You can stop whenever you want, Levi said.
I dont want to stop, She looked up at him. Im just reallyshe was blushing, she wasnt sure whythirsty.
Levi laughed and sat up. Oh Yeah. Let me get you something. You want soda? Water? I could be back here in ten with a gingerbread latte.
She was about to tell him not to bother, but then she remembered how good that gingerbread latte was. Really?
Back in ten, he said, already standing and putting on his jacket. He stopped in the doorway, and Cath felt tense, remembering how sad hed looked the last time he stood there.
Levi smiled.
Cath didnt know what to do, so she sort of nodded and gave him the worlds lamest thumbs-up.
When he was gone, she stood up and stretched. Her back and her shoulders popped. She went to the bathroom. Came back. Stretched again. Checked her phone. Then lay down on her bed.
It smelled like Levi. Like coffee grounds. And some sort of warm, spicy thing that might be cologne. Or soap. Or deodorant. Levi sat on her bed so often, it was all familiar. Sometimes he smelled like cigarette smoke, but not tonight. Sometimes like beer.
Shed left the door unlocked, so when he knocked again, Cath just sat up and told him to come in. Shed meant to get up and sit back down at her desk, but Levi was already handing her the drinks and taking off his coat. His face was flushed from the cold, and when his coat touched her, it was so cold, she jumped.
Five below, he said, taking off his hat and riffling his hair until it stuck up again. Scoot over.
Cath did, scooting up toward her pillow and leaning against the wall. Levi took his drink and smiled at her. She set the drink carrier on her desk; hed brought her a big glass of water, too.
Can I ask you something? She looked down at her Starbucks cup.
Of course.
Why did you take a literature class if you cant finish a book?
He turned to herthey were sitting shoulder to shoulder. I need six hours of literature to graduate. Thats two classes. I tried to get one out of the way freshman year, but I failed it. I failed a lot that year.
How do you get through any of your classes? Cath had hours of assigned reading, almost every single night.
Coping strategies.
Such as?
I record my lectures and listen to them later. Professors usually cover most of whats on the test in class. And I find study groups.
And you lean on Reagan
Not just Reagan. He grinned. Im really good at quickly identifying the smartest girl in every class.
Cath frowned at him. God, Levi, thats so exploitive.
How is it exploitive? I dont make them wear miniskirts. I dont call them baby. I just say, Hello, smart girl, would you like to talk to me about Great Expectations ?
They probably think you like them.
I do like them.
If it wasnt exploitive, youd harass smart boys, too
I do, in a pinch. Do you feel exploited, Cather? He was still grinning at her over his coffee cup.
No, she said, I know that you dont like me.
You dont know anything.
So, this is old hat for you? Finding a girl to read a whole book to you?
He shook his head. No, this is a first.
Well, now I feel exploited, she said, setting her drink down and reaching for the book.
Thank you, he said.
Chapter twelve
Im serious. Levi pulled the book down and looked at her. Thank you.
Cath held his eyes for a few seconds. Then she nodded and pulled back the book.
* * *
After another fifty pages, Cath was getting sleepy. At some point, Levi had leaned against her, and then shed leaned back, and it was hard to think about what was happening on that side of her body because she was busy reading. Though there was almost an entire chapter there where her lips and her eyes were moving, but her brain wasnt keeping track of anything but how warm he was. How warm her roommates boyfriend was.
One of her roommates boyfriends. Did that matter? If Reagan had three boyfriends, did that mean this was only one-third wrong?
Just leaning against Levi probably wasnt wrong. But leaning against him because he was warm and not-exactly-soft Wrong.
Caths voice rasped, and he sat up away from her a little bit. Want to take a break? he asked.
She nodded, only partly grateful.
Levi stood up and stretched. The tails of his flannel shirt didnt quite lift up over the waist of his jeans. Cath stood up, too, and rubbed her eyes.
Youre tired, he said. Lets stop.
Were not stopping now, she said. Were almost done.
Weve still got a hundred pages
Are you getting bored?
No. I just feel like its too much, what youre doing for me. Bordering on exploitive.
Pfft, Cath said. Ill be right back. And then well finish. Were half done, and I want to know what happens. Nobodys said, Stay gold, Ponyboy yet.
When she came back, Levi was in the hallway, leaning against the door. He must have gone up to the boys floor to use the bathroom. This is weird now that I know you have a key, she said.
She let him in, and he dropped down onto the bed again and smiled at her. Cath glanced at her desk chair, then felt his hand on her sleeve. He pulled her down next to him on the bed, and their eyes met for a second. Cath looked away as if they hadnt.