I woke up smiling. I had done it. I had made Tabby mine. We'd made love twice, and each time had been specfuckingtacular. I was the first to have her. And I was going to be the last.

I'd finally found the woman for me. And I was going to tell her so. Right after I made her squeal with pleasure again.

That glorious feeling lasted about thirty seconds.

The bed beside me was cold.

I looked around, realizing she'd left me. I scowled. Why the hell had she done that? Then I remembered how shy Tabby was about some things. Maybe she didn't want my mom to see her.

But that was bullshit, man.

Tabby was my woman now dammit. There was no need to sneak around. I decided I would tell her so, too.

I'd put a Goddamn cowbell on her if I had to. Or a bow, with a tag that said my name. Or a homing device.

Or a ring.

I sat up straight in bed.

I was seriously considering marrying Tabitha. I could see us getting older together. She'd be sexy as hell at 30. And 40. Hell, I'd still think she was beautiful no matter how many wrinkles or gray hairs she got.

And she'd give me such beautiful children...

Well, that was a first. I'd never thought past getting a girl into bed before, and rarely even had to think about that. Girls had never required any effort for me.

Well, except for her.

Tabby had been damn near impossible to get until now. And she was continuing to be a pain in my ass by sneaking out on me. She'd deprived me of morning sex too. But I was willing to be understanding now that she was mine.

After all, she had given me the best sex of my life.

The best by about a million.

A zillion.

I took a shower and got dressed. I had a lot to think about. The rest of my life with Tabby for starters. My mother had left out some juice and a bagel. I shook my head, wondering what my woman would say about that.

I could hear Tabby scolding me now. 'Empty carbs', she'd say. Or that I needed protein. Or that I should eat an orange instead of drinking it.

I grinned. She'd be here soon. Then I could relax and let her fuss over me. I'd smile and nod and as soon as my mother was out of the house, I'd pounce.

I was going to spend my day in bed today. But not resting. Oh hell no, I was going to spend it getting all the exercise a healthy boy needed. And Tabby was going to be screaming my name in pleasure the whole damn time.

"Gabe? Your aid is here."

I glanced sharply towards the stairs. My mother stood there, looking uncertain. Her hands were tugging on each other. I was about to ask her what was wrong when I saw it.

Or rather, I saw her.

She was... not Tabby.

A middle-aged woman stood behind my mother. She wore a nurse uniform and sensible shoes. She was exactly what you thought of when you thought of a home caregiver.

But she was not my caregiver. I already had one. And I needed her. I needed Tabby.

Where the fuck was Tabitha?

"Where is she?"

I wheeled over to the stairs.

"Gabe, this is Annie. She's here from the service."

I nodded my head to the woman and said good morning. There was no reason to be rude. Especially, since she was about to be out on her ass. "It's nice to meet you Annie but I already have an aid." I whipped my head to face my mother. "Where is she?"

"I'll- I'll go find out. Annie, would you wait upstairs with me while we sort this out?"

"Fine. You do that. I'll try Tabitha."

I picked up my phone and dialed her cell. I sat in my chair, staring out the back window, trying to get my temper under control.

"Hello?"

I heard the sleep in her voice. It only made me angrier. She was in bed! She should have just stayed here with me!

"Where are you?"

"Gabe?"

Her voice sounded worried. Good. She should be fucking worried. She'd scared the hell out of me twice and it wasn't even 9 o’clock!

"The service called and told me they found a replacement. I told them it wasn't necessary- I told them never mind but it was too late."

I closed my eyes. She hadn't run out on me again. It was just a mix up.

"Anyway Gabe, it's good for you to have backup. And I don't think I should do-"

She went silent.

"What Tabby?"

She sighed.

"I don't think I should do... both."

I clenched the phone.

"You won't take care of me?"

I knew it was a low blow but I took it anyway. It hurt like hell that she was making this an 'either or' situation.

"I will! I want to help you Gabe. Anyway I can. And I need the job. But what happened last night... it's not right. And it's a breach of my contract."

I grit my teeth.

"So you'll be my girlfriend, or my nurse. Not both."

"Girlfriend? You want me to be- your girlfriend?"

I realized my hand was squeezing the phone again and forced myself to relax. I was going to break it. My hands had always been exceptionally strong.

"Yes, Tabby. What the fuck did you think we were doing last night?"

"I don't know. I thought maybe that was-"

"What? You thought it was what?"

"I thought that was what you wanted." A pause. "Just that."

"No. That's not all I want. Not by a long shot."

I wanted to scream at her for thinking that. Only, maybe she was right. I had just wanted to roll around with her at first. Not just once or twice. I'd wanted to have her as much as possible, but I hadn't thought about much past that.

Yeah, I wanted as much sex as a growing boy could handle.

But with every minute I spent with her, I wanted more than just sex.

Much more.

"Oh."

I could hear the shyness in her voice. I nodded to myself. That was better. She was going to be a good girl.

It wasn’t her fault she was new at this.

"Are you coming over here?"

She hesitated.

"I have to work tonight. They want me to come in early for lunch too and- well, you're covered anyway today, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I'm covered. Tomorrow?"

"I told them I would come in tomorrow but-"

"I know. It's one or the other."

I swallowed hard, realizing I was going to have to get out of this damn chair if I wanted her with me more than a few snatched hours at a time. If I wanted her with me as a woman, not a nurse.

Not an employee.

She said goodbye and hung up. I sat there for the longest time, just thinking. I heard my mother clear her throat and looked up. She must have caught the end of the conversation.

"Is she coming?"

"Tomorrow."

She nodded.

"Alright son. Is there anything you need before I- before Annie takes over?"

"Yes. Get me my cane."

Her eyes got wide.

"But you are supposed to do physical therapy for at least another week before-"

I gave my mom a look of pure steel and she threw her hands up. She might be tough, but I was even more stubborn and we both knew it. She went upstairs and came back with a black wood cane and a folding silver walker.

She snapped the walker into place and adjusted the height.

I frowned at it, shaking my head.

"I'm not using that damn thing. It's worse than the chair."

"It's more stable than the cane. Just for the first few days Gabe." She arched an eyebrow at me. "Start with this. Please. You can put it away if Tabby comes over."

I glared at her. Obviously, she had caught which way the wind was blowing. But she was implying that Tabitha wasn't coming back.

"When Tabby comes over. Just for today, okay?"

I gave her a curt nod, knowing she was right. I spent the rest of the day doing my exercises and experimenting with the walker and the cane. The walker was more stable. It was almost like using a crutch that didn't wobble. I used it to put a bit of pressure on my leg, increasing it slightly until it hurt, then backing off again.

I nodded to myself. I was going to be walking in no time.

And after that, I was going to chase my woman down.