Sweet Soul
Page 43Levi came close to me, throwing his arm around my shoulders pulling me close. I saw the surprise on the boys’ faces as he did.
“Alabama,” the blond one in the front said, then looked to me. “You’ve been keeping this quiet. What the hell? You got a girl and you didn’t say?”
Levi shrugged, then said, “Elsie, this is Jake. Ashton is the dark haired one behind.” Jake and Ashton threw their hands up in a wave. I gave them a small smile.
The two girls arrived to stand beside the boys, and as the red-haired girl’s eyes fell upon me, I felt Levi pull me in just that little bit tighter. In an instant I understood why, because once her eyes had inspected me, they landed on Levi, and not once did they leave him after that. Jake, the blonde, tipped his head in the light haired girl’s direction and said, “This is my girlfriend, Stacey.” He turned to his girlfriend. “Stace, this is Elsie, Alabama’s chick.”
“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend, Levi,” Stacey said.
Levi’s hold froze, but then relaxed when he said, “Yeah. I do.”
A lightness filled my heart as he told them, proudly, that I belonged to him. His girlfriend.
His.
“I’m Harper,” the redhead said, and held out her hand for me to shake. I glanced to Levi, but then offered my hand when he nodded that she was okay. With her hand still in mine, she asked, “What was your name again?”
She waited for my response, but my throat had lost all its use; no words came out. I pulled back my hand, panic and anxiety like poison in my veins. She was too like those girls, looked too much like Annabelle.
I turned to Levi. Seeing a crooked calming smile on his lips. I melted into his chest, inhaling deep, filling my nose with his spiced scent. Levi pressed a kiss to the top of my head, and I knew what that simple kiss meant: he had me.
“So you coming to the dinner in two weeks, Elsie?” Ashton asked.
Keeping my cheek pressed against Levi’s chest, I shrugged. Ashton nodded, but I could see questions written all over his face.
Jake laughed. “Seems like you’ve found a chick that likes to talk about as much as you, eighty-four. She’s perfect for you.”
My heart plummeted, feeling like I was embarrassing Levi, when he said, “She talks plenty, man, she’s just shy meeting new people, that’s all.” I heard Levi’s heartbeat increase, my right ear at his pec, then he added, “But yeah, she’s pretty perfect for me, you got that part right.”
Levi nodded, then exhaled a deep breath. “We gotta go, guys. I’m taking my girl out.”
Jake stepped back, but asked, “It’s probably a no, but we’re having a party tonight and…” Jake trailed off. Levi laughed.
“Nah, man. But thanks. Catch you next week.”
Levi immediately opened the Jeep’s passenger side door and I stepped inside. Before he moved to the driver’s side, he leaned in to press a gentle kiss to my lips. As he pulled back, I gave him a questioning look. That familiar redness coated his cheeks, and he said, “Just like calling you my girl, that’s all. It sounded real good on my lips.”
Levi’s girl.
* * * * *
Levi took us to a restaurant on the waterfront. It was a small Italian, very secluded and private. He held my hand as the server led us to an outside table overlooking the Puget Sound. There were heaters at the top of the table making it comfortable to sit out in the dry night air.
We had barely sat down when a man came out smiling, aiming directly for Levi. “Ciao, come stai, Levi?” the man said, obviously speaking Italian.
My heart stopped. No, almost burst when Levi stood looking handsome in his team suit and shook his hand.
“Bene, Carlo, et tu?”
My mouth fell open as I listened to Levi talk in fluent Italian with the manager, his soft shy voice bold and colorful as his tongue wrapped around the consonants and vowels.
The man must have asked something about me, as Levi smiled down at me, nodding his head. “Si,” he replied, his head lowering in timidity. “Lei é la mia ragazza.”
The man tapped Levi on his arm, and replied, “Ah, é bella.”
Levi sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, and I couldn’t help but blush. Carlo moved toward me, taking my hand. He pressed a kiss to the back of my hand and said, “Buon appetito.”
I nodded my head in thanks, as Carlo walked off and left us alone. Levi sat down, but he didn’t lift his head. I reached across the table to take his hand resting on the top. Levi inhaled deeply and met my eyes.
I shook my head. “You speak Italian?”
A shadow seemed to pass across Levi’s eyes and he nodded his head. “Yeah,” was all he said. I squeezed his hand letting him know I wanted more, when he ran his free hand down his face. “My mamma was Italian, from Florence. She moved here to be with my pop.” He glanced up then back down and added, “She only really spoke to us in Italian. Austin brings us here a lot. That’s how we know the manager.”
I didn’t realize how hard I was gripping Levi’s hand until my fingers began to ache. Pulling myself closer to the table, I brought our joined hands to my face and ran his hand down my cheek, only to land on my lips so I could press a kiss to his warm skin. Levi watched my every movement. He swallowed as I stayed quiet. But I said everything I needed to say with that kiss—I understood.
“So,” Levi rasped, emotion thick in his voice, “What did y’all think of the game?”
I shook my head looking out onto the full moon reflecting off the water. “It was surreal,” I replied, the water rippling in the gentle wind. I looked back to Levi and continued. “It was so full of people, people chanting your name, and watching you like you were a God.”
Levi’s expression was guarded as I spoke. He looked out over the water too, but he ran his thumb over the back of my hand and asked, “Is it… could it be something you could get used to?”