“Well…” Brock sighs. “Yeah, ok. I mean, the whole fishing, hiking, swimming in the ocean thing seems pretty cool. I’ve actually never been fishing before.”
Levi snorts a laugh, and I place the callipers back on the bench as I try to picture this guy. He sounds like he wears polo shirts with a popped collar.
“Seriously?” Levi asks.
“Yeah, man,” Brock laughs. “I grew up in the concrete jungle. Where would I have gonefishing?”
“Lots of places in Ontario, actually,” Levi responds. “But if you ever make it this way, I’ll show you how it’s done.”
I glance over my shoulder at him and cock an eyebrow. Levi just rolls his eyes at me and flips me off.
I chuckle, and his gaze lingers on me for a moment.
“I’m actually going fishing this weekend,” Levi continues, watching me with a soft smile. “With my boyfriend.”
Everything in me stills as I stare right back at him, and it feels like my heart stops beating.
Boyfriend.
Oh my god.
He called me his boyfriend.
Ireallylike how that sounds.
A smile tugs at my lips as I hold Levi’s gaze.
“Boyfriend?” Brock asks.
“Yeah,” Levi says, still smiling at me. “His name is Silas.”
My heart thumps hard as a thrill runs through me. But it doesn’t last long, as worry starts to push in instead at the long stretch of silence on the other end of the phone.
Levi’s eyes flick toward the phone, and my pulse picks up.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Brock says eventually, then lets out a sharp, disbelieving laugh. “What the fuck? This is a joke, right?”
“No…” Levi says, shifting on his stool and flicking a glance my way.
Brock sighs heavily. “What are youdoingman? First, you move to fuckingPEI, and now…” he sighs again. “Are you, like… ok?”
I’m completely frozen to the spot as I stand near the tractor and just watch Levi. My heart thrashes, and my mind starts to slip, turning fuzzy as loud, unwelcome thoughts start to push in.
Levi’s jaw tightens as he glares at the phone. “I’m better than ok. Never been happier. Thanks for the fucking support though. Good to know you always have my back.”
“Oh, come on?—”
But Levi hits end and shoves his phone across the workbench with an exasperated huff. “Fucking asshole.”
I just watch him as he rubs the back of his neck and stares at a spot on the floor in front of him for a moment, before he looks back up at me. And I must have my emotions written all over my face because he draws his brows together and pushes to his feet to stand before me.
“You alright?” he asks
All I can do is shake my head. “Are you?” I ask quietly.
“Oh, yeah. It’s ok,” he says, dismissively waving his hand towards his phone on the bench. “He was clearly never a good friend. He can fuck off.”
My chest tightens, and my hands tingle as the edges of my mind start to blur, and the thoughts I’m trying to keep out start screaming, telling me the things I don’t want to hear.
