Will tried to lay completely still. Why these bloody machines had to make so much noise, he had no idea. It was bad enough he was inside something that felt more like a coffin than a piece of medical equipment, but the noise made him want to run from the building and never look back.
And he knew right where he was going to run—just as soon as he got the hell out of here and finished with the team meeting. As it was, the trip to London had already taken far longer than he’d planned. The test had to be delayed because of a tour bus accident. Multiple injuries—many severe—had tied up the machines in the imaging department of the local hospitals for several days. Routine scans like his had been postponed.
His arm twitched as he tried not to think about how much longer he’d have to be in this thing.
“Mr. Darby.” The nurse spoke into a microphone from behind the glassed-in room inside the examination area, “I’m going to have to ask you to remain still.”
He sighed. “Sorry.”
She sounded annoyed. But that was pretty much how every test like this went. Over the last year, he’d had her administer more than a few scans. And it wasn’t like this was the first time today she’d had to ask him to stop wiggling. Maybe it was her age or just her demeanor, but he always felt like a naughty schoolboy getting scolded by the headmistress whenever she had to remind him to stop moving.
Lying still in one of these things felt like waiting for someone to close the lid on a casket. He took a deep breath, shut his eyes, and tried to think of anything else.
“Hey, Wills?” Simon’s voice sounded over the speaker.
“Yeah?”
“Just a little bit longer. Why don’t you try to check out for a bit and think about who’s waiting to see you after we’re done at the arena?”
Will made an affirmative-sounding noise, so Simon knew he’d heard him then he tried to picture Ivy.
In nearly any other situation, he’d be worried about getting a hard-on thinking about her. Especially since he was wearing nothing but a standard hospital issue gown. But this fucking machine and the claustrophobia that was turning his entire body clammy killed even the barest trace of arousal. He wasn’t sure that Ivy naked and writhing against him in this fucking tube would be enough to get him excited. Anywhere else, he’d be hard-pressed not to come at that thought.
“Just a little longer, Mr. Darby,” the nurse said. “Stay exactly like you are.”
He ignored her and pictured Ivy’s silvery gray eyes. He’d texted her to let her know that he wouldn’t be back as soon as he’d planned, but that he hadn’t forgotten about actively attempting to seduce her via crossword puzzles. She’d responded, but they’d mostly talked about the kids and seeing the family off at the airport. Her playfully flirtatious, yet tentative, manner seemed to have vanished. He’d wanted to ask her about it, but he hadn’t wanted to say anything that might cause her to leave before he saw her again.
He just wanted her to give them a chance. The chemistry between them was insane, and he knew he wasn’t the only one thinking about how much different—how much better—it would be now. That had been wildly apparent even before he’d kissed her. Christ, and once he’d kissed her, he’d known that whatever happened between them would be more intense than anything he’d ever experienced.
The table beneath him jerked as the gears started to move him out of the scanner, and he was pulled back to the present. As soon as he was out of the machine, he sat up and waited for the nurse to come in and go through all the post-test medical legalese.
She smiled at him as she entered. “I don’t know who you’re planning to see after your scan, but whoever it is must be amazing. That’s the stillest you’ve ever stayed for one of these.”
He couldn’t stop the smile if he’d wanted to, but he wasn’t about to volunteer Ivy’s name.
“Well, whoever it is, you should be sure to think of them during every test. They’ll go easier on everyone. Including you.”
“I’ll remember that.”
She handed him a clipboard, and he signed the medical release form that would allow Simon to receive copies of the scans as well as the radiologist’s notes.
“You should have the results in a week or so. Now, be careful with that knee. I want to see you on the pitch. Not in the hospital.”
Yeah. Him, too. The distraction of Ivy had helped him dwell less on the possibility that he wouldn’t be cleared to play again. If that happened, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. Football was the only thing he’d ever been good at. “I’ll do my best.”
She nodded sternly. “See that you do. Now, go on with you. Go see your secret someone.”
Will grinned and ducked into the changing room to get dressed. He wished he could head back to Ivy, now, but there was still the team meeting tomorrow. The one that had been delayed so he could attend. It would be a complete dick move for him to bail on it for a non-emergency.
Once he was dressed, Will found Simon leaning against a wall in the hallway.
“You are staying in town for the meeting, right?”
“What? You thought I was just going to take off and head back to Ivy, right now?”
“The possibility had crossed my mind.”
Will sighed. “Would I like to? Yes. Am I going to? No. I’m going to go to the meeting, then I’ll get the hell out of the city.”
“Fair enough,” Simon said as they navigated the warren of corridors to the exit. “Got anything going on today?”
Will got the feeling that his friend would prefer not to be alone. Eric had continued to text and call, asking to see Simon. It had to be wearing on him.
“I’ve got a little shopping to do and an order to place.”
“Plying her with crème brûlée, are you?”
Will shrugged. “Maybe. But I like to think of it as being proactive.”
Simon shook his head and smiled. “Go do your shopping, and I’ll meet you for dinner?”
“Yeah. Pub by your place?”
“Sounds good.”
Several tube stops later, Will was picking out a few things to surprise Ivy with. As much as he’d love to use a riding crop on her sweetly-rounded bottom, he didn’t think that would be the best way to introduce her to his kinks. Forcing away that image, he paid for his selections and headed to his flat, calling his favorite restaurant on the way.
Everything was set for tomorrow. Now, he just hoped that Ivy was still at Charlotte’s. She’d said she was, but she’d also kissed him goodbye and lied to his face about it. And he still wasn’t sure why. Had she simply been trying to take the path of least resistance? Had he been pushing too hard? Though, he didn’t think that had been the reason. After all, she’d kissed him first. Or was it simply her fear of Caleb and Charlotte finding out what had gone down at the wedding? At some point, he and Ivy were going to have to have a serious discussion about why she’d seemed so desperate to hide their past from his family.
That question was still in the forefront of his mind as the train traveled through the countryside the next day. He’d texted her to let her know he was on his way back, but she hadn’t responded. That had been two hours ago.
Two hours wasn’t a terribly long time. She could be taking a nap. Or a long shower. Or a walk. Or she could be on her way to the airport. Or already in the air.
And if she was—what then? Admittedly, his first instinct was to follow her, but he shoved that thought aside. It wasn’t like they had a relationship or anything. If she left, it would be because she wanted to. Or she was scared. Either way, stalking her to her home wouldn’t help anything, and it wasn’t a move he’d make. But he’d have to do something.
As the train pulled up to the station, he stood, clutching the takeaway container, and grabbed his bag. His gut lurched as the engine ground to a halt. He was pretty sure his nervous stomach had a lot more to do with Ivy than the jerky stop.