Chapter 48

We sat for a few moments in silence after he’d stormed out then we both started laughing. 2: Levi

Virgo (August 23—September 22)

The moon is in your sign all day making you willing to take chances. So why not flash your own full moon to that cute guy you’ve been mooning over for ages and try to get him interested? Never mind that it’s pale and round, we all know what moons look like this time of year.

* * * *

“Your brother is such a dork.” Beckett forced out the words between gales of laughter.

“You’d think I’d be the one talking like the kids on the internet,” I said. “GTG. CUL. TTYL.” For every abbreviation I rattled off, he laughed a little harder until a tear leaked from the corner of his eye.

“I’m pretty sure he does it because he thinks it makes him cool,” he said.

“Eeek no. That will never happen no matter how hard he tries.”

“Be nice,” he admonished, but I could tell he was amused.

I tapped my finger against my coffee cup, debating whether to say what I was thinking or not. I probably should keep my mouth shut, but I’d always liked Beckett. He’d never treated me like Matt’s annoying little brother but like a real person. As if he liked me for me. Besides, I thought he had the right to know. “She doesn’t like you, you know,” I said after a second’s hesitation

“Liza?”

I nodded.

“I know,” he sighed and finished his hot chocolate in a couple big gulps. “Even if your somewhat thickheaded brother doesn’t believe in bisexuality, shedoes. I guess she thinks I’ll try to make him gay-for-me or something.” He shrugged but didn’t seem too beat up about it.

“You’re not mad?”

“Nah. Every time he meets someone, he does this. They say jump, he asks how high. Then after a while, he remembers he doesn’t like being told what to do all the time and breaks up with them. The day he finds someone who’ll let him have his own interests, he’s gonna marry her.”

That was…eerily accurate. I hadn’t thought about it like that before.

Beckett twisted his empty mug on the table and his eyes flitted from one place to another as if he were trying to avoid looking at me.

“You want another one of these?” I dipped my chin in the direction of the cup.

“I, um, shouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“I…eh….um…” He squirmed in his seat and patted himself on the stomach. “You know.” His words were little more than a whisper, and his eyes seemed more determined than ever to stay away from me.

Did he…think he was overweight? Sure, his stomach wasn’t flat or sixpacked, but he wasn’t fat either. His belly was a little rounded and he had the beginnings of love handles, but it suited him. It went well with his full, mocha brown beard and overall teddy-bear look. He wasn’t very tall—he had a couple inches on my own five-feet-six—with hairy arms and even tufts of hair on his knuckles. He’d tugged a knitted beanie down over his ears; it was red with wide gold stripes, and it had some kind of badge at the front. I squinted, trying to read the word. Gryffindor.Heh. So he was a Harry Potter fan. Adorable.

He was cute and snuggly and huggable. Reminded me of an Ewok.

I wanted to tell him he was perfect, but what if I made everything worse? Saying ‘you’re not fat, you’re cuddly’ could come across as patronizing even if that wasn’t my intention. I didn’t want to diminish how he felt; I only wanted to let him know not everyone was attracted to gym-toned bodies. So, I didn’t comment on it. This time.

“I really enjoy this,” I said instead. “I don’t go out a lot, so unless you’ve got somewhere to be, I’d like to stay a while longer.” I wanted to get him to relax; he seemed so tense around me in a way he never did when Matt was around.

“Yeah?”

“Absolutely. As a matter of fact, I’ll have another cup. Don’t tell her I told you this, but Mom makes awful coffee.”

The right corner of his mouth quirked up in half a smile. “She does?”

“Mhm. Her coffee is weak and pathetic. She believes that if she uses less grounds, the caffeine won’t be as bad.”

Beckett’s eyebrows shot up under his beanie. “No?”

I nodded and made a cross over my heart.

He snorted. “That’s so funny!”

“Tell me about it. I’m sure you understand why I prefer this,” I pointed at my cup, “over muddy water disguised as coffee.”

His gaze stopped wandering, and he finally looked right at me. “To tell you the truth, I’d rather drink the muddy water. I don’t like all that bitterness.”

“I’m not surprised,” I said with a grin.