My hand tightens around the phone. “I’m at school. And you’re drunk.”
“I’m standing outside your room. Your light’s not on.”
“You’re at my house?” When I picture my dad finding Levi in our yard, drunk, my pulse quickens. They’ve never even met him, and my dad owns several guns. I haven’t bothered to tell my parents that we’re over. If Levi tells them in this state of mind, it would give my dad an excuse to call the cops without worrying about how it would affect me. Just because I don’t want to be with Levi anymore doesn’t mean I want to see him thrown in jail.
“No. I’m outside your dorm.”
“What? Levi, tell me you’re joking.” I picture him driving his Harley across town, swerving over lines and cutting off traffic.
“Why did you leave me?” There’s an angry nip to his words. “We had a good thing going, baby. Come down. I wanna see you.”
Different scenarios race through my mind. I could bring Kelly and Matt with me, but they’re having a good time, and I don’t want to ruin her night, too. Plus, I’m sure she’d try to talk me into leaving Levi to pass out on the campus lawn, but I can’t do that to him. I could bring him back here to crash for the night, but he’d be livid to wake up surrounded by the type of guys he loathes. Maybe it’d be best to tuck him in my bed and take the couch at Matt’s.
For a sliver of a second, I consider asking for Adam’s help. But I don’t want to get him involved in this, and I don’t want him to see Levi pawing me in his drunken stupor.
And I don’t want to have to explain to him that Levi’s upset because I dumped him in anticipation of something happening between us. Besides, it’s not the sole reason I rid myself of him.
“Stay there,” I command, as if he’s a puppy. When he gets this loaded, there isn’t much of a difference. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
I shove my phone back into my pocket and run into the other room. Kelly’s completely entangled in Matt’s arms now, her head resting on his shoulder. A crooked smile passes her lips as he tells a story that has everyone rolling in laughter.
“Kel, can I borrow your car?” I ask, hoping she won’t see the anxiety in my eyes. “I told Sierra I’d give her the notes from class today before she leaves for the weekend.”
Lying to my best friend feels like I’ve reached a new low, but I don’t want her to worry.
Levi isn’t her problem. “I’ll come get you whenever you’re ready.”
She tosses me the keys without any question.
“I’ll give you a ride when you’re ready,” Matt offers, rubbing his hand slowly up and down her arm. His brown eyes, two shades lighter than Kelly’s but still giving off the same warmth, twinkle with mischief.
“Thanks,” I say, flashing him a nervous smile. The way things are going between them, Kelly won’t be coming home tonight. And that means I’ll be stuck all alone with Levi. A ball of dread stirs in my chest.
Once I’ve wound my way through the far end of visitor parking, the headlights finally stumble across Levi’s Harley parked in the section reserved for motorcycles, his helmet resting on the handlebars. Shit. Guilty pangs hit me like a punch to the gut. He never drives his Harley when he’s been drinking. He cares more about his bike than he does about his own life. Is it possible that I somehow broke him?
I continue on to student parking and hurry across the road to the dorms. Levi sits alone on a bench underneath the yard light in the grassy knoll, head bent with his hair falling around his face, elbows resting on his knees, hands folded in front of him. For a fleeting moment I’m reminded of the day he was told his mom had breast cancer. He was so devastated, and it was the only time I ever saw him cry.
“Lee?” I call out softly, surprised to hear my pet name for him resurface.
His head slowly tilts up and he pushes his hair behind his ear to meet my gaze. The glowing whites of his eyes penetrate the darkness, igniting something deep inside me.
“Jewels. I figured you wouldn’t come.”
Suppressed affection pushes at my chest, pulls at my heartstrings. He may not have his shit together, but there was a short time I was falling head over heels for this beautiful man. Or maybe it was just the idea of him. “Did you drive your bike like this?”
He stands, running a nervous hand through his dirty blond hair. A fire burns inside me as his muscular torso twists underneath his snug shirt and Harley jacket. No matter how much I want to despise what he’s done to me, a part of me will always be attracted to him. “I only had one drink. I came to apologize.”