Ella's POV- November 2019
I smiled at my phone as the live recording showed my cat patiently waiting for his morning treat back home in LA. There was a light knock on the window as I was about to dispense him a treat. I glanced up to see Gavin on the other side and set my phone down to unlock the door.
"Good morning" I greeted as he opened the back seat door.
He scrunched up his nose as he set his backpack on the seat.
"Just morning?" I questioned.
He nodded.
"I brought you a latte," I told him
He smiled as he closed the back door, and opened the front passenger door.
"Thank you"
Once he was inside, I locked the door and accepted his half hug/kiss on the cheek.
"Give me one second," I told him as I picked up my phone.
I pointed at the cup that did not have a nude lipstick stain on it.
"Morning, boy" I greeted.
I smiled as my cat meowed in response.
"Hi, mom" I called out.
Just as expected, I got a response.
"Morning, honey"
"Talk later?" I asked as I dispensed the treat.
"Yes, lunch is at 2"
So 5 PM my time.
"Gotcha, talk then" I replied.
"Bye"
"Bye," I said back before exiting the app.
I turned to Gavin who smiled at me as he adjusted his glasses.
"My cat" I explained.
"What's its name?"
I looked at him.
"Stormy" I answered.
He smiled.
"Like Kylie Jenner's kid?"
"My Stormy with a Y not an I, and I got my cat before she had her child" I told him.
"How old is...he?"
Gavin was correct, Stormy was a boy.
"He's 4 going on 5" I responded.
According to the vet.
"How'd you get him?"
The sayings are right though, you don't choose your cat it chooses you.
"Outside of the practice facility" I responded.
He was a mean one, but I managed to catch him.
"The asshole bit me, but he gave in once he was fed and warm," I said.
He chuckled.
"I begged my parents to let me keep him, and they agreed when they saw how well he got along with the family pets"
Stormy was a stunning black medium-haired cat.
"How long ago did you get him?"
"A little after my 15th birthday" I answered.
I was 19 years old.
"Nora mentioned your family has two dogs"
"Two dogs and two cats" I informed him.
Kobe was my dad's blue-nosed pitbull, Rocky mom's rottweiler, Sagwa my mom's Siamese cat, and Stormy my black medium-haired cat.
"And they all get along?"
I nodded.
"Yeah, surprisingly" I stated.
He chuckled.
"I take it there's bed hair hidden under that beanie?" I wondered.
He furrowed his brows as he nodded and took a sip of his latte.
"Oh yeah"
"We could have had breakfast much later," I told him as he yawned.
He shook his head.
"I can nap while you get ready later on"
He yawned, once more.
"What's on today's schedule?"
He leaned back against his seat and closed his eyes.
"We're having breakfast, then we're going to the botanical gardens and, then icecream...unless you're lactose," I said.
We'd go to a shaved ice shop if he was.
"No, not lactose but your sister does want me to cut down on dairy"
I hummed.
"Of course she does" I noted.
My oldest sister, Josie was one of many nutritionists for the Dodgers. If it were for her, any player under her nutrition guidelines would not consume dairy. She was getting her way though because many under her watch were dairy-free. However, she was an avid cheese consumer.
"Then what else?"
"We get lunch and then head to campus" I stated.
While he napped, I'd talk to my mom and get ready.
"Sounds like a plan"
"Are you okay with having dinner at the dining hall or do you want to go somewhere else?" I asked.
"Dining hall sounds fine"
"Put on your seatbelt" I ordered.
Once his seatbelt was on, we made our way to our breakfast destination. We were quickly seated, and I watched as he looked through the menu.
"Your sister would kill me if she found out I was eating these kinds of food"
"It's the off-season" I reasoned.
He chuckled.
"Try telling that to your sister"
She was stubborn.
"Just don't tell her" I replied.
He smiled and hummed.
"What are you getting?"
"The banana nut pancakes with scrambled eggs, toast and two slices of bacon" I answered.
It was now a little past 10 AM, and I usually ate at around 8:30 so I was starving.
"I'm tied between the blueberry pancakes and the eggs benedict"
"Both are delicious" I noted.
He ended up getting the eggs benedict.
"I take it you're a regular?"
I laughed and took a sip of my water. You see, the waitress knew me by name and guessed my order correctly.
"It's Ian's to go spot after his games" I replied.
"Oh, he's a student-athlete?"
"He plays Ice Hockey" I responded.
"Well he certainly has the size"
I nodded agreeing.
"What position does he play?"
"Defense" I answered.
He smiled.
"Like you used to"
I played Ice hockey up until I graduated from High School, even got recruited to play division I hockey but turned it down to focus on pair skating.
"I did not think this through"
I watched as he tugged his beanie off to reveal his slight bed hair.
"Hold up, I think I have a small comb in my purse," I told him.
I rummaged through my bag until I found my pocket comb.
"Here you go," I said.
"Thank you"
He ran the comb through his hair and turned to me after a bit.
"How's it look?"
I hummed.
"If the look you're going for is a cockatiel, it's perfect" I noted.
I accepted the comb as he chuckled.
"I need to get it cut"
He took a sip of his water before adding creamer to his coffee.
"Your roommate is okay with me spending the night, right?"
"Yup" I replied.
"I can get an Uber back to the hotel?"
I waved him off.
"If it makes you feel better, Ian is also sleeping over," I said.
Ian was super bummed out to not be able to play on opening night, but he had been dealing with a sore hamstring and it was decided that it would be best he not travel and instead rest. His coach hoped that by resting Ian for the past 2 weekends, he would be good to play next Friday against Brown.
"I just don't want to overstep"
"You're not" I assured him.
He watched as I filled myself a cup of coffee and proceeded to drink it black.
"You take your coffee black?"
"Yeah, sometimes it doesn't need creamer," I said.
He scrunched up his nose.
"Try it," I told him.
He slowly shook his head.
"No, thank you"
I smiled.
"Come on" I insisted.
He stared at me before sighing.
"Okay"
Didn't take much convincing.
"Here you go," I said as I passed him my cup.
He picked up the cup and grimaced as he looked down at it.
"You can make that face after once you've tried it" I stated.
He took a gulp of coffee and squinted as he drank it. After a couple of seconds later, he hummed and licked his lips.
"Not bad"
"Maybe you'll give pineapple on pizza a try," I told him.
He scrunched up his nose.
"Pineapple made the list of 10 most popular pizza toppings" I informed him.
His eyes squinted up a bit as he scrunched up his nose even more.
"It doesn't mean it belongs on pizza"
We both looked away as our food was placed on the table.
"Here you go, darlings. Enjoy"
I smiled and chose to ignore the wink in my direction before looking at Gavin as I reached for a piece of bacon on my plate.
"Do you know them?"
I looked away and nodded as I took a bite of the bacon.
"Yeah, they're James' frat brothers" I answered.
I faked a smile and waved in their direction before looking at Gavin.
"Give me one second," I said.
I slid out of the booth before he could get a response out and approached the two pledges.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were following me," I told them.
They looked at me with wide eyes.
"I get it, he's your pledge master and you do what he dictates but this is downright uncomfortable and wrong," I stated.
I shrugged.
"There are great organizations throughout this campus, and this fraternity is not one of them. Save your time and money and join one that won't be under investigation in the months to come" I informed them.
One of them slowly nodded.
"Don't miss class for him," I said before walking away from them.
Theo had a class with one of them, and it was during this time.
"So what'd you do after I dropped you off last night?" I asked Gavin as I slid back into the booth.
I was not going to let that ruin my morning, and most certainly not my day.