“It’s been about half an hour since you were broughtinto the recovery room, so it didn’t take you too long to wake up.”
I nod and bring his hand that’s still holding mine to my face, nuzzling into it and kissing his palm.
“Thank you for being here,” I whisper.
“Always. I’m not going anywhere. We’ve always got each other’s backs, right?” He says it so decisively, like it’s a foregone conclusion, and it’s as if he knows that I need to hear it.
“Tania’s been blowing up my phone, I’ve been keeping her updated, too,” he adds.
“She’s mad I told her to not miss her last FedEx shift for this, but she’ll be around more now with being a full time tattoo artist after today,” I tell him with a sleepy smile.
Dr. Naraya comes in then to check on me with her usual easy manner.
“How are you feeling, Celeste?”
“Not bad, all things considered,” I tell her.
“You’ll definitely have some pain and discomfort for a few days. Like I mentioned before, you should be able to resume your normal activity levels in about two weeks. I’d like you to please take it easy until then, ok?”
“Yes, I will,” I assure her.
“We’ll have a follow up appointment at my office after those two weeks are up to see how you are. In the meantime, the nurse will be in soon with your discharge instructions and paperwork. I’ll look forward to seeing you soon. You did great today.”
She comes over and holds out her hand, and I clasp it gratefully, giving it a shake.
“Thank you so much, Dr. Naraya,”
She nods to me and Gage before briskly going on her way.
We wait about twenty minutes until a nurse comes in to discharge me. He goes over my pain medicine options, caring for the small wounds, and before we know it we’re on our way home. The birds raise holy hell when we go into the living room to check on them. Hermes says my name a few times, as if he knows that something’s off with me.
“I’m ok, bud. Just a little sore,” I croon to him, scratching his head through the bars. Gage gets me situated on the couch with a sparkling water before making sure the birds have their own fresh water, take baths in the bathroom sink, and have some playtime. I grab my e-reader from the table and start reading the spicy monster romance I downloaded the other day. It’s the perfect fun distraction while I recover.
Gage spends the rest of the day fussing over me and the birds, taking advantage of his day off to get things done around the house. He and his dad have been working closely on making sure everything goes smoothly with transferring the deed, and the many other things they need to get done, like changing the bank account to having Gage as the primary name on it. He could use some rest as well, so I tug him down to sit on the couch with me and nestle in against him. His phone buzzes on the table, and he checks it.
“Oh, Wayne and Gina are thinking that we should all get a retirement party together for dad. They would be willing to host it once you’re feeling well enough.
“Absolutely. That man deserves a huge send off!”
“Maybe we can have it the day I do the pop-up at the farmer’s market. After it’s over, I can pack up everything to set up the same booth at Wayne and Gina’s that night. It’ll be like bringing the bar to them in a way,” he enthuses, clearly getting excited about the party.
“That’s a perfect idea,” I agree.
“Alright, I’ll let him know we’re in,” he says, thumbing out a reply before pulling me closer against him with a sweet smile.
His hand runs a soothing pattern up and down my arm, and my god I wish we could do more.
I wanted to tell myself that our first time having sex was so mind-blowing because of the novelty, and how much tension had been building up between us. Recapturing that would be impossible. I’m not usually one to be happy about being wrong, but both Gage and his dick seem to have that effect on me. Our sex life somehow keeps getting even better. Last night he made me come three times since it would be the last time for a couple of weeks that we could do anything.
It’s not just the sex, by any stretch of the imagination. Waking up with him and having our morning coffee together before we go about our busy days is something I cherish more than I could ever express. Playing with the birds, and snuggling on the couch with Gage at night, has become the peace and stability in my life I’ve craved but never thought I’d find.
I’m afraid to bring up where we stand, and how we’re going to move forward, because it might break this beautiful thing we’ve built. For now, I’m just going to rest my head on my husband’s firm chest, watch a movie, and enjoy it.
I steal a glance up at him, and he looks down at me with so much affection. I can’t help how his eyes turn me to mush. Maybe I’m more loopy than I thought from the pain medicine.
“I could lose myself in your eyes,” I blurt. My eyes want to look anywhere but at him after I let my mouth run like that, but I can feel his surprise. He knows that verbalizing these things is new to me, but it makes me braver when Ifinally look back up at him, and those eyes are so completely soft. So I press on.
“It’s mesmerizing how they can be such a mischievous puppy brown, but then melt into a deep amber when you look at me like that. The way you look at me makes me feel like I’m someone special, and worth being around.”
