It is only a few minutes after Éclair’s departure before Sylvia makes an appearance. She too had seen the video circling around online as well as the crash coverage on the news, and it did not take her long to figure out where I was at. She looks absolutely devastated, and it kind of makes me feel good to see that she is so concerned. She hurries to the side of my hospital bed, and she leans over to give me a hug. She stays there; her arms draped over my shoulders. I smile and kiss her cheek.

“For real, man?” I hear the male nurse say, and I glare at him from over Sylvia’s shoulder –threatening him with my eyes if he opens his mouth. The man rolls his eyes and leaves the room. “Don’t be getting kinky in here.” He grumbles as he leaves.

Sylvia laughs, “What was that about?”

“I don’t know,” I lie, not wanting her to know someone else had been giving me a hand job not too long ago. I’m not really sure if she would care or not; it’s not like we’re exclusive or anything. We have just met.

She touches the top of my head where my bandage is and shakes her head. “You’re pretty banged up.” She gently touches my cheek, “Geeze, look at your nose!”

“Thanks,” I grumble. I sigh, “There are literally a million other things I should be doing right now. My brother is handling things, but he could make it worse if he’s not careful. I need to be talking to a lawyer. I’m sure the police are going to come knocking on my door too. I don’t know what to do. I can’t just sit here.”

“How long are you going to have to be here?” Sylvia asks.

“They want me to stay here again tonight since I live alone.” I roll my eyes, “I think I would be fine, but I have a mild concussion, I guess. I just can’t be here anymore. I’m losing my mind.”

“They just don’t want you to leave because you live alone?” She asks. She twirls some of her hair between her fingers and asks, “What if I stayed with you?”

Well, that was unexpected. “You would stay with me?”

“Well, you’re hurt. You really shouldn’t be by yourself right now, and it’s obvious you’re about ready to kill your nurse –and he seems willing to return the favor. I don’t have anything going on at work right now, so I could stay with you for a couple of days until you get back up on your feet.” She smiles, but she seems nervous by her suggestion.

“You would really do that for me?” I ask. She simply nods and smiles.

I could kiss her. I smile at the thought of having her back home with me after our night had been interrupted. I would love to have her all to myself for a couple of days playing nurse. I agree, and I think her repeatedly. They won’t let me work or anything here, so at least from home, I could be more reachable in the event Eddie needs me. Soon we are talking to the doctor, and after a few hours, I am finally being released.

They roll me out in a wheelchair, not that I can’t walk –but it’s some sort of company policy. Sylvia has her car with her, so she drives me home. My car is probably in the dump; that’s something else I’m going to have to deal with… that is probably something that I could probably have my assistant take care of. While I chat up my assistant on the phone, Sylvia is kind enough to go with me to pick up my prescriptions before the two of us head to my penthouse apartment.

As soon as we’re in the door, she gets me to lay down in bed and take my medicines. She makes me lunch, and I’m really thankful for that. The food I’ve had at the hospital was just awful. I’m really surprised to see that she can cook. She had apparently gone grocery shopping when she found out I had been in an accident in expectation of cooking me a get-well-soon meal. For lunch, I enjoy a chicken cordon bleu, homemade mashed potatoes, and home cooked steamed green beans. I feel like I’m eating like a king.

She keeps me company, and we do a lot of talking. Deep talking. Like, really deep. I’m surprised. I did not realize she was so smart. Honestly, I sort of just assumed she was all looks. Éclair is the only other woman I know who has both beauty and brains. Every other woman I’ve ever talked to have pretty much just been pretty or sexy. Sylvia has so much more to talk about: life, literature, history, and so many other subjects make their way into our conversation. Soon it takes a new turn, and our intellectual talk turns into flirtatious behavior.

At first, I don’t notice it myself, but she keeps giggling at me. Eventually, I realize my words are slightly slurred. Must be the medication. Soon Sylvia is taking out the pills to confirm, “Yup. Extreme drowsiness is pretty much a side effect on every one of these.” She laughs, “You can take a nap. You probably need it.”

“No,” I say and convince her to sit on the side of the bed. I put my arms around her waist and pulled her close, “I’m not tired.” I yawn. Damn it. She laughs, clearly thinking I'm hilarious. I am so desperate to get this woman in bed; it’s ridiculous. “Come on,” I say, “I h-aaa-te…” I can’t make words without concentrating, “I hate that our night got inter-interrupted.” I am seeing double. There is no way I am letting myself fall asleep. I have every intention of having sex with her this time, so I fight the drowsiness that I am feeling.

Sylvia laughs and leans forward, teasing me. She kisses my lips and cheek and neck. She works her way down to my chest. She knows I’m about out; I can tell that she is not expecting us to have sex right now, but I am hell bent on proving her wrong.

My eyes droop… oh for crying out loud –wake up, you idiot! She keeps teasing me. I touch her breasts and then work my hand that is not in a sling down so that I can take her top off. My fingers feel numb, and it is taking way too much concentration to find the hem of her shirt. She pushes on my chest, and I fall back into my pillows with little resistance. “You’re tired, James,” she tells me and gives me a peck on my cheek, “It’s okay. Go to sleep.”

My eyes shut, and I do everything I can to fight my sleep. Stupid pills. Soon I’m out cold.