Chapter 54
And he still offered to come? Maybe I’ll keep him forever and lock him up so he couldn’t leave my house ever again. “Ewwww, Levi Byrne, that was notromantic, you creep.”
Levi: In that case, please come over.
Beckett: Great. I’ll be there right away. Bye.
Amazingly, I got a whole lot of work done in the forty-five minutes it took him to arrive. It was as if my brain relaxed now that it knew I was about to meet him. When he knocked, I jumped off my chair, rushed across the floor, and yanked open the door.
And was met by a sight for sore eyes. Beckett. In his beanie. Holding out a thermos mug with the Starbucks logo on it. “I thought you might like some real coffee?” he said with a shy smile.
I wanted to kiss him. Throw myself at him and hug the stuffing out of him for being so considerate. My grip on the door knob tightened so I wouldn’t do any of those things. Instead, I stepped to the side to let him in, and when I closed the door behind him, I asked, “Did you read my mind?” I accepted the thermos mug, unscrewed the lid, and inhaled the bitter aroma of the world’s most divine beverage.
“Um, no?” He toed off his shoes and shrugged out of his jacket, revealing a knitted sweater in the Gryffindor colors. Gaah, he was so adorable I couldn’t stand it.
I forced myself to stop staring at him before I would swallow my tongue. “Let me show you something.” I walked to the kitchenette and indicated for him to follow. “See that?” I pointed to the coffee tin.
“Yeah.”
“It’s empty. It’s the embodiment of a tragedy. So, when I needed my evening fix, I couldn’t have it.”
“Sounds very…traumatic.”
I could tell he was trying his hardest not to laugh at me. I would have let him get away with it. I had coffee.
We sat at the desk and chatted for a few minutes before we got down to business.
I grabbed the box tucked away under my bed and dropped it in his lap. “Enjoy yourself.”
He opened the lid, peered down on the contents, and his mouth fell open. He put the box on the floor, took out the thick ledger, and as I sipped my coffee, I watched him thumb through it.
“Shit, Levi. You’re very old-school for a web designer and programmer. I didn’t expect…this.” He gestured to the book.
I knew everyone expected me of all people to use a fancy accounting program, but I needed to write stuff down on paper for it to make sense to me. I hid behind the mug and muttered, “I know.”
“It’s okay.” His eyes shone with honesty and before I knew it, words spilled out of my mouth.
“I’m an idiot when it comes to these things. I tried doing it digitally, but the numbers just don’t make sense. And I’m very aware of the irony that I could probably create a program that would be better than a lot of what’s available out there but freeze whenever I try to use it. One of the elders at church, who helps my parents with their taxes, gave me this and it’s the only thing that’s ever worked.”
“Hey.” He leaned closer to me and rested his hand on top of mine that clasped the mug in a tight grip. “It really is okay. It was done this way for hundreds of years.”
“I feel so stupid.”
“You’re anything but stupid, Levi. Do you think I’mstupid?”
“No! Why would you ask that?”
“I could never do what you do. That doesn’t mean I’m stupid. It means I’m better at other things. Just like you.”
His words and his warm hand untangled the knot in my stomach. “Thank you,” I whispered. I wanted to say more. To tell him how much his kindness and generosity meant to me, but I didn’t have good enough words. Instead, I repeated my thanks and hoped he could read the sincerity in my eyes.
We sat in companionable silence for a few more minutes—his hand never leaving mine—before he put back my old-school ledger in the box with the receipts, gave me a quick, one-armed hug and said goodbye.
The warmth of his hand on top of mine lingered for the rest of the evening. 5: Beckett
Pisces (February 19—March 20)
Jupiter’s ongoing presence in your sector makes you unusually bold and adventurous when it comes to kickstarting a new career or choosing an exciting hobby. That means today is an excellent day to quit your boring day job and apply for a position as a go-go boy at the local club or maybe taking up sculpting. Think of all the money you’ll save by making your own dildos.