Page 33 of The Linebacker

To admit that he’d missed hanging out with her over the course of the last week. It was cool that he and Jalen had become friends. It was even cooler that every guy on the team had accepted him. He was officially part of a team, in every way he’d ever wanted.

He was literally living his dream, and yet, here he was, standing in Diana’s living room, practically begging her to let him crash on her couch, despite having plenty of other options.

“Amil…”

“Very temporary,” he reiterated. “I swear. Besides, look.” He nodded at the cats, who were now zooming around the living room, reaching out and swatting at the other as they passed. Over and over.

Her lips quirked.

“If you’re willing to take on Patches, I’ll go find another place to stay,” he backpedaled. He didn’t want to. But asking her to babysit his newly adopted kitten was asking far more than he normally would of a friend.

Asking her to share her small living space with him?

Platonically?

Certifiable.

She rubbed at her forehead. “That isn’t going to help you bond with Patches.”

“We’ll be fine. Like I said, it’s temporary.”

“Exactly. It’s temporary.”

He paused, unsure what to say next. “I’ll?—”

“Ugh.” She threw her hands into the air. “Fine. You can stay.”

“You mean Patches.”

“I mean you and Patches.” She narrowed her eyes as if daring him to argue.

If she was opening her house to him, there was no way in hell he’d argue. Instead, he forced himself not to grin manically. “I make a hell of a mean breakfast.”

He recalled, during that night they’d spent together, her talking about breakfast like it was the greatest meal of the day.

She arched her brows. “Are you suggesting that you will make breakfast for me? Every day?”

He nodded solemnly, even as his lips twitched. “Every day,” he promised.

She sighed. “There’s only one bathroom.”

“I’m not one of those guys. I spend only the necessary amount of time in there to take care of business.”

“The bathroom is in my bedroom.”

That gave him pause, but probably not for the reason she was expecting. He was an early morning guy. He liked to get up and get in a jog before making breakfast and heading to the practice facility. He liked exercising outdoors, and there weren’t a whole lot of fans hanging out at six in the morning.

He was reasonably confident that she was not so inclined to get up at the crack of dawn, which meant he was going to have to slip into her bedroom while she was sleeping and try really hard not to soak in the sight of her in peaceful slumber.

Try really hard not to wish he were in that bed with her.

“I’ll be very quiet. You won’t even know I’m there.”

“Oh, I doubt that very much.” Another sigh and then she stalked into the kitchen, pulled a single key off a hook on the wall near the door. The keychain dangling from it was from UCLA, which he knew was the university she and Allison and Emma attended together.

“This is the key to my condo.” She shoved it into his hand and then snagged another cluster of keys, holding up a tiny plastic key card attached to the ring. “This gets you past the lobby and to the bank of elevators, which you should not have been able to get to earlier.” She gave him what he assumed was an attempt at a stern look. He didn’t mention that one of the other tenants had held the elevator for him without questioning whether he lived here.

“We’ll have to get you your own copy Monday morning. In the meantime, go get your stuff. I’ll dig out my extra sheets and pillows.”