into his bag before standing. “What are you doing?” he asks, but there’s no heat or protest behind it as I scoop him up into my arms.
“Carrying your cute ass to bed. Now shh. Go back to sleep.”
Levi mutters something under his breath but closes his eyes, placing his head on my shoulder.
Lying him down, I cover him with his blanket. Snicklefritz jumps up onto the bed and curls up into a spot near his head. “You take care of your daddy, okay? Get me if he needs anything.” I reach over and give the little guy a scratch on the head. I really do love this cat. He’s such a sweet boy. And god, he’s so soft.
“Sweet dreams, baby.” I lean in and place a soft, lingering kiss on Levi's forehead. I can’t wait until he’s in my bed. Soon.
I head out into the living room and clean up before going to my room. Lying in bed, I stare up at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. All I want to do is go into Levi’s room, pull him into my arms, and cuddle him. To hold him close to me so I can protect him.
***
Yeah. I play like shit. With no sleep and a distracted mind, there wasn’t any hope for me.
I hate that I’ve failed the team, but it’s been a few days since Levi opened up to me, and I can’t get it out of my head.
Getting to hang out both Tuesday and Wednesday with him was the best. We did some more studying, hung out, played video games, and just relaxed. I could tell Levi really needed it. When he woke up this morning, he seemed in better spirits.
I’m not sure if it has anything to do with me and my company or that he got a few days off to recharge, but I’d like to think it’s both.
Me, on the other hand, my sleep has been shit. I stayed up half the night thinking about Levi and stopping myself from going in there and cuddling his ass.
It got to the point I called my therapist. I didn’t tell her about any of the arrangements with Levi, or the fact that he’s living with me. But I did tell her about the fact that I’ve fallen hardcore for my best friend, and I feel like I’m going crazy not being able to have him like I want him.
And you know what this woman said? Tell him how I feel! Like, hello, if it were that easy, I would have already done that.
Okay, maybe it is that easy. But I’m not willing to take the risk.
Now knowing what Brogan was like and the things Levi has been through, I really want to make sure he can see how much I care about him before I spill my heart out. Show him that I can be the right one for him.
“It’s okay. We got this next time.” Charlie says, patting me on the shoulder.
We’re all a mess, covered in mud, tired, and ready for sleep. I don’t think anyone is going to be going out for drinks tonight. I’m glad. The last thing I want to do is drink right now. I’d probably get trashed and do something stupid.
“What the fuck is he doing here?” Cole growls.
Charlie and I look over to see what he’s looking at. “What?” I have no idea.
“He doesn’t even fucking like rugby, would insult it any chance he could. Saying it wasn’t a real sport like football. Like, get fucked, asshole.”
“Who?” I look between the two of them, not having a fucking clue what’s going on.
“Brogan,” Cole mutters.
“Wait. Brogan as in Levi’s ex?” My spine stiffens, and all I can see is red.
“Yup. That fucking asshole. God, I hate him so much.”
Now that I know who I’m looking for, I spot the asshole with a group of guys leaving the bleachers.
“Hey, Charlie!” one of Brogan’s buddies calls out. “No wonder your girlfriend's attention is wandering. She’s probably looking for a real man.” He cackles like a dickhead. “Give her my number. I’ll show her.” He winks.
A few things are happening right now. One, I have no idea what he means about Claire's attention wandering. I know the two of them have been having issues, but I’ve been so busy with Levi lately, we haven’t really had a chance to talk about anything but rugby. Total asshole best friend move on my part. I’ll admit that.
And two, I know we’re about to get into a fight with these assholes. I know it’s not a good idea. We’re on school grounds. There are a lot of people around. And we could get in big, big shit.
But the look in Charlie's eyes tells me this is going down either way. So I could try to stop my best friend from kicking this fucker’s ass, or Cole, Charlie, and I could go over there and fight.
