Off the Ice (The Penalty Kill Trilogy) (Volume 2) (10 page)

Levi

I feel high on life. Things are working out nicely, and in my favor, left and right. This is a busy semester too. Between Presley, classes, spring break, the trip to Pittsburgh, and hockey, I’m surprised I have time to think. I’ve just left campus and I’m headed to Mom’s grave before going to workout with Trevor.

When I arrive, I take my usual seat and run a hand through my blonde hair. Today is one of those days where the sadness rises and overwhelms me. I
miss
her like crazy. I thought that coming here would have the usual effect and make me feel better, but not today. Sighing, I touch the corner of the stone before leaving for the gym.

We’re working out in RU’s gym today, and Trevor is already here. We don’t say much as we get started. A couple guys walk by and say hey, but then Sunny walks up to me while I’m on the bench press. I put the bar back in its place and sit up. Out of the corner of my eyes, I see Trevor slow down and watch us.

“Hey, Sunny. How’s it going?”

“
Eh.” She shrugs. She stands extremely close to me, running a finger along my shoulder. “How have you been?”

“
Great. Everything work out with your parents?”

“
Yeah, everything’s good.” Sunny pauses, then smiles. “I’ve missed you.”

“
No, you don’t, Sunny.”

“
Fine.” She rolls her eyes. She leans down and whispers in my ear, “I just miss the sex.” Sunny pulls my ear between her teeth and sucks gently.

“
Sunny,” I warn. She needs to get her mouth away from me. Not that I would cheat on Presley, but I don’t need this. Not today. Trevor appears to have stopped, clearly watching us now. “Aren’t you sleeping with Jere or someone now?”

Finally, she sighs and stands upright again. “Yeah, but you’re one of the best, Levi. Maybe the redhead would be okay with me and you? Or even all three of us?”

Is she fucking kidding me? First off, I wouldn’t want to share Presley with anyone, even a girl. No way in hell. She’s just stepped onto the first level of crazy. “Sunny, you’re out of your mind.
I
wouldn’t be okay with that. Go jump whoever you’re sleeping with now. I’m a little busy at the moment.”

Sunny frowns. “You’re no fun when you’re tied down, Levi. But whatever.”

Thankfully, she walks away and I take the chance to look to McCarthy.

“
I don’t even know,” he says with the shake of his head. I can’t help but laugh because I realize everything he heard. “At least now I know that you wouldn’t cheat on her. Well, not with that girl.”

“
Not with any girl, McCarthy. I think I’ve hurt Presley enough,” I snap. Without waiting for a response, I go to the other side of the gym to finish my workout. Even though his comment was somewhat make jokingly, it pissed me off. Yeah, I’m an ass and a jerk, but I’m not a cheater. I drop the weight to the floor with a thunk. Fuck this. I’m still feeling restless from going to my mother’s grave and combine that with what just happened I’m ill and aggravated. I go to the locker room, grab my things, and get in my SUV.

Minutes later, I’m at the rink. Hopefully, this will relax me. I sit on the bench with my head in my hands, focusing on simply breathing. My phone rings and I groan.

“What?” I growl.

“
Everything okay?” Presley asks. “Trev said -”

“
Of course he did. I’m fine. We’re fine.
Everybody
is fine,” I interrupt because I really don’t want to talk to anyone right now or hear that Trev told on me like we’re five.

“
Don’t talk to me like that, Levi.” Maybe my mood is contagious based on her snippy tone. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“
Well, I am. Later.” I hang up without waiting for a reply and turn my phone off. A few minutes is all I need. Just a few minutes to clear my head, so I can think clearly. Closing my eyes, I bury my face in my hands once more. Silently, I begin listing all the good things in my life.

I am fine. Things are going good for me. I’m making good grades. My future in hockey is taking shape. Dad’s doing well and is healthy. We’re going to a game soon and Presley is going to go crazy over that. Spring break is coming up. Presley is doing well in school, and she’s her usual amazing self. She loves my dad as much as I do. She’s finally starting to have the relationship that she’s always wanted with her parents. We’re both healthy and happy. I’m sitting in one of my favorite places, and I’m finally starting to relax.

“Levi James Carr!”

I look up at the sound of a pissed off Presley. “Hey, Smarty.” I smile, which pisses her off more.

“Don’t you smile
now
. What happened to the annoyed with everyone, including
me
, Levi that hung up on me and then turned off his phone?” Presley pokes my chest when she comes to a stop in front of me. “I was just going to let it go because I figured you were just in a mood, but then
I
got pissed.” I take her wrists while she rants, and pull her into my lap, so she straddles me. “Yeah, sometimes, you probably need some time to yourself, but that is
no
reason for you to hang up on me, talk to me like that, or turn off your phone!” I try not to, but I can’t help but smirk at how worked up she is. “Don’t smirk at me, Levi! If you want to be alone, that’s fine, but don’t you dare hang up on me.”

I nod at her and shift in my seat slightly. Her eyes widen for a moment, but then she squares her shoulders. “You are
not
getting turned on right now! I’m still pissed at you. I didn’t do anything to you and I didn’t deserve to be treated like that. And why are you smiling?” She finally takes a breather, and I realize that she actually wants me to answer.

“
You’re so cute when you’re mad.” Smarty groans and rolls her eyes. “Are you done?” She nods. “I’m sorry. I didn’t sleep well last night. My classes threw even more work on me. I’ve been thinking about my mom all day. Then that shit at the gym and I just needed a little break. You called right when I was trying to begin to relax. I’m sorry for snapping at you and hanging up on you. All better?”

“
What happened at the gym? Trev just said he thought he made you mad.”

I sigh and rest my forehead against hers. “I don’t want to talk about it right now. I just got in a good mood, Smarty.”

“Okay. I probably shouldn’t have come looking for you if you were in a bad mood and wanted to be by yourself, but I was so mad that you would hang up on me.”

“
Well, next time, I’ll tell you and then you won’t have to come after me like a crazy woman.”

Her lips form that tiny pout. “I am not crazy.”

“Just then, you were. Just a little bit,” I chuckle, running my hands up her back and into her hair.

Presley rolls her eyes. “Are you coming over tonight?”

“I don’t know. I’ve got a paper to write and-”

“
Write it at my place. It’s quiet over there and you’ll be able to concentrate better,” she tries.

I raise an eyebrow at her. “You aren’t going to tease me, are you?”

“What? No. I have work to do too, you know.”

“
Okay. You grab some food and I’ll meet you there after I run by my place.”

~ ~ ~

How am I supposed to write a paper like this? Presley’s wearing shorts and a tank top, sitting at the table with her knees brought up against her chest. She’s focused on her paper by the downcast of her eyes, but she’s humming a little. She’ll type a couple sentences on her loud keyboard, pull her hands on top of her kneecaps, read over it while tapping her fingers against her knee, and then resume typing.

Her hair is up in a high ponytail, which is showcasing that lovely neck and those shoulders. We’ve been sitting here for thirty minutes, and I’ve written all of three sentences.

“Smarty.” Presley glances up from her laptop. “You’re not supposed to tease me.”

“
I’m not doing anything,” she says, bringing her eyebrows together.

“
Neither am I. I can’t focus.”

“
Well, get your head together, Levi. Surely if you can focus in a hockey game, you can focus enough to write a paper.”

I bite back my response and ignore Presley completely so I can get this done. I don’t know how I do it, but eventually I finish my paper. Smarty is done as well, so I stand and close both of our laptops. I take her hand and lead her to bed because it’s late, and I’m tired.

While we’re brushing our teeth, I say around my toothbrush, “What do you think about threesomes?”

Presley nearly chokes on the toothpaste and quickly spits. “What in the hell are you suggesting, Levi?”

I spit and rinse before answering her. “Calm down, Smarty. I just realized I didn’t know your thoughts on it.”

“
How do you happen to realize something like that?” She’s completely skeptical as she finishes up and goes into the bedroom, crawling into bed.

“
I saw Sunny today at the gym,” I start, climbing in beside her. “Long story short, she suggested that either I ask your approval to sleep with her or that we have a threesome because apparently, you’re not the only one who thinks I’m a God.”

“
First off, eeewww. Secondly, something is wrong with her if she thinks it would be okay with me for you to sleep with her while dating me. Thirdly, I’m ignoring the God comment.” Presley snuggles up to me, resting her head on my chest. “Is that what you were talking about earlier? About what happened at the gym?”

“
Yeah and McCarthy pissed me off with his comment after she walked away.”

“
What’d he say?”

“
Doesn’t matter.” When she props herself up to look at me, I take the opportunity to lean forward to kiss her. “Goodnight.” I smile afterwards.

“
You’re the tease.”

I laugh, pulling her close as she lays her head on my chest once more.

Presley

“
Stop laughing.” I push Marley, who’s laughing uncontrollably. “This isn’t funny.”

“
That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.” Marley wipes tears from her eyes. “Come on, Pres. He’s a hot, horny college student. I’m surprised he hasn’t had a threesome already.”

I hang my head. I told Marley about Levi’s and my conversation last night. I couldn’t get it out of my head. “So, do you think he wants one?” I know that I can’t do that.

“Hell yeah he does. He’s a guy.” Marley sits the beer down in front of me. I have been at her apartment for the past hour trying to figure out what Levi is thinking. “But I don’t think Levi is like that with you. He barely shares you with me, let alone another sexual partner.”

“
You think?”

“
I know. Come on, think about it. Look at how jealous he is of Zack and you two haven’t been together in years.” She has a point. Plus, I don’t want to share Levi either.

“
Then if he brings it up again, I’ll just tell him ‘no’.”

“
Good girl.” We toast to that and drink our beers.

We spend the evening catching up on what is happening with our classes and our plans for the summer. I’m trying to get an internship at a large law firm in the city and Marley has been trying to get an internship with the NHL. She hasn’t told Trevor yet, because she thinks that she won’t get it. But she is too smart not to.

I’m about to leave when my phone buzzes alerting me of a text message. I didn’t think that Levi and Trevor were done with their workout yet. When I look at it, I see that it’s Zack.

“
Oh no,” I grumble.

“
Who is it?”

I hold up the phone so that she can see the display.

Zack: We need to talk

“
Well, looks like he might be sober, considering he is spelling everything correctly,” Marley quips.

The phones buzzes again.

Zack: I’m one of your oldest friends

Zack: We have history together

Zack: Please

I sigh deeply and look at Marley.

“He’s right. You have history and it’s just talking.”

“
You’re right. We’ve been friends forever.” I know that Levi will be busy working out with Trevor for at least another half hour to an hour. I text Zack and we decide to meet on the other side of town. I don’t want Levi seeing us. He was going to kill him the last time he saw him. I tell Marley that I will text her later, and I head over to meet up with Zack.

On the way over there, I think about Levi and our relationship. I love him and even though we had a rocky start, we have overcome that. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy in my life. My parents and I are doing better, and Trevor is doing the best that I’ve seen in a really long time. I think Marley has a lot to do with that too. I can’t think of anything going better as I pull up to the restaurant.

“Is there a reason why we are meeting in a secret location?” Zack asks as we sit at the table.

“
Just tell me what you want to talk about.” I cross my arms. The waitress comes and takes our drink orders. I’ve already had a couple beers with Marley, so I just order water.

“
Are you hungry? I’ll buy.”

I give him my evil eye because I just want him to say what he wants to say and then we can both leave.

“Alright.” He holds his hands up like he is surrendering. “I just want to apologize for the other night.”

“
You could have done this over the phone.” I start to get up, but Zack stops me.

“
Wait, Presley, please.”

There’s something that is begging in his eyes that tugs at my heart. I’ve known Zack for such a long time. He was there for me when Trevor left. He was my first for many things. My first real kiss. My first real date. My first...well, everything. I nod and sit back down.

“I haven’t drank since that night.”

My eyes go wide. Zack isn’t drinking? I can’t believe it. Zack has drank for as far back as I can remember.

“I woke up the next day and felt horrible.” He looks down at his hands. “Plus, I don’t remember much. My buddies had to fill me in on some parts.” He takes a deep breath and looks up at me. “I didn’t mean to be such an ass, Pres. You’re my friend and I don’t want to change that. Can we just pick up from when I left last year? Can we be friends again?”

I stare at him for a moment, and I see the sadness in his eyes. This is Zack. He will always be my friend. I give him a small smile and reach across the table and take his hand. We sit there for a moment, just holding each other’s hands.

“Zack, we can be friends.” I want to make sure he understands my limitations. “But Levi is in my life. In fact, he is my life. I love him and if you don’t understand that, then this conversation is over.”

He nods. “I understand. I’m not going to lie. I was hoping for something more, but I get it now.”

“I’m glad that you understand.” I feel better now that I have my friend back.

We sit there and talk about small things, like school and hockey. I tell him that I’m going to Pittsburgh to see the Penguins play with Victor and Levi. I tell him about my parents’ relationship and how it is getting better. We are talking about high school when my phone alerts me of a text message.

Levi: Are you home?

I know that I should tell him the truth, but I also know that he would be upset.

Me: Be home soon. You there?

Levi: Yep. Gonna take a shower. Wanna join?

I gave Levi a key to my apartment as my Valentine’s Day gift to him. I thought it would show him how much I trust him. He seemed very happy and almost touched when I told him that I was giving him a key.

“
Listen, Zack, this has been great, but it’s getting late.”

“
Levi’s texting, huh?”

I give him a stern look. “He’s my boyfriend and I haven’t seen him all day. Now,” I stand up and walk over to him, “I’m leaving and I’ll talk to you soon.” He stands up and hugs me. I think the hug lasts a little too long, but I don’t really put much thought into it.

I go back to my car and head to my apartment. When I get there, I see Levi at the kitchen table doing homework.

“
Hey, Smarty.” He glances up at me. He’s sitting there without a shirt, just shorts, and I’m trying not to let my tongue fall out of my mouth.

“
Hey.” I give him a quick kiss. “What are you doing?”

“
Catching up. I want to make sure I’m not behind when we leave in a couple weeks. What did you do today?”

I debate on telling him the truth, but I decide that I won’t. “I hung out with Marley.”

He stares at me. I see the tick in his jaw. “Anything else?”

I shake my head, and I turn to head to the bedroom. I know that if I tell him the truth that he will be mad, and I don’t want to fight with him tonight.

I take a quick shower and change into my Penguins sweats and Crosby t-shirt. Levi is now on the couch watching ESPN. I curl up into his chest, but he doesn’t put his arms around me at first.

“
Hey, what’s wrong?” I look up at him. He is staring at the TV, but after a moment, he looks down at me.

“
Nothing, Smarty.” He finally puts his arms around me.

I lay there, listening to his heart beating, and fall asleep.