Page 59 of Gator

I nodded. “Yeah, he didn’t make it back home.” I took in a deep breath. “Anyway, in his honor, I always pull for the Lions.”

“I think that’s a nice way to honor your friend. But they aren’t playing tonight, right?”

“Right.”

“Okay, then tell me what color I should wear.”

I walked over to my closet, pulled out my Saints jersey, and handed it to him. “Here, you can wear this.”

It was obvious he would be swimming in it, but he smiled at me and took the jersey. “What will you wear?”

“Mon petit, unlike you, I don’t mind showing up at game night in sweats and a t-shirt.”

“Well, okay then. He looked at the jersey. “I have a pair ofConversethat will match perfectly. I just hope I brought jeans. I don’t wear them that often.” He dived back into the closet and then hopped out, a triumphant look on his face. He held up a pair of jeans covered in what I assumed was rhinestones. “I do have a pair of jeans with me. They’re sparkly, but they’ll work, won’t they?”

“Yeah,mon petit, they’ll work.” I went to him and gave him a kiss.

“I know Mika makes most of the snacks, and when I offered to pick something up, he told me it wasn’t necessary.”

“Yeah, Mika has pretty much made it his mission to upgrade our game-day snack situation.”

“Believe me, he told me all about how pathetic y’all’s selection used to be. But anyway, he said I didn’t need to bring anything, but I figure I’ll bring a bottle of wine, so I’ll have something to drink.”

“That’s a good idea. I talked to the guys earlier about getting another cage for Trixie to put in the lounge, but for today, do you think we should take her travel cage with us? She wouldn’t haveto stay in it, but it would give her a place to retreat to if she got overwhelmed.”

He went up on his toes and kissed me. “Thank you, Daddy. I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you think about her. I know she can be a lot.”

“Mon petit, she matters to you, and in turn, she matters to me. Plus, I kind of like her. You go ahead and shower, and then we’ll head down.”

Julius

I made quick work of a shower and then took a little time fixing my hair. I was being ridiculous, and I knew it. I saw these guys all the time. Hell, I’d even hung out with them before, so it wasn’t like I needed to make a good first impression.

But this was the first time I would be there with Gator, and I wanted his friends to like me. Again, stupid, because they already knew me and liked me just fine, but there was no telling my brain that.

I put my favorite curl enhancer in and made sure my hair was on point. Then I brushed on my favorite lip gloss. I considered doing some kind of eye shadow that would match the jersey Gator had loaned me, but then I decided that was overkill for agame at home. Wow, that’s where I was, at home. I still couldn’t believe I lived here. With Gator. And with all his friends.

It was different, but not in a bad way. I loved having Mika just next door, and there was pretty much always someone around to talk to. I could see why Gator loved living here like this.

When I came out of the bathroom, I heard Gator talking to Trixie in the next room, and that made me smile. He hadn’t been kidding. He really did seem to like her. I pulled on my jeans and then the jersey that was laying on the bed. It was huge, so I tied the corner in a knot.

I looked in the floor-length mirror that hung on the wall and grinned. It kind of made me feel like a teenager borrowing the boy I liked’s sweatshirt, and I realized I still got just as much of a kick out of it now as I did back then.

I walked into the living room, and when Gator looked at me, I could tell I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed seeing me wearing his clothes. Something I would for sure remember for later on.

“Damn,mon petit, you wear that jersey better than I ever did.”

I rolled my eyes, but the way my cheeks heated gave me away. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”

He chuckled, came over to tug the knot in the hem of the jersey, and then dropped a quick kiss on my temple. “Ready to face the wolves?”

“Wolves?”

“The guys. You know they’re going to give me shit about settling down,” he clarified, scooping Trixie’s travel perch off the counter with one hand and balancing the chips in the other. “Now let’s go watch some football.”

Trixie fluffed her feathers and muttered, “Saints suck.”

“Hey!” Gator barked a laugh. “Don’t start with me, bird.”