Chapter 25 #2
I settle down, rubbing my chest absently, and feeling my muscles begin to tighten.
“Can you clean it while I’m on the line?” Winter asks, her husky voice so gentle.
“Yeah,” I murmur back to her, honestly grateful for the distraction.
Nothing cuts into a panic attack like realising you’re bleeding out of your face.
I set the phone down against my pillow, propping it beside me so that I can see Winter while I pour the antiseptic, and then I grimace as I press the cotton pad against the cut.
“What happened?” Winter asks, and I swallow thickly as I glance down at her.
My voice turns hoarse as I look her over. “Got distracted on the way to my room.”
“What’s distracting you?” she asks softly.
“I got some shitty news,” I murmur.
I press the antiseptic against the cut a little harder than I need to, gritting my teeth and clearing my throat at the sharp bite of the sting.
“Caden,” Winter breathes. “I think you’ve cleaned it enough now.”
I meet her eyes and my heart thunders, tossing the wipe to the bottom of the bed. “Yeah.”
“Okay,” she whispers softly. “All you need to do now is put a Band-Aid on it.”
I nod and reach for the strip of Band-Aids, tugging at one slowly because my hands are shaking.
“I’m really sorry,” I murmur again.
“You don’t need to apologise,” Winter whispers.
I keep my eyes on her face as I press down the adhesive, using my palm to smooth it over and then picking up my phone, letting her see it.
“Well done,” she breathes shakily, and my chest shudders at her approval.
But then I remember why I’m calling and I shove my hand through my hair, tugging roughly.
“Baby,” I rasp, “I’m… I’m not…”
“Deep breaths, Caden,” she whispers, and my lashes flutter as I grip my nape.
She guides me for a full minute, slowing my heartrate down, and I press my palm against my chest as my breathing becomes stronger and steadier.
“Thank you,” I murmur, tentatively touching the Band-Aid before I open my eyes.
“It’s okay,” she whispers, although her brow is arched in worry as she watches me.
She shifts softly on the hay and I see two white ears poking up at the bottom of the screen.
Warmth spreads through my chest and my eyes crinkle, my shoulders relaxing.
“You chillin’ with Snowdrop?” I ask quietly.
She smiles playfully. “We’re having girl-time.”
She angles the phone to show me the pony and my heart expands at the sight of them together.
“My angels,” I rumble, before inhaling hard and pushing my hair back. “I’m sorry I called just now.” I shake my head at myself. “And I didn’t mean to choke like that. I’m embarrassed,” I admit.
“You never need to be embarrassed around me,” Winter murmurs. “I love everything about you.”
My voice is husky as my chest heaves. “You have no idea how much I needed to hear that right now.”
Then I take a moment to psych myself up, rub my palm down my jaw, and bite the bullet.
“The reason why I’m calling… Austin just showed me our term schedule. We’ve got two away games followed by the handover. I can’t come home for Valentine’s Day, baby.”
Winter’s brow arches, her lips parting, before she tries to cover up her disappointment. And I know exactly why.
Valentine’s Day has always been important to us.
“Okay,” she whispers, her accent thickening with understanding.
And then she hits me with the killer: a defeated smile with those gorgeous dimples.
I groan in anguish and glance away from her. “I can’t look at your sympathy dimples right now, baby.”
Those dimples deepen as she tilts her head with laughter, and nothing else matters as I watch her. I fucking live for this girl.
“They aren’t sympathy dimples!” she giggles. “They’re we’ll find a way around it because we always do dimples.”
My voice is rough as I tell her, “I miss them.”
“My dimples?” she teases.
“Yeah.”
Her smile widens and my chest grows heavy. “They miss you, too.”
I roll onto my side, smirking softly. “I’m going to kiss your dimples so hard the second that I’m back home,” I murmur. “I’m going to show you how much I’ve missed you every day that we’ve been apart.”
“I can’t wait,” she says breathlessly, and I can’t hold my smile back anymore. My shoulders swell with contentment and it’s like a whole weight has been lifted.
We’ve never spent Valentine’s Day apart, but maybe we can find a way around it.
I know that Winter’s busy with rodeo prep so she couldn’t come up to Carter Ridge, but if we have a couple days before the semi-final… it would be so freaking good if I could surprise her down in Texas.
“What are you thinking about?” she asks, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
She knows exactly what’s going on in my head so I just chuckle, because I’m hopeless at lying.
Her laughter tinkles through the line and I bite my smile as she closes up Snowdrop’s stall.
“I’m going to shower,” she says softly, and I nod at the screen, looking her over.
My voice is like gravel. “I love your outfit.”
And I groan quietly as she gives me a three-sixty.
“Oh, this?” she teases, showing me exactly what I’m missing.
It’s her fitted yellow sundress, with the tiny skirt and tight waist.
I swallow hard and drop my hand from my neck, letting it roam lower until I’m stroking my joggers. And then I’m grunting quietly as she watches me, aware that she knows exactly what I want us to do.
“We can’t right now,” Winter whispers, and I swallow thickly as I nod my head.
“Call me after your shower?” I rumble deeply.
She bites her smile. “Yeah, okay.”
And I smile back at her, my heart racing. “Okay, baby. I’ll be waiting.”