Chapter Eight — Marissa
When I get to the emergency room and finally get in to see Ben, he doesn't look so good. His face is almost as white as the starched hospital sheets, and he looks exhausted. His foot is up in a cast, in one of those ceiling slings so that he can't move it. But he smiles when he sees me, and I can't help smiling in return.
“Hey Ben,” I say, making my way over to the bed. “How are you feeling?” I could kick myself for saying that—he has to be feeling as bad as he looks, I'm sure.
But he shrugs one shoulder, his grin widening. “I'm not really feeling anything,” he tells me. “They've got me on some crazy painkillers.”
“That's...good,” I tell him uncertainly.
“I'm glad you came to see me,” Ben says. “You're like my guardian angel or something.”
I snort. “If I'm your guardian angel, I'm doing a pretty bad job at it. The doctors say-” I cut myself off before I can say too much because I don't know what they've told him already. I don't know if he really realizes he'll be out for the rest of the season yet… And I definitely don't want to be the one to break that news to him, if he doesn't already know it!
“What do the doctors say?” Ben demands.
“That you're going to be fine,” I say soothingly, reaching out to smooth back his hair.
Ben rolls his eyes. “Well of course I'm going to be fine, Marissa,” he says. “You've seen me; I'm practically invincible.”
I can't help but laugh at that. “You are, are you?” I ask.
“Oh come on, babe, don't try to fight it. You know you can't resist me.”
I give him a full once over and arch an eyebrow at him. “Pretty sure I can,” I say. It's both easier and more difficult to deal with him when he's laid up in the hospital bed like this. Part of me wants to protect him, to kiss him and make everything better. But I also know that I can walk away at any time and he can't push me.
Ben reaches out and catches my hand, pulling me down towards the bed. “I want a kiss,” he says, as though echoing my thoughts. “Come on, no one's watching. And I played such a great game for you.”
I pull back a little, uncertain, glancing around the room. It's empty except for us, but that doesn't mean that no one can walk in, and it doesn't mean there aren't...cameras or whatever. I wouldn't put it past the paparazzi to rig up cameras in every room in the hospital just so they could spy on Ben in the eventuality of a situation like this.
“Babe,” Ben whines, tugging a little at my hand, which is still grasped in his warm, strong palm. Even doped up on painkillers and kind of out of it like he is, he's still stronger than me, and I fall forwards, putting out a hand on his chest, feeling how firm and muscular it really is.
“How about this?” I ask, backpedalling desperately. I sit down in the chair at the side of his bed, but I don't have the heart to pull my hand away from his. “I'll sit here while you take a quick nap,” I tell him. “And then when you're feeling less...drugged out, I'll give you a kiss that you'll remember.” I figure it's safe enough to say that since there's no way he's going to remember this later.
Ben pouts a little. “I'd remember it now,” he insists. “I could never forget a kiss from you...”
I blush and duck my head. “Well, let's just-”
“Please, Marissa,” he pleads, and I blink, taken aback. I never would that thought that Ben Price would be pleading for me to kiss him.
Most girls would kill to be in my position.
After a moment of thought, I stand up, as though I'm practically sleepwalking, and bend over, pressing my lips to his. It's okay if he's not going to remember it anyway, right? If there's no one there to see me. If…
I lose track of my thoughts, concentrating on the way his soft, slightly feel as they're pressed against mine. He's dominating even like this, pressing his tongue into my mouth without a moment of hesitation, drawing a gasp out of me. I consider pushing him away, like I did the last time he kissed me, but I want to give myself this little indulgence, when I know there's no harm in it anyway.
I let him continue to kiss me sweetly, trying not to whimper as he first nips at my lower lip and then sucks gently at it. When he finally pulls away though, I'm absolutely breathless, and I sit back hard in the bedside chair.
Ben smiles at me, and I can't stop myself from shakily smiling back at him. I want this so badly, but I know I'm not allowed to have it. Unfortunately, that only makes me want it more…
But I know I need to get out of there before I do something that I'll regret. I wait until Ben's eyes finally slip closed and he passes out cold. Then, I go out into the hall to call Mark and tell him the bad news: that the Kings' star player will be out for the rest of the season. The press are about to have a field day over this one—I'm sure there will be all sorts of speculations about whether Ben will be traded and things like that—and I need to push romantic thoughts of him out of my mind if I want to be useful to my department.