OffsideChanceFormat2 (17 page)

The
situation at work wasn’t helping matters any either. Jasmine’s friend Kaitlyn
kept hinting that they should go for coffee or drinks. She was attractive in
the same way Jasmine was attractive—tall, thin, with curves in the right
places, but not too curvy, hair not too long or too short, manicured nails and
clothes that fit her body just right, with a hint of sin in the otherwise
professional business attire. Kaitlyn was from old New Orleans money; her
father was a doctor, her mother a socialite. She wanted to save the world and
get into Levi Brody’s pants. Too bad Levi was gay and that left his look-alike
brother. Not the same but what the hell, right?

He’d
overheard them talking in Jasmine’s office when they thought he was gone for
the evening. He’d closed his computer and was packing his messenger bag getting
ready to leave when Jasmine had magnanimously pronounced him adequate in bed,
and explained that he was friends with several of the guys on the team and was
invited to the parties. Maybe she could meet Raphael.
Rafe
was wild and willing to try anything once. But that was all he’d tried her for.
Once.

After
that night Jude had left the law clinic every evening with a bad taste in his
mouth. He remembered why he chose not to stay in New Orleans in the first
place. He had blamed his displeasure on Levi and the circus that was sure to
follow in his wake. But the honest truth regarding his disdain for life at the
law clinic was he couldn’t stomach the shallow behavior of his colleagues. Not
that it was any different in Alabama. Or anywhere for that matter. Everyone was
fake and entitled and he just couldn’t stand being caught up in the middle of
it.

 
    
“So,
are you going tonight or not?" Slater had gone back to being surly and
antagonizing as the days had passed. This afternoon he sat at the table nursing
a bottle of water instead of a beer. Jude had seen him drink beer for breakfast
more than once since the season ended. But he never seemed to show any signs of
being an alcoholic… or drunk. The man handled alcohol better than anyone he’d
ever met. Probably due to his size. He had to be knocking three hundred pounds…
of hard muscle and wide shoulders. And Jude couldn’t stop staring at the man’s
ass when he walked. Or rather the roll of the… “Earth to Judy! What the hell
are you staring at?”

Startled,
Jude nearly dropped the portfolio he’d borrowed from an architect friend. “You.
Is that water you’re drinking? I hardly recognized you without a beer in your
hand.”

Will
gave him a smile that said he wasn’t fooled. They’d ignored the three hundred
pound gorilla in the room for the past two weeks. But Will remembered. Jude was
damn sure of that.

“Levi
is sending a limo. I plan to do a lot of drinking later. Thought I’d save it
now and drink on Levi’s dime. Nice of him to throw this little shindig. Last
year we all just sat around his TV upstairs.”

“Who’s
‘we all’?” Jude moved the placemats from the table and pulled out the set of
plans he thought would work for Will’s rebuild.

“You
know, all of us Neanderthal football players. Last year was pretty fucking bad.
Levi’s arm was still in a cast to keep him from moving it. Bo didn’t come, and
Dylan wouldn’t have handled the small space with all us big men in it very
well. He’s still twitchy, he does great on the field, but let him get in a
closed space and… well you’ve seen him. Like a caged cat.”

“Ah,
yeah, I like Dylan. He’s quiet, he watches what goes on. He anticipates. He’s
an interesting person. The PTSD thing though, well, that’s understandable
considering everything he went through.” Jude spread the first set of plans out
and used the salt and pepper shakers to hold down the edges. “I picked these up
from a friend, and I have to say, William, that I like this plan for—“

“What
the fuck is this?” Will leaned over him. He’d moved to Jude’s side faster than
Jude imagined a man his size could, his breath hot and angry on Jude’s
shoulder. “Didn’t I tell you I wasn’t interested in rebuilding?”

“And
I told you that you’d make more money with an actual house to sell than a
vacant lot.” Jude turned to face him and immediately regretted the move. He
stood almost flush against the angry man, almost as if he were about to embrace
him. Or kiss him. But he couldn’t move, the table had him penned in. “It’s not
like I bought the damned things. They’re on loan. Just for you to get an idea
of what can be done.”

Will
was the one to take a step back. An apology, or something that looked like one,
flashed in his eyes before he went back to being the same prickly Neanderthal
he’d been the last two weeks. “Yeah, well…. how did you know the specs? What if
these won’t work for my lot?”

 
“Levi and I drove out while he was here. I
went to city records and found the original blueprints and from there I picked
several designs that might work. It was a beautiful old Steamboat Victorian.
It’s a shame it’s gone.” Jude returned his attention to the design on the
table. It was the design most like the house that had burned. “As I was saying.
I like this one, it’s a modern design with an eye to historical preservation
which the neighborhood seems to be dictating. The outside looks exactly like
your house. But the rooms inside are much larger and the ceilings will be
higher. Modern plumbing and up to code building materials to meet today’s
standards for storm and fire. But it’s the most expensive per square foot to
build. Your profit margin wouldn’t be very high at all.”

Will
simply grunted and stepped to Jude’s side to study the plans. His eyes scanned
over the wide double verandas on the simple narrow rectangle of a house, the
open rooms on the first floor where there had been several small closed rooms,
and the large bright kitchen in the back. “I like it. But what if I don’t want
to live in another Victorian nightmare of a house?”

Jude
just sighed and showed him the more modern versions that fit the lot dimensions
and would likely pass the neighborhood planning committee’s guidelines. Jude
flipped through the pages, looking from one to the next. “What if we did
something like the first one, but in brick? I’m not sure I want to go with wood
frame construction again. The lower level was almost completely ruined from the
flood. I had to replace all of the floors. What if we did—”

“A
brick Creole Cottage instead? It’s the same basic design but with wrought iron
for the verandas instead of woodwork. What about the roof and the windows? We could
leave the peak… keep the same floor plan?” Jude could see the house now. It
wouldn’t be the same. But it would be almost perfect for the neighborhood. “I
like the sound of that. With concrete floors. Not wood. However we can do
that?” Their hands brushed on the plans. Jude snatched his hand away as if he’d
been burned.

“Sorry…
I mean, I’ll see if it can be modified and you can make arrangements with the
architect, and the homeowners’ association should be a breeze. They just want
it to look as if it belongs in the neighborhood. You know, not some
ultra-modern steel and glass monstrosity.” Jude left Will leaning over the
plans to stare into the refrigerator for something to drink. He let the cool
air calm him while he stared unseeing into the box. What the hell was he thinking?
The house was Will’s, not his. His own monstrosity of a house waited for him
back home. Along with his empty bed.

“Grab
me a soda while you’re in there.” Will rustled the plans while Jude found the
last can of Sprite for Will and the last beer for himself. “And you didn’t
answer my question from earlier. Are you going tonight? Levi will be pissed if
you don’t.”

“What
is he up to? I mean it’s just a Super Bowl party for you guys, why does he need
me there?” Jude stopped trying to figure out the inner workings of his
brother’s mind… well, he never could figure out what made Levi tick.

“Levi
wouldn’t send a limo to pick us up if this were just a football viewing party.
He wouldn’t even tell me where we’re going. Said I’d find out when I got
there.” Will took the soda and popped the top. “Thank you. We need to pick up
food and supplies tomorrow. We should have gone today.”

“Make
a list and I’ll call for delivery while you’re out.” Jude didn’t feel like
going to a party. But Will shook his head as if to say that Jude wasn’t going
to be so lucky. Jude responded with, “To borrow one of your phrases, I have a
fuck ton of work to do. I can’t take tonight off… or I should just drop the
damned classes and forget about the whole thing.”

“You
work too much and put too much pressure on yourself, when I know you’ve had
this shit finished for days. I’ve figured you out, Jude. You can’t just leave
things be. Turn in the first draft and call it done. And you’re going. I looked
at these plans and agreed with your ideas. So now it’s payback. Levi is sending
a limo for you not me.” Will drained his soda and belched afterward. Smiling
big, he tossed the can in the trash. “You have a pair of nice black slacks and
a black silk shirt in your closet. Wear that. Look presentable. You have an
hour. Or…” he sauntered over and crowded Jude against the refrigerator. The
fact that Will had to look up to meet his gaze made the effort more comical
than intimidating. “I will carry you up those stairs and dress you myself.”

Jude
smiled a lazy smile and draped his arms over Will’s shoulders. “Will you be
undressing me as well?” Will’s smirk receded, the smart ass comment that
ordinarily would have followed didn’t. Instead, he shrugged off Jude’s arms and
headed out the back door, his motor cycle helmet and keys in hand. He stopped
and looked back. “One hour, Judy. And yeah I’ll undress you if I have to. It’s
not like I haven’t seen it already.”

The
door slammed and Jude sagged against the fridge door. His heart raced too fast,
his chest hurt with the pressure. His skin tingled. Everywhere. Just from a few
seconds of touching the man and staring deep into those damn purple eyes of
his. Part of him really wanted to test the man, he wanted him to strip him to
his skin. That part of him was alive and living in his jeans. But his big head
was ready to high-tail it back to Alabama. Today. Levi’s party be damned.

*
* * * *

Will
couldn’t believe he was actually watching a man make an entrance with interest.
Dressed in a pair of black pinstripe pants and a white shirt, Jude descended
the stairs. His suit jacket was hidden by a black and white raincoat. His hair,
much longer now than when he first arrived, curled lightly around his neck with
the front styled in soft waves off his face. And Will couldn’t take his eyes
off him.

“Fashionably
late as usual, Judah,” Levi said as he leaned against the door with his large
golf umbrella dripping on the entry tiles wearing a huge shit-eating grin on
his face.

 
“Fuck you, Leviticus,” Jude retorted quickly.

“I
see you’ve adopted Slayer’s lovely vocabulary. It’s almost as if the two of you
were one person,” he replied, continuing to mock his brother.

“Just
remember, dear brother, I know where most of your money is located. Piss me off
and see how long it takes the IRS to hunt you down when I don’t file your taxes
in April,” Jude countered as he pulled the hood on his ugly jacket up, his eyes
burning with satisfaction at getting the upper hand over his brother.

“You
wouldn’t?” Levi wheezed, his voice caught between a cough and a gasp. “You’re a
cruel man, Judah.”

“I’ve
learned from the best. Now what the hell is going on? Since when do you get all
dressed up in your Livy best for a football game?” Jude really was a cruel man.
Jude treated Levi to one of his brother’s own patented smirks that said he knew
more than anyone else on the field, just before he threw a sixty yard Hail Mary
pass that fell right into Bowen Murphy’s nimble fingers while he easily crossed
the goal line, blond hair flying behind him.

“Now,
where is the fun in spoiling the surprise?” Levi opened the front door and
stepped out onto the stoop, “After you,” Levi said as he moved to the side and
swept his arm wide to let Jude go first.

“Thank
God. I was about to start stabbing things.” Will followed Jude out, and he made
sure Levi heard him as he said, “If I didn’t know the two of you were brothers
before, I sure as fuck do now. The petty bickering, Jesus Christ, just kill me
now.”

The
devilish twinkle in his Levi’s said he’d enjoyed every second of fucking with
his brother. “Who said we’re brothers? I’ve never laid eyes on him before in my
life.”

Jude
twisted his arm behind his back and held up his middle finger to show he’d
heard.

“And
he’s human after all,” Will shouted in surprise. The gesture was so un-Jude-like
Will
couldn’t believe he’d actually seen him flip his
brother off at first. “I had my doubts.”

Once
they were settled in the limo, Jude elbowed him in his ribs as Levi made
himself comfortable in Tracy’s lap across from them, his pouty bottom lip on
full display.

“Do
I even need to ask?” Tracy sighed as if this happened often. He would know
since he’d spent the last few months with both brother’s back in Alabama.
 

“Lover’s
spat,” Levi said as he curled against his lover in a most sensual, un-Levi-like
manner.