I nodded. “I know. But one day off won’t kill you, right?”
He looked confused. “But I always work out between ten and twelve.”
My eyes rolled a little, but I straightened quickly with a smile. “I know, but—”
He cut me off, his voice quiet, anxious almost. “I always work out between ten and twelve.”
This was one of those moments. One of those moments where your head tells you not to push, but you’re not sure if you hold back. I came to realize rather quickly that messing with Lev’s routine was a big no-no. Nothing made my man more irritated than someone screwing with his schedule.
I understood the underlining issues. He craved a semblance of normal in a world where he felt different. His childhood had done things to him that made him the way he was today.
Did that frustrate me? At times, yes.
Lev could not be fixed. And I didn’t want to repair the broken part of him. He was perfectly imperfect, and I was his in heart and soul.
More importantly, he was mine. And that was a big deal. Lev did not give himself to people. They merely borrowed his time. And here I was, his attention given fully to a person who probably didn’t deserve it. I was grateful though, and I often reminded myself that he had compromised a lot of himself for me and I needed to do the same.
Releasing the elastic at his pants, I reached up to finger the swinging anchor pendant he had bought me and I smiled gently, knowing I’d have to pick my battles. “Okay, sweetie. Have fun.”
His shoulders slumped in the immense relief I imagined he felt at my quick out. His hands came up and he laid them on my cheeks in gratitude. When his lips descended, I found myself leaned up, into him, needing his lips on me. He kissed me softly once, twice, three times, then whispered against my lips, “I love you, Mina.”
It was the first time he had said the words. I felt his love, but hearing the words…wow. It was breathtaking. I’d come to realize the saying was true. Patience was a virtue.
I kissed him again. And again. And before I could drag him down onto the sofa with me, I pushed him away gently. “Go. Now. Or I’ll tackle you to the ground.”
His eyes smiled and he chuckled lightly. He threw me a wink before he left, and I threw myself back on the couch and blew out a long breath. “Have mercy.”
My man was a serious case of sexy.
The front door opened again, and just as my excitement flared at the thought of Lev disregarding his routine and spending the morning in bed with me, Nas stuck her head through the crack and called out, “Pancakes at Sasha’s. Move your ass, kukla. I’m starved.”
I rose of the sofa with a sigh. “Yeah, yeah. I’m coming.”
I’d rather have been doing a different type of coming, but pancakes were still pretty awesome.
Nas and I walked side-by-side, taking in the morning sun. I couldn’t help but ask, “Where’s Vik?”
Nas slipped on her giant sunglasses and shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s not like we spend every waking moment with each other.”
I frowned. “Uh, yeah you do.”
She scoffed. “No. We don’t.”
It sounded like there was trouble in paradise.
We walked on a while, and she asked quietly, “If Lev wasn’t committed to you, but you loved him, what would you do?”
My haunches rose. “I would kindly tell him to fuck a duck.” She sighed softly and I stopped in my tracks. “What’s going on, Nas? What happened?”
She paused a moment before she threw her arms up and rushed out, “I don’t know. You and Lev are getting married.” I threw her a look that said ‘yeah, so?’ and she shook her head gently. “I want that. And I’m not going to get that with Vik.”