“Hey, I already learned that lesson. Only took you telling me once.”
She leveled me with a look. “You’re telling me you haven’t said it since that day?”
“On my mom’s life,” I said, holding up two fingers in a solemn swear.
Mary just shook her head with a smile, whipping back around and giving me that glorious view of her ass in those cut-off shorts again.
And I reveled in the feeling that she might actually enjoy having my company.
We walked the market for about another hour before we were both sweating profusely and ready for air conditioning. Mary had parked in the same garage as me, so we walked toward it together.
We were almost to it when a scraggly, too-thin cat sauntered out from under one of the buildings and directly into our path.
I paused and said, “Ick,” at the same time Mary bent and said, “Aww!”
She glared up at me as I barked out a laugh, and then she was holding her hand out and trying to woo the thing.
It was fluffy and mostly gray, but with a white chest and feet and a little spot on its head. When it flicked its tail up, I noted it was a girl, and she walked right up to Mary, sniffing her fingers for just a moment before she nudged her head into Mary’s palm and curled her back to get every inch of affection she could.
“Well, hello, sweet girl,” Mary cooed with a giggle, and when the cat weaved between her legs before quite literally knocking Mary onto her ass and climbing into her lap, Mary let out a loud laugh, her face lifting to the sky.
Her eyes landed on me next, and they doubled in size like a cartoon character, her long black lashes batting up at me. She was a complete contradiction in that moment — the tattooed, dark-humored artist turning soft at a cat curling up in her lap.
“Mary,” I warned. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Leo,” she pleaded, her bottom lip protruding as she held the cat up for me to get a better view. “Just look at her.”
“I see her, and I’ll say it again — don’t even think about it.”
Fifteen minutes later, I was pulling into a parking spot next to Mary.
At a fucking pet store.
Mary
Palico sat purring in my lap a few days after the Fourth of July party, her warm body curled up into a little ball. Leo didn’t stand a chance against me once I gave the little furball a name, and although he’d never admit it, I knew from just the past couple nights that he adored the thing as much as I did.
With one fingertip, I absentmindedly stroked the white spot on her head that led down to her little pink nose as I watched ESPN with Kyle and Braden.
I hated ESPN. I wasn’t following a damn thing, really, just sitting there in a comfortable silence and letting my eyes gloss over. Even though it had been a few days, it seemed we were all still recovering from the party. I’d spent most of the night in my bedroom with Palico, anyway, getting her settled and making sure the noise didn’t bother her too much.
That cat was as cool as a cucumber. She watched me most of the night with a bored flick of her tail as if to say, “You think this has anything on the streets of Boston, kid? I’ve been through worse. My question is why aren’t you out there partying?”
So, once I felt like she was comfortable, I joined the rest of the rowdy crew downstairs. And while I spent most of my night talking to Giana and Riley and steering clear of the booze, we all stayed up until sunrise, and the lack of sleep alone made it hard to get into a routine again.
I had no idea how the guys did this during football season, especially on nights when they knew they had practice the next morning.
My phone aggressively vibrating on the coffee table woke Palico, and she begrudgingly stretched and sauntered off my lap when I leaned forward to see who it was. Hope bubbled in my chest at the sight of Margie’s name, and I slipped into the kitchen to answer.
“Hey, Margie.”
“Hey, kiddo,” she greeted back, that smoker voice I loved so much filling my ears. Margie seemed less like a landlord and more like a crazy aunt who took care of you, but also was first in line to get you booze when you were underage.
“Tell me you have good news.”
Her long sigh on the other end had all that hope deflating out of me in an instant.
“Well, the pipes are fixed.”
I perked up. “Okay, that’s great.”
“Yeah… except, when they started working on repairing the walls and floors and ceiling, well… they found mold.”
I closed my eyes, forcing a slow breath. “Okay… and so that means?”
“I’m sorry, kid. It’s going to be a while.”
I cursed under my breath, sneaking a glance in the living room where Kyle and Braden were kicked back on the couch and sprawling over the entire thing like their limbs couldn’t take up enough room even if they tried. Their hair was mussed, sock-covered feet kicked up on the coffee table, and Palico had curled up right in-between them. Braden scratched under her chin as she leaned into the touch.
The sight warmed my heart.
I didn’t think it was possible, but this disgusting jock house almost felt a little like home.
The issue with that was that it wasn’t home, and I couldn’t pretend it could be for much longer. Fall was rapidly approaching, and I knew I was on borrowed time before the room I was squatting in would be assigned to another football player.
“How long are we talking?” I asked Margie.
“It’ll take a couple weeks just for them to remove the mold, but that’s just the beginning. Not sure what the repairs will look like after. They have to rip up carpet, floors, walls…”
“Fuck me,” I whispered.
“Try being the homeowner,” Margie shot back with an unamused chuckle. “Insurance will handle most of it. But hey, I wanted to give you the chance now to break the lease. I didn’t think it would be necessary with just the pipes, but now…”
“I don’t want to,” I said instantly. “I mean, that is, if you think I’ll be able to move back home soon.”
“Define soon.”
I chewed my bottom lip. “Let’s just see how the next few weeks go and go from there. That okay?”
“You realize you’re being sweet to me when I’m the reason your ass is homeless right now?” She laughed. “Of course, it’s okay by me. I’d rather keep you than have to find another tenant. I just don’t want to get your hopes up on how soon you can get back in.”
I nodded. “Well, I have a place for now. Hopefully it won’t be much longer.”
Margie paused. “You sound happy, kid. You sound good.”
I fought back the smile threatening to break loose and shrugged. “I’m okay.”
“Good. Alright, well, I’ll be in touch.”
With that, I ended the call and made my way back into the living room. I chuckled to myself at the sight of Braden and Kyle both passed out, Palico curled up in the space between Braden’s legs and sleeping, too.
I left them be, checking the time on my phone and making my way upstairs to start getting ready for a night at the shop.
I heard music coming from Leo’s room as I passed it, and considered knocking and seeing what he was up to. But I shook off the thought. In fact, I pinched myself for having it at all. I hated how I’d somehow gone from ignoring him every time we were in the same room to wondering what he was doing, what he was thinking. I’d lit up like a fucking schoolgirl when he found me at the market the other day, and even though I pretended to be annoyed with him, the truth was that I wasn’t. Not anymore.