"Good morning."

I smiled tentatively at Gabe. He looked impossibly handsome, stretched out on the couch with a book. I noticed his chair was gone.

"Oh, you graduated!"

I frowned, tilting my head. I'd only been gone a day. What was going on?

"Did you get the go ahead for the walker?"

He tapped a cane leaning against the couch.

"No walker."

"Gabe... are you sure that's a good idea?"

He just raised an eyebrow at me.

"I thought you were just my aid. Not my doctor. And not my girlfriend. Right?"

"I'm sorry about yesterday. I told you-"

He went back to reading his book and I stopped, staring at him in shock. He was ignoring me completely. Where was the guy who was all over me, chasing me all over the damn town?

I'd stayed up all night, talking to Jackie in Paris. She was thrilled that I'd finally lost my V card. Beyond that though, I hadn't told anyone else. Or told Jacks exactly how scared I was about my feelings for Gabe.

I turned away and started organizing his pills. I noticed his pain meds were also gone. What the heck had happened here yesterday?

I was about to ask him when I caught him staring at me. He looked away so fast, that I knew he was up to something. Was he only pretending to ignore me?

Either way, I didn't like it.

But if he was going to keep his distance, so would I. I knew it was for the best. Until I didn't work for him, anything else was off limits. And after that, one or both of us would be long gone from this town anyway.

The fantasy of the two of us as more than friends was pretty much a lost cause.

"What are you going to do? Next, I mean?"

He set his book down and looked at me.

"That sounds like a dangerously personal question, Miss."

I rolled my eyes. I couldn't tell if he was being funny, or if he was pissed off at me. Probably both. He was annoyed with me for telling him no funny business anymore, that much was obvious.

Gabe definitely did not like it when he didn't get his way. And he wanted me in his bed.

I blushed, thinking about what we'd done together, less than 36 hours ago.

What we'd done twice.

"Never mind. Sorry I asked."

"If you must know, I was thinking of opening up my own place. Maybe a cafe somewhere down the coast."

I looked at him, surprised. Cooking? Gabe? Serving coffee?

But... it sounded nice.

"Oh." I nodded to myself, not sure what to say. "I'll be right back with your lunch."

I put a tray together and was setting it down when he came out of the bathroom. He was on two feet, standing tall but favoring one leg. It was impossible to ignore the grimace on his gorgeous face.

"Are you okay? Let me get the chair-"

"No. I got this."

He made it across the room without looking too bad. But he moaned as he sat down on the couch. I was by his side in an instant.

"You are doing too much, too soon!"

He shrugged.

"Maybe if you rubbed it..."

I bit my lip and nodded, pushing the tray out of the way. He leaned back and watched me as I sat beside him.

"We should really do this in shorts."

He shook his head, making an odd sound. I shrugged and reached for his leg.

"It won't be as effective."

His thigh muscles felt good under my hand. Thick and strong. He hadn't lost much tone since his injury. That was good...

He grunted and I looked up.

"Does that hurt?"

He shook his head and I went back to focusing on what I was doing.

It was important to get the blood moving with a brisk rub but not to overstimulate the tissues. Adding the magnesium and castor oil would only increase the benefits.

I tried another angle that had me kneeling on the floor between his thighs. I was so focused on what I was doing that it took me a moment to realize how heavily he was breathing. Gabe let out a low growl and I froze. I just happened to glance down at that moment.

Gabe was hard.

Not just a little hard either.

His massive cock was pushing up, clearly outlined against his worn in jeans. I could see the thick, long shape of it. I could feel it giving off actual heat.

To call it a bulge would be an understatement. It wasn't even a tent.

It was a mountain.

"Gabe!"

His eyes were closed.

"Hmmm... that's nice Tabby... keep going..."

"But- you're- I can't!"

He cracked one eye and looked at me.

"I'm what?"

"You're erect!"

He just shrugged like it was no big deal.

"It's natural."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm relaxed. Nothing more. You know, when you are a nurse, this sort of thing is going to happen. Old guys. Sponge baths. Teenagers. Guys get wood. It's natural."

He leaned back and closed his eyes again.

"That's what I meant."

I was still between his legs on the floor. I felt stupid. But he was right- it wasn't that crazy that a massage would create... arousal. It didn't mean it was because of me.

Slowly, I reached out and started rubbing him again. He made a low sound of appreciation. Then another.

Then he groaned like I was doing him!

"Hmmmffff... fuck, that feels good, baby..."

"Gabe!"

My cheeks were bright red. He was making sounds like he did when we were in bed together. When we'd- when he'd- oh!

I was so embarrassed I almost left the room. But I wouldn't be doing my job then would I? He had to eat and take his pills now.

And I couldn't leave him here alone. I was getting paid to be here.

Gabe knew it too.

He was trying to prove a point or something. Prove that we couldn't undo what had happened between us.

But all he'd done was make me feel like a whore.

I stood up and walked across the room, trying to hide my tears. I put his pills into a small cup and waited until I heard the sounds of him eating. Then I carried the cup over and set it down.

I didn't meet his eyes. I didn't sit down. I went to the bathroom like a coward. I splashed cold water on my face, not looking at the mirror. I was afraid of what I would see. I sat on the edge of the tub, praying for strength.

And waited.

And waited.

When I came out Gabe was standing by the sliding doors. He was using the walker this time though, keeping his injured leg slightly bent. I frowned, realizing he must have been showing off with the cane earlier.

For me.

I shook my head. He didn't need to do that. He knew what he was. Who he was. He was strong.

Not like me.

I still had everything to prove to this town. The world.

Myself.

"You okay? I thought you fell in."

He was facing me, using the walker to come closer. I skittered around him to get his tray. I had meant to ask him why he was off his pain meds, but I didn't.

I wasn't a very good caregiver.

Not today.

I managed to avoid talking to him the rest of the day. He tried. He even tried to touch my arm when I brought him a protein shake a few hours later.

I exhaled in relief when I heard his mother come in a little early. This hell could be over a little sooner then. I could escape and lick my wounds. I wonder what advice Jackie would have for me now.

The moment the clock struck five, I ran.