“Has she broken it again?” I clipped, moving over to pick her up and place her back on the bed.
“No, but you need to be careful, Sasha. The bone’s only newly healed, so jumping and using it for high-impact movements isn’t a good idea. We want it to continue healing while you rebuild the muscle strength in it, but you have to be careful.”
Squatting down, I ran my hand over her leg, ignoring the patch of hair she’d missed on her shin, then held her legs together to compare them.
“Does it look like Captain America’s leg before they put him in the machine?” she asked softly, looking somewhat self-conscious by the difference between her legs.
I answered, “Kind of,” at the same time, the technician snorted, “Not at all.”
Just saying, at least I was being honest, unlike Miss Liar Pants.
“Okay, so, now you get to go home and enjoy soaking yourself in the bath. It’s best if you keep your appointments with”—she checked the paperwork in her hand—“Zach. He’ll help you with muscle spasms, muscle strengthening exercises, and things like that. For your arm, squeezing a pair of socks in your fist for a few days will help, but there are other ones you’ll need for your leg.”
I was still squatting down in front of her when Sasha just tugged her shorts down, meaning they bunched up on my hands where I was still holding her shins.
“What the hell are you doing?” I hissed, looking over my shoulder at the door.
“I can’t walk out there with a peg leg on display,” she replied matter of factly. “At least the leggings will camouflage it a little bit.”
Muttering under my breath, I helped her get her feet out of the shorts, then fed the leggings over them and up her legs until they were in place, totally forgetting about our audience of one.
“You guys have to be the sweetest couple I’ve ever laid eyes on,” the technician said as she cleaned off the table. “How long have you been together?”
“Six weeks,” Sasha told her as she picked up her bag and threw the used razor and wipes in the trash can.
“But we’ve known each other our whole lives,” I added. That little fact made a huge difference in my mind.
“That must be what it is. I swear, it’s like watching my parents when I go to visit them. They move independently, but everything they do compliments the other's movements or thoughts. A bit like magnets with a touch of magic.”
Holding my hand out for Sasha’s, I smiled at the nice lady. “I like to compare us to puzzle pieces. We fit perfectly together to create a whole image.”
The lady blinked as she thought about this, but then she nodded. “I guess that’s a great example of my parents as well. I’ll have to remember that for their next anniversary card.”
It was as we were leaving that Sasha whispered loudly, “He’s got single brothers. If you’re interested, just say the word and I’ll hit you up.”
The door shut behind us, but we could still hear her laughter as we walked down the hallway to the reception desk.
Our first fight happened on the drive home—in my truck. I needed to keep stressing which vehicle we were in when I said I’d taken Sasha somewhere because her dads had spread around our hometown that she now had a two door Mini, and everyone was dying to see me crammed in it.
That would come soon enough—in ten days, to be precise—because we were driving home for Christmas. In the Mini. The very small Mini. With my very long legs inside it. My hair skimmed the roof when I’d sat in it after she’d gotten it, so that didn’t bode well.
“I think if we put my stuff in both of our cars, we could move me back home in one trip,” Sasha said out of the blue.
Fortunately, we were stopped at a red light when she said it so I didn’t crash when I looked at her.
“What?”
“Well, I know mine’s not that big, but if we collapse the back seats—”
“That’s not what I’m what-ing about. What do you mean move you home?”
She looked genuinely confused about what the problem was. “I know you like having your space, and you’ve looked after me for a long time now. Don’t you want that back?”
Kind of, but not at the same time.
“Not really. I thought you’d stay longer.”
I hadn’t thought about it at all if I was honest. It’d never occurred to me that she had her own place and would be going back to it once she was healed.
“There’s no need. I just have to be careful like the lady said, and we’ll still see each other.”
“But what about Milkshake?”
Frowning at me, she said slowly, “What about Milkshake?”
“Where’s he going to live? He’s used to my place, and all his shit’s there.”