Chapter 17

Ava

It was exactly three and half miles to PT from the doctor's office. It took me seven minutes to make the drive. There were seventeen steps up to the front of the building. When I parked in my usual spot, it took me two minutes to get to the front door. I'd been obsessing over this visit for a week now, and I felt like I might burst from the anticipation.

Andy'd been glancing over at me every few seconds since I got here. I'd been trying not to make eye contact, but every once in a while I did. He smiled and gave me a wave once, but Carter hadn't come out to call me back. Andy even offered up an explanation of Carter being overbooked.

My knee wouldn't stop bouncing as I tapped my foot on the carpet. I'd tried to calm myself by taking deep breaths, and closing my eyes. It wasn't working, and I felt like I needed to scream to release the tension. It was killing me. I thought sitting at the doctor's office was bad, but this was so much worse.

"Ava?" Carter's head poked out of an office door. "You can come on back." He motioned me over as I stood. I swallowed and took a few tentative steps. This was it. The next few seconds would define the rest of my life.

I nodded as I moved toward the exam room. He let me go first, and then leaned against the table as I sat in the chair in the corner. He was holding a file in his hand and nodding as he read it.

"Well?" I finally broke the silence. "What does it say?"

His face sobered when he looked up at me and I knew it wasn't good. Something wasn't right, and soccer was over. "The doctor has your latest scans, and he's written up the next course of treatment." He shook his head. I'd never seen his expression so blank. I couldn't read between the lines here and I didn't know if I should be angry or sad.

"Just spit it out!" I stood and stomped my foot. "I can't take this. Just rip the Band-Aid off. Am I done?" I moved closer. I wanted to grab the folder and read what it said for myself.

My little meltdown must have been just what was needed to make him crack. His lips pulled into a smile as he motioned me to move closer. "Come see for yourself." He held out the file in my direction.

I released an exasperated sigh as I reached for the folder. My fingers felt as if they didn't want to work as I tried to take it from him. My hand trembled and my vision started to blur as I scanned the papers inside. It took a minute, but I found what I was looking for. In tiny type near the bottom were the words "Complete recovery. May resume normal activity." Tears pricked the corners of my eyes as I glanced up and then back to the paper. Was I dreaming? Was this real? "Does it…" I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"You're clear, Soccer Star." He grinned as he crossed his arms over his chest, the sleeves of his scrubs pulled tight. "I expect great things now." He chuckled. My mouth opened and closed several times. I didn't have words. Hell, I didn't have anything at the moment. It was all swirling in my head. Soccer, Carter, playing again… all of it meshed together. It's what I wanted, and what I'd been working for, for months. The future was right within my grasp.

"I don't know what to say," I whispered as I continued to stare at the paper. It was as if I thought it had all the answers.

"I don't think I've ever seen you speechless." He laughed.

My head snapped up. I scowled at first, but then started grinning when I saw how happy he was for me. "We're celebrating tonight, and I get to pick." I handed him the file back.

"Why do I feel like I might be regretting this?" He placed the folder on the counter.

"No idea." I shrugged.

"I'm glad you're cleared. I'm sad you won't be in here twice a week to make my day better, but I'm ecstatic that we can move things forward with us. So much so, that I'm willing to start right now." He moved closer, caging me in between himself and the exam table in the room. His hips and chest pressed into mine as his hands glided up my arms and cupped my jaw. "You are worth the wait." His nose skimmed my cheek as he moved closer and connected our mouths. It was slow at first, but when his tongue slipped between my lips, I think we both lost it. His hips ground into mine and I could feel what I was doing to him. Our breathing picked up and I moved my hands to the bottom of his scrub top. As my fingers searched for bare skin, he groaned. My palms flattened and began moving up his abs. He slanted his head and trailed kisses along my jaw. "You're killing me." His breath tickled my ear as he panted and seemed to fight for control. One final kiss and he stepped back, leaving me there wanting more. My core throbbed and my heart raced. I'd never been turned on like this with Danny. Carter was so much more.

"Later." He grinned. "I'll help you with all of that." He motioned up and down with his hand. "Later."

I nodded and closed my eyes. I was embarrassed to be that turned on and visibly wanting more right there in front of him. "I'll never be able to come in here again and not think of you." He winked. "We might have to come here after hours sometime."

I started to heat just thinking about being laid out on the table while he ravaged me. My brain was going haywire. Too much excitement and no output in sight.

I swallowed to calm myself before attempting to talk to him. "Pick me up at six. We're celebrating tonight. Wear something comfortable."

"You got it." He nodded. "You could probably get me to do anything at this point."

"Anything?" I bit my lip as I glanced down and saw he was still turned on.

"Yeah, anything." He sighed as he adjusted himself. "Now, you need to go before I take you right here and fix this."

"I'm not sure if that's a promise or a threat. Both sound appealing." I grinned as I opened the door and stepped out. "Later." I gave a flirty finger wave, and closed the door behind me.

Carter

Holy shit, she's going to be the death of me. She's all lean muscle, and now she can be mine in every sense of the word. I don't even know if I'll make it through our date tonight. I kinda just want to take her back to my place and strip her naked.

I'd been pacing this tiny room for the last ten minutes trying to think of anything to make my dick go soft, but it wasn't working. Every time I started to be successful, I'd remember how she felt, and I was rock hard again. I didn't know how the day was going to go if this kept up. I pulled my phone from my pocket and tapped out a text to Andy, asking him to tell my next appointment I was running a few minutes behind. I rushed to the door, and flipped the lock, then told myself I was terrible for doing this. "This is all your fault." I cursed my dick, who didn't want to listen to me today.

I pulled a handful of tissues from the box sitting on the counter, shucked my scrub pants and boxers down to my knees and gripped him in my hand. I swiped through the photos on my phone until I found one of Ava. She didn't know I took it. It was after one of our runs together. She was smiling and staring out at the ocean.

My hand slid slowly from base to tip, squeezing in the process. It felt good, and I began to pump faster. I needed this to happen sooner rather than later. My hips began to sway as I sped up. I stared at the photo, and squeezed hard. I could feel it coming. The rush I needed. The release just below the surface. I closed my eyes and pictured her in my arms. We were kissing again against the table, only this time we were naked.

My release rushed to the surface. I grabbed the tissues, holding them over the tip. Euphoria came immediately, and then embarrassment. I was twenty five and I was acting like a fifteen year old hiding in his parents' bathroom.

I quickly cleaned up, pulled my pants up, washed my hands and got the room back to its original condition. I felt better, and a cloud of happiness filled my head.

When I came out into the waiting room, Mav was talking to a patient. Andy gave me a nod indicating he'd passed on my message, but Mav decided he'd poke the bull a little.

"What was taking you so long in there?" He grinned. "She get you worked up?"

"Don't be jealous," I warned.

"She did get you worked up." He started snickering.

"You only wish you knew." I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Fucker. He always wanted to know what was going on with me. Maybe it was because he went through girls like he did socks. I greeted my next client and guided them back to a room all the while he sat there frowning as if he couldn't figure out why his jabs weren't getting to me. He failed to realize that nothing was going to get to me right now. I was on a high. A high that no one could bring me down from, except maybe the one person who put it there.