Rinsing off my toothbrush, I placed it in the holder next to Levi’s and dried off my face. Taking a deep breath, I made sure everything was tidy, before walking back out into his room where he was now sitting on the edge of the bed with the biggest mug I’d ever seen in my life in his hand. How much coffee did it hold? And where the hell did you get a mug that big?
Looking down at it, he shot me a smile. “It was a gag gift,” he snickered, turning it around and showing me a picture of a rooster on the side with Big Cock written under it.
The laugh that came out of me sounded like a frog being run over, and it hurt like a bitch, but there was just no avoiding it.
Holding my throat with one hand, I went to wipe under my eyes with the other one, but a rough thumb got there first.
“Sorry,” Levi murmured, looking worried as he wiped under the other eye. “Probably shouldn’t have made you laugh.”
Sighing, I went and picked up the pad.
I’m not an invalid, and laughing is good for you. I’m not going to break so stop worrying, it’s just a sore throat.
“Just a sore throat?” he asked incredulously. “Have you seen your throat? It looks like you were attacked by a psychopath.”
I was! I wrote down and then passed it to him.
Sighing, he passed the pad back to me and stared at the wall for a moment. “Noah’s got tickets to a football game on Saturday. It’s for charity so I don’t know who’s playing, but do you want to go with me?”
Pursing my lips, I pretended to think it over. I’d never been to a football game – no shocker there – so hell yes I did. Looking up at him, I gave him a grin and let him see how excited I was about it.
I didn’t even know what happened in a football game apart from them throwing and kicking an egg-shaped ball through a big H, but I definitely wanted to go.
Pulling me into his side, he chuckled, “We’ll take you through the rules first so you know what to expect. But it’ll be fun, I promise.”
Turns out, I should have said no. Not that anything truly bad happened, just something that would embarrass me for the rest of my life.Three days later…
“Now remember,” Levi said as we took our seats. “No yelling out, no screaming, and no cheering. Got me?”
Nodding, I looked around us at the rows of people in different color shirts, some holding up big foam hands, and most holding food of some form. Sigh, I missed food. Everything I ate just now was mushy and like baby food. What I wouldn’t give for some popcorn.
Turning back, I noticed we were two rows away from where the field was. I maybe should have realized that when we first sat down, but the atmosphere here was infectious, so I was distracted by what was going on when we’d taken our seats.
I really did want to scream and cheer, even though I didn’t have a clue what I’d be doing it for but still. I also wanted to raise a huge foam hand up in the air and yell… and I definitely wanted one of those tubs of popcorn that a majority of the supporters seemed to be holding.
Just then, a big foam hand appeared in front of me and conked me on the nose. “Here you go,” Lily snickered, holding up her own. “We figured you’d enjoy one of these. The next time Levi asks you a question, you can just hold it up and he’ll see you even from the other side of the room.”
Grinning at Levi, I looked back just as she shoved a huge mouthful of popcorn in her mouth. I’d never even been a big fan of the stuff, but now I want it badly. I wouldn’t mind the bits that got stuck in your gums that you then have to spend ages brushing out, or the little piece that wedged itself between two of your teeth and you have to perform surgery with dental floss to fix – basically, all the parts of popcorn that deterred me from eating it before now weren’t an issue at that moment. I was hangry, and I wanted to get popcorn wasted.
“No,” Levi rumbled, somehow reading my thoughts through the back of my head.
Sighing, I leaned back in my seat and fiddled with the big foam hand. He didn’t need to remind me, trust me I could still feel the pain. The swelling and bruising to my trachea hurt like a mother, and as much as I wanted the popcorn and to get popcorn wasted, it just wouldn’t be worth it. Even the huge plastic cup he passed me filled me with trepidation. Anything carbonated would make it hurt, anything too cold would make it hurt, anything acidic would make it hurt… I was like one of those assholes who made the waiter go back and forth ten times to get his drink right in a restaurant. I’d always hated those guys, so becoming one of them made my ass twitchy.