“Alright, see you in the morning.”
“Thanks for the
ride!”
Walking up to her house, Hayes worried about what to tell her father. She’d explained to him that she wanted to spend the night with Levi and get to know the man, deepen the feelings they had for each other. She hadn’t planned on them having sex, but in the moment, it felt like the right thing to do. She worried he wouldn’t understand.
“Hey, kiddo.” The man himself walked out from the small garage next to the house.
“Morning, Dad.” She grinned seeing him covered in oil and grease.
“Was that Alyssa dropping you off?”
Shuffling her feet, she dreaded answering. “It was.”
He watched her as she fidgeted. “Did he do something wrong?” The man stepped towards her, on the verge of anger if she said yes.
“Levi is wonderful, Dad.” Her face beamed as she said his name. “His mom was at his house this morning, and I don’t think she likes me.”
“It’s her loss then, honey. Doesn’t tell me why Alyssa drove you home and not him, though.”
“I called her before he had a choice. It seemed like the two of them had a few things to talk about.” Her father thought about her explanation before nodding his head. “What are you working on?”
He seemed surprised by her question.
“Changing the spark plugs and doing an oil change.”
Now her dad wasn’t the most mechanically inclined person in the world, but he’d done these things her entire life. Mostly when he was stressed out about something. So, she offered to help. Something she’d never done before.
“I’d like that, Hayes.” His eyes lit up with joy, and for the first time, she realized just how broken her family had become since her accident and Ryder’s death.
Hugging him, she whispered, “I love you, Daddy,” before pulling back.
“Love you too, kiddo.”
“I’m just going to run in and say hi to Mom and change.”
He nodded before turning back to the garage. She went inside feeling lighter than she had in over a year. Even with how the morning started out, she had hope for the day. Hayes refused to let Levi’s mom’s attitude bring her down.
“So, Knuckles,” Tiny started in on Levi the minute he walked into the gym. “She got a sister or something? I’d like me a piece of that.” He laughed like it was a joke.
Levi ignored the giant of a man and went straight to the changing rooms, fully intent on getting his workout over with and going to get Hayes. He didn’t have anything planned other than spending time with her. It’s all he wanted to do. Being around her gave him a fresh perspective on his life. She made him feel whole when for so long he was an empty shell.
“She outta your system now or what?” Casper interrupted him.
“Excuse me?” Levi turned, glaring at the man.
“I can only assume the sappy look on your face when you walked in is because you banged the chick. You good now, or what?”
“Fuck you, Casper.” No matter how much he itched to flatten the prick, he couldn’t. Yet.
“Get your fucking head in the ring, Levi. She ain’t worth more than a ring bitch, and you know it.”
His control snapped.
Slamming Casper against the wall, he growled. “Call her a bitch one more fucking time, and I’ll end you.” Shock lit the man’s face like a fucking Christmas tree. “I told you before, she’s not to be messed with. She’ll be around as long as I am.” Dropping his arm from the man’s neck, Levi spun around to leave. Just as he reached the door, he said, “Don’t forget, Casper, you need me more than I need you,” before walking out.
“You good?” Cam asked clapping him on the back.