Chapter Fifteen
I was having the dream again.
My brain was having a hard time keeping it repressed, what with my body shaking from the chills. Damn fever.
I rolled over and closed my eyes, only to be haunted by the little boy’s face.
“Can I have your autograph?” he pleaded, jumping up and down.
I pulled out my black marker and crouched down to his level. “Dude, you can have my autograph and tickets for tomorrow’s game.”
“No way!” he shouted. “Dad, Dad, guess what?”
His dad mouthed a “Thank you” to me as a lone tear escaped his eye. I couldn’t look away from the raw pain just that one tear elicited.
“What’s your name?”
The little boy’s blue eyes widened. “Tyson! Tyson Montgomery!”
It was cute how he shouted his name, like he couldn’t believe he was actually telling it to me.
I quickly signed his Seahawks hat and then pulled out two tickets for the game. VIP. It was part of my bonus. I wanted tickets I could give out to people, but mainly I wanted tickets I could give to those who really needed to forget for a bit. Because that’s what football did for me.
It helped me forget my insane parents.
My crappy and lonely childhood.
It helped me forget that I was still lonely.
“Here you go.” I handed them over.
“Thank you.” His dad pumped my hand as I stood to my full height. “You don’t know what this means. His mom . . . she just passed, and . . .” His voice broke.
“It’s my pleasure.” I released his hand just as someone screamed in the distance.
“Watch out!” a man yelled just as a car came flying down the street, knocking over a hot dog stand and an NFL shop set outside the stadium.
I barely had time to react as the car made its way toward the little boy, who had moved down the line and was waiting for another autograph.
“Move!” I yelled.
My teammates ushered fans out of the way while the little boy stood dazed. The car made its way directly toward him.
“Move!” I screamed and then ran toward him, pushing him out of the way just as the car slammed into the left side of my body, lifting me into the air.
“Hey,” a female voice whispered as something cold dabbed my head. “It’s okay. You’re just feverish.”
I jolted awake, chest heaving, leg aching.
Blake pulled back a cold compress, her eyebrows knit with concern. “Are you okay?”
“You’re here.” Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Lex was going to kill me.
She was at my house.
We never allowed clients to come to our house. Ever.
I was sick, but not too sick to remember the rules I’d established. The same ones I’d just preached to Lex that I wasn’t breaking. And she wasn’t just in my house; she was in my bedroom. On my bed.
“I texted you. I even called.” Blake dipped the rag into ice water and wrung it out. “And you never responded. You’ve been out for almost twelve hours. I finally threatened Gabi, who then threatened Lex, who finally let me in the house after I threatened to burn it down.”
A laugh escaped between my lips before I could stop it. “That worried about me?”
“You?” She blinked. “Oh, I’m doing this for entirely selfish reasons. If I lose my love coach, I lose my love. Simple as that.” She winked.
Her wavy brown hair was pulled back into a loose braid. Soft pieces fell across her face, making me want to reach out and give them a little tug, or wrap them around my fingertips.
“Sorry.” I touched my face. I was slick with sweat. My hands moved down my shirt.
It was missing.
“And sorry about the clothes.” She didn’t blush. She was all business as she started piling pillows around me, fussing over my positioning, and grabbing another blanket. “You were a mess when I got here. Lex said you were making the final transition into a werewolf and not to freak if you lashed out and bit me. I hope he was kidding, because you look rough.”
I groaned. “I feel rough. And disgusting.”
Smiling, she pressed the rag to my face again. It felt so good. I let out a little moan and grabbed her wrist before I could stop myself.
She froze.
And I immediately regretted my actions. “Sorry.” I cleared my hoarse voice. “It just feels really good.”
“I’m glad.”
“You know what would make me even happier right now?”
“Soup?” she guessed.
“You in a hot nurse outfit. What are you? A curvy size four? Six? I think I have a few costumes in my closet if you want to—”
She flicked the rag at my face as water dripped down my neck. Chuckling, I tossed it off and was surprised to see her laughing with me.
Blake rolled her eyes. “You’re kind of a pig.”
“Right, but I’m more like one of those cute little pigs, you know, the teacup ones. Still a pig, but you can’t help but want to keep it forever because it’s so damn adorable.”
“Not where I was going with it.” She pulled off my blanket, exposing me to the freezing-cold room.
“Ahhhh,” I groaned. “Why are you torturing me?”
“Take off your pants.”
“What?” My body jerked with awareness so fast I nearly fell off the bed.
Blake sighed. “You’re disgusting.”
“Wow, thanks. I love you too.”
“Take off your pants. Now.”
“I’m disgusting, take off my pants. Can’t say I’ve ever had that type of reaction from a woman before. In bed nonetheless.”
Blake didn’t answer. She just marched toward the adjoining bathroom and turned on the tub.
My head started to pound all over again. With a muffled groan, I pressed my fingers to my temples.
“We have to get your fever down.” She was back in the room again. At least I think she was. Everything was going double. This was why I hated germs, and Gabi—in reverse order.
I waved Blake off. “Let me die.” The pounding worsened as my head rushed with heat.
“Never leave a man behind,” she joked. Then, with a tug, my jeans were off my body. Good. Not only was I helpless in front of the girl I wanted to get into bed, but she’d just stripped me naked and didn’t even gasp.
I was freeballing.
And still, no appreciative “Oh my.”
Damn it. I’d already lost before I even got put in the game.
“Up you go.” She helped me to my feet. Thankfully, she was an athlete, so she was strong. I knew I wasn’t helping her much, considering I kept stumbling as I tried to weave my way toward the tub.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked. Peering down at her, I saw three of her face. But she was still pretty, and in my feverish state I wanted nothing more than to kiss her, or just lean against her neck like a pathetic waste of humanity.
“Simple.” She smiled up at me. “Despite your bossiness and crude humor, I like you.”
Like “like me” like? Or just “hey, you’re a good friend” like? I nearly groaned aloud at my inner narration.
Good job, Ian. Maybe during recess you can have Lex pass her a note and have her circle which one.
“I like you too.” I smiled down at her.
“Then get in the bathtub.”
I stared her down in what I hoped was utter defiance and strength.
“Get in—before I make Lex come in here and carry you. And I have a really good reason to believe his bedside manner is like a grenade going off in your face.”
“How do you figure?”
“Easy. He went and checked in on Gabi once he found out how sick you were. He was with her all night, and there was a lot of shouting.”
“Lex?” I made my way to the side of the tub. “My best friend Lex? You should have called the police. He’s going to kill her.”
“She texted that she’s fine.”
“She’s feverish! Of course she’s fine! I’ve seen two unicorns and a flying elephant since we’ve made the trek from my bed to the bathroom.”
“Dumbo?” Blake laughed. “You saw Dumbo?”
“I was always terrified of big ears when I was little.” Why was I saying this out loud? Why? Why? Why, God? Why? But it just kept happening. “I think it was because they used to call me Big Ears, and then once the kids discovered Dumbo . . . it was the beginning of the end. I refused to even eat elephant ears, because I assumed that meant my ears would grow more. How sad, to miss out on the best part of the fair.”
“In you go,” Blake said, ignoring my elephant-ear comment.
Slowly, I lowered myself, with her help, into the tub, and screamed out obscenities I’m sure no lady of her nature should ever have to hear.
“Son of a bitch!” I screamed. “I hate you. I don’t like you anymore. I take it back. All of it. Get me out! Why is it so cold?”
“It’s not cold.” Blake held me down. “It just feels that way because you’re so hot. We have to get your fever down.”
“I’m always hot, Blake.” I slapped her hand against my forehead. “See? Feel? I’m healed. Miraculous recovery.” I winced as the throbbing pain continued, then nearly laughed my ass off as I saw an honest-to-God Dumbo fly out in front of me. “I just hate big ears. Why does nobody understand?”
“Big ears suck,” Blake joined in. “And so do fevers. So I need you to cooperate while I keep filling the tub, okay?”
I leaned back, teeth chattering. “Worst moment of my life. This is a close second.”
Blake turned to me, her eyes curious. “What’s the first?”
“When I almost died.”
She was silent.
“I just died in your arms tonight,” I sang as my eyes started to close. “The tub isn’t so bad, Blake.”
“I know.”
“I think we could be best friends. I only have two. I’m killing them off soon, though, so there’s a vacancy.”
“Good to know.”
“But you have to cook for me.”
Blake’s musical laughter made my body clench tight, but the cold water prevented any embarrassments. Wait, why was I in water? Why was Blake here?
“I cooked for my dad and brother all the time.”
“Really? Is your brother as pretty as you?”
Blake’s eyes softened. “He’s dead.”
“I’m sorry.” I reached blindly for her hand. I was so tired, but it was important to comfort her, just be there for her. I could tell in the way she suddenly slumped, as if forgetting all of the stages of her transformation from insecure to a confident woman. “Dying sucks.”
I didn’t know what else to say.
“Yeah.” She let out a chuckle and shook her head. “It really does, Ian.”
“Blake?”
“Yup.” She turned off the water with her free hand. I was still clutching the other.
“I like you.”
“I like you too.”
“Despite my big ears?”
“Because of your big ears.”
“That’s what all the ladies”—I yawned—“say.”
“Bet they do . . .”
The pounding started to subside. I don’t remember getting out of the tub, but I do remember the feel of Blake’s hand as I fell into a restful sleep.