The bigwigs have noticed me.
I might actually have a shot at this, after all.
My hand vibrates with another reminder notification. I scan the screen.
Charlie: Deal. Don’t forget the Beijing Beef.
Charlie: And egg rolls!
With a husky laugh, I reply.
Me: Orange chicken and spring rolls. You got it.
Charlie: Smartass. I’m gonna make Suzette give you a naughty dog tomorrow.
Face stretching into a smile, I begin to type out another smartass remark before remembering my deal with Conner. Slowly, the smile slides off my face as quickly as it appeared.
Me: See ya tonight.
Chapter Eleven
Charlie
“You’re here!” I wrap my arms around Levi’s neck for a full-body hug as if I didn’t see him earlier today.
I overreacted this morning, and the guilt has been eating me alive all day. He was only trying to help this morning, and I bit his head off for it. It isn’t his fault that I’m in love with him, and he has no idea. And it definitely isn’t his fault that he doesn’t feel the same way. We can’t change how we feel. Trust me. I’ve tried.
Chuckling, he returns the embrace before resting his right hand on my hip. My insides turn to goo at the contact, but I release him before he notices.
“You’re not mad at me anymore?” he asks, his face painted in disbelief.
“You brought Beijing Beef. How can a girl be mad at you with Beijing Beef?”
“Interesting…Beijing Beef and whittling. Noted.”
I quirk my brow. “Whittling?”
With a laugh, he mutters, “Don’t ask,” then steps into my little one-bedroom apartment. It isn’t much to look at, and most of the furniture is mismatched and secondhand, but I still love it.
“I forgot to ask for a fork since you’re a rookie,” he adds as he plops down onto the couch and starts opening the styrofoam containers.
Glaring at him, I round the kitchen counter in search of a blasted utensil. Once I have one, my tired legs carry me to the couch, and I fall down beside Levi.
Apparently, sprinting the last mile while angry is a great way to burn out your muscles.
“Ouch,” I mumble under my breath before reaching for my dinner. The smell of sweet and spicy sauce wafts through the air, making my mouth water.
“You okay?” he asks, concerned.
Waving him off, I explain, “Yeah, my legs are just exhausted. I’ve been running almost twice a day to make sure all the dogs at Forever Grey are getting enough exercise, and my legs aren’t too happy about it.”
Setting down his chopsticks, he reaches for my ankle and pulls it onto his lap. I groan as soon as his talented fingers start digging into my aching muscles.
“Oh my hell,” I moan, the Beijing Beef forgotten on the chipped coffee table. Eyes closing, my entire body melts into the cushions as I let him massage my legs. Thanks to my cotton shorts, there isn’t any fabric in the way, and I say a quick prayer of thanks to the razor gods for making sure my skin is silky smooth under his calloused hands. “You have no idea how good that feels.”
“I think I have an idea.” I can hear the amusement in his tone and peek one of my eyes open to see a smirk shining back at me. “So tell me, do the other volunteers push themselves this hard, or is it just you?”
“You know how stubborn I am. Once I’m all in, I’m all in. And that includes volunteering to help cute little doggies who like to run just as much as I do.”
“Good point. Speaking of stubborn….”
His voice trails off, which only piques my suspicion.
“Yeees?” I drag out the word before shifting to get comfortable when a very large, very erect something brushes against my upper thigh.
My eyes pop open, and I sand crab crawl backward until only my foot is resting next to him on the couch, completely forgetting what we were talking about.
“You okay there, Naïve Nancy?” he teases, still rubbing his thumbs against the arch of my bare foot.
“Umm….” I cover my face. “Don’t call me naïve and yup. I’m just dandy.”
“Good. Because if you were naïve, my little NRB would’ve made you uncomfortable, and we wouldn’t want that, now would we?”
“NRB?” The question slips out of me before I can stop it.
“No reason boner,” he clarifies with a smirk. “You do know what that means, right? Or do I need to go into more detail?”
“Nope! Nope! I’m good. Juuust dandy.”
“You said that already,” he quips, clearly enjoying my discomfort.
Tugging my foot from his