“You?” I blinked at him, mock and genuine amazement mingling. “Went in someplace new?”
“I can do that, you know.” He bristled as we entered the kitchen. “Someone mentioned it last week at the senior center. Thought I’d check it out.”
“Good for you.” I patted him on the back on my way to grab plates for the pastries, which we all took to the nook table since it was getting cooler outside.
“I had lunch at the senior center a couple of times this week as well. Turns out you might be right about this getting-out business.”
“That’s great,” I said, maybe a little too heartily because Dad frowned.
“Don’t go getting a big head.”
“These are delicious.” Levi called our attention back to the dessert. He caught a drip of whipped cream filling with his tongue, and all of a sudden, I was very ready for my dad to head home.
“Okay, okay. I’ll lay off Joe.” Dad gave Levi an indulgent smile. “Is he bringing you to the build site tomorrow?”
“The what?” Levi glanced at me.
“The charity house building thing we do. Dad’s helped them for years. I told you about how we did that last weekend.”
“Oh, yeah. That sounds cool. I’m off tomorrow, but I’m not the best with power tools.”
Never one to be deterred, Dad sized Levi up, clearly seeing a potential helper. “Can you paint?”
“I am awesome at painting.” Levi grinned. He was cute when he got confident about something. “Did a lot of set painting in high school before I got too busy with track. But I don’t want to invite myself along on your day.”
“Nonsense. We need all the hands we can get.” Dad nodded like it was settled, but Levi glanced helplessly at me.
“Well…”
“I’ll give you a ride.” The last thing I wanted was for Levi to feel unwelcome or like I didn’t want him there.
I’d meant what I’d said earlier. I wasn’t ashamed of him or our friendship, and he made my dad laugh. He’d be a welcome addition to the weekend crew. Getting attached was feeling as inevitable as Levi’s eventual exit, a thought which made my back tighten.
“In that case, I’m in.”
And so was I. In way too deep. But Levi’s smile was everything. And then he delicately licked more cream filling, and my muscles became tight and uncomfortable for a much better reason. I told him to behave with my eyes as other body parts started scheming about the rest of the evening.
Chapter Fourteen
Levi
I was either getting laid or getting spanked as soon as Joe’s dad left, and either way, I couldn’t wait. I wasn’t too bratty with the dessert. I didn’t want to embarrass Joe. But I did want to remind him he’d invited me to stick around after. And it worked, my deliberate bites earning me a private “I’ll handle you later” look from Joe as his dad packed up the pastries and took the leftovers Joe had set aside for him.
“Guess, I’ll see you both tomorrow,” he said on his way to the door.
I nodded, trying not to be too obviously eager about spending more non-bedroom time with Joe. Or about how much I wanted to be with him right then, bedroom sense very much included, but then the door clicked, and we were alone, and I couldn’t help grinning.
“Should we do dishes?” I slowly licked a stray trace of whipped cream from my index finger, holding Joe’s gaze the whole time.
“You’re being naughty.” Joe narrowed his eyes, but he was smiling. “Don’t tempt me into making you clean in your panties.”
He cocked his head to one side, studying me like my response mattered. He did this on video calls and sometimes during in-person play, like he was taking stock of where my boundaries were and calculating his actions accordingly. I liked his caution a lot because it made me feel listened to. Important.
So, I met his careful tone with my own thoughtful pause. “Depends.”
“On?” Joe’s mouth pursed like he might be trying not to laugh. I liked that too, liked that all these kink negotiations and check-ins Joe preferred could also be fun and light.
“On whether you’re going to watch.” I went for honesty. Joe’s gaze was my favorite thing in the world, and it made all the difference between sexy-naughty and awkward-humiliating. “If it would turn you on, it would be sexy. If it’s just to punish me, I’ll be good.”
“Oh, I’m watching. I’ve been dying all night, imagining your panties.” Joe’s tone was low and seductive before he shifted to something kinder and more serious. “Trust me. If I’m punishing you, it’s because I’m getting off on it. I’m not really about the power trip to prove a point.”
“I know.” That settled, I reached for my plate again, very purposefully scooping up the last of the whipped cream and licking each of my fingers in turn until Joe groaned.