“Levi, I don’t know what you think is happening here, but I’m not in a place where—”
He held up his hands. “I know. I get it. And I like Max a lot. I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t jeopardize that.”
Jeopardize what? I wanted to ask, but I didn’t. I was more afraid of his answer than I was curious about it.
“Okay. What are you doing?” We paused while Max ran up to the husband and wife that ran the hardware store. I waved at Trudy and Cal Pruitt while they doted over Max and his costume. He flexed for them and growled. He was getting really good at this hamming it up thing.
“Didn’t you have fun at Pug’s?” Levi asked in a soft, gentle coax.
“Did you punch Ajax in the face?”
He cleared his throat and said, “I’m not sure who you mean.”
“Did you punch Ajax, Levi?”
He rubbed a hand over his face. “He was saying things he shouldn’t have been saying. I didn’t want to fight him. I just wanted to shut him up.”
“What was he saying?”
“I’d rather not repeat it.”
“Was it about me?”
He didn’t answer.
“You can’t just punch people whenever you don’t like what they’re saying about me. Half the town will have black eyes before tomorrow.”
He turned to face me. His hands were still in his pockets and he wore a sheepish smile, the look in his eyes earnest and open. “Do you like that guy, Ruby? Are you guys… dating or whatever?”
My nose wrinkled, but shame tinged my cheeks red. “What? No. Why would you think that?”
He shook his head, his eyes practically sparkling at this point. Maybe his Halloween costume was a knight in shining armor. “You danced with him all night. He’s clearly into you. And super possessive. I’m just putting the puzzle pieces together.”
“We’re not dating. We were never really dating.”
“That’s not what it looks like.”
I made a sound in the back of my throat and made sure Max was far enough ahead that he couldn’t hear us. “We had a thing, I guess. I wouldn’t call it a relationship because I was the only one monogamously committed to it. But yeah, we kind of saw each other for a couple years.”
“What changed?” His question was posed carefully, thoughtfully.
It made me self-conscious. I wished I could say that I’d started to demand more for myself, respect myself more. I wished I could tell him that I deserved better than casual hookups whenever it was convenient for both of us. But that wasn’t the truth. “He changed,” I said. “I think he’s doing drugs pretty regularly and drinking too much. I refuse to let Max be around that kind of environment.”
“He was around Max?”
I was surprised by the bite of anger in his voice. “Never on purpose,” I quickly explained, wondering why I cared so much about what Levi thought. This was my business and my son. He didn’t get a say in any of it. “But being around me is by proximity around my son.” I shrugged, and it felt final, like my words were infusing my life with their truth. “Anyway, it’s over with him. We danced at Pug’s, but nothing was ever going to happen that night or any other night.”
Levi’s tone gentled with his question. “Are you upset about it?”
Shaking my head, I admitted, “No, not really. Maybe once upon a time, but not anymore. I’ve… outgrown him. And, uh, that kind of relationship.”
He nodded. “I know what you mean.”
I side-eyed him. “Oh, yeah? Lots of casual hookups for you over the last seven years then? I heard a rumor that you went home with Kelly Fink last weekend.”
Making a face, he quickly shook his head. “Kelly Fink? Are you serious? No.” He made the face again. “Just no on so many levels.”
“Rumor is, she drove you home.”
