Chapter VI

The rumbling of Levi's truck echoed down Cath's block exactly when he had promised – an hour before expected. A few seconds later, the engine was cut and a door was slammed shut. Cath saved the Simon chapter that she was working on and closed the lid to her laptop. She set her computer on the foot of the mattress she was laying on and swung her feet over the side as the doorbell chimed once.

"Open the door – it's Levi," Cath called as she ran down the hallway. A few moments later, Cath entered the living room, out of breath from running, to see Nick inviting Levi in. What was Nick doing? This was her house. Not his. He had no right to invite guests in. That was for her dad, Wren or her to do. Whatever. Cath decided that it was unnecessary to bring up.

"Cath!" Levi said and broke into a smile when he saw her. He dropped his bag next to the door and quickly covered the distance between the two of them.

"Hey Levi," Cath said and wrapped her arms around him when he got close enough. Levi mirrored her actions, almost squeezing all of the air out of her in a tight embrace. Just being around him once more sent her stomach fluttering. Everything about him was right – his smile, the sparkle in his eyes, the way he smelled of good cologne.

Cath looked up at Levi and he gave her one quick kiss on the lips. "It's so good to see you again," she said and Levi laughed.

"Come on, we've only been apart for what… four days? Five? Levi said. Cath grinned and shrugged at him. That was true, but it was still wonderful to see him. It was the perfect moment, except…

Cath broke out of the embrace and finally gestured to Nick, who had been standing off to one side of the room, watching their reunion. She hoped that it had scared him off, but hadn't made him feel too terrible. Putting Nick in the friend zone was all she had wanted to do, not crush his heart. She didn't want to do to Nick what she had believed Levi had done to her. That feeling like the world was falling around her as she had seen Levi kissing that one girl in the kitchen at his party, she wouldn't ever wish on anyone else.

"Nick, I'd like you to meet Levi. And Levi, Nick," she said. Levi took one hand off of Cath's shoulder, leaving one wrapped around her waist as he reached out to shake Nick's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Levi," Nick said as they shook.

Levi nodded once, curtly. "Nice to meet you," he echoed. "I'm Cath's boyfriend."

Cath inwardly cringed. As if Nick needed any more clarification. Normally, Levi would give Cath a little more space while they were around others, but today it seemed as if Levi couldn't step more than a foot away from her. He certainly was doing his job to make their whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing more obvious.

Nick nodded, unsure of what to say next. "Okay, alright. I guess I'll be seeing you around, then."

"Would you like anything to eat or drink?" Cath asked Levi as Nick sat back in his place on the couch.

"Could I have a glass of water?"

Cath nodded and took Levi's hand, leading him into the kitchen and leaving Nick behind. In the kitchen, Cath's dad was busy poring over his papers that were spread out all across the table.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Avery," Levi greeted as he stepped into the kitchen.

"Hello, Levi," Cath's dad said and began to gather up his papers. "I'm going to get out of the way of the two of you."

"It's fine, Dad," Cath said as she rummaged around in the cabinets for a clean glass then tested the tap water for the perfect temperature. "Really. We can move and you can stay here."

"Nonsense. I need a change of scenery anyway."

"Alright, then. Thanks, Dad." The water began to finally get colder and Cath held the cup underneath the falling stream.

"I'm so glad you came when you did. Thanks so much for this," Cath said as soon as her dad had left the room.

"Not a problem," Levi said, grinning from ear to ear. Could it be that he liked this? That he liked being called to save her from the clutches of another guy and announcing that she was his? "Do you think that he got the picture?"

"I would doubt it if he didn't." Cath handed the water to Levi and he took a swig. "Just, like, don't overdo it, okay?" she continued with a shy smile.

Levi put the glass down on the counter and knitted his eyebrows together. "What… why? Do you want him to try to kiss you again?"

"No! That's not it!" Cath answered quickly, shaking her head back and forth. "It's just that, well, his parents are in the hospital. Under critical care. No one knows if they'll make it and I know that he won't show it, but that's got to be an awfully heavy burden for him to carry on his shoulders. So try to be nice, that's all. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you want." Levi planted a kiss on the tip of her nose and Cath wrinkled her nose. "You're so cute when you do that," he whispered.

Cath turned back toward the cabinet, pretending to look through the cabinet for something else to eat, and let a strand of hair fall from the side to cover up her face. It didn't take long before Levi wrapped his hands around her waist and turned her around to face him. His fingers, toughened by work on his farm, were soft as he gently brushed Cath's hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ears. His fingers traced their way down the side of her head until they reached her chin and tilted her head up so that his lips met hers.

Cath wrapped her arm around his neck and let her fingers weave through the hair at the back of his head. If she could have melted, she would have done so at that moment. It was perfect, being just the two of them once more. Alone….

With a whir, the refrigerator sprung to life and a few seconds later, loud crunching disrupted the room's peace. Jolted out of her delight, Cath spun around to the source of the noise.

"Don't mind me, I'm just getting some ice," Nick said, holding a cup in the refrigerator door, filling it up. "Please, do continue." As he exited the room, he walked too closely to the couple, bumping into Levi with his shoulder. What was his problem?

Cath turned back to Levi, sighed, and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's not your fault he's an ass," Levi said. "Let's get outta here."

Cath laughed and stood up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Gladly."

The summer sun was beginning to set as Cath and Levi walked down the sidewalks of her neighborhood's downtown area, their fingers intertwined. They had been aimlessly weaving up and down the streets for the past hour - sometimes in silence, sometimes not – enjoying the pleasantly warm summer Nebraskan weather.

"How about we go in here?" Levi asked, motioning to a pastry shop that they were passing. Abel's pastry shop. "It smells delicious."

"No, really. It's fine. Let's just keep walking." Cath tugged on Levi's hand, leading him further down the street, but he stopped to stare at the pastries that were on display in the store's front window. Cath tried to push him away, but her stick-like arms were no match for his strength.

"Come on, Cath. Just one little cookie. Don't they look mouthwatering?" Levi pleaded.

"I'll just wait…." Cath trailed off as Levi shot her a distressed look. "Oh, fine. We'll go in."

Seconds later, Cath regretted ever saying that. She should have protested further. She should have said to Levi, 'I can't go in there. My ex's family runs that place and I haven't exactly talked to any of them ever since he broke up with me.' Levi would have understood. She could have told him anything, but she didn't. And now she was kicking herself for not.

The bells that were tied to the door had rang (she had tied them up there herself when they had fallen down last summer) as Cath and Levi had walked into the little shop. Levi had immediately made his way towards the display of cakes and other desserts, but Cath seemed to still be stuck to the door mat.

There Abel was, standing behind the counter with his back turned towards the front of the store as he frosted a cake. It was a scene that was so familiar to Cath, yet this time it brought her the sickening feeling of anxiety. What should she do? Should she walk in and pretend to not notice Abel? Or should she say 'hi' to him? She had too many questions that needed to be answered. Where was Wren now when she needed her? Wren had broken up with many boys before and she always knew precisely how to act afterwards. Cath had hoped that she would just have been able to stay away from here and never have to see Abel or his family ever again. It sure would have saved her from the awkward situation that she found herself in now. Why did she have to bring Levi to this part of town?

"Um, excuse me. Could I have two of those Pan Dulces, please?"

Cath was alarmed at the sound of Levi's voice interrupting her thoughts. She had to think of something – quickly. Abel was going to turn around in three… two… one….

"Hi, Abel," she squeaked, raising her right hand to give him a small, half-hearted wave and a smile. As she was overcome with nerves, she was afraid that it had turned out to resemble more of a grimace. How would Abel react? Would he be awkward around her? Would he apologize? Would he be glad to see her?

"Hi, Cath. How are you?" Abel gave her a polite smile as he reached into the glass pastry display for Levi's order. "Are you back for summer break?"

Cath nodded. "I'm good, thank you. Back on vacation," she swung her arm out in front of her, trying to give Abel a little thumbs-up and let out a self-conscious and obviously forced laugh. "How are you?"

"Oh, same old, same old. Just taking care of the shop." Abel rang up Levi's treats as Cath nodded in response to his answer. Why? Why, oh why did she have to be so awkward all the time?

"That's good. Um, I'll see you around, then?"

"Yeah, I'll see you," Abel said.

Cath grabbed Levi's hand and, yanking him this time, led him out of the shop. She was never going back in there again.

"Why were you in such a rush to get out of there?" Levi asked. "And why didn't you want to go in there in the first place?"

Cath closed her eyes and sighed. "That was my ex."

"Oh."

"Well, not really my ex because we were never actually dating. I mean, we were, but it wasn't official. At least Wren never said that it was, but we were doing that kind-of dating thing for more than a year. About a month into college, that guy, Abel, called me up to say that he had found a girl, so I suppose that that was kind of like breaking up and I was pretty upset."

Levi wrapped his arm around Cath. "Hey, think on the bright side. If you and that kid were still "kind-of" together, you wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to date me."

Cath smiled and leaned her head against his arm. "I know. It's just that that was the first time that I had really seen him since we had broken up and, you know, that's always awkward."

Levi frowned. "You know, if you had just told me that, I wouldn't have begged you to go inside."

"I know, I know. I just wasn't thinking at the time."

He reached into his paper bag and pulled out one of the Pan Dulces that he had bought. "Eat. The sugar with wash away the embarrassments of your past."

Without hesitating, Cath took a bite of the sweet bread. The two continued on their way and Levi bumped his shoulder playfully against hers. "I'd better watch out," he teased. "Yet another boy that I have to keep you away from."

Cath rolled her eyes. Nothing could be farther from the truth.