“That’s all I want. And Xander would want it, too.”
“I know.” Robin’s eyes went briefly sad. “I’ll always miss him. But this is my life now and exactly where I want to be.”
“Same, brother.” Only now, a tiny piece of his heart was tugging back in the direction of San Francisco. How had George gotten under his skin in a week? Then again, he’d heard of folks who hooked up one night as perfect strangers and were living together days later. Stranger things had happened—just not to Levi.
Then again, he hadn’t been the guy who wanted to settle down. He’d fucked his way through his twenties, probably breaking hearts along the rodeo circuit, but he hadn’t cared. Not back then. Not until he lost his baby brother and nearly lost his own life. But George was so young and inexperienced, and Levi didn’t know if George was even into Levi, or if Levi was simply a convenient person to explore his sexuality with. Sometimes Levi wondered if George even knew what he wanted, deep down.
They settled in their chairs again, and Levi tried to enjoy his soda and the company of his best friend. Robin nattered on about Shawn’s plan for the house for a while before he caught on that Levi wasn’t completely paying attention. “How do you feel about a zebra print couch in the living room?” Robin asked.
“Sounds good.”
“Okay, man, what is it? You’re miles away right now.”
Levi tapped a fingernail against his glass bottle. “Truth?”
“Always.”
He didn’t have to ask Robin to keep this a secret and not tell Shawn, or anyone else. Truth always was their shorthand. “I think I’ve got feelings for George Thompson.”
Robin’s eyebrows crept up. “The shy twin who just babysat your cat for a week?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure those feelings aren’t just a lot of gratitude for him rescuing Ginger and taking care of her for you?”
“I don’t know. I think that’s part of it, yes, but there something about him that I find appealing. Maybe it’s his vulnerability, maybe it’s his kindness. Both? I like how I feel when I’m around him, and I’ve really loved our lunch dates. I definitely want to see him again.”
“Lunch dates, huh?” Robin wiggled his eyebrows. “Does George know they were dates?”
“You know what I mean.”
“I know, sorry. Then hang out with him more. Get a better read on the guy. Is he gay? Bi?”
“Not my place to say.” George had confided in him and Levi wouldn’t crap on that trust by outing him. “There have been moments where I thought he was looking at my lips, and he let me hug him today. I’m probably the first new person he’s hugged in years. He’s been so sheltered, Robin.”
“You worried you’ve got too much experience, or something?”
“Maybe. I did some really questionable things at the tail end of my...spiral. Stuff I barely talked about in rehab. I can’t imagine openin’ up to someone like George about all that ugly.”
Robin thumped his knee. “Hey, I bet you and me have some similar ugly in our pasts. And for all intents and purposes, Shawn was pretty damned sheltered when we first got together. He listened when I talked. He accepted the stuff I’d done once, and he knew who I was in the present. If there’s something real between you and George? He’ll do the same thing.”
“Maybe.” Levi didn’t usually doubt himself like this but something about George made him want to be as gentle and kind as possible.
“You can tell me to fuck off, but man, did you catch something?”
Levi shook his head. “I was lucky. Had a bad scare in the hospital while waiting for test results, but no. It’s not about that, I just...can’t explain it.”
“Then maybe you should pursue it. See if there’s something between you.”
“How? Bring him another sandwich with no real excuse other than I want to see him again?”
Robin stared at him for several long moments before a smile spread across his face. “So don’t take him a sandwich. Take him something else that will help him test his comfort zones.”
“Dude, I am not going over there for a booty call. He’d slam the door in my face.”
“So not what I meant.”
Curious what his friend had in mind, Levi leaned in closer. “Okay, good. Then what?”
Chapter Seven
George tried to work after Levi and Ginger left, but all he could do was stare at the indented carpet where the crate had once been. He already missed his coworker and it had been less than an hour. Part of him wanted to leave the apartment door open just to see if Lucky would wander inside, but he couldn’t do that and work in his bedroom. And the terms of the lease prevented him from adopting a cat of his own.
One week. How had his life changed so dramatically in one week? He wanted a cat and couldn’t stop thinking about Levi and that hug. His smiles and odd mannerisms. His unique way of looking at the world.
When Orry texted that he was on his way home with Chinese takeout for dinner, George realized he’d been staring into space for most of the afternoon. Since he’d accomplished nothing productive, he gave up. Shut down his program and went into the living room to read on his phone. Orry looked exhausted when he finally got home. He dumped his keys and the food on the coffee table and thumped down on the futon next to George.
“Cat gone?”
George grunted and reached for the bag of food, stomach already rumbling from the familiar scents. “Yeah, a few hours ago. Levi was thrilled to take her home.”
“Excellent. Now I can sleep again.”
“Her yowling wasn’t that bad.”
“You wear noise canceling headphones all the time. Hand me the pot stickers.”
George found the labeled carton and passed it over, along with a plastic cutlery set. He could manage with chopsticks but Orry had never bothered to try. George had wanted to learn when he was younger so he could catch flies with them like Mr. Miyagi in those old karate movies, and while he’d never caught a fly, he could eat fried rice with them. He found a carton of Black Pepper Chicken and went to town on it.
“Where did you work today?” George asked between bites.
“Ride share job. Might have to get the car checked soon. The engine is making a weird rattle sometimes and I don’t want it to affect my customer rating.”
“Okay. You off the rest of the night?”
“Nah, got a bartending shift that starts at eight.”