The Fall Up (The Fall Up, #1)(61)

I secretly texted Henry to let him know she was following through with her end of the arrangement. And I guessed he was relieved, even though his only reply was to ask for naked pictures. I sent him an image of a tribe of naked men I’d found on National Geographic online. It wasn’t like he’d been specific or anything. He didn’t find it nearly as funny as I did, responding with a picture of a puppy puking. An amazing and unlikely friendship was born out of those first few messages.

Levee had refused to speak to Devon in Maine. He’d called numerous times and had even gone so far as to show up at the hotel we had been staying at attempting to explain. Levee wouldn’t even tell him our room number. She pretended to be mad, but when her eyes watered every time she ended his call, I could tell she was more hurt than anything else. I, on the other hand, was pissed enough for both of us. I figured she’d want to talk to him eventually, and I hoped that I’d have a chance to cool off by then. I couldn’t imagine that a brawl with Devon would end well for me.

We’d barely been back at my house for two hours, but we had already broken my bed in —twice. Levee was still naked and curled into my side when my phone started ringing with an unidentified call. She hadn’t gone back to pick up her belongings from the center, and until her new cell was delivered the following day, she was using mine as her sole source of communication. I didn’t even bother answering before passing it in her direction.

“Hello?” she said, propping it against her ear so she could continue teasing her nails over my stomach.

I was gliding a hand over her ass when she suddenly sat upright.

“Uh, who is this?” Her gaze flipped down at mine accusingly as she said, “That’s funny because I thought I was Sam’s girlfriend.”

I dove for the phone, but Levee jumped out of my reach, sending me crashing off the end of the bed. Only one woman would use a blocked number to call me, knowing good and damn well I wouldn’t pick up if I saw her name pop up on my phone.

Confirming my suspicions, Levee said, “How long have you and Sam been together, Lexi?”

“Levee, give me the phone.” I pushed up to my feet, but she ducked under my arm and headed to my kitchen.

Oh, this is going to be bad.

Lexi was in-f*cking-sane, especially if she thought I was seeing someone new. I couldn’t even imagine the amount of bullshit she was firing at Levee.

“What a prick!” Levee yelled from the other room as I hurriedly tugged a pair of boxers on and following her.

Shit shit shit.

“He told me he loved me,” Levee whined as I cautiously made my way towards her.

Fuck my life.

The moment I rounded the corner, I found Levee in my discarded T-shirt that hadn’t even made it to the bedroom when we’d gotten home. She was bent over, searching the refrigerator with the phone stuck to her ear. Placing her hand over the speaker, she whispered, “Do you have any beer?”

My mouth fell open as she casually went back to talking to Lexi, whimpering, “I can’t believe he would do this to me.”

“Ummm…bottom drawer,” I mumbled, dumbstruck.

She tossed me a wink and pulled out two before passing me one. She clinked the neck of her beer against mine and then tipped it to her lips. I watched in a weird combination of astonishment and confusion.

Shit. Maybe Levee is insane too.

Placing my bottle on the counter, I closed the distance and attempted to take the phone from her hand. Levee laughed, backing away.

“Stop,” she mouthed.

“She’s not my girlfriend. I swear—” I explained, but she silenced me with a finger over my lips.

Pulling the phone from her ear, she pressed the speaker button and dropped it on the counter. Lexi was talking a million miles a minutes and using present tense in reference to our relationship.

I opened my mouth to object when Levee covered it with her palm and wrapped her other arm around my waist, sliding it down into the back of my boxers. Raking her teeth over my earlobe, she whispered, “Is she the one your mom called a bitch?”

A relieved breath rushed from my lungs. Levee was, in fact, insane, but at that moment, it was working in my favor. I nodded, and she leaned away long enough to taunt, “Wait, Lexi, was this before or after he got my name tattooed…” She trailed off while inspecting the ink on my torso. Finding an empty space, she finished with, “On his left side.”

“What?” Lexi screamed.

I attempted to stifle a laugh, only barely keeping it packed down because Levee began dragging openmouthed kisses over my neck.

She paused to say, “Yeah, it’s huge. You definitely would’ve noticed it. I can send you a picture later if you’d like?”

My eyebrows popped up in question before she whispered into my ear, “You can Photoshop that, right?”

I shook my head. Then I shrugged and nodded.

I wouldn’t…but I totally could.

After lifting her to sit on the edge of the counter, I nabbed the phone and handed it to Levee. Whispering, I said, “You are an evil, evil woman. I wasn’t sure I could fall in love with you more. But stop giving her more fuel to be a bitch and hang up.” I gently glided my thumb over her peaked nipple, causing her to gasp.

She smiled, placing a lingering kiss on my lips as she took the phone from my hand and blindly pressed the end button. Locking her legs around my hips, she stated, “You really traded up for me. You know that, right?”