Page 17 of Just Between Us
I shake my head because Jenna looks excited to be meeting potential high-profile clients and I am not about to be a clingy best friend and hold her back. “No, please go ahead.” I hold up my margarita to show them both I’m just fine and Jenna gives me an excited thumbs up as she follows Kez to a table full of people.
I stand at the bar for a moment, contemplating whether I should go back to Cole and Levi. Despite my reluctance to admit it, I do have a small crush on both of them and I feel a little ridiculous to be crushing on two people in a couple.
Levi has been nothing but kind and helpful yet here I am picturing him and his boyfriend naked and making out with me. My stomach knots at the thought. I’m probably just deprived and need a release. Maybe I should join a dating app. Connor can help me set one up.
“I’d ask to get you a drink, but you already have one,” a voice comes up behind me.
I look up to find a guy with beautifully tousled chestnut brown hair and warm eyes looking at me. He’s handsome, all chiselled features, and slightly thin, like he might be a Burberry model who rolls his own cigarettes and can play the ukulele or something equally niche.
I stand up a little straighter, banishing all my self-pitying thoughts. He is attractive, and I need to get Levi and Cole out of my brain. So, I give him my best smile and lean in.
“Well, I won’t be drinking this forever,” I say.
He grins, full lips turning up, revealing perfectly straight teeth. “I’m Adam,” he says.
“Kai.”
Adam looks around us, at the dancing party and the people sitting around the tables. “So, how do you know the birthday boy?”
It happens automatically, my head turns to Anant’s table, but no one is there. I snap back to reality, focusing back on Adam. “I met him today. I know his friend,” I say.
Adam raises a brow, “Oh, which friend is that? Maybe I know them.”
I open my mouth to say Levi’s name but like a magic trick, he appears next to me before I can speak.
“Levi,” Adam says smoothly. He puffs out his chest ever so slightly. “It’s been a while.”
“Hello, Adam.” Levi’s voice is level, cordial even, but I can tell there’s something else behind it. Even though I haven’t known him for a long time, I’ve come to learn Levi Bellamy may be one of the friendliest people around and his choosing not to throw someone his easy smile is strange. “It’s good to see you.”
Adam’s eyes land on me. “You two know each other?”
“He’s the friend I was talking about actually,” I say brightly, trying to diffuse whatever weird tension is building around us.
Adam looks between Levi and me. It’s only then that I realise Levi is alarmingly close, our arms touching. Suddenly, I can hardly concentrate, the heat from his bare forearm is scorching my skin.
“Oh,” Adam says after a second. “How’s Cole? I haven’t seen him around in a while. Is he here?”
“Cole is fine,” Levi says breezily as a hand comes to hold my arm just by my elbow. I freeze. “Sorry, but would you excuse Kai and I?”
Adam shifts on his legs, eyes flashing with something. “We were in the middle of a pretty good conversation.”
Levi turns to me. He arches an eyebrow. “Were you?”
There’s something about the way he says it, completely dismissive that almost has me shaking my head to tell him it wasn’t that great and to let him take me wherever he was planning to. I only stop myself from doing so, because he’s in a relationship and I need to stop being so pathetic.
I nod, looking back at Adam. “We were.”
A strange smile appears on Levi’s face, one that has the hair on the back of my neck standing. I don’t miss the fact that he’s still holding onto me, his grip tight. “I’m sure you can pick up your conversation later.” He turns to Adam. “Excuse us.”
And then he’s pulling me away and I’m too dumbstruck to stop him.
We’re a few steps away when my mind returns to me. “What was that about?”
Levi lets me go and the heat dissipates from my skin, but a weird sense of disappointment rises.
Be normal, I chide.
“He’s a dick. You shouldn’t waste your time,” Levi says.