—
Evan looked a lot better when I went back to the hospital in the afternoon. The doctor was in there along with two nurses, going over all his vitals. I had a feeling his smile was just a front so the doctor would release him. Sneaky bastard. He was still in pain, but he did a good job pretending that he wasn’t in agony, both emotionally and physically. As soon as the doctor and nurses left, his real feelings started to show. His smile disappeared, and his shoulders sagged. I set his bag down and sat on the edge of his bed.
“I brought you something,” I announced, handing him the box with his apple fritters and my scones.
His lips tilted up in a genuine smile. “Let me guess, you got your scones, too.”
I opened the box and pulled one out, taking a huge bite. “You know it. I actually only went there for me. I figured I’d get your fritters while I was there,” I said with a wink.
He tried to laugh, but then hissed in pain. “What the fuck, that hurts.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I just didn’t realize how sore I really was.”
Once I finished my scone, I lifted up his bag and set it on the bed. “I brought you some clean clothes and your toiletries. Do you want to take a shower?”
A sly smile lit up his face. “Only if you take one with me.”
I gasped. “What if someone comes in?”
“Then we tell them I needed the help. Which in all honesty, I kind of do.”
He tried to get out of bed, but I stopped him. “Give me one second and I’ll get everything ready. The last thing I want is for you to fall and hurt yourself.”
“I knew you would see it my way,” he boasted triumphantly.
Once the water was warm, I helped him out of bed and out of the hospital gown he was in. If the circumstances had been better, I would’ve laughed at seeing his bare backside through the slit in the back, but I couldn’t bring myself to laugh. His whole body was battered and bruised. After shutting the bathroom door, I removed my own clothes.
“I’m surprised you didn’t break anything after being thrown from the car,” I murmured, helping him into the shower.
He rubbed his fingers up and down my arms, making me break out in chills. “It looks worse than it really is, I promise. The doctor said that not wearing my seatbelt might actually have saved me. Instead of being crushed by the car, I flew out.”
Since I couldn’t wash his hair because of the bandages, I took the soap and washed his body. There was nothing sexual about the way I touched him. I liked being able to help and take care of him when I knew he really needed it. “Are you ready to watch the game?”
“Yes and no.”
“Luke’s going to come by and watch it with us. I thought you could use the cheering up.”
Turning me around, he took the soap from me and washed my back before circling around to the front to my breasts. “Making love to you would cheer me up. As soon as I’m healed, you better be ready.”
Biting my lip, I faced him and took the soap away. “Don’t worry, I will be. I can wait as long as I need to.” Once all the soap was rinsed off us both, I turned off the water and grabbed a towel off the rack. Evan reached for it, but I gently smacked his hand. “I got it. Just stand there and let me do the work.” I dried him off and then stood back so he could watch me rub the towel across my body, intentionally going slower around my breasts. He licked his lips, a growl of satisfaction rumbling in his chest. I would do anything to cheer him up. “All right, let’s get you dressed,” I laughed. I helped him into his boxers and shorts before lowering his Cougars jersey over his head.
With a wide grin, he pulled me to him and kissed me, his hands on my ass as he held me against his body. “I love you,” he whispered low. “I don’t know of any woman who would’ve taken care of me the way you have.”
“It’s because I love you, too.”
I put my clothes back on and grabbed his dirty ones off the floor before opening the bathroom door, gasping when I realized we weren’t alone. The blood rushed to my face. I had never felt so embarrassed in my life. Luke was there, and so was Kate. “Hey, guys,” I announced.
Evan opened the door wider and laughed. “Wow, a party. Not exactly the best timing.”
Luke cleared his throat. “Tell us about it.” He winked at me and said in a girly voice, “Just stand there and let me do the work.” Kate smacked him on the arm and rolled her eyes.
“Oh, shut up,” I exclaimed, throwing our dirty clothes at him.
He dodged them and laughed. “We might be a little early, but I brought the chips and dip like I promised. I might have snuck in a few beers as well.”
“He’s on pain meds, dumbass,” Kate griped.
Luke chuckled. “Since when has that stopped anyone?” He reached into his bag and pulled out a beer for Evan and opened up one for himself. Only it wasn’t beer—it was root beer. He winked at Kate and she snorted. “I had you going there, didn’t I?” he teased.