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“Oh, now I remember where you get the stubborn streak from.” I laughed at my comment which jiggled my arm, and I sucked in a breath from the pain that radiates through it.
Over the next hour, the girls explained to me what happened last night while I’d been in the bathroom and after I’d been shot. They said my parents were here until after I came out of surgery, then had left to go get some rest for a while, since I’d seemed to have my own personal bodyguard.If all bodyguards looked like Braxton, everyone should have one. My parents would be back up soon, they also told me. As we winded down our talk, the nurse walked back in to check on me, so the girls got ready to go.
“You need some rest, but we will be back up later today and we know you're in good hands and won’t be alone,” Summer said with that damn signature smirk of hers.
Before I could ask her what she meant, the nurse started talking to me and the girls hugged me good-bye, with another promise of seeing me shortly. Then out the door they’d gone. My nurse turned to me then and said, “You’re one lucky girl.” Again, before I could respond to ask her what she was talking about, the door opened and Braxton walked back in.
I think I just figured out why I’m so lucky.
Braxton took up residence in the chair he was in earlier, waiting for the nurse to leave. Once she’d gone, he said, “We need a do-over.”
Confusion hit my face and maybe it was the side effects from the anesthesia, but I needed him to spell it out for me “A what?”
Looking straight into my eyes he said, “Once you are feeling better, we are going out again, Jurnee. I never did get to dance with you.”
Heat sunk into my cheeks and I was sure they’d been a bright shade of red. Something fluttered in my stomach at the notion that this man wanted to dance with me. Me, Jurnee Collins. A smile bloomed on my face as my eyes started to close. Exhaustion was kicking in and I felt myself drifting off as I’d fought to stay awake, just to look at Braxton. But I’d been losing the battle. He must have realized that too.
“Sleep beautiful, I will be here when you wake up.”
That was the last thing I’d remembered being said before I’d fallen into a deep slumber and with my last thought having been…I hope this has all been real.
My eyes blinked open to the moon's fluorescent glow creeping through the blinds and a soft snore from the man with his hand in mine, head resting on my bedside. The feel of his rough palm clasped in my much smaller one, made my heart beat faster and the hospital machines started beeping furiously. Braxton’s head sprung up and a look of panic streaked his face. Before he could say anything, a nurse was running into my room.
It had been the same nurse from earlier. She busily fluttered around the bed and checked the monitors. “I see you're awake again, how are you feeling? You really got these old machines going to town girl, what’s got you so riled up?” Before I’d answered her, she’d glanced down at our joined hands and a mischievous smile lit up her face. “Oh, I see. I will just let you two get back to it,” she said with a wink and was gone like a ghost in the night.
I looked down at our joined hands, then back up into Braxton’s eyes to find them sparkling with the knowledge that he had affected me in some way.I will not say I have to pee, I will not say I have to pee. Wait, maybe that’s my out before I die from embarrassment.Thankfully someone had come in to bring me dinner, saving me from my panic and making a fool out of myself again.
I’d been saved!
A woman approached setting my food on the rolling table next to my bed and told me to enjoy it, and off she went, leaving me alone with Braxton again. “So, I bet you’d like to go have some dinner then too?”
“I already ate while you were sleeping. Your parents came in but didn’t want to disturb you and they brought me some coffee and a sandwich. I’ll just hang here with you, if you don’t mind that is?”
“Umm, and watch me eat?” He made me nervous enough, but now he was going to see me fumbling around, shoveling food into my mouth. This wasn’t going to be graceful at all left-handed, since my other one was out of commission at the moment.
“I will just be here if you need anything, eat up.”
Here goes nothing, please don’t let me spill all over myself.
Pulling everything in front of me, I clumsily fiddled with the fork and attempted to dig into the mashed potatoes. Awkwardly moving it toward my mouth as if I were a one-year-old, the next thing I know,splat! Food was all over me.The ground could just open up now and swallow me whole.Setting the fork down, I grabbed a napkin and worked at wiping up the mess, while Braxton went into the bathroom to get a wet paper towel.
“Here, let me get that,” he said, returning to my side.
“Maybe they should have brought me a bib, you think?” I mean, I may as well have laughed about it, or else I might’ve cried.
“Cut yourself some slack, woman, you just had surgery and your dominant arm is a little on the sore side. It will get better, but in the meantime let me help you,” he said swiping the fork up into his hand.
“Wait, you're gonna feed me?”
“Sure, why not. I want to help Jurnee. Come on, it will be fun, I’ll even play airplane with you.” He chuckled.
Next thing I knew Braxton had a forkful of food high in the air coming right at me, airplane noises erupting from his sexy mouth.Focus on the food Jurnee, or you may not even make it in your mouth with his help.With the food next to my mouth, there was nothing to do but open up, and there was the fact that I was hungry as heck. Right on cue, my stomach chose that moment to make a crazy sound. Braxton just smiled and shoved a fork load into my waiting mouth. As I swallowed, our eyes met, and I knew then that I was in trouble.
“Thanks for everything. For being there with me at the bar when this happened.” I pointed at my shoulder. “And for being here helping me now.”
“There’s no place I’d rather be,” he said. “Now open up, the plane is ready to land again.”
What a goofball and so damned sweet. So that’s how we spent the next twenty minutes. A little strange, but amazing nonetheless.
