Chapter 6

"I've got good news for you," Marcy says, beaming as I walk into the nurse's station.

"And what might that be?"

"Your boyfriend has been pronounced fit enough to go home today."

"That's going to make him very happy," I say. "But he's not my boyfriend."

"Not yet. But I see the way he looks at you and the way you look at him. I swear to God, you both have cartoon hearts floating above your heads."

"That's not true," I say weakly.

My cheeks warm as a laugh bursts from my mouth. I let my gaze fall to the floor as Marcy looks at me with a sly grin and a knowing expression on her face.

"That unnatural shade of red your cheeks just turned tells me it is," she says.

"Anyway," I say. "Have you given him the good news?"

"Of course not. I thought I'd let you deliver it."

"You really didn't need to do that."

"No. But I thought I'd give you one last chance to rope that man into a date."

Try as I might, I can't quite keep the smile from my lips, which only makes my face redden even more, which sets Marcy cackling. She really is enjoying this way too much. She tosses me a set of keys, which I almost drop because of how flustered I am. I somehow manage to hang on to them.

"What are these?" I ask.

"Your boyfriend's bestie dropped off his keys," Marcy replies. "I thought you might want to give them to him when you tell him he's getting sprung today."

"Not my boyfriend. And I'm pretty sure he wouldn't refer to Darnell as his bestie."

Marcy shrugs. "Po-tay-to, po-tah-to."

"They're manly men. I think they'd make the distinction."

"Well, why don't you go ask him when you tell him he's being discharged?"

I knew the day would come when Hunter was released from the hospital and would go home. Until then, I've been happy to exist in this bubble with him and pretend we could have something more beyond these walls. Knowing he's going home today has popped that bubble. I'm realistic enough to know it's all fantasy. Hunter is twice my age and is so gorgeous, he could have any woman he wanted. For all I know, he already has a long list of women.

Why would he want somebody like me who is so undistinguished and so unremarkable? He's already established in his life. His career. And I'm still trying to figure myself out. It's been nice flirting with him and pretending that those feelings were reciprocated. It's been nice having somebody like Hunter lavish me with the sort of attention he's been giving me. It's made me feel special. Beautiful even. But as they say, all good things must come to an end. The fantasy is over.

"I see that big brain of yours working, Harlow," Marcy says. "Stop overthinking this. That man has an eye for you, girl. Go in there and make him love you. Don't spend the rest of your life with a nasty case of the what-ifs. As good at my job as I am, not even I can cure that."

"Marcy, I?—"

"Go. Now," she cuts me off with a laugh. "Go tell that man he's getting out of here."

"But—"

"That's an order."

Marcy flashes me another grin before she turns and walks out of the station, leaving me standing there with my stomach bubbling, my head spinning, and Hunter's keys in my hand.

With no choice but to do as Marcy asked, I clutch the keyring and head down the corridor toward his room. Knowing he's leaving leaves me feeling sadder and rawer than I expected it would. I knew it was going to end, but I guess I've gotten used to seeing that smile on his face and the way his dark eyes smoldered whenever he looked at me.

Standing outside the door to his room, I take a deep breath, trying to quell the tempest in my belly, knock briefly, and walk in, doing my best to put a smile on my face. Hunter is sitting up in bed scrolling through his phone, but he puts it down when I step in and offers me that wide, warm smile that makes my heart stutter drunkenly as a quiver runs through the center of me. I shift on my feet, trying to stave off the warm juices slicking the insides of my thighs.

"Well, good morning, sunshine," he says.

The deep rumble of his voice caresses my skin deliciously, raising goosebumps all over my body. I do my best to suppress the shudder that passes through me but can't stop the heat or wetness between my thighs that's soaking my panties. The only reason I'm looking forward to Hunter leaving the hospital is that I won't have to change my panties so often.

"I've got good news for you," I say.

"Yeah? What's that?"

"You get to go home."

His face lights up and his smile grows so wide, it's almost splitting his face in half. He's such a man but has a boyish smile that makes him look younger. It's adorable. I toss him his set of keys, but as he reaches to snatch them out of the air, he grimaces in pain as the keys hit him in the chest and fall into his lap.

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry," I say with a look of horror on my face. "It's going to take a bit for those ribs to heal fully. That was stupid."

He chuckles through his wince. "It was stupid of me to reach for them."

"That was my fault. I shouldn't have thrown them."

He reaches out and takes my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. His eyes are like dark, liquid chocolate, and they burn with an intensity that nearly steals my breath. Hunter's hand is rough and calloused, and it completely engulfs mine. And yet, his touch is surprisingly gentle. My hand looks like a little girl's hand in his massive paw, and as he curls his fingers around mine, my heart almost stops dead in my chest.

"It's nobody's fault," he says. "Don't beat yourself up about it."

My heart is pounding, and I feel like my hand is sweating so I quickly pull it away and discreetly blot my palms on my scrubs.

"Anyway, if you want to go ahead and get dressed, I'll grab a wheelchair," I tell him. "We can stop by the nurse's station and sign all the discharge paperwork on our way out."

"Oh, I can walk just fine?—"

"Sorry, I can't let you do that."

He laughs softly. "I'm a big boy. And besides, after all this time lying down, I'm ready to get up and stretch my legs."

"I'm sure you are, but it's hospital policy," I counter. "If you don't let me out, you're going to get me into trouble."

"Well, we wouldn't want to get you in trouble, now, would we?"

"We most certainly do not."

"Okay," he says with a soft smile. "I'll get dressed and you go get the chair."

"Good boy," I say with a wink.

He laughs again as I slip out of the room to go find a wheelchair. I give him ten minutes to dress. Then, I return to the room, load him up, and wheel him by the nurse's station so he can sign his discharge paperwork. The entire time we stand there, I do my best to avoid Marcy's gaze for fear of my cheeks burning so hot, my entire head catches fire. It's bad enough that I can feel her twinkling eyes on me. That done, I take Hunter to the elevator, down to the lobby, and through the main entrance.

"Where is your car?" I ask.

He raises his key fob and presses a button, and his alarm beeps twice off to our right.

"Well, thank you for getting me out here," he says.

"Just stay in your seat, mister."

"I think your obligation ended at the front doors."

"I'm just trying to ensure you leave a five-star Yelp review of our services here."

A deep, rolling laugh passes his lips as I wheel him through the parking lot and over to a large black Chevy Silverado that's absolutely beautiful. The truck is spotless and gleams in the sunlight. A red and yellow decal in the shape of a fireman's helmet with a pair of axes crossed behind it is affixed to the back window, but other than that, it has no other stickers or decorations of any kind. When I stop the wheelchair, Hunter stands up and stretches out his back, a small grimace of pain flitting across his lips.

"Well, here we are," he says.

"Here we are."

Hunter bounces his keys in the palm of his hand but seems reluctant to leave. I don't want him to go either because once he climbs into his truck, I have no idea when or if I'll ever see him again. I know I shouldn't want to. There are ten thousand reasons I should just let this go. But my heart isn't listening. Knowing this might be the last time I'm ever in Hunter's presence fills my heart with a sharp pain that burns like acid.

Hunter is large, and he looms over me. More than a foot taller and with his brawny, hulking body, it only heightens my sense of being a fragile little girl next to him. It's surprisingly a feeling I like. The thought of him being able to pick me up, his large form enveloping me thoroughly, makes my heart beat harder and makes the fire between my thighs burn hotter.

"Thank you for taking such good care of me," he says.

"Hey, just doing my job," I reply with a smile.

Hunter looks down at me, and I can feel the heat of his dark eyes on my skin. A quiver runs through my intimate parts and my panties are soaked through. With his smoldering gaze on me, I feel like I'm in a trance. And before I can break free of it, Hunter steps forward and pushes me against the side of his truck before he leans down and kisses me. I'm so stunned for a moment that I can't move, but then the warmth flowing through my pussy spreads through the rest of my body. My lips part, allowing him to slide his tongue into my mouth.

Wrapping my arms around his waist, I lean into Hunter's kiss, savoring the velvety feel of his tongue swirling around mine. He swallows the low groan that passes my lips, and I feel weightless. My heart thunders against the inside of my chest, and my head swims. I savor the feeling of his tongue and the light hint of mint on his breath as I lose myself in his kiss.

Slowly and reluctantly, we pull back and I find myself looking up into his dark eyes, my core pulsating as hard as my heart. All at once, reality comes crashing down on me again, and I realize what I've just done. I've never kissed a patient before. Never thought about kissing a patient before. I don't even know how many ethical codes, let alone hospital policies, I've broken just now. If anybody saw what I just did…

My eyes wide and my lips trembling, I shake my head. "I… I'm sorry. I didn't?—"

Panic surging through my veins, before Hunter can respond, I turn and sprint back to the hospital, abandoning the chair just inside the front doors. Curious looks and murmurs from patients and staff alike chase me down the corridor. They nip at my heels all the way into one of the staff restrooms where I bang into one of the stalls, drop onto one of the toilet seats, and lean the back of my head against the cool tile behind me.

Though mortified, a smile crosses my lips, and I quickly cover my mouth with my hands. I close my eyes and revel in the lingering sensations of Hunter's lips on mine. Biting my bottom lip, I let myself experience it all over again, feeling his body pressed to mine, his tongue in my mouth, and his large, rough hands on my body. I shudder and can't keep the smile off my face, shaky though it might be. Electric tingles run up and down my body and my panties are soaked through completely as I recall everything I can about that kiss. The most amazing kiss of my life.

As the memory washes over me, it brings with it a profound sadness knowing that will probably be the only time I experience that with Hunter. As sad as it makes me, though, I can't deny that having been able to enjoy a kiss with him, if only once, makes my heart flutter with joy. It's something I never thought I'd get to enjoy.

"One thing off my bucket list," I say quietly to myself as I laugh softly.