Reservations

“No, you aren’t at all. This has been awesome,” Luke said, excitement flashing in his eyes. “You should definitely come.”

His family wasn’t going to make this easy. Levi’s shoulders slumped in defeat. How would he make it through the night with Thane so close and keep his brothers from talking about work? Life sucked.

~~~

Thane scribbled his name on the bottom of the sales receipt at Moo Time, pushing the pen and paper toward the waiting clerk as Levi stepped through the front door, letting the bells rattle in his wake. Levi hadn’t ditched him. He was just following his brothers, but he knew Levi would cut him loose if given half a chance.

He hurriedly moved across the store, not paying near as much attention to his surroundings as usual. Fate had gifted him this unexpected night, and he wanted to make sure he took full advantage every single minute. Well, at least until the carriage turned to a pumpkin, ending the time with his prince, or however that fairytale went.

“It’s a fun place,” he said, coming to stand beside Levi. Instead of responding, Levi took a lick of the stacked waffle cone ice cream in his hand, his thick pink tongue leaving a path in the frozen cream. Damn! Thane had to push the image of Levi on his knees licking a wet trail across his dick out of his head before shit got serious. He took a deep, calming breath and asked, “Where are your brothers?”

“Over there.” Levi pointed to a group of kids standing directly across the street.

“Friends?” Thane asked, dipping into the cup he’d opted for over a waffle cone.

“Yeah. They’re playing a phone game. In this one, they do better in groups apparently,” Levi explained. Thane wasn’t entirely sure what Levi was staring at. He looked more lost in a thought, not necessarily watching his brothers, but definitely not giving Thane any of his attention.

“Like earning points kind of a game?” he asked.

“I think so,” Levi replied.

Maybe Levi wasn’t so lost. Perhaps it was more an avoidance deal.

“Why won’t you look at me?” he asked, moving to where he stood directly in front of Levi.

“Why are you here?” Levi’s gaze finally met his. Thane saw so much reflected at him in that stare. Honesty… Maybe some accusation, but he also saw more misunderstanding and pain. Thane had caused all of that, especially the hurt. That had him taking a pause as he stared at this captivating man, deciding the best course of action would be to just tell the truth. Levi deserved the truth—he wasn’t a game player on any level.

Thane took the bite of ice cream he’d been holding in a spoon then lifted the wad of napkins in his hand to his mouth, cleaning any remnants.

“I want to date you,” Thane finally answered.

“What?” Levi had been pretty steadily licking his cone. And yes, Thane had been watching that skilled tongue dart out every few seconds, but now, the cone in his hand had been forgotten and the look of horror on Levi’s face caused Thane to laugh.

“Levi, I moved here today. I’ve been trying to get here all week. The weather stopped…” That look of horror turned to something different as Levi interrupted him.

“Why in the world would you move here?” Since he was naming all Levi’s emotions tonight, he dubbed this latest look as startled.

“To woo you.” Thane took another bite of the sweet frozen concoction to hide his grin. At this point, it didn’t matter how Levi felt about what he’d done. Thane wasn’t going to give up on his goals.

Levi’s eyes widened, and Thane winked as he took another bite of ice cream. God, he’d love to know what was going through Levi’s mind, because his face wasn’t giving any clues. He kept his gaze on Levi, refusing to drop eye contact. Finally, Levi just shook his head and stepped around Thane. He followed the move, tracking Levi as he went. It looked like Levi was going to toss his cone in the trash bin, but at the last minute, he stopped and just the napkin he held was thrown away. “I’m not into those kinds of relationships. I don’t hook.”

His heart sank. How did they always end up right back here? “Please, Levi. I need you to stop throwing that in my face. I made a mistake, but I know who you are, probably better than you know yourself.”

“And what’s that?” The pain was back in both Levi’s voice and reflected in the glance he gave Thane over his shoulder.

Reminding himself to keep it casual, Thane tried to consider each word he could use to describe his feelings for this man, and at the same time, keep it light. They were in front of an ice cream shop on a crowded street with his brothers not fifty feet away. It wasn’t the time to go so deep.