He doesn’t immediately say anything, and just when I think he’s going to turn down my idea, he says, “I’m in!”Mild relief flushes over his face.“If Jan approves, of course.”
“Email her.”My foot kicks out to nudge Levi’s shin.
“Okay, okay.”He laughs pulling out his phone.I watch as his thumbs move over the screen, typing before suddenly stopping.
“Where am I going to get a guitar?Mine’s back at home,” he says, lowering the phone.
“Hmm, maybe the studio has one?You’re not the first person to do an acoustic set.Or, actually, I think Clay brought one with him!Get Jan’s approval, then we can go bother him.”
No sooner than he hits send does Levi’s phone ring.He looks up, wide-eyed.
“It’s Jan.”
“Pick up, pick up!”I whisper-yell, waving my hands in the process.
“Hey, Jan,” he says, his voice calm.I watch him smile, cradling the phone between his ear and shoulder.“Thank you so much, Jan.I won’t disappoint you!”he says before untucking his phone from his ear and disconnecting, fist pumping the air with his free hand.
“I take it the conversation went in our favor?”Our?Get it together, Tate.You and Levi are not an “our,” “we,” or “us.”If he notices my interesting choice of words, he doesn’t say anything.
“Yeah, it did!She thought it was a great idea and is sending over a guitar first thing tomorrow, which means I need to nail the lyrics today.”
I look down at the time on my phone.Barely 2 p.m.“Well, I’ll leave you to it!”I say, rolling myself from the floor to a stand.Levi follows.
“You’re leaving?”
“You’re not the only one with a song to learn, partner.Plus, the competition is getting pretty thick, so I better go practice.”I toss him a wink and start to head out of my closet, only to be stopped by the familiar scratch of a well-worked hand around my arm.When I look back, he immediately releases, but the warmth lingers.
“Hey...thanks again, Tate.”
“That’s two times in the last twenty-four hours you’ve stopped to thank me.Are you getting soft on me?”
A salty smirk forms against his lips.“Nah, never.”
“Good.I’ll give you your space, but if Gabriella comes up and wants you out, we never had this conversation.”
Rolling laughter is the soundtrack to my exit.
