I sigh. “Well, I have something, too.”
“Is this about the mysterious flowers you keep getting?”
“Yep.”
I steel myself. Raeann waits for me to say something, and I nearly break out in a cold sweat. She won’t judge me, but she has warned me off him before for being a player. I mean, he is currently also taping a dating show, for crying out loud. The timing couldn’t be worse.
“It’s casual,” I start, even though that’s a lie. I really need to start being honest with myself. I’ve fallen for Levi.
“I’ve been dying to know how you met someone. Do they work at the hospital?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“Well?”
I fret over my lip.
Raeann grins. “I’m not a mind reader.”
“t’s Levi Soucy.”
“What?” Her voice goes up an octave. “But he’s on a dating show!”
“I know!”
She shakes her head. “I don’t understand.”
“One day, I was sick of being in bed, so I went to The Daily Perk. After I ordered, I realized I had no idea where my ID and cards were, and Levi appeared out of thin air and bailed me out. We sat and talked, and he said he’d been wondering how I was doing, but Micah was Fort Knox, and?—”
“The cell phone!” Raeann interrupts. “I was wondering where you got one when you didn’t even know where your wallet was. I thought maybe your parents sent it to you.”
“It was Levi,” I tell her. “Later that day, he sent me a basket filled with stuff. All this cell phone gear, plus snacks. It was so sweet, and then he basically inserted himself into my life.”
“I understand how that is.”
We give each other a similar look. She keeps staring at me after that, her facial features shifting every few seconds like she’s trying to process everything. “It’s casual?”
“He says a lot of charming things…”
“Like what?”
“Like things you might say if you were really into someone.”
“Do you— Do you believe him?”
“I think I’m starting to.”
Raeann takes her waffle out of the maker. “So, are you a thing? Or are you only having fun?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “It started off as hanging out, but he says so many perfect things. And he’s definitely the best sex I’ve ever had.”
“I can tell. You’re glowing when you talk about him. If you don’t want things to be casual anymore, maybe you should tell him.”
“He’s about to film the last episode of his dating show.”
“Are you worried about that?”
“No, not at all. He’s showed me some of the texts from the women. It’s clear they’re just there to give everyone a show. They don’t actually care about him, and he doesn’t either. He’s beenputting off production for weeks, telling them it’s impacting football, but he received a nasty email last night basically saying if he doesn’t continue shooting, they’re going to sue him.”
