Page 9

LEVI

This is awkward.

As Mav and I lie next to each other the morning after, I’m keenly aware of the fact that we’re both naked. Not just naked. His cum is leaking out of me, staining the sheets below, and making me squirm at the interesting sensation. It’s not weird, just different, and I wonder how much longer I need to wait before I can clean up.

We’re both on our backs staring up at the ceiling. When I turn my head, I see that Mav has this wide-eyed look to him, almost like everything he’s ever known to be true is crashing into reality in front of him. I wince at that. Does he…

“Mavy…” I whisper, wondering whether I should snap my fingers in front of his face, because he’s still on another planet right now. “So… We had the sex.”

“Uh-huh,” he mumbles, and I swear his eyes are glossy with something that makes my stomach hurt.

I pout but then clear my throat. I can be firm, right? Mav makes it look so easy. I take a deep breath and square my shoulders as best as I can laying down. “Mav. Look at me.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“ Mav …”

“Maybe later.”

“Maverick Harold Xavier Cooper! Look at me right the frick now!”

That snaps him out of it. He whips his head to the side, jaw dropped as he looks at me like he doesn’t even know me. “ Levi , I never?—”

“Save the clutching of the pearls for later,” I bite out, sassy as hell now that I’ve unlocked this new… Well, I don’t know what you’d call it, but fuck I feel powerful. “What are you thinking?”

He furrows his brows. “About what?”

Baby Jesus in a manger, help me.

I sigh and turn on my side. I reach for him, and thankfully he comes willingly. Like it’s so natural for us, he takes me into his arms, and I sag against his chest. “You’re scaring me.”

“Shit.” He tenses as his arms squeeze me tighter against him. “I’m sorry. I just needed a minute.”

I peek up at him and frown. My heart lurches with a painful pang that resonates through my entire tiny being. “Are you… Are you still my boyfriend? Because I guess if you want to take it back I’d understand.”

It would break my heart though. I’d probably cry for forever plus infinity. I was so stupid pining after Asher Rashford when the real thing had been in front of me all along. Now that I finally have my Mavy the way it’s meant to be, I’d be heartbroken if he decided I was too much work.

Or worse. What if he can’t forgive me for using him as a way to gain more experience for another guy. That’s not cool, right? I mean, I swear I didn’t know he liked me until literally eight hours ago, but I should have?—

“Levi, baby. It’s okay,” Mav reassures me, petting the back of my head. “Do you think you can let go of me?”

I gasp in shock at his words but then quickly realize that I’m actually digging my nails deep into his bare shoulders. Pulling back my hands, I wince and give him a tiny apologetic shrug. “Sorry.”

He smiles softly at me and pushes a strand of hair off my forehead. “Let’s get something straight here. Of course I’m your boyfriend. What you just saw was me…”

When he trails off and his cheeks burn pink, I quirk a brow in curiosity. “What did I see?”

He mumbles something under his breath, but when I poke at his side, he shoots me a look and relents. “You just saw me acknowledging that I’m a goddamn idiot for not coming to this realization earlier.”

“What realization?”

“That I’m completely and obsessively in love with my dorky-ass, forever-awkward, and perfect best friend.”

Oh wow…

That’s just the nicest thing I’ve ever heard!

“Ah!” I yip, throwing myself at him and tackling him back onto the bed. “Really? You mean it?”

He snorts. “That you’re dorky and awkward? Of course— Shit! That hurt!”

I don’t even bother saying sorry for the pinch I gave his butt. “Be serious. How did you know you were in love with me?”

To this, he pulls me onto his chest and tucks the top of my head under his chin. He gives me ghost kisses with his fingers as he hums. “I think I always have been. It just took Asher and kissing you to realize that you’ve always been mine. It… unlocked something I didn’t realize I’d been keeping inside.” He looks down at me. “And you?”

“When did I realize I’m in love with you?” That’s an easy answer. “Well, Asher is great and all. Super cute and smart and?—”

“ Levi .”

“—But he’s not you,” I giggle, pecking his chest. “I don’t know. When I realized that I wanted you to have all my firsts, that maybe we could be more than what we were, it unlocked something inside me too.”

He lets out a deep huff, his blue eyes bright with concern. “So, you’re in this? We’re together now?”

“Yes,” I say definitively. “You’re the one I want, Mavy. I’m just sorry it took me this long to know it.”

Finally, I get a real Maverick smile. “Boyfriends.”

“Boyfriends.” But suddenly a pang of nerves hits me. “What if I’m not a good boyfriend?”

He cocks his head. “How could that be possible?”

“I mean, what are we supposed to do?” I ask, waving my hands so dramatically I hit his nose. “Oops, sorry, but seriously. Like do we go out on dates? Do we kiss in public? Do we hold hands when we’re playing DND? Showers? How do those work? I?—”

He shuts me up with his lips, cupping my cheeks so firmly, I feel his reassurance. When he pulls back, he chuckles, but I’m not too upset because he just looks so damn happy. “You know what we need?”

“YouTube.”

We say it at the same time and laugh our asses off. Lunging, he tickles me in all the spots he knows threaten to make me pee. We wrestle a bit on the bed, going back and forth with who’s on top and who’s shouting for mercy.

And I think maybe having a boyfriend isn’t so scary at all.