Chapter 10

Carter

It's been a month now. A month of telling myself ‘no', a month of ignoring the attraction, a month of pretending that being around her isn't the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

"We're gonna be late!" Mav shouted as he tapped his foot. He was standing by our front door, impatiently waiting for me.

"Just go ahead. I'll see you there." I waved him off as I stuck my head out of the bathroom door. Maverick and I had been roommates since freshman orientation. We met during our placement test, and had been friends ever since. We went from sharing a dorm room to sharing an apartment, and after graduation, we just stayed. It worked out that we both got jobs at the same clinic. Our friends used to tease us, asking if we were a couple. Don't get me wrong, Mav's a nice guy, but I'm not like that.

"Are you sure?" he shouted again.

"Yeah! I still need to shower," I called as I heard the door slam. I jumped into the shower and almost let out a yelp. I'd turned the water to ice cold. I needed something to help me get through the next twelve weeks. Being near Ava Slone was testing every bit of my willpower. It was easy before I met her. I told myself she was a spoiled stuck up athlete who thought the world revolved around her. The more I was around her, the more I found that I was wrong. She was dedicated to her sport. She was sweet and listened to what I told her. I watched how she applied the exercises each week, and how quickly she was healing. She listened to me, and soon would not need me anymore. Part of me knew this was the plan, but the other both craved and dreaded seeing her.

She didn't know that every time I touched her I came alive. My heart raced, and my brain went to places it shouldn't. Hell, I'm getting hard just thinking about it right now.

I stepped under the icy water and began washing my hair. I needed a distraction from this, or I was going to end up needing to rub one out. Running. I was going running after work today. I'd run until my legs gave out. I'd push my body past its limits and then there wouldn't be room in there for her.

As my skin turned numb from the cold, I shut the water off and grabbed a towel, quickly dried myself, and then stepped into a set of scrubs. "You can't have her," I mumbled as I brushed my hair, and turned to leave. As I jogged out to my car, I repeated over and over, hairy bald guy. I needed to think about anything but her. I'd never forgive myself if I appeared unprofessional in front of a client.

The drive to the office only took a few minutes, and when I came through the door, there she was. She was sitting on a bench, tapping away on her phone. She smiled when she saw me, and began to stand.

"Give me just a minute." I held up my hand. I needed to put my things away in my locker and give myself another pep talk. My body was tingling already, and I hadn't even touched her. "Hairy bald guy," I whispered.

"You ok?" Mav chuckled as he came out of a room. "You seem a little rattled."

"I'm fine," I lied.

"She's really under your skin. Just ask her out and get it over with," he urged. "I won't tell."

"Eight more weeks." I sighed as I finished putting my things away and went back out into the lobby.

"The longest of your life!" Mav called out from behind me. I flipped him off behind my back as I smiled over at Ava.

"Come on back," I called. She stood and walked with confidence toward me. Her limp had disappeared over two weeks ago, and I was confident she'd be able to run soon. "How's everything going?" I stepped out of her way as she went to sit on the table.

"Slow." She seemed dejected today.

"Slow as in you've hit a plateau or slow as in you need more to do?" I motioned for her to lie back.

"Slow as in I want to start training, and I can't." She frowned.

"I'm working on that for you." I laughed lightly as I reached for her ankle. "Tell me when it hurts too much." She nodded, and I began bending her leg at the knee and pushing it towards her chest. "You've been stretching more." I smiled.

"I started back doing my yoga classes. I've gotten a lot of the flexibility back." She grinned with pride. I was able to tuck her foot all the way against her buttocks without her flinching.

"This is good." I released her ankle. "Any other secrets you're keeping?" I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest. I watched her gaze dart for a split second to my bicep before she shook her head and looked away.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve." She giggled. "Can I show you?"

"Sure." I gave her more room, and she hopped down off the table.

"I watched a few YouTube videos on comebacks from broken femurs and I've been trying to add the exercises into the list you gave me." She held onto the table for balance, lifted her good leg up, and proceeded to squat using only the bad one. I watched as the quad flexed. I could tell from her facial expression that it was hard for her to do this, but she completed five of them before she stopped. "I've been doing three sets of five a day. I can do this, too." She stepped around me and grabbed the chair in the corner. She pulled it away from the wall, and took a seat. I watched as she stood using only her bad leg. She held the good one out in front of her. "I can sit that way, too." Her lips pulled into a giant smile as she used the one leg to lower herself.

"I'm beginning to wonder if you even need me anymore," I teased. Her smile dropped for a moment as uncertainty filled her expression.

"What?" She seemed worried.

"I'm teasing. You have to come as long as the doctor thinks you do. You can't go back to the team until you get clearance, and you can't get clearance until the doctor thinks you've had enough PT." I saw the fear disappear and the confidence come back.

"I'm playing again. This spring, I'm playing." She nodded.

"After seeing this, I don't doubt it." I opened the door. "Come out here. I have some other things we can work on." I led her over to our equipment area. We have quite a few things that we share and are kept out where we can all reach them. "Stand over here. Hold these." I handed her two twenty-pound dumb bells. "Feet shoulder width apart. Hold them up by your shoulders, and slowly squat." I demonstrated, and then watched to make sure she had good form. "You can use canned goods at home or any other object that adds some weight. Just don't go too heavy," I warned.

After she completed two sets, I showed her a few others that she could work on before our next session. The determination and spunk she had were like no one else I'd worked with. She accepted each challenge with a smile, and whenever things got hard for her, she refused to give up. "I can do this," she'd growl as she attempted the activity again.

"Good job." I congratulated her when our time was up. I walked with her over to the door.

"Thanks." She smiled at me. My body warmed at the small gesture. "I couldn't do this without you." She flung her arms around me in a hug. I went stiff. Hairy bald guy, I chanted in my head as my body reacted to her touch.

"It's nothing. I'm glad you're doing well." I choked the words out. "I'll see you next week." I attempted to extract myself from her grip without making things weird.

"Bye." She smiled as she turned and practically bounced out the door.

I watched her until she drove away. "You need to just ask her out and get this over with." Mav clapped me on the shoulder. "I don't know why you're torturing yourself like this."

"It's against the rules," I reminded him.

"Since when are you a rule follower?" He snickered. I turned and glared at him. I was always the one doing the right thing. He was the one to stretch things. "Tell me this. What did it feel like when she hugged you?" When I didn't answer, he continued, "That's what I thought." He walked away, and I just stood there staring out the window into the parking lot. My head was flooded with fantasies of Ava and her athletic body rubbing against mine. I wondered how flexible she'd be in bed. Would she be gentle and loving, or more dominant? Would she let me take charge? How responsive would she be? I shook the thoughts away. You can't have her, idiot. I turned, dejected, and strode with purpose toward the bathroom. "Atta boy!" Mav shouted from the front desk. I'm sure he was talking about this with Andy.

"Fuck you!" I growled as I slammed the door. I needed to take care of this and fast before I came in my pants like a fifteen-year-old. Ava Slone would be the end of me if I wasn't careful.