Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 765(@200wpm)___ 612(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 765(@200wpm)___ 612(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
“Okay,” Levi said, not completely certain what had just happened. Thane opened the door and stood there, no care that he was still completely nude, and Levi found he really didn’t want to leave. In one well-placed sentence, Thane had quieted the desperation inside him. When Levi hesitated, something speculative passed over Thane’s face. He stepped closer, pulling Levi forward, his chest bumping Thane’s.
“I don’t want you to go. If you must leave, I wish I was driving you home, but I’m trying to show I’m mindful of your obligations and wishes. So, you better go before I drop to my knees and take care of this.” Thane’s palm cupped his arousal. “You’ve made me happy tonight. I like that you have feelings for me, Levi. I like it more than you could know.” With that devastatingly sexy grin, he leaned forward and whispered against his lips. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
Thane gently pushed him out the door, but Levi left feeling more settled than he had in a long, long time.
~~~
The day had started out good, he guessed. Saturdays were set chores days. If he had the morning off, they usually started early, working together to clean the house, do laundry and yard work. Sometimes even having enough time for a grocery store run. Homework and the PT clinic were typical culprits in not getting everything done on Saturday. But they tried, because getting everything done on the weekends made the whole week easier.
Now, three hours into the scheduled cleaning day, Levi stared cynically at his brothers’ closed bedroom door as he pushed the mop over the kitchen floor. He wasn’t sure why his brothers would think today would be any different than every other Saturday they’d shared together in months.
So yeah, they’d had a late night. He’d made it home about twenty minutes before his brothers, but they’d all gone to bed by two. Still coasting on all those warm Thane feelings, Levi had even let himself sleep in this morning. Logan and Luke knew he wasn’t scheduled at the clinic today, and they’d all agreed upon a nine o’clock start time this morning. Yet, it was almost noon, and Luke and Logan were still sound asleep. In the beginning, he’d decided to give them the extra sleep. Now with the housework and laundry almost done, he’d changed his tune, deciding they were punk-asses who had strategically planned to sleep in, leaving him with all the work. He totally called complete bullshit on any oversleeping excuse.
Finishing the floor, he set the damp mop to the side of the kitchen entrance and went straight to his brothers’ bedroom door. Past the point of being the nice, considerate brother, Levi busted open the door, letting it bang loudly against the wall and flipped on the overhead light. “You guys suck. You know it’s past time to get up. I heard your alarm go off twice.”
Luke stayed bundled in his ball, not moving a muscle. Logan did little more, but at least he wore a sheepish grin. “We figured you’d be happy this morning since you got some last night and you’d give us a break… We’d all sleep in.”
“Our bad,” Luke mumbled, still not moving. Both had their eyes closed and Logan let out a loud, jaw-cracking yawn.
“What I do or don’t do plays no part in our chores. Get your butts up,” Levi ordered and reached for Logan’s blanket, jerking it off his body. He wadded the covers into a ball and threw the bundle at Luke before storming from the bedroom. The buzzer on the dryer beeped, and Levi headed that way. As he tiptoed across the possibly still wet floor, a sinister plan came to mind. He’d make his brothers do all the yard work on their own…
“I like Thane. He’s cool,” Luke mumbled, dragging into the kitchen all sleepy-eyed. He went straight for the cereal, passing by the mop-in-the-door indicator, not even caring the floor might still be wet.
“Be careful. Don’t make a mess,” Levi said and started to pull his T-shirts from the dryer.
“He bought our dinner just because we let him sit with us,” Logan added, trailing behind Luke. Levi looked up to see Logan grabbing two bowls and spoons before taking a seat opposite Luke at the kitchen table. He swore they’d live off Froot Loops if given the chance.
“He’s not like us. He doesn’t understand our way of life,” Levi said, watching Logan take the cereal box as the milk sloshed out the side of Luke’s bowl.
“I’ll clean it up. Don’t worry,” Luke immediately said before Levi had a chance to speak.
“What’s that mean that he’s not like us? Dad always said we’re who we are, not where we’re from or how we look,” Logan said, mimicking one of his father’s favorite expressions.
“Yeah. I’ve found that doesn’t always translate in the real world.” Levi sighed, eyeing Logan as milk spilled from his bowl too. What was wrong with his brothers that they couldn’t pour milk into a bowl without spilling?