Love Me Tomorrow (36 page)

Typically, you meet a guy, go out on a few dates, and start having sex. If the relationship continues to develop over the coming months, he spends the night at your apartment and vice-versa. There’s a natural progression to things that allows a couple to slowly observe and settle into one another’s habits and personality ticks before cohabitation ever occurs.

Levi and Jake didn’t get that.

For the two of them it was love by proxy—they’d willingly given their hearts to one another, sealing the deal with that first amazing kiss before taking the time to read the fine print.

That meant little things like Jake’s inability to consistently ensure his used Q-tips made it inside the bathroom trashcan and leaving clumps of toothpaste stuck to the bottom of the sink were none-too quaint discoveries for Levi—who didn’t fool himself into believing Jake didn’t have a similar list of his own detailing the things Levi did which drove Jake equally crazy. It was likely a longer list considering Jake had more experience at co-habitation than Levi did.

To his credit, it only took Levi a few days to come to the realization that none of it mattered. He tried not patting himself on the back too much considering he was well aware this newly enlightened state of being had more to do with love than it did any new-found maturity. Having experienced such a profoundly gut-wrenching desire to be with Jake for several months while simultaneously believing he’d never have the opportunity to do so—it had forever altered Levi as an individual. He’d made the conscious decision to no longer sweat the small stuff.

Within weeks of that first night they’d spent together, Jake had moved all of his things into Levi’s loft—though it didn’t remain
his
loft for very long. Jake quickly went about transforming the place from a generic living space into a home which represented each of their personalities. They’d gone together and picked out most of the larger pieces, like the dining room and bedroom furniture, entertainment centers, etc. In truth, Levi didn’t particularly care all that much. His job had a tendency to suck all the creativity out of him and was a good outlet for the detail-oriented, inner-control freak side of his personality.

When it came to hearth and home, Levi simply didn’t have the energy.

He was happy Jake was willing and capable of handling that aspect of their new life together because as it turned out, the only thing Levi truly required to turn their house into a home was Jake. Their proximity to one another was all he needed—Levi craved that over anything else.

When it came to Jake’s taste in decorating, shabby-chic was what sprang to mind, lots of reclaimed items such as old porcelain Harley Davidson signs and rustic farm-house shelving units which held his massive collection of LPs and vintage mid-century stereo equipment. Then there were the few antique medical and fire-fighting related items, the most disturbing of which, was the collection of vintage glass syringes mounted inside a curio cabinet that hung on the wall. Levi had to admit they were sort of interesting to look at—so long you didn’t pause long enough to think about the whole stabbing for blood aspect.

The man had a serious hard-on for the television show,
American Pickers
. Jake would even re-watch episodes he’d seen already, which Levi couldn’t manage to wrap his head around. Some hidden treasure-hunting aspect of his new boyfriend’s personality took pleasure out of living vicariously through the two dudes that climbed through mounds of scrap metal and old barns filled with hoarder-booty. Levi didn’t understand it, but he secretly liked that newly discovered part of the man he now thought of as his partner.

Miraculously, Jake’s rustic items somehow managed to blend well with the casual-contemporary furniture they’d picked out and the old-world, turn-of-the-century restoration style of the loft itself. The inner history-buff aspect of Levi’s personality was able to appreciate Jake’s taste for these eclectic items from yesteryear. They piqued Levi’s interest, making him curious to find out more about the items themselves as well as what they meant to Jake.

Thankfully, Levi had the rest of life to get to the bottom of all these different aspects of Jake’s personality. He grinned, thinking about how much fun he was going to have doing just that, while stirring the mushrooms which were finally ready for consumption. He poured the contents of the skillet into a serving dish and deposited the pan into the sink.

Removing the apron, Levi grabbed the light blue dress shirt off the barstool and slipped it on before grabbing the mushrooms and heading out the apartment door.

Time go face the firing squad
.

* * * *

Jake’s biggest contribution to their co-habitational living space was the rooftop garden he’d spent the past five months pulling together. Jake had done a lot of the work himself, but they’d contracted out most of the big stuff in order to have it ready for use before the entire summer passed them by.

There were three other buildings surrounding 219 Waterfront Drive that were butted up against their building on each side and from behind. They were all taller, either five or six stories, which meant they didn’t have full sun all day long on their rooftop. Aside from that, there were also windows from neighboring buildings that looked down upon them, but it was added square footage Jake had pulled out of thin air.

For Jake, it was also like having a tiny slice of that country, farm life he’d enjoyed so much when he visited his Grandpa Frank as a kid—affording him the opportunity to plant stuff and get his hands dirty.

The roof had been broken up into three areas, two of which were covered with pergolas on the very front and back side of the building. The third was an open area in the center and featured rows of stone and cedar planting beds filled with a wide variety of potted trees, shrubbery and flowers. There was a modest water feature in the center and it was all connected by limestone paved pathways linking each space to the other. The greenery hadn’t had time to fill in yet, so everything still looked new, but in a year or two Levi could imagine how lush everything would be.

Of the two separate pergolas, one sat on the north side of the building, covering a large, rustic rectangular dining table where everyone was currently seated for dinner. It sat up on a raised cedar deck next to an outdoor kitchen with a large gas grill and a wet bar.

The second pergola was Levi’s favorite spot, and it sat along the opposite, south side of the roof, also spanning the width of the building. It was a lounge area, with two separate wood-plank bases built up like four-poster beds with thick, dark grey colored cushions. They were each six feet in depth and had a footboard and headboard allowing them to lay out flat or prop themselves up either direction.

Levi was looking forward to wasting away long, relaxing days staring out over the water.

The fourth floor was the only one that had rooftop access, which made the space theirs by default, but Jake had convinced Levi to purchase the two floors below and refinance all the lofts into one loan, separate from the storefront on the main level. It made Levi nervous, tying up so much money in real estate, but Jake had also invested his money, dipping into his nest egg so they could do it together. On the plus side, they now controlled the entire building, but the downside of all that—they were now landlords, with actual tenants.

So much had changed in the past six months, but for better or worse, Levi and Jake had financially joined themselves together if not matrimonially so. No one could accuse them of treading lightly. They’d each jumped in head first and had literally put their money where their mouths were. That fact should’ve had Levi nervous; any sane person would’ve been, however, he was anything but sane at that point. Despite the fact that being madly in love was exhausting—something people fail to mention in all those romance novels and movies—Levi wouldn’t have traded any of it for all the money on the world.

If that old urban myth were true and the Average Joe only used ten percent of their brain, then being in love with Jake would’ve been the equivalent of using one hundred percent of it. Levi had a very visceral reaction to Jake—all five of his senses went haywire whenever they were in the same room together. It was deep and primal. Levi was quite literally addicted to the man, and would’ve willingly overdosed were it possible to do so.

You know you’re riding that line of insanity when you accept the fact that were your partner to ever accidently run over a drifter on a dark and stormy night, you’d willingly help him get rid of the body.

As much as Levi hated admitting to that fact, he loved Jake that much. Fortunately for Levi, if Jake were to accidently run over someone, he’d leap out and try to save them without a second thought.

Jake was good like that.

Looking around the table, Levi got a bit overwhelmed by the faces seated between him and Jake at the opposite end. While they’d had everyone over in smaller groups at one point or another during the past few months, this was their first official dinner party. Levi had been uneasy over the mix, in spite of Jake’s insistence that all would be fine. That being said, it felt wrong to have Gregory and Julia seated at the same table with his over-the-top mother and Valerie, who enjoyed spouting off one inappropriate zinger after another. He was currently grateful that Keith had been otherwise engaged, as his presence would have no doubt pushed things right over the edge of absurdity.

Angelo had turned into a natural instigating agent for Valerie ever since they’d decided to move in together as roommates, which only served to further cement Levi’s concern. On top of that, he still didn’t know Jake’s partner on the wagon, Craig and his wife Sophia, well enough to predict how they might fit into the mix. They’d had dinner with them on several occasions and each time Levi found himself completely mesmerized by Sophia’s accent. The woman sounded exactly like Salma Hayek and she seemed to be both aware and quite pleased by the fact Levi found her so irresistible.

Craig and Sophia met in Mexico City the summer after Craig had graduated from high school. He’d been ‘bumming’—
Craig’s word choice
—his way through Mexico trying to decide whether or not he wanted to go to college. She was waitressing in a small café—trying to save up money before heading back to school for her final year at university. By the end of that summer the two of them had become inseparable.

They were both attractive people, but there was something about them as a couple, it was like Craig and Sophia’s attraction and admiration for one another made each of them even more attractive as individuals.

At the end of the day, Levi had relented all of his own concerns, forsaking them for Jake’s rose-colored view of the world. Jake emphatically believed that they shouldn’t keep certain parts of their lives and friends segregated from one another. Levi wasn’t convinced his cocky new fiancé was right in the head, but he’d gone along with it anyway.

Nevertheless, he instinctively believed this evening was most assuredly a recipe for disaster, but Levi was praying he was wrong for Jake’s sake if nothing else. Despite all the issues Jake had gone through with his parents, the man still somehow managed to remain the eternal optimist. Perhaps it was a necessary personality trait for someone who dealt with life and death on a regular basis.

That was another part of the mystery and mystique for Levi when it came to Jake Freeman—that he was able to take in the very worst part of humanity and somehow filter it—coming out on the other side of a shift still able to manage a smile upon seeing Levi. He knew it wasn’t all bad, that along with death, came life—saving lives, bringing new ones into the world or calls like the one that brought Jake into Levi and Ruby’s life.

Happy accidents, he thought, smiling to himself.

“The food is delightful gentlemen,” Julia said, breaking the silence that had fallen upon the table after everyone had begun eating.

Multiple groans and moans of agreement came from around the table as Levi pointed at Jake. “Your brother would be mainly responsible for that, Julia. At best, I helped a little.”

Valerie scoffed. “Hello, I totally made the potatoes.”

“My apologies little spudling,” Levi said sarcastically, eliciting a scowl from Valerie.

“The tenderloin is amazing, Jake.” Gregory took another bite.

Angelo grinned, picking up his wine glass to toast. “Thank goodness for men who know how to handle their mea—”

“It’s become painfully obvious,” Levi said, interrupting Angelo while shooting him a death-glare, “that I’m fairly useless in the kitchen.”

Angelo was grinning like a naughty child, no doubt fully aware and pleased that everyone around the table understood where he was headed before Levi managed to cut him off. Valerie picked up her wine and clinked glasses with him, though no one else offered to do the same.

“I’m amazed with what you’ve managed to do up here,” Sophia said, motioning out across the rooftop. “This came together really quickly.”

Jake nodded. “That is mainly due to Levi.”

“You planned all of this yourself, babe,” Levi said, not wanting to take any of the credit.

“And you organized the installation schedule and plotted the entire process out.”

“He could have totally done all this without any help from me,” Levi admitted.

“Not in such a short amount of time,” Jake clarified. “It was definitely a team effort.”