Chapter 17

Reese

 

 

It had been two weeks since Trent’s injury and thankfully, he seemed to be getting stronger. I sat in his room as he showered. Looking around, I decided to straighten up a bit. Granted, thanks to Lily, it wasn’t a mess, but there were a few drawers that needed to be closed, a sock or three that had seemed to have missed the hamper’s opening, and a couple empty water bottles on his bedside table.

Once the dresser and hamper were situated, I gathered the water bottles and saw the discharge papers. Wondering if there was anything special he should be doing two-weeks into the injury, and knowing that he had given me permission to read the information, I flipped the page to the assessment section.

My eyes scanned what I already knew. An instant smile spread across my face when I realized he’d be able to ditch the crutches soon. Not so much for me, but for him. I knew Trent disliked them. One thing about the man, even depending on two metal walking assistants annoyed him.

There was a section about concussions, which reminded me that I needed to ask him if he had been getting headaches. Then my heart slammed into my ribcage. The doctor at the hospital told him he couldn’t play football for six to nine months? Trent hadn’t mentioned that to me. I glanced at the bathroom door suddenly feeling as though I had invaded his privacy.

Setting the papers down, I plopped onto the edge of the bed, ignoring the empty bottles toppling to the floor. I didn’t know how many minutes had passed, but when the door opened, Trent stood there, bare chested, towel hanging low around his waist, wearing a gold necklace I never noticed before, and his hair damp, making him look sexier than normal.

Not saying a word, my gaze trespassed all over his body, enjoying the view, but when it landed on his knee, I remembered what I’d just read.

“Hey, everything okay? You have a weird look on your face.” He tucked the crutches under his arms and swung them my way. Trent glanced down and with his right crutch, pointed to the empty water bottles. “Reese?”

“Sorry.” I leaned down and picked up the bottles, setting them on the table where they had been. Of course that packet grew lips and told me to come clean, which I did. “I… why didn’t you tell me your doctor said you couldn’t play ball for six to nine months?”

Trent’s face reddened, his skin sprouted goose bumps, and I knew it hadn’t been because it was still a tad damp. “She isn’t my doctor and doesn’t get the privilege to assess me. That is why the Rockets have a medical staff. They know what’s best for me. Not a doctor who has known me for a minute. I’m not saying she isn’t qualified, I’m sure she is very good at her job, but her assessment is wrong.”

I’d never heard the smug tone in his voice before. “Okay, what did your therapist say?”

“That I’m getting stronger. I can ditch these things”—he nudged his crutches forward—“in a couple of days. Everything is on schedule. Maybe I’ll send Dr. Locke tickets to opening day.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

His head dropped forward. When he looked up, those wispy hairs laid haphazardly on his forehead. “No, I’m sorry. I sound like a jerk. It’s just… she’s wrong. I’ll be fine.”

All I could do was agree with him. First, I was the furthest thing from a medical professional. Second, I knew the tenacity players had. They weren’t immortal, but they were definitely stronger than the average Joe. I took a step forward and could feel the heat radiating off him. The scent of his soap surrounded me and now it was my skin that prickled.

“No, apologies. I’m the one who’s sorry.” My focus landed on his necklace and the charm that hung from it. A pattern was embossed in the center, but I didn’t know what it was.

Trent must have read my mind. “It’s the path of life. When I left for the pros, my mom got it for me. It was very difficult for me to leave her. She was in remission, but it terrified me that the cancer could come back and do a worse toll on her. At the same time, she felt badly that I didn’t want to go to DC any longer.”

“You didn’t?”

“Not really. I wanted to be closer to her. It was something I struggled with. The day I needed to give my answer, was the day she gave me this.” He fingered the charm between his finger and thumb. “She said it was a reminder that even though she wasn’t with me physically, I wasn’t alone. She was with me.” He shook his head. “Not going to lie, it freaked me out a bit. Almost sounded ominous when she had meant it to be the opposite. Anyway, when we played in San Diego, the clasp broke. I was at her house, she insisted I get it fixed. I just got it back.”

Tears filled my eyes hearing the story. And for some strange reason unbeknownst to me, I leaned forward and kissed his charm, letting my lips graze his chest. Leaning back, I tilted my head and smiled at him. “That’s really beautiful.”

“Yes, it is.”

Our eyes locked, and after regaining my composure, I asked, “What do you want to do today?”

He waggled his brows and despite feeling desperately turned on by the Adonis in front of me, I shook my head. “Fine,” he conceded. “Let me get dressed, and I suppose we can watch a movie.”

“A sappy one?”

“Is there any other kind?” I laughed, happy that Trent’s sarcasm had returned. Either that or he was growing to like romance movies. Whichever one it was, I’d take it. Spending this much time with him had become something I looked forward to. “What’s that look for?”

Shaking my head, I couldn’t come up with an answer that made any sense. Then again, opting for the truth had always been my go-to. “I’m just wondering how I could have been so wrong.” A sudden wave of sadness and disappointment in myself settled in my heart.

He kissed the top of my head. “You can make it up to me when I’m healed.” I returned his salacious grin with one of my own. “Now, let’s get out of this room before I toss these crutches and throw you onto the bed.”

An image of the two of us popped in my head. If I were a selfish person who didn’t care about the ramifications to his injury, I would have taken him up on that offer. But for now, the visual and promise of things to come would need to suffice.

“Okay, let’s go. We wouldn’t want to miss the start of our movie marathon.”

Trent chuckled. “Nope. Wouldn’t want to miss that.”

We made our way down the stairs, something that Trent had quickly mastered. I knew for sure that if I had an immobilizing brace on, I’d have a hard enough time walking, let alone navigate eighteen steps.

We took our respective places on the sofa and flicked the television on. After about two hours, and before the second movie started, I went into the kitchen, made a quick dinner, brought it back to the family room, and handed Trent his plate.

“Thanks, this looks great.” He lifted his steak and cheese sandwich and took a generous bite. “Wow, so good.”

I nodded. “It’s one of my granddad’s favorites. Speaking of which, when I was at his office the other day, he invited us both over for dinner when you’re feeling up to it. I meant to tell you at the bakery when I saw you, but the frenzy of fans ensued, and I forgot.”

“I’d love to have dinner with your grandparents. What does he think of us?”

Before answering, I took a sip of my water. I hadn’t really said much to Granddad about Trent and me. Just that we were getting to know one another and were friends. Going for lighthearted, I lifted my sandwich and before taking a bite, I nonchalantly said, “He knows I no longer want to slap you, if that’s what you mean.”

“Another bonus. So he doesn’t know that when I look at his granddaughter all I want to do is kiss her, strip her down, and make love to her until she becomes a Rocket—” he winked, giving the word a new meaning in my brain—“fan.”

All I could do was chew and stare. No, that wasn’t all I did. My dumb eyes wandered down to the basketball shorts he was wearing. When he chuckled, I finally spoke. “I definitely don’t think you should say any of those things.”

The laughing ceased and those gorgeous eyes of his met mine. “Even if I mean them?”

“Especially if you mean them.”

“Noted. All sex aside, I would like to go if you’d like me to.”

I nodded. “At least we won’t need to travel far, so that’s a bonus.”

Imagining Trent sharing a meal with my family didn’t seem to scare me. I’d never really taken a boy, or in his case man, to meet my grandparents. Aside from a casual date who had to come to the house when I was a teenager, Trent would be the first one. And for some reason, I was happy about that.