“Jailbird.”
I laughed.
He smiled so big my heart exploded. I loved the way his dark bronzy hair fell across his forehead, like yesterday it was too short and tomorrow it would be too long, but today it was perfect. I loved his blue eyes that reflected mine. More than anything, I loved how with one look he stilled my jitters.
“I think to earn the official title of jailbird I have to be a repeat offender. This morning was my first arrest.”
He nodded, grazing his teeth along his lower lip. “Well the night is still young.” He tugged on the bill of my hat.
I felt it in between my legs. The guy made me wet just by touching my baseball cap. In reality, he made me wet by just existing.
“Funny.” I rolled my eyes.
“I take it Everson gave you his ticket?”
I held up the stub. “Yep.”
“So do you follow baseball more than football?”
I cocked my head to one side and then the other while pursing my lips. “I’d say about the same.”
He laughed. Yeah, I loved that too.
“What are you drinking tonight?”
I shrugged. “Probably just water since I’m driving.”
“Water it is.” He stepped over to the bar area to get me a water.
“Thanks.” I twisted off the top and took a small swig.
“So do you know anyone else here?”
Nothing quite like being put on the spot. However, “Nope, I just came here to make you love me,” didn’t seem like an appropriate answer.
“Um… I recognize a few people from Everson’s birthday party.”
“Yeah? Who did you to talk to there?”
“Oh, well…” Heat crawled up my neck until I could feel it stinging my cheeks.
The crowd erupted into cheers. We both looked out the windows.
“You want to sit outside?” Cage asked.
“Sure.” Anything. I wanted to do literally anything but discuss who I did or didn’t meet at a party I wasn’t invited to, yet ended up there because my scary cat crashed it.
We sat down and Cage introduced me to a few of his teammates and their spouses, ones I of course didn’t get around to meeting at Everson’s party.
“So how did you two meet?” Brea, one of the wives, asked me as Cage and her husband chatted. She must have thought we were there together. The way she stared at me with her bottom lip protruding out in a you-poor-thing expression told me she also thought I looked less than presentable compared to all the other women there. With my hair back and hat pulled down low on my head to shadow my face, I did look like my next stop might be robbing a convenience store.
“It’s a long and really weird story, but it happened by chance several years ago and we hadn’t seen each other since, until we ran into each other at Everson’s birthday party.”
She leaned in close to me, looking past the shadows of my hat. “Oh my God, you’re that cat lady!”
There it was, that label that would stick forever.
“You had that cat that looked like… like… uh…”
