Page 79 of In Too Deep
“Mine are in the bottom of my garment bag, sugar. Where you told me to put them two days ago,” I reassure her.
She sighs and lets her shoulders drop before she steps closer into my arms. “At least one of you listens when I talk,” she grumbles.
Eli pokes his head out of the backseat with a grin. “Sorry, did you say something?” he asks.
Tori lets out a little growl and lunges for him, but he laughs and moves back as I tighten my arms around Tori’s midsection to hold her back. Thankfully, Oli returns with a pair of freshly polished black shoes in his hand.
“That’s the last thing. Let’s get going before people start to block our driveway again,” he says, rounding the hood of the car to leap into the driver’s seat.
I give Tori a quick peck on the cheek before we pull apart, and she finds her way to the front passenger seat while I join Eli in the back. Thankfully, it’s still early enough that most people haven’t started getting set up for the full day of parades.
It’s the Friday before Mardi Gras, which used to just have parades after working hours. But in recent years, it’s sort of been rolled into the rest of the weekend festivities and almost everyone has the day off, in addition to Monday and Tuesday. There are three krewes on the Uptown route today: Isis, Hermes, and the Krewe of Olympus, which is the one we’ll be part of.
Olympus isn’t the traditional social club, but rather the collective group of sports stars from the New Orleans sports teams. The Saints, Pelicans, and Mystic are the main ones, but sometimes there are players for the Jesters, New Orleans’ professional soccer team, and other athletes from other fields like golf, tennis, and plenty of others. Because of the fluctuating date, there’s no hard-and-fast rule about participation, but enough people usually do to make it a large, exciting event.
Eli practically vibrates in the seat beside me as we pull into Jefferson Park, clearing security with ease. We follow the directions we were given to find the gathering point, passing one incredible float after another. The theme this year isn’t exactly clear, but I doubt anyone is going to give a shit by the time we’re driving by. We find a great spot and unload our trunk, Tori taking the garment bags with her as she trots off away from the check-in table.
Teddy from the logistics department assigns the three of us to float number fifteen and hands each of us a black plastic bag, the kind you’d receive a package in. We’re waved off to find our float, and I keep my eyes peeled for Tori, my heart kicking harder the longer she’s away. Not that I expect anything bad to happen to her when this entire lot is crawling with security. But I don’t want her to get lost or end up on a different float.
A cheer goes up as my linemates and I reach our float, and I can’t help but grin. Paul, Dallas, Henri, and Alexei are already here, and they’ve got a portable grill set up with what smells like bacon already cooking.
“I didn’t realize this was a tailgate.” I chuckle, slapping hands and bumping shoulders with my teammates.
“Well, if they’re making us get here this early when we aren’t even hitting the streets until after noon, we figured we’d enjoy ourselves a bit.” Tex laughs as he flips a slab of meat with a sizzle and a flash of flames.
“What’s in here?” Eli asks, bringing the wagon piled high with boxes to a stop.
We’d packed up the throws we’ve been collecting at the house to use today, which isn’t much in the grand scheme. Our email with the details said there would be throws provided, but not how many each of us would get. With our extra supply, we’ll get to be generous with our tosses instead of having to ration.
“That’s our costume,” Pope says simply, cracking a beer despite the sun barely being up.
“If you open it now, we’ll hang it up with ours so the wrinkles come out,” Henri suggests, nodding to the back of the float.
Without pausing, Eli rips into the plastic, Oli and I following suit. My face lights up in a grin as I realize what’s in my hands, my inner child nearly exploding with joy. It’s a hockey jersey, but unlike anything we’d wear during a game. The dark purple material sparkles with rhinestones lining the piping at the collar and around the elbow stripes. My name and number are covered in gold glitter, along with the fleur-de-lis of our logo.
“Do we get to keep these?” I ask, looking up with a wide grin.
Dallas nods. “You can. Some guys, who’ve been here long enough to have a closet full of ’em, choose to donate theirs to the silent auction.”
Pope scoffs and sucks his teeth. “You know I’m standing right here, Tex,” the veteran teases.
Dallas gives him a wry smile. “You are, aren’t you. Do you need someone to get you a chair? Wouldn’t want your old legs giving out before the day even gets started.”
We all laugh as Henri takes our jerseys and heads toward the float, disappearing through a secret entrance somewhere. We get to chatting as Dallas cooks bacon and steak and even some scrambled eggs on his blacktop griddle, in which time Jari, Caleb, and Owen join us, along with a few members ofour equipment team. The food is served, and Dallas takes point, checking off everyone’s name from the list he was given.
“That just leaves...” he trails off as he looks over the paper.
“Coach!” Caleb shouts, by way of greeting.
I whip around, my stomach unclenching as I see Logan walking toward us, dragging a cooler behind him, but he’s got Tori by his side. My breath catches in my throat as I look her over, and I have to shake myself before anyone catches me staring.
She’s already dressed in her costume, even though we’ve got a few hours to go. It’s not a jersey like the other guys, but instead a bedazzled green bomber jacket over a cropped Mystic tank top. She’s still wearing her skin-tight jeans and tennis shoes, but she’s done something with her hair, braiding it back away from her face into neat plaits, and she’s had her makeup done. Swirls of color extend from her mismatched eyes, creating a mask-like effect without needing to wear anything.
“And that’s a full roster! Now the party can really get started!” Tex says triumphantly, plating the two remaining steaks and meeting Tori and Logan before they can fully join the group.
I take a large bite of bacon and look away, shifting slightly in place to adjust my half hard cock. Today is either going to be the best day of my life, or it’s going to kill me. And as I my eyes lock onto Tori’s again, and she gives me that sexy-ass smirk, I’m placing my bets on the latter.
The float rolls to another stop as we’re nearing the end of the route, and I glance around with a grin pulling at my cheeks. The place is a mess of plastic bags and cardboard boxes, all emptyand ripped to shreds due to how frantically we’ve been opening them. We’re down to the last of our throws, and I’m grateful everyone decided to bring extra. I reach behind me to the row of bedazzled pucks, leaning almost all the way out over the crowd to toss one gently into the lap of a baby, their parents going wild as they wave their arms at me.