Page 56 of Cactus Heart
I was barely holding in my laugh. “I do have a suggestion.”
He slowly turned to face me and raised a brow, serious aside from the fact that his eyes danced with amusement.
“Maybe make an alliance with Evie. You met her last week at yoga. She owns the bakery. I’m sure she’d make you some protein muffins that won’t be . . .”
“A disaster?” he asked flatly.
“Um . . . Yes.”
Levi chuckled and shook his head, turning his attention back to them. “How the fuck am I going to clean this up?”
“I have no idea. I’d throw the whole pan away.”
“The whole pan? Absolutely not.” Now, his laugh was a little heartier. “I’ll deal with it in the morning. Want a THC drink? It’s light, like a beer. I like it a lot more than alcohol.”
My brows shot up. “Hell yeah, Minnesota. I’ll take one.”
Levi opened the little blue fridge that looked like something straight out of a 1950s trad wife magazine and handed me a drink. We both cracked open our cans and I took a sip, watching him a little too closely.
Levi’s eyes widened and he frowned. “Forgot I was wearing this thing.” He looked down at the apron and put his drink on the counter, mumbling under his breath. “I’ll be back.”
“You don’t need to take that off on my account.”
He shook his head. “You’re welcome to wear it instead.”
“Shirtless or fully naked?”
“Dealer’s choice.” He chuckled, then cleared his throat. “I’ll be back.”
“I’ll wait for you outside?” I needed some fresh air, especially with the way my cock was already reacting to him. My blood was hot and I needed to ice out the sexy thoughts before they burned me.
“Sure. I’ll be there in a moment.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Mateo
Fireflies winked at me as I stood in Levi’s backyard—waiting. I craned my head back, looking up at the stars and feeling nerves hit me in full force.
I was really here. I was really doing this. I wasn’t even sure it’d go anywhere.
The screen door snapped shut and I turned as Levi came out. He’d put on a soft stonewashed gray T-shirt and jeans. I wanted to take them right back off.
Levi held my gaze as he took a sip. “Want to sit with me?”
“Sure,” I said. “Why not?”
He groaned. “That joke is killing me.”
“It never gets old,” I teased as I bounded up the steps to his porch.
He sat down on the porch swing, sliding all the way to the right. I hesitated for a moment and then decided—fuck it. I was going to join him. I sat down on the left side, an awkward amount of space between us.
Selfishly, I wished we were sitting hip to hip. Holding hands even.Somethingaside from dancing around whatever this feeling was.
What was I even doing? The tension between us was so thick I could cut it with a knife. A fire burning so hot, I felt the need to douse us with a hose.
“Can I be honest?” I asked him.
