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I hold the basket under one arm and laugh. “Not sure if that would do the job, babe. You should stick with statues. At least they’re heavy as hell.”
Her eyes meet mine, then she gazes down my body and back up. A blush hits her cheek, and I smirk. “Are you feeling better?” she asks, swallowing hard.
I nod. “Much. Not fully, but I’m on the rebound. No fever.”
“Thank God,” she whispers, her shoulders relaxing. Cami drops the pan, then wraps her arms around me. Dropping the basket, I hold her close, smelling the sweetness of the shampoo in her hair, and never want to let her go. “I’ve been so worried.”
“I know. Me too,” I admit. “I got lucky. Didn’t hurt having you take care of me.” I smirk.
“It’s easy to take things for granted when you suddenly realize you may never be able to again,” she says, then pulls away. “I had tons of time to think about that between my fever-induced nightmares. The fear of not living is what scared me the most. But the realization that tomorrow isn’t promised was empowering in a way.”
I grin and pick up my basket of clean clothes. “I can relate. I thought about all the things I wanted to do and never have, along with adding to my bucket list. I’ve never been in a situation like this before, and I never want to be again.” I cough, and suck in as much air as I can, but I end up dropping the basket, and Cami moves toward me.
“I’m fine.” I gasp, trying to catch my breath. This has rapidly become my new normal for the past week and a half. While I bend over because I don’t have much strength, I know it’s best to stand straight to open my airway. Quickly, fatigue takes over, and I have a full-blown asthma attack.
“What can I get you?” Cami asks, panicking. I can’t even catch my breath long enough to say two syllables, but she figures it out on her own. She rushes away, running as fast as she can out of the room. I feel like someone is squeezing the air out of me as the pressure of a million pounds sits on my chest. Though she’s only gone for a moment, it seems like an eternity.
She hands me my inhaler, and I put the plastic up to my mouth and push down, allowing the medicine to fill my lungs. I take three more pumps, needing it to work faster than it is. Eventually, it does, but my heart is galloping at full speed, and my hand is unsteady from the medication hitting my bloodstream. Cami watches me intently with fear written all over her face.
“I’m okay,” I tell her. “My asthma attacks are a million times worse right now. Go wash your hands,” I remind her, knowing she touched something that came from my room.
She quickly does, and I pick up the basket, then follow her into the kitchen as she scrubs her hands under the hot water. I’m exhausted all over again, and my body aches, but I’m determined to have a little time with her today.
“You’re going to make me worry to death or give me gray hair.”
“You’d be sexy with some gray.” I chuckle and notice how spotless everything is. “You know what would be great right now?”
Blinking up at me, she grins. “Coffee?”
“Yep. The caffeine helps with my asthma.”
“Really?” She tilts her head. “That’s good to know.”
“Yep, I learned that in college. My doctor suggested it when I didn’t have a rescue inhaler at work one time. He said coffee acts as a bronchodilator and in a pinch can help with attacks. It’s a reason I drink several cups in the morning.”
She nods. “Strong ass double shot of espresso coming right up,” she sing-songs, using the fancy machine that auto grinds the beans. As it drips, she places a can of Lysol in my basket. “When you go up there, spray everything down, then take your linens off the bed and put them in the washer. We have some cleaning to do. I want the virus out of the cabin forever. We’ll know we’re in the clear in a couple of weeks if we’re both healthy and then should just live here for eternity.”
“I could definitely get on board with that plan.” I’m dying to kiss her, but don’t. It’s too soon.
Bruno moseys into the kitchen, goes to his bowl, and barks three times. Cami looks at me with a proud smile. “I taught him to do that when he’s hungry.”
I nearly snort because he’s been commanding me like that since he was a puppy, but it’s sweet that they’ve been bonding, so I don’t want to burst her bubble. “Nice. Maybe I should stay in my room, and you can teach him how not to get in people’s personal space.”
