Page 72 of Getting the Grinder
“Here.” She walks over to switch on a lamp, then holds it out in front of her again. “Cuyahoga County, which I work for, has a county seal, and that’s what this is.”
It’s embroidered on the front of the jersey, just like my team logo is on mine.
She flips the sweater around. It says “Torres”—her last name—and has the number sixty-nine.
“I got you a jersey with my name on it,” she says. “Just like I have one with yours.”
I laugh heartily and sit up. “Babe. That’s fucking awesome. I love it.”
“You do?”
“I do. I’ll wear the hell out of that.”
“I had to put my favorite number on it.”
“I noticed.” I slide to the side of the bed and get up, walking over to kiss her. “Thank you, babe. I love it.”
I take it from her hands and hold it up in front of my chest. She smiles, looking giddy.
“Dex and Harry said you’d pretend to like it, but Suki said you’d really like it.”
I put it on.
“Oh, I love it!” she says. “I’d take a picture, but your dick’s hanging out, so let’s wait on that.”
I show her the back, and she squeals with excitement. “The world will know you’re all mine when you wear that.”
“They’ll know all the time, because I’ll tell everyone I see.”
I go over to my suitcase and take out a small box and a larger one, passing her the smaller one first. “For you.”
Her smile drops away. “Leo, no. What you did for my parents was all the gift I could ever ask for.”
“Just open it. This is something I picked out for you myself, and it’s okay if you don’t like it, it’s exchangeable.”
My heart hammers nervously as she opens it. I bought it on my recent road trip to New York, and I showed Suki a picture before I finalized the purchase. She said she thought Mara would love it.
“Oh my God.” Mara has the blue Tiffany box unwrapped. “You shouldn’t have done this.”
“Open it.” It’s all I can do not to grab it and open it myself.
She flips open the box and inhales sharply. “Oh, Leo. Oh wow.” Tears shine in her eyes when she looks up at me. “It’s so beautiful. You picked this out?”
I nod. It’s a rose gold necklace with a circular pendant, the pendant covered with little diamonds. Mara doesn’t wear earrings, and Suki said she doesn’t like bracelets, so I went with a necklace.
“I’ve never even seen anything so gorgeous,” she says. “Is this really happening?”
“I’ll help you put it on in a second, but first—” I pass her the larger box.
She shakes her head. “Leo, seriously. I know you have a lot of money, but I don’t want you to spend so much on me. This is just us, it’s not about money.”
“I got you these gifts because I wanted to. I’m so damned happy with you, Mara, and that’s a big deal for me. You’re a big deal. And I could barely stand knowing this was in my suitcase, because I wanted to give it to you early so much. Now open it.”
She gives me a quick kiss. “I’m happy, too. You’re amazing.”
This gift is a sure thing, because Suki chose it. When I asked her what I could get Mara that would knock her socks off, she sent me a link to this.
“No!” Mara cries when she sees the logo on the cardboard box. “No, you didn’t!”
