I think I have mentioned it before, but my neighbor is a huge fan of the home teams. I say home teams because the place we live is near a major city that has not only a baseball team, but also has a football team. As I have also mentioned before, I am not a sports fan. What I neglected to mention was that her brothers had a tradition with my neighbor's late husband that they would come over and watch the first football game of the season. This would have nothing to do with me except her husband had been gone for a while. It was that premise that led to a conversation.
She walked over to my place this time while I was busy trying to figure out the algorithm I needed to keep track of some process. It's too complicated to explain. Anyway, she sashayed into the house just as I was about to pull out my hair. I looked up and saw her beautiful face smiling at me. She dressed in a tight orange t-shirt with a gray hoodie and grey yoga lounge pants. Her hair was tied back. I knew from previous experience that she never wore any undergarments with that outfit since it was purely an around the house look.
Did it make me smile? Absolutely.
Did it mean she was up to something? Yes.
Did I care at that exact moment? Not at all.
"Leo..."
She called me by my real name. I then knew I was in trouble.
"Leo, I hate to ask you this. I need a huge favor."
"Is it bigger than the trip to your sister's?"
Her face dropped. Fuck!
"I'm sorry."
I walked up to her and took her into my arms, my hands finding the small of her back. She cuddled into my chest before I kissed her forehead. She knew there was almost nothing she could ask of me that I would deny her. Whatever it was would have been huge. I bent down so I was level with her face before I kissed her. She returned the kiss before pulling back, a tear going down her face.
"I'm sorry, Beloved. I didn't mean to..."
"It's not you. I just have one of those type of things coming up."
"When do we leave?"
She looked at me alarmed. It was after a moment when she smiled.
"It's not that bad. Rob and Jim are coming over on Sunday."
'Over here?"
"Well, over my house. It's a tradition that Mitchell would have them over to watch the first football game of the year. Except that this year..."
"Yeah, I understand. But what does that have to do with me?"
"I want you to be there for me as my support. Can you?"
She accompanied the question with her sweet smile and her eyes looking all puppy dog like. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I'd do anything for her at that point because she looked so cute.
"What time do I need to be over and how do I dress?"
She abruptly put her arms around me, pulling me to her level to kiss me deeply a few times. After she released me so I could breathe, she ran into my bedroom and started looking through my closet. I followed her not knowing whether I should be alarmed or not. She looked at me defeated.
"You are not a football fan, are you?"
I shook my head.
"Do you know anything about football?"
I shook my head again.
"Fuck, you're gonna be shredded. Okay, we need to go shopping tomorrow. Meanwhile, do you think you could do some research about our home football team the next couple nights?"
"Sure, when's the match?"
"Game. It's on at 1pm on Sunday."
"Gotcha. I should be all right figuring it out. Why would I be shredded?"
"They are die-hard fans. They have been since they were kids. That's why Mitchell got along with them so well. I don't mind watching the game, but I could never keep up with them."
"So why are they coming over if Mitchell is gone?"
"Because of our big screen."