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One of my greatest qualities, in addition to staying hidden, was my persistence.
I hopped off the bed, grabbed the Tylenol, then climbed back on, and straddled his waist. I bent down and lifted his chin. “Charles.” I shook him a little. “Charles!”
“Hmm?” One eye opened and shut.
I needed his fever to go down. I placed the little pill on his pillow and reached for his full glass of water at his side table. Then, I dipped a few fingers in his water and splashed some water on his face. “Charles!”
He didn’t move. Stupid me, it probably felt good. If I were raging with fever, I’d probably love some cool sprinkles to the face.
With a sigh, I repeated the motion until he stirred, and both sleepy eyes opened. I pulled at his shirt until he was elevated a little higher on his pillow. If he started choking, we’d have a different problem.
“Open your mouth.” When he didn’t comply, I pulled at his chin and stuffed the pill in his mouth. Then, I put the glass on his lips.
His eyes fell shut again, and I slapped at his cheek. “Hey, you. Come on. Come on. Come on.” Slap. Slap. Slap. “Come on. Swallow.”
“Do you swallow?”
This guy. I couldn’t dim my smile even if I tried.
I tipped back the glass, cupping the back of his head to guide him.
When the pill went down with a gulp of water, I almost laughed out my next words. “I always swallow.”
His eyes slowly opened, and a drunken smile surfaced before I let him fall to his pillow.
Gah!
If I wasn’t careful, I could fall in love with this guy.
* * *
Charles.
Who knew what time it was or what day it was? All I knew was that I had to take a real bad piss.
I stepped off of my bed and almost tripped on the comforter on the floor.
“Becky?” I asked, my throat as dry as a desert.
She yawned and slowly pushed herself to a sitting position.
“What are you doing here?” I shook my head, confused, and did a once-over of my surroundings. Yeah, I was still in my room. “Becky, I’m sick, so you really shouldn’t be here.”
She stretched, and her voice was heavy with sleep when she spoke, “But I had to check on you and make sure you were okay.” She pushed the covers off and stood. “I’m glad I did. Your fever was through the roof.”
After she stepped into me, she placed the cool back of her hand on my forehead and then my neck.
She exhaled a sigh of relief and smiled. “I think your fever broke.”
I stood there in silence for a good whole three seconds, taking her in. Her messy blonde hair, the green in her eyes that seemed to sparkle against the light in my room. And in that moment, something broke in me.
My heart warmed, and that tough demeanor that I always displayed cracked. She’d taken care of me—me! The guy who had been taking care of himself for the last four years. The last time I’d gotten really sick, I’d had the stomach flu. I had woken up in sweat and thrown up, but I’d peeled myself out of bed, showered, gone to bed, and repeated the process until the virus was gone. All by myself.
So, taking in her blanket on the floor, the tray with Tylenol, some soup, a washcloth and basin … well, shit. This touched me on a deeper level, a level that caught me off guard. I blew out a long, slow breath, and my eyebrows pulled together as I took her one hand and squeezed it. “Thank you, Becky.”
She smiled a sweet smile. Then, it hit like a train coming at me full force, knocking the breath out of me. Just like I had known many years ago, when I was in high school, I knew now. It had only happened one time before. I wasn’t only drawn to Becky’s beauty. I was falling for this girl. Deep, hard, and completely.
The shock of realization had me dropping her hand and turning toward the bathroom, almost sprinting. “Sorry. I have to piss.”
