Stumbling into Love
Page 16
“Hey, kid.” His arms tighten when mine do, and I feel his lips on the top of my head.
“Hey, Dad.” I tip my head back and smile up at him.
“You okay?” His thumb touches the skin under my eye, and I know he can see the dark circles there, brought on by crying most of the night and waking up way too early this morning.
“I’m okay. Better now that I know Levi will be okay,” I say.
His eyes close briefly. As a cop himself, our dad expressed his concerns when Fawn and Levi first started dating. He reminded not only Fawn but also all of us that being the spouse of a police officer is not an easy job. There’s a risk anytime an officer puts on the badge and leaves the house. But we all told him that there’s a risk anytime anyone leaves the house—especially nowadays. The world is a scary place.
“Where’s Mom?” Libby asks, shoving me out of the way like she’s been doing since the day she was born. She hugs Dad.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he laughs while kissing the top of her head. “Your mom’s with Levi’s mom. They just left to run over to Fawn’s place and get her some clothes. Your sister’s refused to leave Levi’s side.”
“Libby and I could have gone to get her some stuff,” I say.
He smiles at me, reaching out to touch my cheek.
“It’s good they went. They needed to feel like they were doing something useful. Besides, they’ve been driving Levi and Fawn crazy with their puttering around, trying to fluff his pillows and bickering with the nurses about giving him more pain meds when he’s told them he doesn’t need them.”
I laugh. My mom would do that. She doesn’t understand the meaning of boundaries. Levi’s mom seems to be cut from the same cloth.
“Are you and Mom going to stay in the city?” Libby asks before shoving a handful of M&M’s into her mouth.
“We’re staying at Fawn’s place. Levi’s parents are going to stay at his place.” He looks between the two of us, and his face softens. “You girls should head home. They’ll be kicking everyone out before long, anyway. You two can come back in the morning.”
“We’ll just say bye to Fawn and Levi first,” Libby says.
I grab my purse and follow her and my dad down the hall. As soon as we enter Levi’s room, I smile at him.
He presses a finger to his lips, gesturing for us to be quiet since Fawn is asleep on the bed, tucked into his side.
“We just wanted to say we’re heading out. Tell Fawn to call us in the morning.”
I lean down and kiss his cheek, but he grabs my hand before I can lean back.
“Please go check on Wesley,” he says.
I pull back to look at him and swallow when I see the worry in his eyes.
“I will,” I agree.
He lets me go. I watch Libby give him a hug, and then I walk over to my dad and wrap my arms around his waist. I rest my head on his shoulder.
“You okay, kid?”
“Yeah,” I lie, giving him a squeeze before letting him go so he can hug Libby. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.” He kisses Libby’s forehead and opens the door for us.
Once we’re in the hall, I pull out my cell phone and try to call Wesley. He doesn’t answer. Swallowing over the realization that I may have completely ruined things between us, I pull in a breath and look at Libby.
“I’m going to stop by Wesley’s. Will you be okay getting a cab on your own?”
“Of course.” She reaches over to take my hand, then softens her voice. “Things will be okay.”
“I hope so,” I agree.
She squeezes my fingers, then lets them go as we head through the automatic doors and step outside. We spy a few cabs parked on the curb and both head in that direction.
“Call if you’re not going to be home, so I don’t worry.”
“Sure, Mom.” I roll my eyes.
She laughs while getting into the cab parked behind mine.
When I arrive at Wesley’s place about twenty minutes later, I feel my stomach in my throat. I head down to his apartment door, knock and ring the bell, and wait for him to answer.
Time ticks by. No answer. This lets me know that either he’s really not home or he knows it’s me and doesn’t want to see me. After ten minutes, I give up and wave down a cab. As soon as I’m in the backseat, the driver asks me where I’m going. Without thinking, I give him the name of the bar where Wesley and I met. I know it’s a long shot, but it’s the only place I can think he might be.
“Please be here,” I whisper to myself as I open the door to Charlie’s and step inside.
I scan the crowded room and let out a relieved breath when I spot Wesley sitting at the bar—alone. His shoulders are slumped like he’s carrying the weight of the world on them.
“Do you need some company?” I ask, sliding onto the empty stool next to his.
His head slowly turns my direction.
“What are you doing here?” he asks.
I hate the hurt I see staring back at me. I hate knowing that I’m part of the reason that he’s hurting even more.
“It’s kind of a sad story.” I wave off the bartender when she comes over to ask if I want a drink. I place my purse on the top of the bar. “You see, I messed up with this guy I like. I’ve stupidly been trying to push him away. I thought that if I could end it before he did that I would be saving myself from embarrassment. I thought it was only a matter of time until he figured out that I wasn’t who he wanted.”
“Did he let you push him away?” he asks, holding my gaze.
I duck my head.
“I don’t know yet. But if he does, I deserve it,” I whisper the truth, feeling tears burn my throat.
“He’d be an idiot to let you go,” he says softly. He touches his fingers to my chin to lift my eyes up to his.
Hope fills my chest.
“I’m not sure about that. I’m kind of a pain in the ass, and I have a tendency to run when things scare me,” I say.
He grunts and turns toward me on the stool so that his knees lock around mine.
“Are you done running?” he asks while sliding his hands up my thighs, making my breath catch.
“I’m scared,” I admit.
He closes his eyes and touches his forehead to mine.
“Me too.” His admission catches me off guard, and my body jolts. “But I’m not running, and I need to know that you’re going to give us a chance—a real chance,” he murmurs, sliding his hands around my waist as I wind my arms around his neck to get closer.
“I can do that,” I agree.
He stands, forcing me to stand with him. His hands move to my ass, and he lifts me off the ground.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Taking you out of here.” He dips his mouth close to my ear and says, “I need to be alone with you. I need to be inside of you.”
“Oh . . . ,” I whisper.
“Now wrap your legs around my waist and grab your purse,” he commands.
I do as he says, having no doubt that everyone in the bar is watching us.
“So bossy.” I roll my eyes, and he smiles, touching his lips to mine. “Are you still mad at me?” I ask as he carries me out of the bar and onto the sidewalk.
He sticks out one hand for a cab while keeping me propped up against his body with the other one still under my bottom.
“I wasn’t mad. I was disappointed.”
“I think that’s worse,” I admit.
His mouth touches mine once more, but then he makes it even better by sliding his tongue between my lips.
Nipping at my lip, he pulls back. “No more hiding, no more running.”
“No more running,” I say as he helps me into the backseat of a cab that stops. “Are you sure you are ready for my mom to know about us? As you may have figured out when you met her at Thanksgiving, she is insane. Nosy and insane.”
“You said insane twice.”
“Trust me, it should be repeated more than once. I don’t think you understand. She tried to set me up with her fifty-year-old neighbor because she is desperate for grandbabies,” I say, watching his eyes narrow. Rolling my eyes at his reaction, I smack his chest. “I didn’t even talk to him. I couldn’t get you off my mind no matter how hard I tried.”
“Hey, Dad.” I tip my head back and smile up at him.
“You okay?” His thumb touches the skin under my eye, and I know he can see the dark circles there, brought on by crying most of the night and waking up way too early this morning.
“I’m okay. Better now that I know Levi will be okay,” I say.
His eyes close briefly. As a cop himself, our dad expressed his concerns when Fawn and Levi first started dating. He reminded not only Fawn but also all of us that being the spouse of a police officer is not an easy job. There’s a risk anytime an officer puts on the badge and leaves the house. But we all told him that there’s a risk anytime anyone leaves the house—especially nowadays. The world is a scary place.
“Where’s Mom?” Libby asks, shoving me out of the way like she’s been doing since the day she was born. She hugs Dad.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he laughs while kissing the top of her head. “Your mom’s with Levi’s mom. They just left to run over to Fawn’s place and get her some clothes. Your sister’s refused to leave Levi’s side.”
“Libby and I could have gone to get her some stuff,” I say.
He smiles at me, reaching out to touch my cheek.
“It’s good they went. They needed to feel like they were doing something useful. Besides, they’ve been driving Levi and Fawn crazy with their puttering around, trying to fluff his pillows and bickering with the nurses about giving him more pain meds when he’s told them he doesn’t need them.”
I laugh. My mom would do that. She doesn’t understand the meaning of boundaries. Levi’s mom seems to be cut from the same cloth.
“Are you and Mom going to stay in the city?” Libby asks before shoving a handful of M&M’s into her mouth.
“We’re staying at Fawn’s place. Levi’s parents are going to stay at his place.” He looks between the two of us, and his face softens. “You girls should head home. They’ll be kicking everyone out before long, anyway. You two can come back in the morning.”
“We’ll just say bye to Fawn and Levi first,” Libby says.
I grab my purse and follow her and my dad down the hall. As soon as we enter Levi’s room, I smile at him.
He presses a finger to his lips, gesturing for us to be quiet since Fawn is asleep on the bed, tucked into his side.
“We just wanted to say we’re heading out. Tell Fawn to call us in the morning.”
I lean down and kiss his cheek, but he grabs my hand before I can lean back.
“Please go check on Wesley,” he says.
I pull back to look at him and swallow when I see the worry in his eyes.
“I will,” I agree.
He lets me go. I watch Libby give him a hug, and then I walk over to my dad and wrap my arms around his waist. I rest my head on his shoulder.
“You okay, kid?”
“Yeah,” I lie, giving him a squeeze before letting him go so he can hug Libby. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.” He kisses Libby’s forehead and opens the door for us.
Once we’re in the hall, I pull out my cell phone and try to call Wesley. He doesn’t answer. Swallowing over the realization that I may have completely ruined things between us, I pull in a breath and look at Libby.
“I’m going to stop by Wesley’s. Will you be okay getting a cab on your own?”
“Of course.” She reaches over to take my hand, then softens her voice. “Things will be okay.”
“I hope so,” I agree.
She squeezes my fingers, then lets them go as we head through the automatic doors and step outside. We spy a few cabs parked on the curb and both head in that direction.
“Call if you’re not going to be home, so I don’t worry.”
“Sure, Mom.” I roll my eyes.
She laughs while getting into the cab parked behind mine.
When I arrive at Wesley’s place about twenty minutes later, I feel my stomach in my throat. I head down to his apartment door, knock and ring the bell, and wait for him to answer.
Time ticks by. No answer. This lets me know that either he’s really not home or he knows it’s me and doesn’t want to see me. After ten minutes, I give up and wave down a cab. As soon as I’m in the backseat, the driver asks me where I’m going. Without thinking, I give him the name of the bar where Wesley and I met. I know it’s a long shot, but it’s the only place I can think he might be.
“Please be here,” I whisper to myself as I open the door to Charlie’s and step inside.
I scan the crowded room and let out a relieved breath when I spot Wesley sitting at the bar—alone. His shoulders are slumped like he’s carrying the weight of the world on them.
“Do you need some company?” I ask, sliding onto the empty stool next to his.
His head slowly turns my direction.
“What are you doing here?” he asks.
I hate the hurt I see staring back at me. I hate knowing that I’m part of the reason that he’s hurting even more.
“It’s kind of a sad story.” I wave off the bartender when she comes over to ask if I want a drink. I place my purse on the top of the bar. “You see, I messed up with this guy I like. I’ve stupidly been trying to push him away. I thought that if I could end it before he did that I would be saving myself from embarrassment. I thought it was only a matter of time until he figured out that I wasn’t who he wanted.”
“Did he let you push him away?” he asks, holding my gaze.
I duck my head.
“I don’t know yet. But if he does, I deserve it,” I whisper the truth, feeling tears burn my throat.
“He’d be an idiot to let you go,” he says softly. He touches his fingers to my chin to lift my eyes up to his.
Hope fills my chest.
“I’m not sure about that. I’m kind of a pain in the ass, and I have a tendency to run when things scare me,” I say.
He grunts and turns toward me on the stool so that his knees lock around mine.
“Are you done running?” he asks while sliding his hands up my thighs, making my breath catch.
“I’m scared,” I admit.
He closes his eyes and touches his forehead to mine.
“Me too.” His admission catches me off guard, and my body jolts. “But I’m not running, and I need to know that you’re going to give us a chance—a real chance,” he murmurs, sliding his hands around my waist as I wind my arms around his neck to get closer.
“I can do that,” I agree.
He stands, forcing me to stand with him. His hands move to my ass, and he lifts me off the ground.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Taking you out of here.” He dips his mouth close to my ear and says, “I need to be alone with you. I need to be inside of you.”
“Oh . . . ,” I whisper.
“Now wrap your legs around my waist and grab your purse,” he commands.
I do as he says, having no doubt that everyone in the bar is watching us.
“So bossy.” I roll my eyes, and he smiles, touching his lips to mine. “Are you still mad at me?” I ask as he carries me out of the bar and onto the sidewalk.
He sticks out one hand for a cab while keeping me propped up against his body with the other one still under my bottom.
“I wasn’t mad. I was disappointed.”
“I think that’s worse,” I admit.
His mouth touches mine once more, but then he makes it even better by sliding his tongue between my lips.
Nipping at my lip, he pulls back. “No more hiding, no more running.”
“No more running,” I say as he helps me into the backseat of a cab that stops. “Are you sure you are ready for my mom to know about us? As you may have figured out when you met her at Thanksgiving, she is insane. Nosy and insane.”
“You said insane twice.”
“Trust me, it should be repeated more than once. I don’t think you understand. She tried to set me up with her fifty-year-old neighbor because she is desperate for grandbabies,” I say, watching his eyes narrow. Rolling my eyes at his reaction, I smack his chest. “I didn’t even talk to him. I couldn’t get you off my mind no matter how hard I tried.”
