Page 55 of Coming Home
“Anything to get a pretty girl in your bed, huh? You’re sounding like quite the player, sir.”
“I saidthepretty girl. There’s only one and it’s a specific one… Now, can I take a shower? I got all sweaty at work and I can't sleep like this.”
“You can, but I'm not sure if you can stand that long. You shouldn’t put any weight on that knee.”
“So… what am I supposed to do?” I grip the back of my neck and stare at her. I can't stay sweaty until my leg heals.
“I’ll help you.” She lifts her shoulder in a shrug.
Charlie disappears into the bathroom, leaving me wondering what’s going to happen next. I don’t know what she means when she said she’ll help me. How is she going to help?”
“Alright, I think I got everything you could need. C’mon.”
She helps me stand and as soon as I'm able to balance on one leg, she wraps an arm around my waist.
“Use me tosupport your weight.”
“You’re like half my size. You can't do this, sweetheart. Can I have the crutches?”
“Yes.” She hurries to grab the crutches and helps me tuck them under my arms.
I take my time getting into the bathroom. I’ve never had to use crutches before and I'm not thrilled with the idea. I'm scared I'll somehow injure myself even more.
I'm lucky my shower doesn’t have a lip or anything. The tile is even with the rest of the bathroom floor and I’ve never been more thankful for that than I am right now.
“Now what?”
“Well, you need to get undressed, then I’ll take off the brace. I want it off last, then we’ll put it back on as soon as you’re done. I'm not risking anything happening to your knee. I’m going to have you healed and ready to play when the season starts.”
She slips her fingers under the hem of my shirt and slowly lifts. Her nails glide along my skin, setting my body on fire. I’ve been dreaming of her hands on me for the past eight years. I didn’t realize how much I missed it.
“How am I supposed to stand while I shower?”
“I'm coming in with you. You don’t have a shower chair and I'm not bringing a wooden chair into your shower.” She rolls her eyes.
“You don’t have to do that, Charlie,” I say softly.
“Stop it. You can either let me help you or I'm callingSmithy.”
“Smithy? Can't you call Leo or Cord? Anyone except Smithy.” I frown down at her.
“Fine. I’ll call Stubbs.”
“If you call Stubbs, I’ll never play baseball again because I’ll be in prison. Plus, I’ll end up rupturing this tendon that’s barely holding on. All of this will be for nothing.”
“Then I guess you better just rely on me, huh?” She grins up at me.
“Fine. You sure know how to take advantage of a situation to get your way, huh?”
She keeps pushing until my shirt is just below my armpits, I have to take one arm out at a time, using the crutches to keep me standing strong. Tugging the fabric off of my body, it gets thrown somewhere on the floor.
When Charlie reaches for the waistband of my shorts, she lifts her gaze to meet mine. She’s silently asking for permission, and I hate it. At this point in our lives, she should’ve seen me naked hundreds of times. We’d be working on our second or third baby, not living the single life.
“Charlie, wait,” I murmur.
“What’s wrong?” She stares up at me. I lean one crutch against the wall and use the other to lean on.
“This…” I snake my free arm around her waist and tug her body against mine. I lower my mouth and cover hers. I kiss her for the first time since we broke up and my entire world flips on its axis.