by Erin Rylie
“He’s a grown man, Clara! He needs to recover at home, in Houston. You can’t just decide to take him to San Antonio. He wouldn’t want that.”
He tensed when he heard the venom in his mother’s voice. “And who are you to make decisions for him? He’s never even mentioned your name to me. You’re not family, you’re not his girlfriend, you’re nobody.”
When he heard Kelsey suck in a sharp breath, he knew he needed to intervene. He let out a loud sigh and fluttered his eyelids as though he were just waking up. At the sound of footsteps approaching his bed, he knew his ruse had been successful. He groaned and smacked his lips, slowly opening his eyes once more. Though his vision was still fuzzy, and he was definitely seeing double, he could make out Kelsey’s auburn hair and fine figure.
A smile formed on his lips automatically. “If I’d known all it took was a brain injury to get such a hot nurse, I would’ve gotten into an accident much sooner.” His voice was hoarse with disuse, and the words felt as though they were spoken through gravel in his throat, but it was all worth it to see the smile on Kelsey’s face.
“You’re such a perv, Carlos,” she laughed, the melodic sound warming him from the inside out. His mother coughed nearby, ruining their moment soundly.
“Mijo,” she said, her voice was sugar sweet, never a good sign. “I was just telling your...friend here that you need to come back to San Antonio to recover with your family.”
Hell no. There was no way he could handle weeks, maybe months of recovery in his mother’s house. The woman was exhausting and overbearing to an extreme degree. He remembered that he’d told Kelsey about her the first night they’d met and was touched at the knowledge that she remembered and was fighting for him to stay in Houston.
Over the past nine months, he and Kelsey had gone from lovers to nothing at an alarming rate. He still remembered their conversation the morning after they’d slept together. He had been about to ask her on a real date, something he rarely did, when she’d cut him off and told him that they should forget their night together had ever happened. Forget. As if he could forget the best night of sex he’d ever had. He would never get the sounds of Kelsey’s moans out of his mind, would never be able to erase the way it had felt when she’d come and her tight pussy had gripped his cock like a goddamn vise. Just thinking about it now had him half hard in his itchy hospital gown.
Over the months that had followed he’d tried his hardest to change her mind. Hell, he didn’t even just want to fuck her—he wanted to actually be with her. Every time he tried to talk to her about it she either shut him down completely or ignored him. Eventually, he’d gotten the message and backed off, choosing to sleep his way through as many women as it took to forget Kelsey.
With their best friends getting together, they’d formed some semblance of a friendship, but it was tenuous at best, and Carlos was so grateful she was here, fighting his mother for him. Not even Rafe knew about his turbulent relationship with Clara; it wasn’t something he discussed very openly.
“Mom, I’m not coming back to San Antonio. My life is here; Houston is my home now.”
His mother shook her head and gripped his hand. “No, mijo, you can’t stay here. You have three to six months of recovery for your leg and you’ll need some pretty strenuous physical therapy. You live alone in Houston. Who will help you get around the house?”
He was beginning to get frustrated, and the pounding in his head wasn’t helping matters. Kelsey jumped in before he could respond. “I’ve told you this, Clara. I work from home. Carlos can come stay with me and my son. Sophie lives with Rafe now so I have an extra bedroom at the house. It makes the most sense for Carlos, and Houston has one of the best medical centers in the country.”
He saw his mother’s features tighten as she fought the urge to snap at Kelsey. This was her true nature—she was sweet as can be until she didn’t get her way, and then she lashed out at whomever happened to be nearby.
“And I’ve told you, my son needs to be with family. Not some tramp he’s probably fucked a few times.”
Carlos was fed up, and though it hurt like nobody’s business, he sat himself up in the hospital bed. “ENOUGH!” he shouted, his vocal chords and head protesting. “You have no right to speak to Kelsey that way, Mother. She’s a friend and has been nothing but helpful. She also happens to be right. I will not be going back to San Antonio.”
Tears formed in his mother’s eyes and it was a real struggle for Carlos not to sigh. Manipulation tactic number two: turn on the waterworks. They weren’t real tears—the woman rarely actually cried. She was, however, a master at making herself cry when she needed to drive a point home. If being sweet didn’t work, and arguing failed to get her what she wanted, she would play the martyr. He was beginning to think that the worst thing about this injury was his mother’s presence in the hospital.
He’d moved to Houston fifteen years ago, the moment he had graduated high school. Since then, he’d only driven back to visit for the necessary holidays and his mother’s birthday. She could try, but it was hard to be overbearing and manipulative from an entirely different city.
Big, fat tears ran down her face and she heaved a dramatic sigh. Glancing over at Kelsey, he saw that she was rolling her eyes. Clearly, his mother had tried this tactic already.
“Mijo, I was so scared. You could have died. I just want to—” she let out a dramatic wail and broke off her sentence.
Carlos heaved a heavy sigh; his mother was truly exhausting. He knew though that if he gave in and went home with her to recover, she would guilt him into staying in San Antonio. The woman was a master manipulator, and he wasn’t in the mood to deal with it anymore. Lowering his eyelids as though he were tired, Carlos let out a big yawn and settled back into the pillows behind him.
“Mom, I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll go back to sleep. Do you two mind giving me a little privacy?”
His mother’s eyes softened, and he hated that he couldn’t tell if her concern was feigned or genuine. “Of course, mijo. I think I’ll go back to the hotel and get some rest too. Lord knows I could use a shower.”
She walked over and kissed Carlos on the cheek, but he didn’t miss the glare she shot Kelsey as she did so. Before Kelsey could follow his mother out the door, he stopped her with a hand on her wrist. The shock that zinged through him at the contact was overwhelming.
Shit, I’ve missed touching this woman.
For the first time in months, she didn’t pull away from his touch, and the allowed contacted bolstered him. He was so grateful she was here—he honestly wasn’t aware she cared so much.
“Thank you for helping me with her. I’m so sorry if she’s said anything shitty.”
Kelsey shrugged. “She’s nothing I can’t handle, Carlos. Besides, you did warn me about her the night we met.”
“Well, you may as well get used to her now. One of these days I’m going to talk you into marrying me, and she’ll be your mother-in-law.”
Kelsey laughed, “Keep dreaming, buddy. Buttering me up will get you nowhere.”
“It’s cute that you think I’m kidding. I have a whole plan, you know. I’m going to get you knocked up and force a shotgun wedding on you.”
“How strong are the painkillers they’re giving you? Clearly you’re delusional. There is no way Houston’s most notorious manwhore is going to give up all that ass. I can hear badge bunnies all over the city mourning the loss of your dick already.”
Carlos laughed, wincing at the lingering pain in his head as he did so. “You’re good for a man’s ego, Kels. The badge bunnies will just move on to the next guy. Losing me and Rafe in one year might be too much for them to handle though. You think we can postpone this wedding for another year or so?”
Carlos knew he’d gone too far the moment the words had left his lips. He watched jealousy flicker across her features before she hid it. The first time he’d made her jealous, it had given him hope for a future between them. He’d learned pretty damn q
uickly though that jealous or not, she refused to let him in.
Kelsey pushed what sounded like a forced laugh past her lips. “I wouldn’t want to be responsible for hundreds of upset badge bunnies. Maybe we should postpone it indefinitely.”
He made his lips tip up, determined to hide how much her actions and words bothered him. “Yeah, you’re right. Wouldn’t want to tarnish my bachelor reputation. I’m way too hot to settle down so young.”
She frowned and he hated the expression on her features. She should be happy always. Before he could find a way to make her laugh, she was making her way to the door. “I need to go check on James; he’s staying with Kyle for a few days. I’m glad you’re awake and feeling okay.”
Kelsey bolted from the room without even giving Carlos a chance to speak up. He let out a long sigh and fell back against the pillow. He could never seem to say the right thing around her.
A light touch pulled him back to consciousness sometime later, and Carlos cracked his eyes open to take in the face of a young man he didn’t recognize.
“Good Morning, Mr. Ramirez. I’m sorry to wake you, but I need to check on your concussion and go over the details of your injury with you.”
Carlos nodded groggily, scanning the room quickly and finding it empty of everyone save him and the doctor. Where was Kelsey? Had her voice been a figment of his imagination? Where was Rafe? He felt as though there was something he should be remembering about Rafe and Sophie, but his brain was fuzzy and he couldn’t pull the details from the fog in his mind.
He cleared his throat and tried to sit up, but felt the gentle touch of the doctor on his shoulder. “No need to sit up, Mr. Ramirez. I just need to examine your leg, and I wanted to talk to you about your injuries. I assume your family has filled you in, but you have a long few months ahead of you, so I thought we should go over that.”
“All right, doc, let’s get this over with. And for fuck’s sake, please stop calling me Mr. Ramirez—makes me sound like some boring ass stiff in a suit.”
“Fair enough. How about I call you Carlos and you can call me Colin.”
“Deal. Now tell me what I’m in for. None of that sugar-coating bullshit either.”
Colin nodded. “When you were brought in, you were unconscious with what we determined was a grade two concussion. While not the most severe type of concussion, it’s pretty serious. You’ll need to be careful over the next few weeks and be sure to come straight back to the hospital if you experience any seizures. You’ll probably be dizzy for a while, and can expect some ear ringing, a change in your sleep patterns, balance issues, difficulty concentrating, sensitivity to light, and possibly some nausea and vomiting.”
“Oh is that all? Sounds like a fucking walk in the park. Can’t wait.”
“I wish I could stop there, but the concussion will be the least of your concerns. You fractured the main shaft of your femur. It’s a pretty serious injury and will take three to six months minimum to recover. We had to perform open reduction surgery to realign your bones, and we inserted a long metal rod through the middle of the bone to ensure it heals properly. We’re going to have to put you on blood thinners to avoid blood clots, and you’re going to have some intense physical therapy to go through.”
Fuck, fuck, FUCK.
Months of healing time? Shit, could he even walk right now? How the hell was he going to work? His job was everything to him—everything. Sure, he could afford to miss work for a few months—he had plenty of vacation time saved up and had squirreled away enough money to live off of for a while, but he loved his job. He knew he’d go stir-crazy without it. He realized that the doctor was still talking and internally shook himself out of his daze.
“I’m sorry, doc, can you repeat that last part?”
“I said if you live alone, you may want to consider asking a friend to stay over for a few weeks. You’re going to need help getting around while the injury heals. I’ve asked a physical therapist to stop by tomorrow morning to speak with you about recovery.”
The doctor pulled back the sheet covering Carlos’s lower body and began to unwrap the bandaging on his thigh.
“Shit, man, buy a guy a drink first. You’re awfully close to the family jewels.”
Before he could make another smart remark, the doctor touched the stitches on his leg and Carlos howled in pain.
Shit, that hurt.
“The stitches look good; you’re healing up just fine. Make sure you come back in to get the stitches removed in seven to ten days.”
Colin was covering Carlos’s leg back up when the door to his hospital room opened and his best friend’s head popped in.
“Thought I heard someone screaming like a little bitch in here. I figured I should come in and make sure you didn’t need someone to hold your hand.”
Though Rafe joked, Carlos could see the tension in his features and knew his friend had been worried. Feeling the need to lighten the mood, Carlos did what he did best and joked right back.
“You wanna see how much of a little bitch I am?” he asked, grabbing his junk to emphasize his point.
“I already told you, man, I want nothing to do with your micro-penis. Keep that tiny thing away from me.”
“Hey, if you need to tell yourself I have a tiny dick, go for it. I can only imagine how depressing it must be to look down every day and see something so small between your legs.”
Rafe laughed and turned to the doctor, sticking his hand out. “You deserve a medal or a Nobel Prize for putting up with this jackass. My name is Rafe. I’m, unfortunately, his partner on the force.”
As Colin reached to shake Rafe’s hand, the door opened again as Kelsey popped her head in. When she saw Rafe and the doctor, she started to back out of the room.
“Sorry to intrude, one of the nurses told me you were awake. I’ll come back later.”
The last thing Carlos wanted was for her to leave, but his words evaded him as he drank her in. Her long hair was piled on top of her head, and though she wore no makeup, she looked stunning. Her blue eyes were filled with worry for him, her cheeks flushed as though she’d rushed to the room upon hearing he was awake again. She was wearing army green yoga pants that hugged the curve of her long legs, and a white V-neck shirt that hinted at cleavage he desperately wanted to see.
Before he could ask her to stay, his doctor beat him to it. “No need to leave, I’m done examining him. I’m Dr. Montgomery by the way.”
Kelsey stuck her hand out and introduced herself, but Carlos was unable to focus on what they were saying, his attention instead landing on the glint in his doctor’s eyes as he and Kelsey talked. Was his doctor fucking flirting with her in his damn hospital room?
What. The. Fuck.
He turned back to the conversation just in time to hear Colin ask Kelsey if she wanted to get some coffee in the cafeteria. Before Kelsey could respond, Rafe jumped in and saved the day.
“Actually, I would love to have coffee with you and discuss Carlos’s recovery, if that’s okay with you?”
Kelsey looked between Rafe and Colin with a furrow in her brow, clearly trying to figure out why Rafe had hijacked her hospital date. She glanced at Carlos and whatever she saw in his expression cleared the confusion from her gaze.
“You two go, I’ll take a rain check. I really need to talk to Carlos about a few things.”
Carlos couldn’t help the triumphant smirk he gave his doctor as he left the room with Rafe instead of Kelsey. Before closing the door and leaving him alone with Kelsey, Rafe threw a wink Carlos’s way. Damn, he was a good best friend; maybe Carlos should stop making small-dick jokes.
“So do you want to tell me what that wink was about?” Kelsey asked, pulling a chair up to his bedside and pouring him some water.
He took the cup gratefully, downing the contents to give himself time to think. As the cool water flowed down his throat, soothing the soreness there, he looked at Kelsey over the rim of the cup. He was pleased to note that her eyes followed the muscl
es of his throat as he swallowed, and her hands curled in on themselves as though she were restraining herself from reaching for him.
Finishing the cup of water, he handed it back to her, still unable to reach the bedside table without making himself uncomfortable. He shrugged. “Rafe and I made plans to sword fight in the bathroom later. The wink was just his way of confirming.”
Kelsey hummed, a slight smirk pulling up the corner of her lips. “So I wanted to talk to you about your recovery. I think you should stay with me until you can walk alone.”
Carlos fought to keep the frustration out of his tone when he responded, “I don’t need to stay with anyone while I recover. I’m a grown ass man, I can take care of my fucking self, thank you.”
Damn, he loved the fire in her eyes as she prepared to argue with him. “Don’t be an idiot, Carlos. You can’t even walk right now. You need help for a while.”
He scoffed, “You just want to help me bathe and change, is that it? You want to see me in all of my naked glory.”
A faint blush touched Kelsey’s cheeks as his words really sunk in. If he stayed with her, she would indeed need to help him get into the tub. He couldn’t even walk; there was no way he would be able to get his injured leg over the lip of a tub for a few weeks at least.
“Did you know that the average shower lasts thirteen minutes?”
Carlos knew that when Kelsey got nervous, she spouted off random facts. He’d noticed that they pertained to history most of the time, but when she was particularly flustered, she tended to blurt out whatever random thing popped into her head. It was honestly one of her most endearing qualities. His favorite thing about it was that it was her tell. He loved knowing when he made her nervous.
“Sounds like that’s thirteen minutes a day you get to ogle me.”
Kelsey huffed an exasperated sigh and pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes, tucking it back into the bun on the top of her head. “We’re getting off topic here. Rafe and Sophie just had their baby, so you can’t stay with them, and I just took over the lease at Sophie’s house, so I have an extra bedroom.”