Free Sidelined by Mercy Celeste Page A

hadn’t come here to fight with the man. He hadn’t come here to kiss him or anything else that came after kissing him either. But it always seemed to happen. And he was sick of this monumental letdown after each time he’d been with Levi. Each and every time. Levi’s past was all over this relationship.
    He turned the shower off and leaned against the wall. He smelled like strawberries. Fuck, he was losing his fucking mind.
    “Would you like a towel?” The curtain opened, and Levi leaned in, holding out a folded towel. Tracy preferred to lean and drip and watch the water flow slowly down the drain. “We’re going to be late for your cookout. Unless you decided you’re staying. I could wash your back.”
    Tracy laughed, it wasn’t a happy laugh. The water finally all ran out, and all he had to stare at was his hairy toes. “You’re right, Levi. It’s not my business what you did in your past. I don’t know, it’s just…something about you is making me crazy. I don’t get this. Being around you. I…it’s everything. I’ve got to have or know or do everything.”
    “And that’s scaring the shit out of me.” Levi sat on the closed toilet, the folded towel hugged to his chest. He bounced a leg as if he was nervous and finger-combed his hair.
    “I don’t mean to scare you. Or…I’m not your coach or your father or…” He stood up and looked at the mirror again. “You and Jude had a fight, didn’t you? That’s why your hand was all scraped up. You punched the mirror because Jude’s a little prick.”
    “I’ve never hit my brother. Never even thought to…until two weeks ago. Yeah, I punched the mirror. At least it’s safety glass, or I’d have fucked up my hand even worse than it is.”
    “Is asking what happened out of line?” He reached for the towel and stepped out of the tub to stand on the mat in front of Levi.
    Levi shrugged and continued to stare at the floor. “I told him I’m gay. He didn’t take it well. Said some nasty things. And I haven’t seen him since.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t be, Judah and I have a complicated relationship. He’ll get over it. Or we won’t speak for five years. We’ve done it before. When he forgets we have a father and tries to fill the role.”
    “I have a sister like that. But she’s the oldest and got stuck taking care of all of us while our parents worked, so it’s understandable.”
    “All of us?” Levi looked up, a smirk on his lush lips. “How many of you are there?”
    “Five. I have two brothers and two sisters.”
    “And which one are you?”
    “The fifth.”
    “The baby of the family. Spoiled. Demanding. Used to getting his way. That’s pretty much you all over.” Levi stood up, his face not far from Tracy’s, the smile gone, and his face remarkably blank. “Right now this is just sex, Tracy, incredible sex. It’s all I can give you. Anything else…I don’t know, I’m used to being alone. I like being alone. You’re sexy, hot, demanding. And you do seem to push all of my turn-on buttons. Whatever else happens…” He shook his head, and his eyes filled with fear. “Please tell me this isn’t a meet-your-parents deal, because then we’d have to talk.”
    “This is a 'my folks throw a cookout for the team when camp is over and I forgot to tell you yesterday' thing. You’re part of the team. And I don’t actually have your phone number to call you up and say 'Levi, we’re having a cookout, bring yourself and a case of Cokes.' Okay? Don’t read anything into it that isn’t there.”
    “Fair enough.” Levi took a step toward him. He reached up but changed the angle to push his hair back at the last minute. “And later maybe. We can do this the right way.”
    “Instead of like two horny teenagers. Yeah, that sounds good. And I was out of line. I’m sorry.” Tracy wanted to close the distance between them. He wanted to wrap Levi in his arms and kiss him. Promise him everything was going to be okay. The