“Is this you feeling obligated because I helped you out, or do you actually want me to stay?” Tone cautious, Joe peered deep into my eyes.
I wasn’t sure I liked the feeling that he could see what was happening inside me. I felt weirdly vulnerable, on display almost, and it would have been easy to mutter something to the floor rather than give him a real answer.
But then he would leave.
And that would be a problem because I didn’t want him to go, and I wasn’t sure he did either. So I sucked in a breath and summoned my courage. “I want you to stay.”
Chapter Five
Joe
I wanted to stay. I liked being around Levi away from the coffee shop, liked the way he listened and tried to help. The way he took direction so well and tried to anticipate what I needed was a massive turn-on. Which was exactly why I shouldn’t stay, shouldn’t eat his pizza and drink his tea, and shouldn’t pretend like maybe we could be friends. He was enough younger than me—along with his ever-present vulnerable vibe—that I needed to be the mature one and say no.
Except he was vulnerable, and his eyes were soft and big as he added, “Please.”
And that I couldn’t turn down. Him begging was turning out to be my personal kryptonite, the thing that undid all the careful control that I was usually so proud of.
“Okay.” I held up a hand when he smiled. “But we can split the order. You don’t owe me dinner for a favor I was more than happy to do.”
That, and I wasn’t about to make a guy who’d been counting down to his first check at a new job foot the bill for dinner, when I could have easily paid for us both. He had that stubborn tilt to his chin though, a pride there that I admired, so I settled for offering to split.
“Awesome.” His grin was floodlight bright and just as blinding, putting my common sense even more at risk. He pulled out his phone as we walked back to the living room. “I’ve only been here less than a month, so I’m gonna have to rely on the review site to pick a place, unless you’ve got a preference.”
“Mario’s Pizza,” I said automatically. “The main location is close to here, so we’ll get fast delivery, but they’ve got the best New York style crust in town and decent wings and other sides.”
“Sounds great.” His expression was almost comically grateful as he paced with his phone. “Tell me what you want.”
Oh, wasn’t that a loaded question. What I wanted from him and those full pink lips wasn’t going to be on any online order form and was most assuredly not on his personal menu. Not trusting the look of the spindly side chairs, I took a seat on the couch.
“My standard is an order of the original wings to split and the Godfather topping combo on my part of the pizza, but if you’re vegetarian or something, I can be flexible.”
“Not vegetarian, but I want to try the roasted-red pepper topping. Now that I’m out of the dorms, I’m bad about remembering to eat vegetables. If that’s okay?”
The way he looked toward me for approval almost made me groan. He was too perfect, and the universe was clearly into tempting me because he sat next to me on the couch rather than take one of the chairs. He wore a faded T-shirt advertising a track meet in Delaware and loose athletic shorts. His toned, fuzzy legs and bare feet were highly distracting, and it was weirdly intimate seeing him outside of his usual barista clothes.
“It’s fine,” I assured him. “That’s a tasty flavor too. Add a salad if you need even more green stuff.”
“Good idea.” He clicked around on his phone. “And done. Should be here soon.”
“Excellent.” I handed over some cash, which he accepted without word. A weird silence started to stretch between us, and Levi started worrying his poor lip again with his teeth. I glanced around the room until I found a TV mounted on the wall. “Would it bother you to turn the game on? NBA finals. Might still be the pregame show, but it’s supposed to be a good match.”
“We can do that.” He bobbed his head, adorably enthusiastic as he scrambled for the remote. He twisted his mouth from side to side as he clicked various buttons before the TV finally flickered to life. “I did it!”
“You did.” I grinned at his little victory.
“It’s been a crapshoot whether I can get it to work or not. It’s even more fiddly than the electronics in the meeting room at Bold Brew. Now to find the game.”
“I’m in no rush.” I could have offered to work the remote, but letting him have another success seemed more important, and the way he beamed when the game finally came up proved me right.