~ ~ LEVI ~ ~

Getting back home just as the rain quit, I shivered, shaking the droplets of water from my hair. Kicking off my soaked sneakers, I shut the door behind me. Rascal came bounding up and rising on his hind legs and pinned me to the door.

"Good boy, but I need to get changed." His pink slobbery tongue lashed out and almost got me square on the lips. "Down boy, I'm wet enough!"

Pushing him down. I hit the stairs two at a time with him hot on my heels. I should have worn my thick coat. Getting caught in the rain wasn't the plan.

Yanking off my tee-shirt, tossing toward the hamper, I peeled off my socks and wasn't quick enough before Rascal grabbed one in his mouth.

About to take off my jeans, there was a knock from downstairs. Rascal went racing from the room, barking the entire way down.

Whoever it was at this late hour might think twice about staying with Rascal going crazy.

Heading downstairs, I looked through the spy-hole and lurched back as if someone had poked me in the eye.

Shit. It was Gage. He'd come.

My heart went crazy inside my chest.

"Rascal. Quiet now." I tried to use my best firm tone, but it came out slightly giddy.

Opening the door, I held onto Rascal's collar and told him to hush. This time he did as he cocked his head to the side and stared at Gage.

I was doing the same.

He stayed routed to the spot, but gulped in huge gasps of air as if he had run all the way here.

Not saying a word, I moved aside and tugged Rascal with me. Weirdly, Rascal began whining excitedly. Just like he did when he saw me or Jamie.

Gage stepped inside and closed the door behind him. I stood there, letting my eyes do all the talking. Soaking in every inch and in his black t-shirt and worn jeans did nothing to hide his impressive frame. It hit me hard when I saw the last remnants of his adolescence were gone. Now, standing in front of me, was a grown man. A drool worthy grown man.

Hell. How could he ever think he wasn't good enough for me? Ha. He was too good for me.

But prison had changed him. Gone was the cocky, confident expression and the softness he had just for me. Or I liked to think it was just for me.

His face told a story, that of a person who had seen terrible things and experienced great hurts. If he'd been capable of killing at eighteen, it sent a strange thrill straight through me to wonder what he was capable of now.

I let go of Rascal and he went straight to Gage, sniffing and licking his hand. Gage looked at me before he dropped to Rascal's eye-level and fussed him some more.

Rascal was obviously smitten. Join the club.

I did my best not to stare like some moonstruck fool, but it was damn hard. So instead I went with something lame. "You're here," I said, and I wanted to face-palm. I might as well have said I carried a watermelon...

And yeah, I would openly admit that Dirty dancing was one of my all-time favourite movies.

Gage rose to his feet and trapped my eyes. "Yeah," he said, and I could see his eyes looked darker and shadowed.

God, I wanted to touch him, run my nose along his throat, smell him to see if he still smelled the same. It had been seven years since I stood within touching distance.

And then he took one step and cupped the side of my face. It was brief, his fingertip barely grazing over my skin, but when I went to touch him, he almost jumped back like he was scared of me.

"We can't happen," he said gruffly, as if it was talking around a lump in his throat.

Perhaps he was. I knew I had one. In my stomach too. Like a bag of boulders sat there.

"Forget about me. Move on."

"Is that what you really want?"

"That's what I said."

I tried to ignore the effect his deep, southern drawl was having on me. It was hard not to squirm on the spot. And my dick, well, it was paying attention too.

Focus Levi.

I squared my shoulders. "No." Using all my internal resolve not to cry and drop to my knees and beg him. "There is nothing to keep us apart. No one to tell us this is wrong or that we can't be together."

Gage's jade eyes dropped to my mouth before moving back to hold my glare. "There are plenty," he said.

It hit me what stared back. His gaze was agonising. Hurt. Fear. And determination that was so fierce I knew I would lose him if I didn't up my game. I wasn't going down without a fight. Steeling my spine, it was time to bring out the big guns. "There has been no one else."

Gage made a rough sound of irritation. "No one?"

"No. I said I would wait, and if that means I die a virgin, then so be it."

His mouth opened, then shut, and then opened again. "Levi..." he started to say, and I knew I had maybe one shot.

"I want you to be my first."

He said nothing.

"One night—don't I deserve that?" Deal clincher. "Something to remember you by?"

His brows pinched as he considered it. "What? So you want me to fuck you and then you'll move on. Forget about me?"

I gave one sharp nod of my head because there was no way I could say the words. He would know I was lying through my teeth.

He let out a deep sigh, scraping his hand through his thick, messy hair. "I'm not gonna fuck you, Levi."

And I felt another crack to my already bruised heart. "Fuck you, Gage. Why? Why can't you give me this one thing?" There was no masking my anger.

Gage moved fast. His fingers dug into my jaw. He slanted his mouth over mine, giving me a rough, almost brutal kiss. Hand moving to my throat, he held me still, but not too rough. Teasing and torturing, sucking on my bottom lip, dipping his tongue in and out, stealing whatever air and then he was walking me backward till I was flush with the wall and he was pressing further into me.

I could feel him hard beneath his jeans. I was too. His hand pressed between us, slipping inside my partly open jeans, working his way inside my underwear to stroke me.

"Fuck, Levi," he said and then he was kissing down my chest, with heat and goose-pimpled following him down, till he was on his knees with me looking down all wide-eyed and surprised. He flipped the last button on my jeans and dragged them down along with my underwear and I sucked in a gasp, although I wasn't sure oxygen was in it as I felt lightheaded when his lips sucked in the head of my cock. And he didn't stop there. He swallowed me down till his nose was buried in my pubes. Humming and sucking as I stood there in my hallway slack jawed loving every second of his mouth on me.

"Gage..." I said breathlessly. "Fuck..." and I came right there down his throat. I must have lasted all of thirty seconds and I wanted to kick myself.

Gage sucked until I softened and then he was up, his mouth back on mine and I could taste him and the salty slighter bitter taste of what could only be me.

But too quickly, it was over, and he pulled away. Stepping back. Breathing Hard. "Fuck," he scrubbed both hands down his face. "Fuck, Levi I'm sorry."

I was still pinned to the wall, pants around my ankles.

"I shouldn't have done that."

I blinked, shaking myself from the stupor his mouth had put me in. Dipping down, I snatched my underwear and jeans, dragging them up. "I'm not sorry. I want this. I want you to fuck-"

He held up his hand to stop me. "Damn it," Gage swallowed. "I won't fuck you Levi." He shook his head, cursing under his breath. "Not without at least taking you out on a date first."

Oh... Oh. A date.

Hope. That dangerous spark flared to life. "In town now. There's a bar, it's kinda open to us." I dared a glance. "At least that's what I've heard."

"You mean a gay bar?"

At least some things had changed in the last seven years. It wasn't on main street. But Jamie had been excited when it opened six months ago and although it wasn't talked about. It was quite popular with folks from the surrounding towns, although I'd never been brave enough to go even with Jamie offering to come along too.

"Yeah. I could pick you up." I tried to think what day it was. It was Tuesday. "Tomorrow night. We could go then?"

He shook his head. "No. Friday and I'll meet you there at nine-thirty. Text me the address."

"I'm gonna need your number."

He pulled out his phone, and then my phone vibrated on the side table beside the door. "You gave me your number in your last letter."

Oh, yeah.

"I'm gonna go," he said, moving toward the door. Opening the front door, he stepped out onto the porch. Stopping, he didn't turn around but said, "you look good Levi. Real good."

"You too," and still I sounded lame.

"Goodnight, Levi."

"Night, Gage," I whispered, watching his ass as he walked away from me.