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Funny, because that’s exactly how I feel as I say, “Remember what happened a few minutes before the meeting, right here in this room?”
“Ah, yes.” Luz nods, her expression serious. “When you pushed me up against that shelf over there and basically devoured my mouth. I have a vague recollection.”
I cringe so hard, I probably shrink to half my size. “Uh, I should be more careful with you. I’m sorry. I just hadn’t seen you all day and?—”
“Hush, you adorable doofus.” Luz puts a cold finger on my lips to shut me up. “And no, it’s not your fault. The pain has been flaring up since this morning. I had a nightmare and woke up in a funny position, but more than that, I think it’s just all the stress between exams and this whole mess. Plus, Aran told me that Mom and Dad will come watch tomorrow’s game and… frankly, I’m nervous. Especially because, um…”
She bites her lip and not in the sexy kind of way, but in the I’m-barely-holding-it-together kind of way.
“Luz?”
Taking a deep breath, she says, “The team we’ll face off tomorrow is where the girl who gave me the bad hit plays.” She folds her arms, almost trying to make herself smaller. “I should be over it, but I had nightmares about the accident last night, and lo and behold, it’s made my back act up.”
Air hisses through my teeth. Slowly, and with a loose grip, I circle my arms around her. Looking down at her with a cocked eyebrow, I ask, “Is there something I can do to reduce the stress?”
I’ve noticed she likes to rest her chin on my chest, and she does that now.
“If my back didn’t hurt like a toothache, I would answer that question honestly.”
“There must be something else I can do.” I run my hand up and down her back, keeping the touch light. Maybe it soothes her a bit, because she fully leans against me for a moment and just lets me continue. And then a light goes off in my head. “Luz?”
“Hmm?”
“What about an ice bath?”
Her voice is muffled against my chest. “Nooo.”
“Huh, so you did think about it?”
“I hate ice baths.” She straight-up whines now. “I’ve had to take so many of them and—ugh.”
I pat her head. “Let’s get you one.”
*
After that, Luz tries to ghost me, but I know exactly where she lives. It’s dark out by the time I pull into the parking lot of the women’s dorm. I send Luz a text saying I’m here, but it’s her roommate who opens the building door for me.
“She told me not to tell you that she’s really in a lot of freaking pain right now.” Those words are her greeting to me. “But her whining and whimpering are really distracting me from studying, so I will help you kidnap her.”
On the way up, I learn that her name is Lynn, that she’s single, and that if I have any clones, I should give them her number. Unfortunately, the only relative around our age who is still single is Leo, and I wouldn’t foist that pain in the ass upon my worst enemy.
We make it to their dorm, and I knock on the door. “Tinker Bell, you ready?”
I hear some shuffling before she opens the door. The first thing I notice is her hair up in a bun. The second thing is the big bundle under her arm. And the third is the training clothes under a zip up jacket.
Fourth? She’s as pale as a blank sheet of paper.
“C’mon.” I tug her by the hand. Luz drags her feet, her sneakers making a racket in the quiet.
“Finally, peace and quiet,” Lynn mutters as we leave the room.
I would laugh, except Luz really looks like she’s on her way to the slaughterhouse the entire drive around campus to the facility. It’s quiet this time of night. Most people are probably cramming for exams. We head past the empty gym to the back, where the shared therapy facilities are. I prepped the ice bath in advance to minimize the odds of Luz running away, and I can tell she’s contemplating it as she glares at the filled-up tub.
“Just so you know,” she says while unzipping her jacket and taking it off, “I really appreciate your efforts, but I’m also very pissed.”
“You’re free to be pissed, as long as you get better.”
With one last glare, she lowers herself to sit in the freezing water, legs out. Her body locks as she leans back to submerge her back, and a few squeaks make it past her lips. The tub is big enough that she can rest her neck on the edge and keep her torso under water. She wraps her arms around herself and shivers.
