Page 126 of Spin The Bottle
When we hear it again, it’s faint but sounds close. We turn around, looking around until we hear it again. A cat. The soft meow comes again and when I hear Leila gasp, I turn to look at the basket filled with plants where she’s staring at.
“Oh my god,” Leila whispers, staring at the black and white kitten laying in the middle of our plants. “He’s so tiny.”
He really is. The poor thing looks like it’s months old. He brings his paw to his face and licks it with his tongue. “He doesn’t have a collar,” I tell her, watching as the kitten stretches out.
“Can we keep him?” she asks me, eyes widening.
We. It’s her place, her decision, but I love that she’s including me in this. Like he’s ours. Like a little family. I press my lips to her forehead to hide my grin. “Of course we can.” I know how much she loves cats, and this little kitten coming to us almost feels like… “It could be fate, you know.”
She rolls her eyes. “I don’t believe in fate.”
My brows lift, staring down at her. “Fate brought me to you.”
She scoffs, laughing. “More like a game of spin the bottle.” Whatever it was, I’m thankful I found her. I gave up on love a long time ago, I just never thought I would have it. I’m so glad I was wrong.
I approach the little guy, letting him take my hand until I can pick it up. Leila fawns over the kitten instantly, petting his head, his purrs making her melt. “What should we call him?” she asks.
I glance at my girlfriend, looking at the gold paw necklace I gave her for her birthday hanging around her neck. “How about Tiger?” I ask her.
Her eyes widen, a smile pulling at her lips. “I love it.”
“Okay,” Leila says before she opens the front door to my house. “Before we go in, let me just remind you that I looove you,” she drags out the word, giving me the sweetest smile.
I narrow my eyes at her, holding onto Tiger. “What have you done?”
I get the answer to that when she opens the door, and I get blasted with a bunch of people yelling, “Surprise.”
The basketball team, my best friend, my girlfriends’ friends, they’re all here, surrounded by multi-colored balloons and holding up party horns. Grayson even has a party hat on that I have no doubt Rosie made him wear.
I look down at Leila, who’s got the biggest smile on her face. “You did this?” I ask her.
“Is that a cat?”
“Yeah,” Leila replies, wrapping her arms around my waist.
My whole heart is inside this woman. “How did you know?” I ask her. I’ve never told anyone when my birthday is. I didn’t see a point to it when I had already missed out on so many growing up.
“I’m your girlfriend,” she replies. “It’s my job to know these things.”
I shake my head, grinning down at the love of my life. “Have I told you I love you yet?”
She mulls it over, shaking her head. “Not yet,” she teases, knowing damn well I’ve said it about a hundred times today.
I press my lips to her forehead. “I love you, gorgeous,” I tell her, holding Tiger with one hand and holding her face with another. “I am so in love with you,” I murmur before bringing our lips together.
“All right,” Carter says, making us pull back. “We get it, Cap. You’re in love. But we have a cake to cut.”
I’ve never had a birthday cake and Leila knows this, which is why she’s smiling when I look at her. “I couldn’t help but think of everything you missed out on. I wanted you to have a normal birthday.” She squints at me. “Do you like it?”
Every day I fall even more in love with her. “You know I would have been more than happy spending the day in bed with you watching movies, right?”
“Seriously,” Gabi says. “Why is no one talking about the cat?”
Leila shakes her head. “You deserve the best. You deserve everything.”
I look down at my girlfriend when I say, “I already have it.”
THE END
