Chapter Ten ~ Secrets
This was beyond wrong.
If Dad knew what I was doing, he’d kill me. But I knew somewhere in my heart that Phil was a nice man and I wasn’t going to allow this to happen to him. I knew that having these feelings were wrong. Dad said that we never show remorse for anyone because people weren’t trustworthy.
But who was he to say that?
I led Phil up the stairs and into the house, shutting the door behind me. I scurried over to the windows and closed the blinds.
“A nice place you got here,” I heard him say.
I nodded in agreement as I tossed the keys on the coffee table. “You can make yourself at home on the couch. I'll make you something quick to eat.”
Phil tipped his head in gratitude and made his way into the living room, slowly setting himself down on the sectional. “Do you live here alone?”
“No,” I said quickly, reminding myself that Dad could walk in any minute now. I reached into the freezer and pulled out a boxed dinner. “Is a frozen dinner okay with you? I have to go somewhere soon so I don’t have that much time to cook.”
“Anything is fine, son.”
I tore the box open and placed its contents into the microwave. “I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping but my father does not know that you’re here so it would be in your best interest to stay out of sight.”
Phil cleared his throat. “Living a secret life, am I?”
I forced a smile, “Unfortunately.” I walked over to the living room and took a seat on the couch opposite of Phil. “My dad isn’t exactly the kindest person in the world but I want to help you so please--”
“I got it, boy.” Phil interrupted. “Stay out of sight.”
“I hope that it’s not asking too much of you.”
“Asking too much of me?” he scoffed. “Boy, I’m asking too much of you by asking you to stay in this house. I thank you for that, from the bottom of my heart.”
I flashed him a quick smile then ran into the kitchen once the microwave beeped. I pulled out the boxed dinner from the microwave and set it on the counter. “I have to get going pretty soon. Do you think you’ll be okay?”
Phil looked over to me and shrugged. “I assume.”
“Keep the door locked,” I warned him, “If you hear someone opening the door, go upstairs to the second door on the right and stay in that room.”
“Got it.”
“Your food is ready,” I notified him before grabbing the keys and heading out of the door.
* * * *
I left the house hoping that Phil would stay out of sight so that I wouldn’t get into trouble and drove to the pizza parlor at the edge of town, just like Levi said. Levi was standing outside of the parlor, but he was not dressed formally which was a good thing because it was just pizza.
When I approached him at the entrance, I couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you waiting outside?”
He laughed almost instantly. “Jumping straight to the questions, are we?”
“No.” I shook my head. “It’s fine, it’s just surprising.”
“Surprising that I’m such a gentleman?”
“No, well..." I took one look at him and smiled, “...now that you mention it…”
His lips pulled into a cocky grin and I grinned back. Without wasting any more time, he ran his hand down my arm and interlocked his fingers with mine. He led us into the pizza place and my nostrils were instantly filled with the wonderful smell of tomato sauce and mozzarella. There was a crowd of people gathered around the bar counters, their eyes glued to the TV mounted on the wall. They talked amongst themselves and let out occasional chants.
I suddenly felt uneasy. It had been a while since I was in a room with so many people.
“Hey,” Levi said, giving my hand a tight squeeze, “you ok?”
“Yeah,” I said shakily and for a second there, I realized that Levi could sense my emotions. And that scared me. “I’m fine.”
He nodded his head respectively and led me to an empty booth. I slid into one side while he got into the seat across from me.
“Do you think we’ll be able to get anything to eat here because there are a lot of people?" I glanced around the room and began to feel uneasy again.
“Tonight is busy because the baseball game is on. But don’t worry, I know the head chef.”
That was typical of rich people. They always had connections to something or someone. “Alright.”
“Are you claustrophobic?”
“What?”
“Ever since we got into this place, you seemed uncomfortable.”
“A little bit.”
Levi grinned as he slid the menu towards me. “Pick anything you like.”
I nodded in response and glanced down at the menu. Nothing stood out. I wasn’t really a big pizza fan anyway. “Let’s just get a pizza and share it.”
Levi looked up from his menu with his eyebrows raised. “Really?”
I narrowed my eyes at how surprised he seemed. “Why are you surprised?”
“Well,” he chuckled, “I didn’t think you’d say something like that, -not that I’m complaining…”
“But you are complaining. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have brought it up.”
“No.” He shook his head and reached over the table, placing his hand on mine. “Trust me, you just made my day.”
I glanced down at his hand on mine. I could feel the electricity shoot through my fingers and travel to the rest of my body. I couldn’t deny how Levi was making me feel. I had never felt this way about anyone before. Love was not something I was interested in but it was clear to me that I cared for him. More than I should.
A few minutes later, the waitress came around and took our order. It didn’t take that long before she came back with a large cheese pizza. She placed it on our table, flashed a toothy grin towards Levi and then sauntered over to another table.
Levi took the first slice. “What was your ex-girlfriend like?”
“My ex-girlfriend?”
He took a bite of the pizza and let a string of mozzarella fall down his chin. “Yeah,” he mumbled.
“Um, well...I’ve never had a girlfriend before.”
His eyes widened as he swallowed. “You’re kidding!”
I shook my head.
“Why not?” he questioned. “You’re gorgeous!”
I could feel my cheeks turning a deep crimson. “I never had the time.”
Levi’s hazel eyes twinkled as he smiled. “Look at you, Mr. Busy. Your schedule is so full that you don’t have time for relationships.”
“Something like that.”
“Are you going to eat your pizza?” he asked suddenly, already grabbing his second slice.
I shrugged.
“So--" He smiled at me, "--why haven’t you gone out with anybody? You know, other than the fact that you’re extremely busy?”
My brow furrowed as I stared at him questioningly. What was he implying? He couldn’t possibly know. “I guess no one showed any interest,” I lied, “well, while they were sober.”
Levi’s lips pulled outwards into his signature grin. “So what you’re saying is, that you’ve only been hit on by drunks?”
I took a sip of my diet Pepsi. “See, that would have been the case but then I wouldn’t know how to explain you.”
“I don’t need alcohol to show my interest.”
“Someone thinks way too highly of himself.”
“That makes two of us.”
I cleared my throat. “May I remind you that I’ve never been on a date before. So, actually, that adds nothing to my ego.”
“Doesn’t being on a date with me boost your ego?”
“Not necessarily,” I said, dryly.
He eyed me warily for a moment. “Hurtful.”
I shrugged.
He kept his gaze with mine for a few more seconds before he cleared his throat. “Alright, let’s go.”
“What?” My eyes followed his every move as he stood to his feet.
"We're leaving."
“And going where?”
“If you ask this many questions, we’ll never get there.”
“Right.” I slowly slid out of the booth and stood to my full height.
“Come on,” he said softly, pulling me along with him towards the exit.
* * * *
“You took me to the beach,” I said flatly. I was growing rather agitated with this “date”. Not with Levi, of course. But I had to try so hard to not let anything slip. We were going to rob their house soon and I could not have him asking any questions.
“Yes.” Levi lifted his left leg and pulled off his shoe, throwing it to the sand. He looked at me as he did the same with his other shoe. “Come on.” He gestured towards me as he slowly took a few steps backwards.
“I’m not walking with you on the beach,” I protested. "It’s dark! This is the most scariest thing ever. Do you not watch scary movies?”
He smirked. “Well, look at it this way. If we die, we die together.”
“And that’s supposed to be comforting?”
He shrugged. “You tell me.”
As he took more steps back, his figure began to get smaller and smaller. I didn’t have that great of eyesight, so it didn’t take long before he became just a blur. “Levi!” I called out.
There was no response.
I shook my head in disbelief and heaved a sigh. Reluctantly, I took off my shoes and placed them next to his. I was really going to regret this. I started to make my way down the sand until my feet were in the water. I looked around and Levi was nowhere to be found. “Levi, god dammit,” I muttered as I continued to walk.
This was what I got when I tried to be normal. Dad was right. These people weren’t worth me wasting my time on them. We were in Clearborough for one reason, and that was to rob the hell out of them. I wasn’t here for relationships, no matter how much I wanted it.
“Levi,” I called out once more but softer this time.
“Yes?”
Panic shot through my body and I stiffened as I felt his hot breath on my neck. I whipped around instantly and my eyes landed on his. My chest tightened and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. He was so close. Instantly, I dropped my gaze to the sand.
“It’s okay,” he reassured me.
I lifted my lashes to look at him. His eyes were staring into mine, almost as if he could see into my soul. Almost as if he knew all of my secrets. If he knew, then he didn’t care. His eyes proved that. With a soft sigh, he gently lifted my chin and kissed me lightly on the lips. In that brief second, a thousand chills dispersed throughout my body.
He pulled away slowly; a smile forming on his face as his thumb stroked my bottom lip. His innocent eyes turned into a darker shade of its hazel color and I knew it was out of lust. His hands ran through my hair, pulling me closer as he kissed me once more. I felt myself melting in his touch. My body soon began to heat up as the kiss became deeper and our tongues began to dance in unison.
I pulled him closer, wanting more of him. Needing more of him. I had never felt like this before. I never knew that these emotions existed until now. I couldn’t even put it into words. All I knew is that this was what I wanted, for the rest of my life.
He dove into the crook of my neck and began to kiss the skin there. I let out an involuntary moan as I clung onto him. His hands traveled all over my body and I gasped in surprise when he cupped my ass. This was something that I never knew that I could ever experience. I wrapped my arms around his neck and brought my lips to his once more. He hoisted me up, allowing me to wrap my legs around his waist. The kiss became deeper, fiercer and more urgent.
He gently lowered me to the sand and climbed on top of me. He smiled against my lips as he raised my hands over my head and kept them there with his left hand. With his right hand, he traced the outline of my body and stroked the waistband of my jeans. I was certain that nothing had ever felt this good and I was afraid that I would get carried away just by the sheer pleasure of it.
A loud crashing noise off into the distance made me jump in surprise. Now that I was out of the trance, reality dawned on me. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I shoved Levi away from me and scrambled to my feet, adjusting my clothing in the process. I took one last glance at Levi’s confused expression and began to walk up the sand.
I wished that I could be normal. I wished that I could be like everyone else. But I wasn't. I needed to remind myself that. I couldn't get caught up in all of this or else I would jeopardize everything for me and Dad.
“Damien,” I heard Levi call after me.
I ignored him as I struggled to put on my shoes.
“Damien,” he said again. “Where are you going?”
“Anywhere, but here.”
“Tell me where you’re going," he demanded.
I groaned. “It doesn’t matter, okay? I can’t do this. I’m not like you. I’m not a faggot.”
His eyebrows drew together as he laid his hands on my shoulders. I stiffened under his touch. “Stop running away from me,” he said, “I won’t do anything to hurt you.”
My eyes flickered over to his face as I thought over his words. Did he really mean them?
“There’s no rush,” he said softly. “We can take it slow, if you want. We have all the time in the world to be together, but I’m sick and tired of you running away from me. I just want you to trust me.”
“We don’t have all the time in the world,” I said bitterly.
“What are you talking about?”
I backed away from him. "I have to go.”
“What’s with all the secrets?” Levi questioned.
I sighed. “Sometimes, secrets keep people safe.” I walked off the sand and into the road, not looking back. I didn’t even care that my car was still at the parlor. What I needed right now was a nice long nap.
~*~*~*~
Now wasn't that chapter just deep? It's my favorite chapter so far and now things are starting to cook up between Damien and Levi. I defnitely like :) What was your favorite part of this chapter and why? Leave a comment below and best comment gets a dedication!
~lara <3