Hidden Gem Short Story Collection (9781301405985) (13 page)

“
What are we
toasting?”

Levi thought about it for a second.
“You.”

She smiled as their glasses touched.
“Why?”

“
For holding your liquor.
Unlike anyone else out there.” Levi thought for another moment.
“And for being interesting. Unlike anyone else out
there.”

Harper laughed. “You don’t find a single
person out there interesting? I figured those were your
friends.”

“
They’re all friends. I
just don’t think they’re very interesting.”

Harper considered it. She actually didn’t
find a whole lot of her friends from The Cabot School interesting.
All they ever did was whine about calories, shopping and boys. “So,
what, you just hide out here every party?” she asked.

“
Generally.”

“
Somebody’s read
The Great Gatsby
too
many times.”

“
Only twice.”

Harper laughed, taking a swig of the scotch.
She knelt on the kitchen barstool as she looked over at the wall.
“You do have a lot of other books.”

“
Yeah.” Levi’s gaze roamed
her body again as she twisted on the swivel chair. He nodded toward
the shelf. “Go pick some out.”

She did, even if the suggestion had been
merely an excuse for him to look at her from another angle. Pulling
a mostly random selection of books, she brought them back to the
counter, happy to draw a genuinely delighted laugh from him as he
watched her balance the stack of a dozen books in her lithe
arms.

Over scotch and steak, Harper listened to
Levi’s short anecdotes behind each book. The South American
cookbook belonged to his mother, the former popstar, Olivia Reyes,
who was born to a Brazilian father and Chilean mother. The book of
Japanese tattoo art had been from a shop in Tokyo, where Levi had
gone with his parents in eighth grade for the launch of Oro Records
Japan. With Cliff and Olivia obligated to publicity events, Levi
had been left with Nick, a trusted handler whom the Westins had
employed as security personnel for years. Somehow, Levi managed to
convince the ink-happy Nick to let him tag along on his trip to
Saitama, where he went to get a traditional tebori tattoo.

The World War II book had a simpler
explanation – an interest in history. Similarly, the Henry Ford and
chopper books had just to do with Levi’s affinity for Ford trucks
and streamlined motorcycles. Before he’d been legal to drive, he
had already owned one of each.

“
I’m planning on taking my
bike and my truck on a road trip to the East Coast. Pretty sure
I’ve seen more countries than I have U.S states,” Levi snorted,
washing down his last bite of steak with his last ounce of scotch.
Harper felt a pang of jealousy, realizing she too had been to more
places overseas than within her own country.

“
Alone?” she asked
skeptically.

“
Yes.”

“
Your parents would let
you?”

“
I’m not going to tell
them. I’m just going to go. If my dad wants to care, he
will.”

“
But how are you going to
just
go?
” Harper
asked, her envy audible in her question. When Levi smirked at her,
she tried to hide it. “I mean won’t you get recognized?”

“
People know my parents.
They don’t know me. I don’t get recognized outside of L.A and
that’s how I like it.”

“
You don’t feel the
pressure to eventually be famous like them?”

“
Famous how?”

“
Like… a celebrity. A
singer or actor or model. Something like that.”

“
Hell no. I don’t want
someone telling me how to act. Celebrities… they just adopt
whatever persona people like my dad give them.” Levi studied Harper
as she looked down at her hands. He was quiet for a moment.
“Christ, let me guess – you want to me an actress or a model,” he
said as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small vial, which
he twisted open.

Harper scoffed. “What makes you think I care
about any of that?”

“
Because you
do.”

She did. “Fine.”

He grinned. “You don’t have to be either of
those things. Just keep being yourself and you won’t be able to
avoid fame.”

“
What makes you say that?”
Harper asked, trying not to look fazed by the fine white powder he
poured onto the counter. Levi gave her a look as if she’d asked a
stupid question.

“
Look at you.”

She looked down at herself. There were
scotch and grease stains on her white dress. “Looking.”

“
You’re gorgeous and you
have a crazy side. People naturally want to know about girls like
you.” He ran a hand along his square jaw. “And you’re interesting.
Give it a few years and you’ll be my Kryptonite.”

Harper cocked her head, knitting her brows
despite the smile on her lips. “Why aren’t I now?”

“
Because there’s still
some good girl in you,” he replied, reaching into his other pocket
to retrieve his wallet. He pulled out a fifty-dollar bill and a
shiny AmEx, using the card to cut the small pile of white into two
lines before bending over. The rolled fifty a tunnel between his
nostril and the powder, Levi made it quickly disappear off the
surface of the counter. Standing straight again, he nodded toward
the second line – an offer to Harper. Suddenly, despite feeling
oddly un-attracted to Levi while he was snorting, Harper wished
she’d done coke before.

Trying to look casual, she nodded.
“Sure.”

Levi studied her. “Actually.” With a smirk,
he bent over again, clearing the second line. Harper burst out
laughing despite her confusion.

“
What the
fuck?”

Levi put the card and bill away. “I’m not
going to be the person who offers you your first line.”

Harper didn’t bother lying about having done
coke before. Something told her that lying to Levi was
pointless.

“
I’ll try it eventually,”
she reasoned. “Who cares if you offer it or someone else does?
Besides, you said I was going to be bad in two years
anyway.”

“
I figure you will. I’m
hoping you won’t.”

“
Because you care so much
about me,” she teased.

“
I care about me,” he
corrected. Harper tried not to look offended. “And I have a feeling
you’ll be the end of me if you get into all the same shit I’m into.
The last thing I need is a partner in crime. We’d probably set L.A
on fire.”

“
So let’s set L.A on fire.
I fly home tomorrow, anyway,” Harper said playfully. She swallowed
when Levi didn’t laugh, embarrassed by her flirtation. She watched
as he leaned back against the counter. The way he looked at her
made her chew her lower lip.

“
You know, you don’t have
to be fucked up,” he said flatly. “You just want to be. Because the
divorce hurt and you’re pissed at your parents and you think you
have the perfect excuse to be a shitty, rebellious kid. But I can
tell you’re smart and strong. You don’t have to be some kind of
premeditated screw up.”

Harper stared, a mixture
of shock and embarrassment forming in her stomach. And anger.
Suddenly, a fire blazed in both her cheeks and eyes. “I’m sorry,
but
why
exactly
are you trying to talk to me like you’re so much older and wiser?
You’re fucking sixteen, Levi.” Her stare narrowed at him. “And I’m
pretty sure you’re the one who thinks he’s this old, damaged soul
because boo-hoo, his dad never wanted him, so don’t patronize
me.”

“
That’s not how I meant
it, I’m just saying you can still be good. And normal.”

“
So why can’t
you?”

Levi stared back at her, looking tired. He
stretched, rubbing the back of his neck before clearing the plate
in front of her and casually tossing it in the sink along with his,
probably breaking at least one of them. “I’m too tired for this
conversation,” he decided.

“
Convenient.”

Levi shot her a look. “Unless I’m mistaken,
I met you forty-five minutes ago and only because you broke into my
house. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t owe you any life
stories.”

Damn it
. Harper clenched her jaw. He wasn’t wrong about any of that
and she would sound way too emotional if she pointed out that it
felt like they’d known each other for much longer, even if it was
true.

“
And I wasn’t trying to
hurt your feelings,” Levi clarified, watching Harper as she headed
for the door she’d come in through. “I like you. I just wanted to
help.”

“
Get over yourself,”
Harper muttered on her way out.

And for the rest of the night, she thought
about the words “I like you,” all the while regretting the juvenile
retort she’d exited on.

“
It’s fine, I would’ve
said the same thing. ‘Get over yourself’ is a classic comeback, so
you’re good,” Zoe said that night. “But dude. I’m imagining Levi
Westin all mad and it’s giving me tinglies in weird
places.”

“
You’re so
stupid.”

“
Hey. You’re gonna regret
saying that. I’m hurt now and I’m going to call Marco Donovan for
emotional support,” Zoe said, chucking her oatmeal cookie at Harper
as they watched 4AM infomercials on the leather sectional in the
living room.

“
What about Steven? Or
Stephan? I thought you liked him.”

“
I do. I totally plan on
losing my V-card to him.”

Harper made a face and laughed. “’Kay.”

“
But I have a feeling that
I’m going to end up sleeping with Marco somewhere down the line,
anyway. Maybe in a couple years, when the age difference isn’t
super disturbing,” she said, shrugging breezily as she changed the
channel. Harper stared.

“
What the hell was the
point in me hooking you up with Steven-Stephan if you plan on
eventually boning that douchebag?”

“
Harpie. Sometimes things
are just destiny, ‘kay? Now lose the judgment before I throw my
glass of milk in your face.”

“
You would
never.”

“
You’re right, I
wouldn’t,” Zoe chirped merrily, retrieving the cookie she’d thrown
at Harper and taking a bite.

The next morning, Harper awoke on the same
couch they had fallen asleep on. But the cookie crumbs were
suddenly cleaned off and the whole area looked generally neatened
from the night before. Zoe was nowhere in sight and through the
reflection of the television, Harper could see that her hair had
been fanned out prettily over a pillow and she’d been neatly
covered and tucked under a blanket when she knew for sure that
she’d passed out with her limbs splayed the night before.

Before she could vocalize her confusion, Zoe
rushed into room, jumping on top of her.

“
Ouch!
What the fuck, Zoe?”

“
Levi Westin called me
this morning is what the fuck. He said he was coming by so I did
the creepiest thing in the world and made you all pretty in your
sleep in case I couldn’t get you to wake up by the time he got
here.”

Harper glanced at the Mason Pearson
hairbrush on the table and burst out laughing. “Did you brush my
hair while I was sleeping? That’s straight up stalker material,
Zoe.”

“
There’s a fine line
between stalker love and best friend love.”

“
We’re best friends?”
Harper snorted.

“
I decided this morning.
Don’t be a dick about it.”

“
Okay.” Harper rubbed her
eyes, blinking and finally absorbing Zoe’s earlier words. “Wait.
Levi called?”

“
Yes, that’s what I was
telling you and I have no idea what the hell he wants but he’s
gonna be here any second so wake your ass up and put your clothes
and your face on!”

By the time Harper was
packed and dressed, she heard Zoe open the front door downstairs,
obviously trying to alert Harper with her loud greeting.
“Oh,
hey
, Levi!
You’re here!”

With her bag slung around her shoulder,
Harper slowly made her way down the stairs to the front hall, her
eyes on anything else but the door since she knew that Levi stood
in it, watching her the entire way down. When she finally reached
the bottom step, she looked at him.

“
Hey,” she said. She
watched him eye her bag and then nod out toward the
driveway.

“
I’m driving you to the
airport,” he said, as if it were just a fact. Harper ignored Zoe’s
extremely adamant nod.

“
Okay,” she said, though
suddenly, somehow, her heart knew that she wasn’t headed for the
airport at all. Or perhaps it was the fact that the car in the
driveway was a Ford truck with a motorcycle loaded into the
back.

Kissing Zoe goodbye on the cheek, Harper let
him take her bag and toss it into the black truck. They were
wordless as they got into the car, though their eyes were fixed on
one another. Finally, Levi broke the silence.

“
We can go to the airport
if you want to,” he said, smiling at the glimmer in Harper’s eye as
she shook her head.

“
No. Take me wherever
you’re going.”

And so he did. For the next two weeks, they
remained on the road.

~

Staring at her phone, hearing but not
processing Ron as he asked her if she was alright, Harper waited
for Levi’s reply. She was too afraid to go into Agno. Levi was in
there. She suddenly knew it. She’d always had the weird ability to
sense him.