"Well, guys it's just us this year for corn dog day." I sigh, looking through the mirror at Fredrick, Conor, and Jaylan's cut out piled up into his bed. Like always, cardboard Jaylan frowns, his arms crossed over his chest and eyes narrowed.

I sigh deeply at them because today my mission is to get their long-lost brother out of their Papi's childhood closet. He probably has a smushed basketball face and is buried alive in that closet, suffocating under a random, smelly sock Jaylan's lost since he left for UMD.

Chills go down my spine from thinking how long Tigger hasn't been loved and appreciated by Jaylan, since, well, he was eleven.

He probably hasn't held it since.

I sigh again but a half smile pulls on my lips, remembering that my special weekend is finally here.

To say I'm nervous about being alone with Jaylan's aunt and uncle is an understatement but I'm also happy to get away from campus like I did last night.

There was a large party last night coming back to campus because the girls won their way into the Sweet Sixteen.

I'm so proud of Maxine.

I'm so jealous Jaylan got to see Noelle again. Their photo is so cute, I wish I could have been there. What's funny is last night I was talking to Jaylan and he randomly asks me if I went to Noelle's little church program.  I did, it was so cute! She played her violin. She had been practicing so hard on playing a few church hymns that I'm aware of because my Abuela would sing them to us. I can't believe Jaylan, his Aunt Lisa, and Uncle Steve were there.

It's weird how we missed each other. How I didn't see my giant, handsome, future boyfriend, I have no idea.

Furrowing my brows, I try to process those moments in Boston just like Virginia Beach now. Maxine is a true magician. I wonder what her secret is.

Sighing at the peaceful silence, here is such a contrast to last night. I'm not sure how students got fireworks but they did and let them off, breaking security and campus rules. When we got back to campus from Buffalo Wild Wings, a full block party was held by the XFINITY Center and people were jumping in front of cars. Jessica almost hit the Omicron Delta Kappa vice president and I surely didn't need that on my belt after the penny incident.

I can only imagine what's going to happen when the guys win tonight. I may not have a home to go to after the way everyone acted last night.

Once we drove off campus, Jessica and I went back to Jaylan's house, which is a nice escape from the madness again. And, honestly it's a nice escape because Jaylan's neighborhood is very quiet and cookie cutter... not really the guys' type, more or less mine.

Jessica went right to her favorite bed... Jordy's. She said it feels like feathers and clouds. I wanted to try it but I knew for some odd reason a big EYE was watching me.

Turning to my side and looking at my large conga drum in my jeans, I twist my lips. I think it got bigger. I hope Jaylan is not wishing anything because if so, it's working.

I look like a nerd.

Frowning at my outfit and glasses, Fredrick says no so but Conor votes yes. I'm probably going to have to take a sticker away for that.

I hope this weekend goes well, especially on Corn Dog Day.

I thought maybe celebrating it with Jaylan's aunt and Uncle would open a conversation and I can get to know them better than the brief encounters we've had over the past couple of weeks. Plus, I think it's important to get to know the close family members of someone I love... love... There, I said it.

The butterflies and I have been talking ever since the night we came back from Hershey Park. I couldn't really distinguish the feelings I had when we were on the chocolate factory tour but his heart beating steadily comforted me. On a day where he literally took off completely, dropped any of his plans, and whisked me away to help distract me while my parents divorced. He offered me challenging words and did not push my sadness away because it's uncomfortable but he also sat there and listened.

A listener needs a listener like myself.

"I love Jaylan," I softly say, in case there are wires in his room and I'm saying a secret code where alarms and confetti come down.

Bouncing my shoulders from giggling, I turn to the other side of my mirror, I unknot my light grey shirt that reads Corn Dog Connoisseur and overlap it over my jeans. This is honestly a perfect fit over my mangoes if I say so myself.

I wonder if they eat mustard on their corn dogs... Mmm, probably ketchup. Oh boy, I hope they don't use relish.

Twisting my lips, I give a final check at myself in Jaylan's room mirror, hoping that I don't look, well, silly but it's Corn Dog Day.

I mean everyone likes corn dogs, right? I hope they like the gifts I got for them...

Sighing, I touch my hair again and make sure it's neatly in place. I asked Jessica to do it before she left this morning after we walked Jaylan's neighbor's dog. I had it half up and half down, with two mini pig tails just like Pinterest. I really need to learn how to do this before this sem-...

Nevermind, Lizzie. One day at a time.

Crazy to think that it's almost been two weeks since Cyclops left and he is half way to his winning point and my confetti kiss if I keep working. He has a big game tonight with UNC. Jessica says they are the worst rivals besides Penn State and Duke combined. She said last year Jaylan almost got ejected for breaking a guy's nose as he tried to get the ball away to win. She said it's always been a nasty game but makes it more exciting.

I just hope T-Rex does extra treatment to his ankle before and after the game, which reminds me I need to text and remind him because he doesn't go by his reminders on his phone but then again... Coach T collected all of their phones this morning. He has been a ghost since our brief phone call this morning, plus Coach T was yelling at him about not paying him for nothing but... I don't think college students get paid for playing basketball anyway.

"Okay, who wants to come with me?" I look over at the button and cardboard frowny eyes.

Conor is screaming 'me me me', making me softly smack my lips. Shaking my head, I walk over to pick him up, calming him down. I notice Jaylan's photo of his mom is gone from his night stand. Warmth spreads across my chest that he brought it with him.

Smirking, I turn off Jaylan's main light in his bedroom and walk out of his room and down the stairs, where my overnight bag is by the door and book bag for school because well there are no days off for nursing school.

Placing my toothbrush into the front pocket of my bag, I think of the socks I bought from Amazon as Jaylan's present for the game tonight. It's corn dog socks and Jordy was super excited he got some too. All of them actually have the same socks tonight, except Jaylan's are mismatched of course. I went a little overboard.

I was a tad bit surprised Maxine humbled herself and wore the peanut socks I packed for her on peanut cluster day. Jaylan's corn dog socks are special though because they are blue... Well, because it's our favorite color. Although I'm a little sad because he may not be able to wear them because he has to advertise under armor for his job. Which I completely understand but he says he had a surprise for me, so I have to pay close attention to the game tonight.

I wonder if I should change.. I mean this the first time I'm spending time alone with Jaylan's aunt and uncle and I have a corndog shirt... What if they don't like theirs? Yeah, maybe I should wear something else.

Before I could reach the step, the doorbell rings. Nerves in my body run wild as I walk towards the door. Pulling my lips into a smile, I go to the door to see Aunt Lisa at the door smiling with open arms. She's wearing a Maryland Terp shirt and jeans. Her black hair softly curls, laying on her shoulders with her sunglasses on top of her head.

Her warm smile flutters my heart. She happily squeals, coming closer and I embrace the motherly impact.

"Hiii, Sweet pea! Are you ready?" She closes in our hug, sending the most warming sensations throughout my body, something I need lately.

I nod, taking a deep breath and relaxing my shoulders as she rubs my back and pulls away, smiling at me. "Uncle Steve is excited to see you and Malachi too."

"He is back?" I say curiously.

"Yes, he is. It's a process of foster care," she mentions as she takes my school bag.

I extend my arms for it. "Oh, I can get that."

"Nonsense" She waves her hand, placing it with ease over her shoulder. "I love your shirt, it's cute," Aunt Lisa says genuinely, easing my nerves back to normal and all tingly.

"Thank you," I say softly.

She puckers her lips at me, cooing like I say something cute. I shyly look away and click off Jaylan's main light and Jordy's solar light night lights come on. I really need to get those for our house. I grab my light and Jaylan's keys and shut the door.

I lock up and I leap up in the air when I hear, "BYEEEEEE!" Stalker three thousand says through the intercom of his Ring.

Aunt Lisa and I both turn around, furrowing our brows at Jaylan's eavesdropping. I grunt and lock the door. "Goo back to practice," I grumble.

"I heard that and we have a lunch break, Smarty Pants." He cackles and Aunt Lisa shakes her head, smiling.

"Jaylan, mind your business," she chides him.

He only cackles louder and teases, "Bye, my two favorite girls."

Aunt Lisa shakes her head and I snicker as we walk down the driveway to Uncle Steve's suv. It's very vintage-looking compared to Jaylan, Marcus, Stephen, and Jordy's cars in the driveway but it shows it's been loved very well.

As I approach his vehicle, Uncle Steve is sitting behind the wheel with the windows down, squinting down at his phone like an old person. I know Jaylan will get a kick out of that.

Giggling, I sneak a photo and send it to Jaylan, who immediately does the haha like button to my message. Uncle Steve looks up to us with his glasses drop down to the bridge of his nose. He opens the door that squeaks, reminding that Papá would be able to fix that if he needed the help. Uncle Steve comes around and gives me a side hug.

"You ready to watch Bigfoot and eat all the junk food in the world?" he gloats.

Okay, he is my new best friend.

"Oh boy." Aunt Lisa smirks, shaking her head.

I giggle and nod as he opens the door for Aunt Lisa first and she smiles and gets in. He closes the door and the squeak gets louder when he closes it. He opens my door and the squeaking is super loud. Malachi is focused on his game with his earphones. A 5x9 non-stick sterile gauze pad sits on his tiny right arm and my heart sinks a bit if that is the reason he is back with Aunt Lisa and Uncle Steve. Maybe I could change it for him later if he lets me.

"Hi, Malachi." I beam.

He turns and waves at me with a big smile. "Hi, Wizzie." He smiles toothless.

My chest warms and my ovaries bubble a bit at Malachi. "Malachi, it's Lizzie. Say Lizzie, we practiced, remember?" Aunt Lisa whispers, with her fancy sunglasses on her face. She giggles, tapping his tiny legs playfully. He sheepishly grins, holding up his tiny hands to his lips for a second then pulls them down and smiles big at her like she is the most important woman in the world in his life.

"It's okay, I like Wizzie," I assure him.

"Okay, Wizzie," Malach says cutely.

I buckle my seatbelt and Uncle Steve pulls off out of the driveway.

Excitement and nerves flow through my body, pulsing on what possibly could happen with them this weekend and just what more I could to get to know them. I really haven't had much parental individual attention in a long time and maybe it's needed after everything with Mamá and Papá.

"I'm so excited you are going to be with us this weekend, Lizzie! This is truly rewarding." Aunt Lisa beams, turning around and facing forward as Uncle Steve pulls off. His motor sounds louder than Jaylan's car, which I can barely hear it all if he is not being rotten and revving the engine.

I lean forwards in my seat. "Thank you for inviting me."

"Of course. How could we not invite Jaylan's favorite girl?" Uncle Steve says in a teasing tone.

Warmth spreads across my cheeks and Aunt Lisa taps his shoulder playfully. "He talks about you so much," shw coos.

My eyebrows shoot up. "He does?"

"Oh yes, Lizzie says this... And Lizzie does that... Lizzie Lizzie Lizzie," Uncle Steve teases.

Aunt Lisa coos at him and playfully hits his arm.

"What does he say?" I cover my mouth because I can't imagine what he would share.

"That you are kind, polite, love a lot of sugar like I do, and that we are twins," Uncle Steve chimes.

Jaylan talks about me to his Uncle Steve... Oh no, I hope he didn't mention anything about me throwing up on him.

I must be wearing a horrified look because Aunt Lisa assures me, "It's always good things Lizzie, Don't worry."

I slowly pull my hands down from my mouth and place them in my lap. "Oh good."

"He is very starstruck over you, that's for sure," Aunt Lisa says joyously as she digs through her purse.

My body relaxes as they assure me Turtle Boy is goo goo for me. The butterflies in my tummy agree too.

Uncle Steve hums to Michael Jackson's PYT as he holds Aunt Lisa's hand happily, kissing it like Jaylan does to me. He pretends Aunt Lisa's hand is a microphone as he drives down the hallway under pretty clear skies, heading to Baltimore.

As Uncle Steve gets more into the song, my attention draws out the window while thinking that love is possible even though I've seen it fail. I wonder what's their secret to love? I wish Mamá and Papá would have tried.

Uncle Steve continues to bop his head to the scratchy bass out his busted speaker, carefree as he drives. All the windows are down, making my hair blow in my face but the lukewarm spring air feels good.

"Lizzie, is there any place you would like to go or see or do today?" Aunt Lisa adjusts her sunglasses on her face as she turns to look at me so I could see her beautiful almond eyes.

"Is there a good place to get corn dogs?" I sheepishly ask.

They both look at each other for a second and laugh, making me sheepishly slide in my seat maybe underneath the passenger seat. "I mean there is O'Hares...Buckies... Seven-Eleven... Freddies... Sonic... Stripes in Dundalk but we don't wanna go over there." Uncle Steve snickers.

"Is that what you would like?" Aunt Lisa sends a tender smile to me.

"Only... only if you guys want to... It's, umm, Corn Dog Day."

"Oh boyy... I'm surprised Jordy hasn't stolen you from Jaylan." Uncle Steve chuckles, shaking his head.

I let out a giggle, which Malachi looks over at me with a bright smile. "So you know what Corn Dog Day is?"

"Of Course, Jordy will never let us forget... his favorite is Buckies.. Let's go there," Uncle Steve decides.

"I... I have shirts for you guys if you want for the day... If we could take photos." I propose

"Lizzie, this is your day and we would love to do that with you." Aunt Lisa smiles, reaching back and holding my hand. I let out a soft squeak and she pats it almost like what Mamá would do with me when I propose an idea.

Overwhelming joy shoots right to my eyes, making it blurry to see Aunt Lisa.

"Umm, would you like to see the shirts?" I dig through my purse for the Amazon package. I grab it and pull it out and hand it to her, who is still smiling at me.

She opens it up and smiles looking at the two grey shirts that say, 'You Had Me at Corn Dog' with hearts. I thought it would be a good idea as a couple shirt since, well, Jaylan and I are apart this year for Corn Dog Day.

"This is too cute. Steve, we have to stop by the house and change. And look, she got the perfect size for your tummy," Aunt Lisa teases and I giggle. Jaylan said 6XL but I told him to quit being mean and he said he is 3XL.

A smile pulls up on my lips as they talk about small things with me about Jaylan's upbringing. They focus on the positive parts and how much he has work hard to get where he needs to be despite his pitfalls. Which they didn't even bring up like they don't associate that in his character and neither do I. We laugh and sing along to Lexi and I's favorite I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whtney Houston. It's Aunt Lisa's favorite too.

In what feels like no time at all, we slowly pull up to their row home, where some of their neighbors are out on the porch sitting on their front stoop. A elderly woman neighbor is braiding a young girl's hair with pretty colorful beads while the other neighbor is mowing their front patch of lawn.

Their neighborhood is very lively and quiet, with kids riding bikes and some jump roping. Uncle Steve parks in his car and gets out to open the door for Aunt Lisa and then me. Malachi begins to unbuckle himself but Aunt Lisa tsks him and he sheepishly grins. Uncle Steve gets Malachi out and tosses him in the air before shutting the door.

The elderly woman sitting on the porch waves with her friend while the young girl winces at the tug on her hair. Uncle Steve bounces his shoulders at how the young girl was in disgust of her hair getting down. We enter his home and he lets Malachi down as Aunt Lisa already has her shirt on with a big smile. Uncle Steve kisses her cheek, takes his shirt out of her arm.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get a shirt for Malachi," I admit quietly. "I didn't know."

"It's okay, we didn't either but that's the joy of it, right Malachi?" Aunt Lisa bounces him in her arms.

I smile at him as he leans his head onto Aunt Lisa's shoulders. I take in once again the amount of photos by the atrium of all Jaylan, Uncle Steve, and Aunt Lisa... a few of his mom and him.

I couldn't help but look at all of them and admire young Jaylan with all kinds of hairstyles, half-shaved, braids, even a star on the side of his head in his basketball photos. My eyes stop at a photo of his mom... him and his dad... They look ALOT alike, like a splitting imagine. Their dark caramel honey skin, maple syrup eyes, full smile... The height.

Everything on PJ is Jaylan except the heart.

I know I'm not supposed to judge but what he put Jaylan through was unfair. His mom looks so happy in the photo, like their family was so complete. The photo only displays love and affection for Jaylan but I wonder what happened during those moments after the photo was taken.

"He is rotten," Aunt Lisa says from behind me.

I lean forward, looking at her rubbing Malachi's back. "Is that um... PJ?"

"It is.. It was their first photo they took as a family after he got out of jail the first time," she says softly.

I nod, still wandering my eyes around the photos and stop at Jaylan's high school graduation. He is smiling from ear to ear, standing next to Aunt Lisa and Uncle Steve with some girl propped against him. "He was so happy that day, mainly because he was going to Ocean City to be rotten. That was his girlfriend at the time, Gabrielle," Aunt Lisa says softly.

This must be the same Gabrielle who liked Jaylan and my photos.

"We didn't have any other photos of him that day because he was very anxious to go to senior week." She softly laughs.

I nod, observing his ex girlfriend. She was pretty, skinny, beautiful brown skin, braids flowing down her back, with her open graduation gown showing off her white dress underneath. It almost reminded me of a, well, pinterest photo of something I want on my graduation day but Mamá and Papá will sit separately at my graduation. Everyone looks happy and in the moment.

"She and Jaylan were friends for a long time, until college... She went to Spellman in Georgia and it just didn't work out. Last I heard, she got recently engaged to a nice guy she met in college who got drafted to the Baltimore Ravens here..." She sighs, shaking her head and mumbling 'thank God.'

I nod softly, shifting my eyes to another photo of Jaylan, Jordy, and Uncle Steve with matching banana yellow swimsuits and flexing their muscles. I giggle and try not to linger my eyes on Jaylan's lick proof abs. It's interesting to see the development of his tattoos.

"Our last vacation before college." She points out softly.

"Where did you guys go?"

"Jaylan wanted to go to North Carolina one last time before he went to school." Sadness fills her eyes. "It was his mom's favorite place to go."

Smiling at the family photo of all three of them looking so happy, just like a family, and my heart aches for it constantly. "Lizzie, I just want to thank you for getting Jay Jay to go see Evelyn... It took almost, well, six years to get him to see her again. It's not easy for him and I just really admire how you don't even force anything on him to open to you like that. It means a lot." She chokes up at the end.

Soaking in her words, I think about how Jaylan has come so far and opened up his life to me. He has grown in my eyes and if she sees it too, then that means a lot. "Y-you're welcome."

"And Lizzie, just as much as you value family and belonging, Jaylan does too. Your desire for family will not go in vain." Her words aid like antiseptic to my wounded heart.

"Thank you," I rasp out with a hum.

She pulls me into a hug and rubs my back softly "I'm sorry about what's going on with your family back at home and just know that we are here for you. Whatever you need, okay?" She applies a soft gauze dressing over my heart.

My lips quiver and she kisses the top of my head. I sniffle, so she pulls back, gazing her eyes at me in admiration. The moment dissolves when Uncle Steve comes bouncing down the stairs.

"How do I look?" Uncle Steve says boastfully.

We shift our attention to him and he pulls the shirt I got him. It fits smoothly over his Winnie the Pooh tummy. Aunt Lisa's shoulders bounce and she shakes her head, planting a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Okay, I think we are ready to celebrate Corn Dog Day, don't you think?" Uncle Steve beams.

"I think so too," I add with a soft smile.

This Corn Dog Day is going to be a memorable one, I just feel it.

Not that I am telling Jaylan, but Uncle Steve is on the same page like he really is my twin. We stop at every hole in a wall restaurant around the city of Baltimore to try the best corn dogs. We actually stopped at place number five because Uncle Steve and I were getting tummy aches.

Glancing over at Uncle Steve, I smile when I see him reclining in his chair with his mouth open and snoring from a long day.

I quietly laugh as I glance down at my critical care book, reading up on control gas exchange for patients who have gas exchange impairment in a critical care setting.

We had such a blast today, from taking photos to make Jaylan jealous, to visiting Miss Evelyn, Jaylan's grandparents, and Jordy's brother Andrew's gravesites, which I wanted to plant a flower for him.

My eyes shift again, looking at all the Goodwill bags and wondering how I'm going to explain to my roommates why we will need a cotton candy maker or a snowmen mug set. The look on Lexi's face when she sees the vintage floral pillows is going to inspire her to rearrange the living room for spring which is coming up very soon and I need to get started right away.

I even helped Aunt Lisa get her spring stuff out from the basement to switch her decor items over. But the best part is watching home videos of Jaylan and his mom. I took a recording of her voice saying, "Good Job, Jay! You did it! I'm so proud of you." and now Tigger can talk!

I glance over at Tigger, who is now officially Roger, sitting where I propped him up, ready to see his Papi play. The amount of empty Nike boxes on top of Roger belly hurt his stomach and flatten it. Aunt Lisa and I even through away his old naughty magazines and posters and I had Uncle Steve record it on video. It was a bit shaky but justice was served.

Smiling at the floral assortment curtains in the living room, I clasp on to my phone and look at the time because Big Dinosaur is going to play soon.

I think today has been a pretty successful day to say the least and I don't think I remember the last time I had this much fun in a family setting. Well, not since the last day I was with my family back in Mexico.

I do miss them.

Shutting my book, I place my phone on top of it and swipe to go to my messages of course photo bombs of Jaylan's hand and a few from Mamá. I just don't know what to say to her right now. Scrolling down, I let out another breathe when I see Papá texted me as well

I haven't heard from him since, well,... over two weeks now. I press his messages and my heart flutters looking at the beautiful, serene beach photo at Yucatan. Turquoise, crystal clear water sparkles against the sandy beach. The live photo makes it better when I hear nothing but waves splashes, almost as if I am there.

A half smile pulls on my lips at the fact he is occupying his mind instead of smoking. Uncle Steve clears his throat, shaking his head like he's clearing his mind from his long cat nap. "Sorry Lizzie, I must have dozed off."

Giggling, I sink my teeth in my lower lip. "It's okay."

He claps his hands together. "Ready to power up with some snacks?"

Rubbing my belly of the ease of the corn dogs from earlier I nod and he lowers his recliner to the ground and hops up with glee. "Oh boy, I can't wait for this game," Uncle Steve cheerfully says in the other room.

"Was he quiet for you?" Aunt Lisa laughs, coming in with a bowl of popcorn and Malachi hugging on to a liter of Sprite.

I giggle and help him place it on the coffee table. "He was, he just was really tired from today's trip."

"You are so polite." She laughs, shaking her head as she sits on the sofa.

"Alright, Lizzie, I have Utz, Salt and Vinegar chips, chocolate chip cookies, pretzels, oh how could I forget but I also have regular ruffle Utz plain chips and dip..." he says, going back in the kitchen.

Aunt Lisa shakes her head at her husband's nonsense but falls silent in almost like a somber moment, if..... Ehh, let me just take it one day at a time.

"Oh, look Hun, it's Jay Jay."

My attention draws to the pregame show, of all the guys practicing and a very attractive dinosaur wearing his black beats and is that...

"Awww, isn't that sweet? He's wearing a corn dog shirt and look at the socks on all of them!" Aunt Lisa coos, looking at me.

My face is completely warm and fuzzy. The butterflies in my tummy are roasting marshmallows. I hug on to the pillow close by and tuck my chin, watching him for a brief moment as the commercial break comes on.

"Oh man, I missed it!" Uncle Steve says, placing all his snacks on the coffee table.

Aunt Lisa assures him, "You'll see him plenty. And we're recording."

Uncle Steve grumbles about live reactions as he gets cozy in his chair again with his own personal bag of salt and vinegar chips.

"Wizze." Malachi points at the Sprite.

My eyes lift to Aunt Lisa's, who looks at a bottle of water. Sheepishly, I reach for it and grab his tiny truck cup that's pushed into it. "Cai Cai, only one round now," Aunt Lisa tenderly reminds.

He nods happily as I fill his cup to the brim. "Tank you."

"You're welcome, Malachi."

He shimmies himself back on the couch like Jaylan would, making me giggle and sit close to him as our attention focuses at the medium-sized family tv. The game comes back on as the announcer speaks, focusing on matchups UMD and UNC.

We all cheer when Jaylan's regular season and tournament numbers are placed next to a UNC player's. I let out a giggle at how much he looks like his cutout, frowning like that.

I wish I was there, I have to start picking up more shifts so I can find a cheap flight to go see Jaylan. Whether it's to get my confetti kiss or just to see him play, I know he misses me and I miss him too.

"And we are excited tonight here in Indianapolis, with the two big rivalries going head to head for the sweet sixteen position. I personally love to see these two teams play. We have big starters like Jaylan Parker, who just declared for the draft along with two of his other teammates, Marcus Greene and Jordy Cross, and then we have Wyatt Daniels, Jacob Rivera, and Kyrie Tate for UNC. I don't know about you but I'm excited about this game tonight." The announcer beams loudly because Uncle Steve turns up the volume.

"Fair warning... he gets a little.. into it," Aunt Lisa sheepishly admits and points her eyes at Uncle Steve.

"It's okay." I snicker.

My attention is drawn again to Jaylan and all his glory, looking arrogant on the screen. His tattoos are enhanced by the arena lights, making him extra yummy.

I touch the corner of my lip because Jaylan flashes a smile while he stands next to Jordy, who looks tough right now the way he's crossing his arms and frowning.

"That boy." Uncle Steve chuckles, adjusting his glasses.

Jaylan leans on his knees, looking so hot it's making my invert my lower lip to chew because... Was he always this hot? Please don't tell him I said that... He gets all tu cress muy muy.

"Here we go!" Uncle Steve bounces in his seat.

The whistle blows and Jaylan jumps high and taps the ball to Marcus, who takes right off, storming all the way down the court.

"GO GO GO GO!" Uncle Steve shouts, echoing through the whole house. Malachi blinks at him, then raises both his arms.

Oh boy, I've got to record this for Jaylan.

━━━━━━━✿━━━━━━

Sweat drips from Jaylan, who smirks at the UNC opponent completely in his face. Jaylan dips the ball in between his legs as he tosses around the back of him like the ball disappears but he tosses it to Jordy like a magical trick. Jordy goes down the court at full speed and shoots three pointer by what Uncle Steve, Jaylan, and Maxine educated me on. Jordy leaps up, tossing the ball in the air freely.

Uncle Steve sits on the edge of his seat, murmuring in anticipation as Jordy makes the shot with a few seconds left with a swish clear on the tv. The crowd goes nuts and Testudo runs on the court with the flag in happiness. The announcer continues to say, "It's an unbelievable miracle of the underdogs!"

Uncle Steve leaps up in glee and Aunt Lisa smiles, holding a sleeping Malachi to her chest.

"They did it honey they did it!" He proudly points to the screen at everyone crowding around Jordy and rubbing his head like a new puppy.

Warmth spread across my chest as they gather around him for an emotional ten seconds. UNC and UMD played neck in neck with their score but the final score is, 92 Maryland, 88 UNC.

Marcus, Xavier, and Taylor fold their arms in a cool way at the camera and it goes straight to commercial break. "I can't believe the knuckleheads did it. Well, I'll be." Uncle Steve collapses back into his chair, almost rocking it over backwards.

"I'll be." I cradle Roger in my arms, happy his Papi won the big game.

"They are in the Sweet Sixteen. I can't wait to tell my buddies at work," Uncle Steve proudly boasts as he walks away from his chair.

I bet Big Dinosaur is going to have a nice slumber when he finishes with his press debriefing. "I'm going to go ahead and put Malachi to bed but feel free to watch tv, rummage the fridge, the house is yours, Lizzie." Aunt Lisa gets up and holds Malachi in her arms.

"Good night," I offer quietly.

"Good night. Thanks again for staying with us. I really enjoy having you here and I know Steve would say the same. It was actually the first time he looked at Evie's photos or home videos like that in a long time," she says tenderly. She comes over and plants a soft warm kiss on my forehead.

The house is officially quiet now, probably because Uncle Steve lost his voice screaming and shouting at Jaylan to hold his hands up, or elbow that guy, or why isn't the ref paying attention to the foul when Xavier got knocked down trying to block a guy from doing his air jump, ooops sorry, this slam dunk on him.

Aunt Lisa was right, he was very into it and I think it was very special how he cheered on Jaylan all the way to the end. I thought he was going to flip over in the recliner when Jaylan got this long shot by the half court before half time because he said no one has ever done that before.

I click off the lamp and cuddle Tigger in my arms as we walk to the stairs and quietly go up. Tigger is really tired and so am I. As I approach the top of the stairs, I hear Aunt Lisa singing in the bedroom with Malachi. I recognize the Jesus Loves Me bible hymn automatically because Mamá would sing it to me in Spanish.

My heart warms as I push open Jaylan's old room, covered with basketball posters and no more naughty swimsuit model posters anymore. It actually is approachable to sleep in. Shutting the door, I place Roger down next to Conor, who is furrowing his brows at his new brother. I change into my corn dog pajamas and fix my hair into a sloppy bun. I slip on my mouth guard and go slip right under Jaylan's Space Jam blanket that smells like downy fabric softener.

Awaiting for Big Dinosaur to call, I scan my eyes around the room again, wondering how Jaylan felt in this room all these years. If he cried in his bed or screamed in his pillow when he missed his mom. My heart throbs for Jaylan being alone in this room when they both went to bed.

I glance over at the nightstand at his small baseball trophy of appreciation pulling a smile on my lips.

I miss Big Dinosaur

And as if he knew I was talking about him, my phone begins to vibrate on the nightstand and I pick up. Seeing the photo of us at 7/11 after our first kiss makes the butterflies sigh romantically. Swiping my thumb to connect, his face appears with cross eyes.

"DOCCCCC!" Jaylan's voice echoes through his bedroom.

"Shhhhh,'' I hush him with a giggle and he furrow his brows. "I see you found Tigger."

"He is in good hands." I beam, holding him close to my chest.

"He sure is." He yawns and flops back in his bed, shirtless!

It's hot.

Warmth lingers on my cheeks as he shoots a wink at me. I touch my face so he does not see it. "You did so good today, Jaylan."

"Thanks, baby. It was all Jordy though." He shifts his eyes to the corner of the room.

"He did too... Is your ankle pr-"

He flips the camera to his large, tattooed, drum leg wearing black socks, propped up with a pillow. He wiggles it side to side. Pride relaxes my chest at how he is adhering to his ankle care plan, making sure he has full mobility when he gets older. He will thank me later.

"Seee, I listen," he teases, flipping the camera back at me.

"Thank you for wearing the corn dogs socks," I say softly.

"Of course, anything for my junk food junkie."

I giggle and dip my chin down. "Did you have fun with Aunt Lisa and Uncle Steve today?" he tosses back with a big smile.

"Oh yeah, we had so much fun. We went to so many corn dog places and we went to Goodwill.. We... we saw your mom and grandparents and Jordy's brother.... We even watched home videos of you naked in the bathtub," I tease.

"Hmmmm, sounds familiar." He hums, rubbing his chin.

"Jaylannnn." I blush and move my knees to my chest.

"Lizzieee."

"I miss you a lot" I soften my eyes at him.

"I do... so much... that I did something," he gloats.

I furrow my brows as he smiles so big, then goes away with a pause screen. "What did you do?"

"Hold hold hold on," he says in assurance like I'm the impatient one.

Laughing softly, I hold tight to Roger and Conor because they are bickering about who is going to sleep on the right side. Vibration shoots through my hand from my phone and I notice him sending me two text messages.

Mi Novio🦕💖: [Video]

Mi Novio🦕💖: [Photo] Link

I press the video and it is Jaylan doing an interview with his corn dog shirt on again. Warmth spreads across my chest as someone asks what's with the shirt and he says it matters a lot to his girlfriend and his best friend. But my jaw completely dislocates when I see the photo of an upcoming flight itinerary.

He... got me a ticket? My eyes glue to the upcoming date, from BWI to Indianapolis. I'm afraid to blink, like what I am looking at will go away.

I go back on facetime with my jaw still dropped and Jaylan mimicking me. My throat tightens and a small squeak escapes, so I clamp my hand over my mouth. I don't think my eyes can stretch any wider and my heart wants to leap out of my chest.

"Jaylan." I slant my eyes but my smile couldn't hold back any longer

He smiles big and wide, even sends a wink.

"Jaylannnn." I drag, with my vision blurs

"Lizzzieee." He doesn't relax his smile.

"But... but... how..b-but..." I stammer and he keeps smiling wide. For once, he's not smirking but full-on beaming like sunshine is radiating from his face.

"I don't want you to worry about how I bought it because it was the clean way but... I couldn't let you not be here," he drags with a smile.

"You are lucky I'm not there, I would give you big big big big kiss," I say, shaking my head.

He throws his head back and cackles. "I would love that big big big big kiss."

"Confetti kiss, remember?"

"Confetti kiss."

My heart is still beating wildly as I sink back against the pillows behind me. The initial shock melts away as my planning mode kicks in.

I guess after all I don't have to work as much... Well, on second thought I better so I can get some more lingerie to thank him.

Edited and spiced by still_just_me 

Please be sure to check out her story collection especially I Hate Football Players!

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