Page 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Levi

I wake up with a groan. Every bone in my body aches as I turn over onto my back, my stomach curdling unpleasantly. Why does everything hurt?

And why the fuck am I naked?

“Nice, you’re up.”

“Barely,” I mutter, wincing at the pounding it sends through my head. I manage to blink an eye open, vision settling as I take in Mav sitting on the edge of the bed. “What happened last night?”

Mav frowns, reaching a hand to push back my sweat-matted hair. “I think you got wasted.”

If my eyes were physically capable of widening without giving me a stab of pain, they would. “I had one drink.”

“I think that was enough.”

I shut my eyes and huff, bringing my hands up to my face. “Seriously? That’s so lame.” A sudden thought hits me and has me shooting up, barely keeping myself decent with the sheet draped across my lap. “Wait, did Asher see me drunk?”

“You…” Mav hesitates, scratching the back of his neck. “You might have thrown up all over his shoes.”

No!

“Oh my God. Please, if there is a Lord, tell me that’s not true.” I whine, scrambling at the side table for my phone, looking to see if I have any notifications. “Was he mad?”

I scroll through my missed messages and see a couple from Asher. I breathe a sigh of relief when they’re just texts wondering how I’m doing and if I got home okay. I shoot him back a quick reply, profusely apologizing for vomiting on what I remember are a very nice pair of boots.

Mav quirks a brow as I send the message. “Well?”

“Not mad,” I tell him, burrowing under the covers to try and hide from the world. “I’m just mortified. What kind of loser gets trashed after one drink and can’t hold their alcohol?”

Mav tries to work his hand under the blanket to get me to come out, but I stay locked up. Nope. The world can swallow me whole for all I care. I’ll just stay here until the robots inevitably take control and then I’ll have a bigger problem on my hands.

“Levi…” he begins. He huffs, finally able to pull the sheet back to expose my face. “You’re not a loser.”

“Says the one who stayed perfectly sober the entire night.” I flip onto my stomach, hiding my head in the pillow. “Asher is never going to want to go out on a date with me again.”

I feel Mav’s stare burning through my back. After a moment, his fingertips make contact with the back of my neck, featherlight and ticklish touches I love. I purr like a cat, angling my head to the side so he can reach my shoulders. Growing up close, Mav’s gotten really good at knowing how to calm me down, and ‘ghost kisses’—as we like to call them—always do the trick.

“Mmm, so good,” I mumble, nuzzling my nose into his thigh. “More.”

He chuckles softly, trailing his fingers down my bare back, his blunt nails lightly scratch against my skin giving me goosebumps. “Hey, Levi?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you want to go on a date tonight?” He gulps audibly, his fingers stilling for a moment. “With me?”

I snap my eyes open and turn fully to him, furrowing my brows. “Like a practice date?”

“Sure,” he says with a shrug, but he can’t quite meet my eyes. “It can be a practice date. We can go to that pizza place you love so much.”

“You hate that place.”

“But you love it.”

I don’t even have to think it over for a second. A night out with my favorite person? “Fuck yeah, let’s do it.” I snuggle back into the pillow. “Keep going, Mavy.”

Once again, he chuckles, but continues on giving me ghost kisses that light up my skin, make my eyes droop, and lull me back to sleep.

“So, what do we do now?”

Mav stares at me, fidgeting with the top buttons of his shirt. I don’t know why he dressed up so much to just grab some pizza. I know this is supposed to be a practice date, but he didn’t need to go all out for me. I love him in his comic book t-shirts and ripped jeans. Dressed in a pair of nice slacks and a button-down shirt, he looks like he’s ready for a job interview.

“Well, it’s a date,” he says, waving a hand between us. “We get to know each other.”

I snort as I play with my soda straw. “But we already know everything about each other.”

“You don’t know everything about me,” he argues a little petulantly.

I raise both brows at that. “Oh, really ? You want to go there?” When he doesn’t answer, I crack my knuckles dramatically, dropping my neck from side to side as I prepare for battle. “I know that when you were fifteen you had your wisdom teeth removed. You’re somehow scared of spiders but fearless when it comes to cockroaches. You like to sing in the shower, very badly, might I add. Your favorite color is teal and your favorite food is jelly beans.”

“That’s all superficial shit,” he counters with a laugh.

I roll my eyes as I prop my elbows on the table and rest my chin in my hands. “Okay, whatever. Now, you tell me about me.”

“You play with your watch when you’re nervous.”

“Everyone knows that.”

“It’s because I gave it to you when we were six,” he continues, cheeks flushing a bit. “Do you remember that?”

I wrinkle my nose as I think back to it. I can faintly recall when Mav gifted me my superhero watch, claiming he didn’t want it, and encouraging me to take it. “Yeah, you said your mom already got you one.”

“I lied.”

“What?” I ask, rearing my head back a little. “Why did you do that?”

He scratches the back of his neck, pale cheeks flushing as he nibbles on his bottom lip. “Because you liked it and I’d give you anything you wanted, Levi. Then and now.”

Something warm bubbles in my heart. I chew on the inside of my cheek and squirm in my seat. That’s… That’s so fucking cute. Little six-year-old Mav was so considerate. I look around the crowded restaurant and then at the booth separating us. On an instinct I didn’t know I possessed, I slide out of my side of the booth, round the table, and settle myself next to him.

“What are you doing?” he asks, breaths stuttering when I take his hand and lace our fingers together.

“We’re on a date.” I squeeze his hand, leaning up to press a quick kiss to his cheek. “We should be close. I mean… That’s what people on dates do, right?”

He seems to hold his breath for a moment. He looks around just like I did before, and I’m not too sure why it hurts when he takes his hand away. I flush and am about to crawl back to my side of the booth when he slings his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side. When I look back up at him, my Mavy is transformed into someone else. There’s a confident smirk on his face, something sensual in his eyes as he trails his nose down my temple.

“You know what else people do on dates, baby?” he asks, kissing the tip of my ear.

“I…” I trail off on a little gasp when his other hand moves to my thigh, inching far too high for public decency. “W-What?”

“This.”

With almost practiced ease, he tips my chin up and molds his lips against mine. I sink into him, letting out a small whimper that doesn’t sound like me as he takes charge of my mouth, dominating me in a slow dripping lust, hand squeezing my thigh, his pinky brushing the tip of my aching dick.

“Mav…” I breathe against his lips, head rolling back when he starts to nip at my neck. “We’re in public.”

He chuckles, licking at the skin he’s abusing. “I know, but you’re just so hot. I can’t help myself around you.”

I grow confused. This is supposed to be a practice date but… He sounds so genuine. It makes my heart race a little, butterflies erupt in my stomach as my heart responds as if this were a real date. It’s thrilling but a little terrifying all the same. I open my mouth because I just need to get my head straight and say the first thing I can think of. “Do you think Asher will do this on our date?”

Mav stiffens, lips pausing right at my jaw. I swear he lets out a little growl while tightening his arm around me, which makes my confused dick give a little twitch. “You’re not with him right now, Levi. You’re with me.”

“I-I know,” I stammer, nodding enthusiastically when he doubles down on his efforts to make me lose my mind. My eyes widen when he fully cups me through my pants, massaging my cock with purposeful strokes and squeezes. I glance around but see that nobody’s paying attention to us, and the tables are angled so nobody could really see his hand unless they tried. Either way, the idea of doing this in public makes me wiggle as my balls tighten. “Mavy…”

“You think you’re going to make a mess, baby?” he questions, hot breath filling my ear and making me moan lightly. “Going to cream in those pretty little panties you wear?”

My face heats up. I don’t… “How do you know about those?”

“Found them in the laundry one day but didn’t want to embarrass you,” he says, lowering my zipper slightly so the pink lace I wear peeks out through the gap. “You thought you could hide these pretty things from me? Why'd you wear them tonight, Levi? Wanted to dress up for me?”

I shake my head but that’s not entirely true. I did have a choice between my usual underwear and the pretty things I keep locked away for special moments. I usually only wear them in private, just to see my own reflection, but I never thought he would know. I picked this particular pair out, my favorite, and for some reason my mind is congratulating me on that choice when he lets out a satisfied groan. “Are you going to…”

“Am I going to make you come?” he questions in my ear, fingering the lace wrapped around my cock. “I don’t know, baby. Do you want to?”

I throw my head back when he speeds up his breath, eyes darting around the restaurant to make sure we’re still not being watched. “I… Yes. Yes, please.”

“Say it,” he demands, licking the corner of my jaw. “Say my name when you get those panties wet for me.”

The visual, the way he’s talking to me, it’s like he’s a whole other person.

And my body fucking loves it.

“ Mav —”

I almost come on a shout but his lips are there to silence me. He swallows my orgasm, milking me dry as my tiny lace panties fill up with my cum. Once the shudders die down and I can think again, I find it odd that I’m not panicking.

This isn’t like me at all. I don’t do these kinds of things, but I guess with Mav I’ve always felt safe. Not once tonight did I feel like he was putting me in danger of embarrassing myself. I felt secure, comfortable, and so fucking hot .

“Um, Mavy?” I ask, letting out a small gasp when he dips his fingers into my panties before zipping me back up. “What?—”

My question is answered when he takes his cum-covered fingers and stuffs them in his mouth, keeping his eyes trained on mine as he licks my release off his skin. He pulls his fingers out with a smirk. “You taste good, baby.”

My heart stops. Since when has Mav been so…attractive? He’s not an ugly guy, and I’ve always appreciated his looks, but tonight he’s like a magnet I’m drawn to. His charisma, his charm, it’s all amped up, but it doesn’t feel disingenuous. Just like him but a little bit bolder, more confident, more adventurous.

Suddenly, I don’t want to be at the pizza shop anymore. Not because I’m upset but because I want it to be just him and I, at home in our pajamas, watching movies together. “Can we go?”

Horror strikes his face and all that sexy confident Maverick fades. “Shit. Did I go too far? I’m sorry?—”

“I just…” I swallow hard. Am I really going to say this? “I want to fast forward to the end of the date.”

He relaxes but looks at me questioningly. “The end of the date?”

“When two people like each other, they go home together. Well, in the movies they do.” I play with the buttons of his shirt, scooting closer to him as I ghost my lips over his. “And, um, they do… stuff .”

“S—Stuff?”

“Like…” You can do this, Levi. Be brave. Be bold. “Like sex.”

He nearly jumps away from me, almost like I’ve shocked him, and his jaw drops as he stares. “Sex? Sex. Like you want me to put my…and you’re going to…with me? The sex?”

I know it’s sudden but, yeah, I do want that.

Maverick was my first kiss, my first blowjob, the first person to ever make me come, and I want him to be the first person inside me. Instead of fear and nervousness at the thought of taking this next step, all I feel is excitement. It’s not a rush to get it over with, but a need to just be as close to him as possible, a need my heart doesn’t want to ignore. “Yes. Is that okay? Do you want to fuck me, Mavy?”

Damn, Levi. Go off.

Instead of answering me with his words, he nearly shoves me out of the booth so hard I fall on my ass. He curses as he frantically grabs my hands, tugging me away and toward the door. “Home. Now .”

Good thing we’ve already paid.

I can’t believe I never realized how handsome Mav is before today.

Standing in the middle of the room, the soft light coming from the lamp on my side table creates shadows on his face that make him look like a movie star. His eyes are hooded with lust, but I can see his fingers trembling at his sides.

“So…” I start, rocking on my heels with a gulp. “What do we do?”

He traps his bottom lip between his teeth with barely there restraint. “We should get naked, I think.” I nod, grabbing the hem of my shirt, but he seizes my wrist. “No, um, let me.”

I nod through a shuddering breath, freezing with anticipation as he fingers the skin just above my jeans. With slow and methodical movements, he raises my shirt inch by inch, fingers trailing on the skin he exposes. “Arms up, baby.”

I do as he says and he slips my shirt off, tossing it carelessly to the side. He kneels, hands squeezing my thighs as he falls, his open mouth panting against my jeans. I watch mesmerized as he starts unzipping my jeans, hooking his fingers around the band. When he exposes the frilly pink lace, he groans. “Are these uncomfortable?”

I nod. My underwear is caked in cum and the lace is sticking to me. He nods back, taking the panties and my jeans along with them as he strips me. I raise my foot when he taps it then do the same with the other side until he’s pulling off my socks and I’m left completely naked.

“What about you?” I question softly, reaching for him when he stands. “My turn.”

He lets me take his clothes off with the same care and delicateness he did mine. Mav’s skinny, but he’s more built than I remember. There’s no muscle or bulk, but there’s tone. There’s also the little white scar from where he got his appendix taken out, and the birthmark he has that looks like Florida. He’s perfect, I realize, as I read the story of his life written on his skin.

A story I’ve been a part of.

“What now?” I let him take the lead, but he looks nervous. It’s like he wants this to happen but doesn’t exactly know how to get us there. Me neither, if I’m being honest. I don’t watch porn, so my frame of reference for what’s about to happen is slim. “Mavy?”

It’s like knowing I need him snaps him out of whatever daze he was in. He confidently guides me until I’m sitting on the bed and bends down to fish his phone out of his jeans. “I… I did some research.”

My brow quirks up. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he says, and the blush on his cheeks tells me this isn’t like the research he normally does. “Let me pull it up.”

“YouTube?” I ask as he unlocks his phone.

“Not exactly a good place to look. I found this instead.”

My eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets when I see the front page of a porn site. Jesus Christ, it’s like horny heaven. There are thumbnails of various guys in several compromising positions and is that a?—

“I’m not ready for that,” I say quickly, shutting my eyes. “God, I’m sorry. I don’t even know where to start.”

He chuckles fondly, petting the back of my head. “I found this one video. You don’t have to watch it if you’re feeling a bit embarrassed.”

Be brave. Be bold, Levi. It’s just Mavy.

I open my eyes to see the video he’s pulled up. There’s a man propped on all fours, his ass in the air, with another man slowly teasing his hole. I expect to feel the flood of shame and paranoia but am surprised when all I feel is deep sticky lust.

“So, you have to stretch me?” I question, watching as the man slides two fingers into his partner. I look up at Mav. “Do you think it’s going to hurt?”

He shrugs. “Honestly? Maybe at first it won’t feel too great?”

My heart starts beating quickly. “O—Okay.”

“Hey.” He turns and sets his phone down, taking my face in his hands. “We don’t have to do this if you’re not ready. And, if you are ready, but want to fuck me instead, we can do that too. It’s whatever you want, Levi. Always.”

I stare into his bright blue eyes, feeling myself relax with every passing second. I got a little bit scared, but this is Maverick. My best friend. My person. He’d never hurt me, and I know he’s going to do whatever is in his power to make this good for me.

I take a deep breath as I move away from him, crawling to the center of my bed and flipping onto my stomach with my ass in the air. “There’s, um, lube in the drawer.”

I wait a few silent seconds while Mav does nothing. I close my eyes, not knowing what he’s going to say or do, but when I hear the uncapping of a tube, I relax even further. My breaths are coming out deep and panting when I feel his finger press against my hole, so gentle it’s like one of his ghost kisses.

“It’s so pretty,” he murmurs almost reverently. “Fuck, Levi. You’re so good for letting me do this to you.”

He explores me a bit more and I squeeze my eyes shut when he slides a finger in. It’s not the best feeling in the world, but after a few seconds of having him inside me, the discomfort starts to fade. When he begins pushing his finger in and out, it even feels a little bit good.

“Can I do another?”

“You’re going to have to do at least three to get your penis in there,” I snort but then immediately blush. “Sorry. Dick .”

“You can talk however you want,” he reassures me, patting my ass. “Don’t feel the need to be anyone else. I love you just the way you are.”

My breath hitches when he inserts another finger, and I fully comprehend the meaning of his words. I hide my face in the pillow as I speak. “Mavy?”

“Yeah?”

“You love me?”

“Of course I do.”

“Are you… in love with me?”

Before I know it, he slips out of me and I’m flipped onto my back. Mav’s heaving chest hovers over mine as he stares down at me, tenderly pushing one of my legs back against my chest as his fingers once again find my opening.

“I think so,” he whispers, a third finger joining the two. “I think so, baby.”

It suddenly hits me what an idiot I’ve been. Here I was, pining after the king of college football, someone popular, albeit nice, but I’ve had the perfect guy in front of me the whole time. If I thought Asher Rashford was the perfect package, well, Mav is the whole damn UPS store.

“Can you show me?” I ask softly, wondering if he’ll get what I mean. But since he’s perfect, he nods and pecks my nose. “Okay, I think I’m ready now.”

He lets out a shaky breath and grabs some more lube, slathering far more than necessary on his…cock. We don’t need to have the conversation about condoms because we were virgins before each other. He holds himself by his elbows as he presses against my hole, dropping his forehead against mine. “You ready?”

I smile shakily, latching my hands onto his shoulders, digging my nails into his skin. “Let’s do this. It’s just like the quest for the Ogger Stone.”

“Just another journey we’re on together,” he teases.

And then slowly, very slowly, he slides in and everything fits perfectly into place.

Well, I wouldn’t describe it as perfect . It’s perfect because it’s my Mavy, but it is a bit uncomfortable. The stretch is far more than I imagined, and it does sting for a brief second. He notices when I wince, and his eyes are apologetic as he kisses my lips. “We can stop?—”

“No,” I whine, pulling him closer. “Just give me a second to get used to it.”

We stay still like that for a long time. I don’t exactly know how long until I start to see his arms tremble with the strength to keep himself up. I kiss his bicep, nuzzling my nose against his skin, and he automatically relaxes.

“You… You feel so good,” he says through a breathy chuckle. “Jesus, Levi. Baby, you’re hugging me so tight.”

“You can move now,” I tell him, wiggling my hips a little to test the theory. When I feel nothing but pleasure, I do it a bit more and smile widely when he moans. “Was that good?”

“So fucking good,” he growls, taking one hand and resting it on my hip. “How about you fuck me? Fuck me at your pace. Show me how much you love my cock.”

What I really love is that dirty mouth.

I do as he tells me, moving my hips, lifting up as he stays still. He throws his head back when I speed up, taking his full length, my stomach screaming in protest because I never go to the gym and here I am getting a full-on ab workout.

“Not going to last long,” he says through gritted teeth, tightening his grip on my hip. “Shit, stop. I can’t?—”

“It’s okay,” I tell him, continuing my movements when he lets go of me. “Please, Mavy. Come inside me.”

“I think I need to touch you,” he says, more to himself than me, and grabs my dick. “Tell me how you like it, Levi.”

“Just like that,” I whimper, moving against him faster, practically fucking his fist. “Just a little more…”

He leans down, nipping at the corner of my jaw, something ferocious but loving in his eyes when he looks at me. “Do it. Paint my hand with your cum, Levi. Show me what a good boy you can be.”

That sets me off. My hips swiveling on his dick, his hand around my cock, his dirty words, the love that lingers in the air and the fact that this is my best friend I’m doing this with makes me come. Hard.

I let go, shouting his name for our neighbors to hear, so there’s no mistaking who’s making me feel this good.

“ Yes !” he shouts, slamming me down onto the bed as he delivers one hard thrust. “Fuck!”

He slumps on top of me as I feel his cum filling me up. We lay there breathless for who knows how long, hugging each other close, and I realize just how amazing sex can be with my best friend.

I can picture this moment going on forever, and I was a fool to think there’d be anybody else besides him.

“Is it bad that it only lasted a few minutes?” he asks, face still buried in my shoulder, insecurity in his voice.

“We’ll get better at it,” I tell him, poking at his side. “Maybe we can even go for a full five with enough practice.”

He lifts his head and the overwhelming joy in his eyes is enough to knock me on my ass. “Yeah. Practice sounds good.” He chews on the inside of his cheek, flicking his eyes to the side. “And Asher?”

“Will officially know tomorrow that I’m off the market. Right now, I just want to spend time with my boyfriend,” I say proudly, smirking like a madman when he gasps. “What? Don’t like the word?”

He shakes his head, showering me with kisses. “My boyfriend is such a dork.”

I giggle when he tickles my side, squirming away from him until we’re lying side by side. “So, boyfriends?”

He nods, wrapping an arm around my waist and hauling me closer. “Boyfriends.”

We rest our foreheads together, basking in the new and incredible turn of events. Eventually we have to leave the bed to clean me up, but we find ourselves back under the covers quickly after. As we begin to fall asleep in each other’s arms, I have the faintest thought in the back of my head. Just because Asher Rashford wasn’t the one, doesn’t mean I can’t thank him.

Because without him, I might never have realized that my Mavy is the one for me.

So, right on the cusp of sleep, I settle deeper into Mav’s warm arms and whisper in his ear?—

“I love you too.”