“Sit down with me.”
He grabbed the cold washcloth and sat. “I brought this for your forehead. And there’s Pepto if you think that’ll help.”
She situated the folded cloth and took another bite of ice. It was strange seeing Dani down for the count like this, and Sean really hated it. It was so damn wrong.
“That feels good, thanks. Hey, what flavor are the popsicles?”
“Red and orange,” he said.
She laughed weakly. “Red isn’t a flavor.”
He smirked. “Red is too a flavor and it happens to be my second favorite so you should feel honored.”
“What’s your first favorite?” Dani asked around another bite of ice.
“Purple. Grape. Whatev. I ate those first and they were all gone or I would’ve shared.”
“I definitely feel honored.”
“Shut up.”
She softly smacked his leg. “I was being serious.” Her black hair was mussed and her face was flush, but she was smiling up at him like he mattered to her and it made her the most gorgeous woman he’d ever known.
Damn it all to hell he fuckin’ loved her.
The feeling was like a pressure in his chest, one that demanded release. But he wasn’t saying a word right now, not while she wasn’t herself. Because he had no clue how she was going to react. Them joking about ‘Deadpool’ being an “us thing” didn’t mean they were in a relationship, after all.
You can count on me to stand up for you as much as you need from now on…
Her words from last night rang in his head. God, they’d meant so much to him. Still did. Sean almost couldn’t imagine what life would be like to have someone like Daniela England at his side, on his side. And, oh, Jesus, in his fuckin’ bed. The two of them against the world. Yeah, that was a kind of life he’d never even let himself imagine—one he would’ve said he didn’t deserve and couldn’t have anyway ‘cause he’d just fuck it up. But her words had him believing that something else could be possible for him. Her words had him believing in himself for maybe the first time ever.
“What are you thinking about?” Dani asked, shifting to sit up a little.
“You.” When her eyebrows raised, he added, “Just worried about you and want you to feel better.”
She put her hand on his thigh. “You’re really sweet, Sean. Thank you.”
“Yeah, o’course,” he said, feeling sorta awkward and self-conscious. Was that love, too? Because if so it was fuckin’ ridiculous. “Anyway, it’s the least I can do after you took care of me.”
“I never minded,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed hanging out.”
Damn he liked hearing her say that. “Same, D.” They looked at each other, their gazes direct, open, and it felt like something important hung there between them. But Sean wasn’t sure how to broach it. So instead he asked, “Think you can handle a popsicle?”
Dani smiled. “I’m gonna tempt fate and try one. I need something with some flavor in my mouth.”
A smile he couldn’t resist started to twist at his lips, and she gave him a droll stare. “Aw, come on, D. If you’re gonna throw me a softball like that, what d’ya expect me to do? Innuendo is my middle name.”
“Relentless is your middle name,” she said, chuckling and shaking her head. “Can I have an orange one, please?”
“You really can have the red,” he said, tearing the wrapper open so the stick stuck out.
“No, the orange ones are my favorite, so I’m good with that. Also, grape is my least favorite.” She took a long lick of it.
His brain shorted out for a second watching her tongue. “Uh.”
“This is turning you on, isn’t it?”
“Uh huh,” he managed. She sucked the pop into her mouth. He blinked.
“There’s literally no way to eat these that isn’t suggestive,” she said, giving him a look.
“I know,” he said, grinning. “Me likey.” She rolled her eyes, making him grin wider. “Also, I think our flavor preferences make us a good pair because we don’t have to compete for our favorites and then we can share the reds.”
Dani chuckled. “You’ve got this all figured out, don’t ya?”
Not even a little bit, but fuck, he was willing to. With her. “Dude, if we can agree on popsicles, mixing the cheese and caramel popcorn, and Marvel movies, everything else is easy.”
“Those are important,” she said, biting off the top of the popsicle.
“Right?”
When she finished, she nursed the water for a little while and he got her phone so she could call the hospital and let them know she wouldn’t be able to come in for her evening shift. “Okay, I’ll see you on Saturday. Sorry, again, for the last-minute change,” she said before hanging up.
Sean couldn’t help but wonder why she had basically the whole week off. “Saturday? You have some vacation plans or something?”
“Oh, uh…” Looking down at her phone, she shook her head. “No, I, uh, just took some time off.” She gave him a smile that felt forced. “I guess it’s a good thing given how I feel.”