Page 28 of Unchained
Jon hadn’t been home long when Levi asked him to come to the bar. He was exhausted but couldn’t say ‘no’ to a chance to see Levi. The bar was surprisingly quiet. There was no band, and the few patrons were scattered around the bar. Levi was talking to an old man at the bar when he looked up. Jon felt his heart flutter when he saw Levi’s face light up. He said something to the old man, who turned and waved. Jon tried to remember if he had seen him before.
“Let’s go out on the patio. We need to talk.”
Those four words set loose a writhing flurry of knots in Jon’s stomach.
His concern disappeared when Levi pulled him in for a kiss.
“I missed you, Jon. I think you’re going to need to sit down for this.”
As they settled in on the bench under the tree where he’d struggled to find the nerve to even say ‘hello’, Levi laid out the entire situation with James and Alicia.
“Wait. So you’re telling me that my sister is dating your ex-boyfriend?”
“He wasn’t exactly my boyfriend.”
“And your ex came to see you at the bar to tell you this?
Levi smiled. “I guess you could put it that way.”
“First of all, how did he even know who she was talking about?”
“I guess because I’m the only guitar player named Levi he knew that was also associated with the dragon? He said he wanted to be sure about it before he said anything to her.”
“Why? That’s just…I don’t understand why he would do that. Why not just dump her and move on if she pissed him off? Was he trying to get with you?” Jon was trying to suppress his jealousy. Levi was telling him because he wanted him to be part of the conversation. He knew that if he had something to worry about, none of this would be happening. Yet jealousy was creeping into his tone.
“No, granted, the only thought I had at the time was that I had to fight the urge to shoot him. And to answer your other question, that’s just how he is. He was always a scheming drama queen, trying to keep the upper hand. I never liked that about him. In all honesty, I thought he was going to rub it in my face that he was with her.”
“He sounds like a petty bitch.”
Levi laughed. “He is. But at least he came to us before he did anything. So what do you think? If anything, it’ll make her hate me more. I don’t think it’ll change her feelings towards you. If she has any left.”
Jon looked down.
“I’m not sure she does, but…” his voice trailed off.
“Well, have you shut the door on your family? I did, and part of me has always wondered ‘what if’, but I had my reasons.” He paused, and Jon felt as if he were waiting for any reaction.
“I know you haven’t told me everything that happened, and I’m not going to push. You’ll tell me when, and if, you are ready.”
“I know, babe, and I love you that much more for it. What I was getting at, though, was that was my choice, and I wasn’t going to take it away from you. I know things are still a little raw right now, but they may not be a year from now.”
Jon sighed. “I know what you mean. I debated blocking them all on my phone and social media, but ya know what? They’ve not reached out. At all. No apologies, but no attacks either. I probably would have if they had started in on me, but it’s been radio silence since that day. I don’t know how I feel about that either. It’s like I never existed to them.”
Levi’s shoulders dropped, and he opened his mouth to speak and stopped himself. Jon wondered what he was going to say. After what felt like an eternity, Jon broke the silence.
“I know what I want to do. Do you think James would take a hit for us? If so, I have an idea. Do you think he would come over if you asked him?”
The color fled from Levi’s face. Jon felt a wicked grin crossing his face.
“Don’t worry Levi, maybe I just want to see how I compare to your ex.”
“Babe, you ain’t got nothing to worry about.”
Jon’s grin softened into a smile as Levi texted James. A response came quickly.
“He can’t come tonight. He asked about tomorrow around noon.”
“Ok, tell him to be at the house at noon. I’ll take my lunch when he gets there. That should give us plenty of time.”
“For what?”
“You’ll see.”