Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82543 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82543 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“Are we really sure yours can be classified as coffee?”
“It still has caffeine in it, so yes.” I drink some more and hum.
“Our housekeeper taught me when I was bored back in high school.” He shrugs. “I liked it. That was the beginning of my caffeine addiction.”
“Did your parents send you to rehab for that?”
He laughs. “Fuck no. They encouraged it. Told me coffee is the key to getting through law school.”
“The law school you’re not actually going to,” I point out.
“That’s the one.”
“What did your dad say this morning? Don’t you ever get scared to answer his calls in case, you know, he somehow finds out?”
“Terrified. Every time I see his name on my screen, I hold my breath when I answer it.”
“Here’s an idea. You could always not answer it.”
“I could, but then he might actually come out here to yell at me. It’s better if it happens over the phone.”
“So, I’m guessing your lack of lawyering isn’t the reason he called this morning?”
“Nope.” Levi lifts his mug to his lips, and I watch as he swallows, trying not to flash back to last night when he was swallowing me down. He breaks me out of that imagery. Thankfully. “He was asking … well, no, Mom asked him to call to see if I was coming home for Thanksgiving in a few weeks. She probably figured he had more of a chance of getting me there than her begging and pleading with me.”
“Brady and I aren’t going home either. When our dads were here torturing us mercilessly, they told us they’re going to be on vacation.”
“Really?”
“Well, no. They said out of the country. But that’s dad speak for vacation alone so they can still bone like they’re twenty years old. Brady and I learned early on not to ask too many questions about our parents’ lives. It somehow always devolved into conversations about sex. I tell you, it was borderline child abuse.”
“Mm.” Levi grunts.
“What?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing. I still can’t get over how differently we were brought up, considering we’re from the same world. My parents were never open about that stuff, which yes, I’m thankful for, but it also made it a weird time to navigate. Especially while trying to work out I’m gay. While your parents were talking about sex and not at all preparing you to use an espresso machine, mine were leaving us to be raised by nannies and housekeepers.”
“True. It’s actually astounding to me that you can make this good coffee on your own.” I take another sip, and it’s damn delicious. “This is even better than the stuff we can get from Bean Necessities.”
“Yes, well, it helps if you grind the coffee beans first.” Levi smiles.
“I thought your machine must be super fancy and did it itself.”
“Uh-huh. And tell me, how did you make it onto the dean’s list? Did you sleep with her?”
“Yep. You jealous?”
“Of you sleeping with a fifty-year-old woman? Nah. You can have her.”
“Thanks for that image.” I shudder. “And no. I’m smart when it comes to tests. Brady taught me in high school how to cram for an exam. Don’t ask me to recite any of it now. Once the test is done, I forget all about it.”
“That will be fun for you if football doesn’t work out. How do you expect to get a job?”
I gasp. “You bite your tongue. Football is the only option for me.”
“And … you’re okay with that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I dunno. The way you talk about the pressure and everything. I thought maybe that was one thing we had in common.”
I turn to him and use my free arm to wrap around his back and pull him against me. “We do have that in common. The pressure can be crushing, but also? I kind of love it. People react to pressure in different ways. I thrive, but Brady rebels against it.”
“Hooked up with the wrong brother then. Sounds like Brady and I have more in common.”
“Are you hoping to make me jealous?”
“Would it work if I was?”
“Maybe if you were talking about anyone but my brother. Brady and I are tight. He knows you and I hooked up, so he wouldn’t go there, and let’s just say, you’re not his type anyway.”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“You’re shorter than him, skinnier than him, and you can read big words. Everything he hates in men.”
Levi laughs. “Ah, he’s into the type of guys who have more muscles than brains? I can relate.”
“Hey.”
“What makes you think I’m talking about you?”
“Wow. You’re savage first thing in the morning.”
“I only become nice once all of this is gone.” He raises his cup.
“Okay, I’ll wait until you’re finished to ask you to spend Thanksgiving at my place, then.”
“You want to spend Thanksgiving with me?”
“Don’t get too excited. Brady and I have invited a lot of the guys who aren’t going home for the break. We’re going to cook a turkey and everything.”