Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
~AMELIA~
I’m lying on the sofa; it’s been twenty-four hours of emotional mayhem.
Twenty-four hours of people constantly checking on me, and Dex serving me.
He didn’t go into work today; he hung around the house.
Cassie, Mac and Hendrix all came by to see me.
They brought dinner, which was nice. They even brought dinner for Dex; he ate with us too, which I didn’t expect.
I thought maybe he’d hide away, but he didn’t.
He sat beside me and made sure that I was comfortable and had everything I needed.
Dex was also great at giving us space when we needed it.
But now it’s late at night and I can’t sleep.
The painkillers they have me on do help with sleeping so much that I felt like I slept all morning. Now I can’t sleep.
It’s late, after three o’clock in the morning.
I was able to come out here quietly, I think.
I may have banged into the wall once or twice while I was steadying myself, but I did my best not to wake him.
Dex keeps saying that I need my rest, but I think he does too.
He spends an awful lot of time taking care of me or hovering, making sure that I don’t need to get up or need anything from my room.
When the girls came over Mac showed me a link to the pictures of Dex carrying me off the field.
One of the headlines called him my “white knight.” They all recognized him as the former “Patriots Trainer.” I’m not sure how he felt about that because I selfishly didn’t ask him.
I’ve been too busy trying to figure out what this means for me and my future at the Blaze.
August says that it’ll be fine, and I’ll have a job.
But I worry about the implications for the team and how it will feel miss the playoffs.
I place my head back on my pillows that have been arranged by Dex on the couch for me.
Looking up the at the ceiling, I can’t see anything without the light, but I don’t care.
I can’t lie in my bed anymore and attempt to get some sleep.
So, I came out here, hoping for some different perspective, or at least the TV.
The remote in my room is farther away than I’d like it to be, and the one in the living room is placed right by the table that sits next to what is quickly becoming my spot on the couch.
I flip it on and find that Nick at Nite is good for something - reruns of televisions shows that I like to watch. Currently The Big Bang Theory is one. I do love this show. I put the volume down a bit, hoping not to wake up Dex, and begin watching.
Of course, my peace is discovered, as Dex comes strolling into the living room. He looks adorable as he pulls a t-shirt over his head. I can see in the dim light of the TV that his shorts are riding low on his hips. I imagine his hair is mussed from sleep, but I can’t really tell.
“Are you okay? Are you in pain?” he asks as soon as he sees me.
I sigh, “I’m fine.”
“What are you doing out here?” He sits on the opposite end of the sofa, watching me.
I can see him better now. I was right. His hair is a bit tossed from sleep. He’s got that kind of hair that you can run your hands through or use it to pull him closer.
“Do you need more pain medication? You would be due for some,” he tells me.
“Umm, yeah, maybe,” I reply.
Dex leaves the room, returning with a glass of water and my pills. I drink them down quickly.
“What’s wrong?” He leans over and gently grabs my legs, sliding my bottom so that I turn and I’m now facing sideways on the couch. He sits my legs in his lap and begins to rub my feet.
I giggle at first because my feet are a bit ticklish, but the more he rubs the more I enjoy. I put my head back on the couch and let out a low moan. “This feels like heaven.”
I look up and he’s grinning at me. “Happy to help you.” He watches me for a moment before asking, “What’s got you out here in the middle of the night?”
“Did I wake you?” I ask him, dodging his question.
“You did not. I got up to use the bathroom and saw that your door was open. You weren’t there so I came out here.” He keeps on rubbing tiny circles at my arches. “So, let’s try this again, whatcha doing out here?”
I sigh, looking up at the ceiling and back at him again. “I couldn’t sleep. I wanted a change of scenery. I think I slept too much yesterday morning. It’s making it hard to sleep now.”
He nods. “Sleep will be good. It’s going to be critical for your recovery. Do you want some ice while you’re up?”
“No,” I say shaking my head. “I’m fine right now.”
He nods. The show comes back on, and his eyes move to the TV to see what I’m watching. “I’m a Big Bang Theory fan too.” He smiles and watches the show for a bit, all the while still rubbing my feet.
“Are you going to head into the Blaze tomorrow?”
He looks over at me, “I was thinking, yeah, I would. I want to check on things in there. There is a player who is having some issues with her calf. Carrie, I think. So, I want to go in and check her out.”
I nod. “Carrie is one of our backs. She plays on the right,” I tell him.
He grins at me. “Right, thanks. I think I need to ask Watts for a lineup or something so that I can see where you all play. He uses numbers sometimes, but I have no fucking idea what those mean.”
I giggle. “So, I can tell you the numbers are talking about positions. When he talks to you about the lower numbers, that is defense, and the higher numbers are offense. For example, I play center back, which makes me a five.”
He shakes his head. “What if we said the position names?”
“It’s faster sometimes in gameplay to ask players to move to a number versus saying the whole position name. You’ll get used to it the more you are around the game.” I smile at him, and he smiles brightly back at me. The gleam in his eyes makes my stomach do a flip.
“I’m starting to wonder if I’m a curse being here. August said you guys haven’t had any injuries. I’m here what a few weeks and you tore a meniscus. That has got to be some kind of a sign,” he says, shaking his head.
“Oh, are you going to abandon us? Now that you have an actual patient that you can actually help and you are going to bail. That’s real shitty of you,” I tease him, knowing he’s not really going anywhere. “It’s all just some bad timing.”
“Yeah, bad timing,” he repeats the phrase. “I’m not leaving you.”
My mind turns the words he spoke over and over again. He’s not leaving me. Not the team, he said me. I smile widely at him. “You meant the team, right?”
His grin widens and he winks at me. “I meant you. I’m not leaving you while you’re like this. I wouldn’t leave the team because they are my job.”
His admission knocks me for a loop. Just when I think I’ve processed the words, he speaks again. “You need me. The rest of the team has a potential need for me. But I’m learning that you don’t abandon the people that you care for. And I won’t do that again.”
I swallow and swear he can hear it from where he sits. “You care for me?”
“I thought that was obvious. I know I’m hired to take care of you but this,” he gestures between the two of us. “This feels like something completely different.”
“It does, doesn’t it.” I reply.
I wasn’t sure if the feelings that were stirring inside of me had been all one-side or not.
I thought he kissed me that night he carried me off the field.
Pressed his lips to my forehead and then again when he put me to bed.
But on the field I couldn’t be sure. The bedroom was unmistakable, and I lied awake that night for quite a while trying to figure out what all that meant. And why he had done it. Now I know.
“Are you okay over there? You have this weird look on your face.”
“I’m fine. Just processing,” I reply.
He puts my feet down and scoots so that my thighs are in his lap. He’s right in front of me now, illuminated by the soft light of the TV. I like him this close to me.
Dex picks up my hand and intertwines our fingers. “Is this okay? I don’t want to take advantage of my patient.”
I giggle at his phrasing. “I would consider it completely fine if you took advantage of me.” The admission slips out before I can stop it.
From the first moment I saw Dex Langley coming into my space, being forced to live with him, I knew I liked the way he looked.
He is an attractive man. The kind that makes you wonder certain things about him, like the size of a certain appendage.
The way he moves, the gentle way he carried me off the field told me that this man was something special.
Someone who could break down walls that I have long kept up because I was married to soccer.
And the fact that he is located in my apartment doesn’t seem to bother me so much anymore.
Dex slowly moves forward so that our faces are inches apart. “Can I kiss you?”
“Haven’t you already?” I tease.
“Not the way that I want to kiss you,” he admits. “Are you okay with that?
“I’m more than okay with that.”
He closes the distance between us and slowly, tentatively at first, moves his lips to mine.
The tentativeness doesn’t last long. His lips are hungrily devouring mine, tongue slowly working to gain access.
I open my mouth, allowing him in, and our tongues dance together.
My hands move up to the back of his neck to pull him closer to me, running my hands through his hair as a I pull.
Dex’s hands move around to my back so that he’s pulling me closer. I moan against the contact and do what I can to push myself closer to him. The kiss feels like it lasts for hours but it’s not nearly enough. We’re both panting as we pull apart, his forehead leaning on mine..
Dex speaks first. “Wow, that was amazing.”
“Impressive,” I say, winking at him.
“That’s the painkillers talking,” he says, brushing his fingertips down my cheek.
“No, I don’t think so.” I grin at him, pulling back a bit so that I can see him better. “So, you do watch me, huh?” I ask him, remembering back to when he first arrived and how my friends teased me about it.
“Yes.” The honesty in his answer surprises me.
“Why?” It’s the first word to come to my mind, so that is what comes out of my mouth.
“From the first moment I met you, I couldn’t not look at you. Have you looked in the mirror lately, Amelia? You are absolutely breathtaking.”
I flush under his scrutiny. And he speaks again.
“Sorry, I’m not trying to embarrass you. I can’t get over how incredibly beautiful you are, and you have absolutely no idea, which makes you even sexier.”
“Do you practice those lines?” I ask him.
“Trying to make this more flippant than serious, I see.” He calls me on it and that is exactly what I’m doing.
“Maybe,” I admit. “I’m not comfortable with people complimenting me like that. I never have been.”
He nods. “Well, then I guess we have some work to do, while you’re laid up.”
Dex leans in and kisses me again. And that’s how we spend the night, swapping kisses and stories.