Stalking His Claim

“Does it hurt?” I finally ask.

“A little,” she says against my neck, reminding me of how very naked she is. Normally it would have been the first thing to grab my attention. But not when she is crying. All I care about is fixing it and providing her the comfort she needs.

I pop the lid off the first aid kit and get to work on her knee. There are five million things I want to ask her. The first about her being out all day. She even left her last class early. Something she never does. But the main thing I’m concerned about is the fact that she was crying. Had she been crying before she fell? I know this isn't the time for an interrogation.

“I'll put cream and bandages on when we get out.” She nods. “Let me grab something.” I stand up, leaning over toward the counter. I grab a washcloth and a cup before I sit back down. I do my best to keep my eyes on her face. She has her legs pulled up as she sits, hiding a lot of herself. I hate that she looks so vulnerable. I push the urge down to ask her what happened. She’ll tell me when she’s ready.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking care of you.” I kiss her shoulder. She closes her eyes. I kiss her other shoulder next before I start to wash her hair. I take my time before I move on to do the rest of her. She doesn't stop me.

I’m behind her. She leans back so I can reach around her, wiping her down with the cloth. I hate it for being between my hand and her skin. She lets out a long yawn.

“All right. Let's get you out of here. I'm finished taking care of your knee.” I stand, stepping out to grab a towel. She looks up, a smile forming on her face for the first time since I came home when she sees I’m still wearing my boxer briefs. She holds her hand out for the towel. I turn to give her privacy as she wraps it around herself. “Use me.” I hold my hand out for her to brace herself on as she steps out. I grab another towel for her hair.

“Thanks.”

“Sit on the bed,” I tell her, grabbing the kit. I drop it on the bed as she sits down. I jog over to my closet, stripping myself of my underwear and pulling on some sweatpants. I grab a shirt for her. She’s drying her hair when I walk back out. I drop the shirt down next to her before going to my knees to take care of her cuts.

“Why are you home?” I look up at her. Her tone is off. I can see an underlying sadness in her eyes. I want to take it away from her, but I need to know what’s wrong first.

“I told you. This is where I belong.” I put the cream on her knee.

“You canceled our movie night because you had a work trip.”

“Didn't go.” I peel off the back of the bandage, sticking it on. “Have you eaten? I’ll make you something and grab something for the pain.” I stand up.

“Where did you go then? You’re home late too.” She’s got her chin tilted up. She’s pissed. I almost smile. I’ll take her being mad over sad any day.

“I went to dinner with James.” She lets out a small gasp like I struck her. I furrow my eyebrows, unsure of what the hell is actually going on here.

“Your knees?”

She shakes her head no. Her eyes are filling with tears. “You call your girlfriend ‘James’?” she shouts.

“I went to dinner with James. You know I don’t have a girlfriend.” I have no clue what she’s talking about.

“Don’t lie to me. I saw you.” I drop back down to my knees so that I’m eye level with her.

“You’re going to have to break down what you think you saw because I was with James. If you don’t believe me I’ll call the restaurant now and get the security footage.” I have no doubt that place has cameras everywhere. Is this why she was crying? Because she thought I was out with a woman? That thought does something funny to me inside. I know I shouldn’t be happy that she’s jealous because it upset her. But the fact that she doesn’t want anyone else to have me is music to my ears.

She bites her bottom lip, her eyebrows furrowing together like she’s thinking. “You had fries,” she finally says.

“No, James ordered. I didn't eat the fries.” She knows that. For some odd reason eating a fry without her felt wrong. It’s become a little game between us. Well, her teasing me. I rather enjoy it.

“I saw the woman in the pretty suit. She was sitting with you and James was nowhere in sight.”