Page 52 of Playing to Win
“I just do. Call it female intuition. Bonding.”
Kyle rolled his eyes. “What do you want to do with it?”
“Take it home, of course.”
“Fine. We can do that. I’ll take you to Walgreen’s and let you get some stuff so you’ll have food and litter at your house.”
“Well,” Callie stuttered, “About that.”
“About what?”
“The my apartment part. You see, I can’t have pets in my apartment. There’s a no pet policy. But I was thinking she could stay at your place and I could come visit.”
“Nuh uh. No way. I already have a cat and he doesn’t play well with others.”
“Please, Kyle? We can’t let her stay out here, all alone, starving and scared. Besides, she can be my birthday present.” Callie looked at him, tears hiding behind her long lashes. When they went to her house, her dad told him about how growing up she was always coming home with stray animals, begging him to let her nurse them back to health and give them a home. Max also told him he could never tell her no when her big green eyes looked at him with sadness. Looked like Kyle was going to fall for it hook, line, and sinker, too.
“Are you serious?”
“Please, baby?”
Kyle stared at her. “You totally did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Did what?” Callie asked, a bit too innocently.
“Call me baby.”
“I called you baby?” she said, batting her eyes at him.
“My god, woman. You know exactly what you’re doing, don’t you?”
“Sugar and I don’t know what you mean by that,” she said, batting her eyes even more.
“Fine. She can come live with me. But if she and Garth don’t get along, I’m taking her to a shelter to find her a home. Deal?”
Callie gently placed Sugar in the floorboard of the backseat and reached across the console and pulled Kyle in for a hug, crushing her chest to his.
“Thank you so much, Kyle. This is the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten.”
“I’ll also take her on one other condition.”
“What’s that?” Callie asked.
“You have to let me be your boyfriend.”
“What?”
“Relax, baby,” Kyle said with a grin, using her word against her. “It’s not like I’m asking you to make an announcement on social media. But I want to be your boyfriend. No more of this stupid hang-out bullshit. You? Me? We’re dating.”
Callie rolled her eyes. “You know I would have been your girlfriend without you saying Sugar could live with you, you know. All you had to do was ask.”
“Seriously? I don’t have to take the Gremlin home with me and you’ll still be my girlfriend?”
“Oh, no. Sugar goes home with you. You already agreed.”
Kyle sighed. “Damnit. I wish I had know this information sooner.”
Callie smiled at him sweetly. “Why do you think I didn’t tell you?”
