Chapter 4

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Day three of cleaning duty and it’s still a fucking joke. I hate cleaning way more than I thought I would. The fucking gloves are too small for my hands and the cleaning supplies feel gross on my skin.

 

Unlike most people, I actually take a shower at the end of my work day before I go to the gym. I’ve been going for a few days now and so far I’m the only one using it. If anyone else is using it, I can’t tell. That is until today when I walk in and find Sookie walking on the treadmill.

 

Mmm, her tits are bouncy.

 

“Fancy meeting you here,” I smile as I pull my shirt off.

 

“Not that fancy,” she replies.

 

“Right,” I nod.

 

I hop onto the treadmill next to her and push the speed button until it hits five. For most people that’s a jog, my legs are so long it’s only a brisk walk for me.

 

“Been coming here long?”

 

“A few days,” she shrugs. “It beats sitting around in my room waiting for therapy or going to the game room.”

 

“That’s what I figured. I’m starting to get a gut,” I chuckle, patting my belly.

 

“I didn’t want to say anything,” she says seriously.

 

“It’s the French fries,” I tell her. They’re delicious here and available 24/7.

 

“Kit Kats are my weakness,” she tells me.

 

“Those are the devil too,” I smile. “Apparently I’ve been replacing coke with grease and chocolate.”

 

I bump up the speed to seven so I’m jogging now. I feel like I look weird when I run, but that doesn’t matter.

 

“I miss my iPod right about now,” she says. “No offense, but yeah… I miss it.”

 

“I know what you mean. Sorry I talk so much; I hope I’m not as bad as Amelia. I’m just used to always having someone to talk to. It’s actually a little lonely having a single room.”

 

“I don’t miss her at all,” Sookie chuckles. “Then again, I’ve never lived alone. When I moved out of my parents’ house, I moved in with my boyfriend.”

 

“As lame as it sounds I live in my parents’ guesthouse,” I admit.

 

“That’s not at all surprising,” she replies.

 

It does sound terrible that at twenty-five and a half I’m technically still living at home.

 

“What’s your boyfriend like?” I ask. I’m curious what kind of guy she likes.

 

“He’s straight as an arrow and he’s been a saint taking care of me,” Sookie says. “He was willing to move out here with me, far away from our parents, so I wouldn’t be here alone. He’s dependable, sweet, smart and just… he’s perfect.”

 

I smile. I want to say he’s not so perfect that he didn’t allow you to spiral down the rabbit hole, but that’s not my business.

 

“That’s good,” I stick with. It’s the most polite.

 

“Plus he’s been really supportive of me coming here. At the time it pissed me off, but now I realize he was right, that this is where I belong,” she says.

 

“The girl I was seeing got the news when I texted her before I had to turn in my cell phone. She’s probably holed up with someone else now. Since she uses too, I don’t think I should be around her anyway.”

 

“Probably not,” Sookie agrees. “I’ll have to find a sponsor when I get home and see where the local N.A. meetings are.”

 

“Quinn talked to me about that. He has a couple references for me,” I say. “Fuck, I’m going to have to drop all of my fucking friends… that’s a scary thought.”

 

“None of my friends are users so I’m safe. If anything, I’m going to have too many people looking over my shoulder to make sure I’m clean.”

 

“Yeah, I’d rather just make new friends,” I laugh. “I’d go crazy. What part of town are you in?” I wink.

 

I push my speed up to nine. I’m starting to get winded, but I’m going to push myself a little more before hitting the weights.

 

“I’m all the way down in Laguna,” she answers.

 

“I can make the trip,” I pant. Fuck, I’m way too out of shape. As a teenager I could do fucking marathons. Now I’m sure I’ll be done with this shit in four miles, which is coming up quickly.

 

“We’ll see,” she shrugs.

 

“Come on, you don’t want me to ogle your tits in front of your boyfriend?” I tease and slow the belt down to five again.

 

“I think I’ll pass.”

 

I snort and slow my speed down to three for a cool down on my five minute cardio. I’m going to call it a warm up.

 

“You want to hit the weights? I can spot you,” I smile as I press the stop button.

 

“You just want to look down my sports bra up close,” she snorts.

 

“And?” I grin. “It’ll be good for your self-esteem.” I want to watch her ass when she bends too.

 

“By my self-esteem, I think you mean your spank bank.”

 

“Tomato, tomahto,” I shrug and hit the stop button on her treadmill. “Let’s work on your knee. Believe it or not I used to spend a shitload of time in the gym.”

 

“Really? When I met you, you looked more like the Americans just liberated Poland,” she replies as she steps down from the treadmill.

 

“That was about two years of snorting piles of coke and never eating,” I tell her. “Believe it or not I used to have muscles.”

 

“Me too,” she snickers. “No way would I fit into any of my old costumes anymore. I have the one I wore when I won my gold medal, but I was still a C cup back then.”

 

Sookie takes a seat at the machine to do leg extensions.

 

“That’s pretty impressive. Most skaters have negative A cups,” I snicker. “You have a pretty nice rack, but I’m sure you know that.”

 

I don’t have to spot her since it’s one of the machines, but I still stand behind her and look over her shoulder to take a look at the goods.

 

“Have you been on the machines yet, or just cardio?” I ask.

 

“I’ve done some stuff with the weights. Yesterday I worked out with Preston and he spotted me.”

 

“Good,” I nod. “Was that just your arms or your legs too?”

 

“Both. Then we went for a jog out back on the trail.”

 

“So, what you’re saying is, you don’t really need me, you just wanted a closer look at my abs,” I deadpan. I’m not fat, but I’m a little ways off from a six pack.

 

“What abs?” Sookie smirks. “Also, you invited yourself into my workout so you could watch my tits.”

 

“Damn, reverse psychology doesn’t work on you,” I chuckle. “I’ll just stay where I am. I have an excellent view from here.”

 

“Dork.”

 

She doesn’t tell me to move, so I stay right where I am.

 

“I can use a spotter when I do my bench presses,” I tell her. I can wait till she’s done. It’s not like either of us has anything to do.

 

“Want me to get Freyda?”

 

“No,” I reply almost too quickly. “You’re all the help I need.”

 

“Are you sure? She’s got vampire str–”

 

“Positive,” I say, cutting her off. “Plus I can look at your girls from a different angle.”

 

“She’d give you the full Monty.”

 

“I’m content with what I got here,” I chuckle. What makes me nervous is lying on a bench and getting wood when I imagine her tits in my face.

 

“Suit yourself,” Sookie shrugs.

 

“Get to work, woman,” I smile, tapping the back of her chair.

 

“Yeah, yeah.” Sookie doesn’t have much weight on the press and when it flies up, she leans over to add another twenty pounds.

 

“Uh oh, you’re making me nervous, Ice Queen,” I snicker. “That knee is going to give me a run for my money when we get in the rink.”

 

“I warned you, Sparkles.”

 

“What do you want if you win?” I already know she’s going to shoot down my idea to take her out to dinner, just me and her, fuck the boyfriend. Now that all of the pills are out of her system she’s a pretty fuckin’ cool chick.

 

“I don’t know. I’ve been trying to think of something. Have you decided?”

 

“I know you’re not going to like it,” I tell her. “And I know nothing can really come of it, but I want to show you a nice night on the town. Dinner, walking around, just me and you.”

 

“As long as you know it’s not a date, I’m okay with that,” Sookie says.

 

“Can you at least wear something low cut so I can have a nice view all evening?”

 

She laughs and says, “I’ll consider it.”

 

“Come on, it’s part of the bet,” I tease, reaching down to poke her in the side.

 

“We’ll see.”

 

“Finish the next set so I can look at your boobs from underneath… Um… I mean so you can spot me.”

 

Sookie rolls her eyes and resumes her exercises. When she’s done she gets up and follows me to the weight bench. I know she can’t lift as much as me, so I put less weight on the bar. Plus, this is more about the repetition than the weight.

 

“You think you can handle this if I get stuck?” I ask as I lie back. Sookie is standing at the top of the bench so I get a perfect view of her tits. She doesn’t discourage me from looking, and I’ve never even tried to touch her. I’m well aware of the fact that she’s got a man that treats her like a perfect princess, so I would say she’s right and it’s all for my spank bank, but I haven’t even jacked off since arriving here.

 

“I guess we’ll find out.”

 

I can’t tell if she’s kidding.

 

I shake my head and lift the bar off the rack. I only have a hundred pounds on it, on top of the weight of the bar. I do twelve reps, straining a little right around number nine. Fuck, I really, really need to get back into shape.

 

“Thanks, you wanna bench some?” I ask. It’ll work her chest muscles and I’m sure she can use the help holding up those gorgeous tits.

 

“I think I’ll pass for today,” she says. “I did yoga this morning.”

 

“And you didn’t invite me to watch?”

 

“The class is open to anyone,” she smiles.

 

“Who all takes it?” I might go if Felicia is in there bending over. Her ass is a little sexier than Sookie’s. Sookie has the tits though.

 

“This morning it was Stephanie, Kerrigan, Melissa, Chow, Felicia and me.”

 

“Hmm,” I hum. My cock decides to wake up thinking about the girls bending and stretching. I sit up quickly to avoid Sookie seeing my cock jump and end up smacking my head on the bar. Hard. Like seeing stars or tweety birds hard. “Motherfucker!” I shout as I reach up to rub my forehead. Moving my arm up manages to throw off my equilibrium and I start to feel dizzy, but I don’t fall.

 

Sookie reaches out to steady me.

 

“I’ll get you some ice.”

 

“One second,” I say holding her hands on my shoulders. I’m honestly scared if she moves now I’ll topple over.

 

“Take your time.” Sookie reaches up to gently touch my head. “That’s gonna leave a mark.”

 

“It’s throbbing like a motherfucker,” I groan, closing my eyes. Bad call. I start to tip so I quickly open them up again. Sookie’s tits are in my face and I’m not even trying to check them out. I’m fuckin’ broken. “Fuuuuck,” I groan again. “I think I just broke my brain.”

 

“How can you tell?” she jokes.

 

“Your tits are practically touching my face and I’m not even getting excited,” I admit. “I killed enough fuckin’ brain cells. I didn’t need to kill anymore.”

 

“Poor thing. I’ll be right back with ice.”

 

“Okay,” I nod, hissing at the movement. I move my legs further out to the side it steady myself while I wait. My head is going to hurt like a bitch for a while. I have no idea how much time passes before she comes back with some ice in a bag. “You know, I think I’m going to need you to stay in my room with me tonight in case I have a concussion,” I tell her as seriously as possible.

 

“Yeah, sure,” Sookie says absently.

 

I hold the ice pack to my head and close my eyes again like an idiot. Every time I close them I get dizzy.

 

“Fuck, I might actually be serious,” I groan.

 

“Do you need the staff nurse?” She takes a deep breath and turns to look out the large windows.

 

“No, I’ll be fine. I just need you to walk me to my room in a minute if that’s okay.”

 

“It’s fine,” she whispers.

 

“Hey, are you alright?” I ask, reaching out to grab her hand.

 

She hands me an envelope with decent handwriting on the front, addressed to her.

 

“I stopped at the desk and this was waiting for me,” Sookie says.

 

I take a look and it’s from a guy named Luke. I motion to pull the letter out to see if it’s alright and she nods. When I have it out I open it and there only a few sentences on the page, the most prominent one is the sentence stating that he’s met someone else…

 

I drop the letter and her hand. Fuck my head and fuck what I’ve said and done to her. I grab her by the waist and pull her in so I can hug her around the waist.

 

“I’m so sorry, Sookie,” I whisper. My head is resting on her chest and I barely even notice. All I know is she just described the perfect boyfriend to me and he waits until she’s healing to pull a pussy move like a Goddamn Dear John letter. Fucking prick.

 

SPOV

 

Three years. Three fucking years. I’m gone for two weeks and he’s with someone else.

 

“The postmark is from fucking Texas,” I say. “Texas! Three years of my life… such a goddamn waste of my time.”

 

Eric rubs his hands up and down my back. He doesn’t say anything; he just looks up at me and waits to listen.

 

“Come on; let’s get you back to your room.” I don’t really want to talk about this right now.

 

“Alright,” he nods and stands up. He’s a little wobbly on his feet.

 

I wrap an arm around his waist so he can lean on me if he needs to. We take it slow back to his room. I get him settled on his bed and take off his giant sneakers for him.

 

“Do you want some water or aspirin or something?” I ask.

 

“That would probably help,” he nods. The knot on his head is steadily getting bigger.

 

“Okay. I’ll be right back. Don’t move, Lumpy,” I wink.

 

“I’m not going anywhere,” he promises.

 

When I leave his room I go back to the front desk to find out what kind of medication he can have and it turns out the on-call nurse has to go examine him before any sort of medicine will be handed out, especially since he’s injured. While the nurse is handling that, I go up to my room to change.

 

I read over Luke’s bullshit note for the sixth time. It’s not even a full paragraph. He’ll always love me, but he’s met someone. Three years together and he doesn’t even have the balls to call me and tell me. He sends me what is damn close to a postcard. If this is all the goodbye I get after three years together, then I’m fucking happy he did it now.

 

Now I can’t hit him upside the head with my Gran’s cast iron skillet.

 

I’ll cry about this later when I get into bed. For now I strip out of my workout clothes and put on a knee length nightgown. I grab my robe on the way out and slip my arms into the sleeves as I go down the hall to Eric’s room. The nurse is just giving him some pills when I arrive.

 

“Hey,” he groans when I walk in.

 

“Hi. You gonna live?”

 

“I’m still just barely hanging on,” he says in a weak voice with a little half smirk on his face.

 

“And you don’t even get to go comfortably,” I say with a shake of my head. He’s way too tall for his bed and these are the extra long twin beds.

 

“If you’re still in pain come by the infirmary in six hours,” the nurse tells Eric. “If you continue to feel extreme dizziness, nausea or if you lose consciousness, let someone know. We’ll need to take you to the emergency room. Take it easy for a day or two. No workouts.”

 

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” I tell her.

 

“Good, I’d be up shit creek without a paddle if I lost consciousness,” he says.

 

“At least my tits would be safe,” I smile.

 

The nurse looks back and forth between us but keeps her comments to herself as she walks out.

 

“You can come down here and let me rest my boo-boo on your tits,” Eric smiles hopefully.

 

“You need ice on your boo-boo and the Ice Queen’s tits are a balmy 97.8 degrees,” I reply and sit on the edge of the bed.

 

“Mmm, I think that would be perfect,” he grins.

 

“Too bad. It’s ice bags for you,” I pat his leg.

 

“Damn,” he sighs dramatically.

 

“You’ll live. I’m sure you’ve had your head on plenty of tits in your time.”

 

“I have,” he grins again. He’s loopy from the concussion.

 

“Sometimes I regret the surgery.” I might as well have some fun with him. I poke my left boob and say, “I never should have gone this big.”

 

“There’s no way in hell those are fake,” he says, reaching up to poke my right boob.

 

“Oh yeah they are. Got it done two years ago.”

 

“Bring ’em closer,” he smiles.

 

“This is close enough,” I chuckle.

 

“I don’t think so,” he pouts, “Can I at least touch ’em, you know, since I’m dying?”

 

“Is that your last wish?”

 

“It’s probably as close as I can get to my dying wish,” he tells me.

 

“What’s your last wish?” I ask, even though I’m pretty sure I know.

 

“Since I’m dying, I’d love to bend you over the counter in the bathroom. I’d cup those perfect mounds and drive into you from behind… mmm, yeah…”

 

Yup, just what I thought.

 

“Then it’s lucky for me you can hardly sit up,” I smile.

 

“I could just lean against you… Oh! You can hop on and take a ride,” he grins, patting his lap.

 

I shake my head and say, “You’re incorrigible.”

 

“I’m horny is what I am,” he laughs.

 

“Only ten weeks to go,” I say cheerfully.

 

He looks down at his crotch and sighs. “Hear that, buddy, Sookie will give us a go in ten weeks,” he tells his cock.

 

“You’re ridiculous,” I laugh.

 

He smiles up at me before his eyes drift closed. Eric actually looks kinda cute lying here… minus the head injury.

 

“How about I let you get some sleep and I’ll come check on you in a few hours?” I suggest.

 

“That works,” he mumbles.

 

“Okay. I’ll be back.”

 

“Mmm, okay.”

 

I don’t know why I do it, but when I stand up I lean over and kiss him softly. My eyes don’t even close. He’d probably be shocked to hear this, but he’s only the fourth man I’ve ever kissed. I was usually too busy for boys as a teenager and then I had Luke.

 

Eric’s eyes blink open and he just stares at me.

 

“Sorry,” I whisper.

 

“It’s okay,” he whispers back.

 

“Get some sleep.” I straighten up.

 

“Okay.”

 

I turn and leave his room, closing the door quietly behind me.

 

***

 

I’m up early the next morning for yoga. I like the calm I feel. Meditating is good. It’s good for my knee too. I’m feeling less pain and I’m not trapped in a haze of blurred emotions. The stretches are intense but they wake up muscles I haven’t used in years. It feels good to find them and put them to use again.

 

I forgot how flexible I am. Must be muscle memory. My body moves in a smooth, fluid way that I didn’t think it could anymore. I feel… refreshed. The class is an hour long and when it’s over, I go back to my room to shower and get ready for the day.

 

I’m still in my robe, trying to figure out what to wear after I clean up, when there’s a knock on my door.

 

“Come in,” I say, figuring it’s a counselor or something. I look to the left and see Eric peek inside. There’s a bump on his head and a nasty bruise, but at least he’s upright. “You’re alive,” I smile and take the towel off my head.

 

“Barely,” he smiles back as he comes in and closes the door behind himself.

 

“It’s just a bruise. You’ll be fine.” I turn back to my closet and grab a pink and white striped maxi dress.

 

“I had an excellent nurse,” he tells me as he flops down on my bed.

 

“Octavia is pretty awesome,” I agree. I grab a pair of panties and slide them on under my robe.

 

“I was talking about the one that came to check on me three times,” he says.

 

“Three times, huh? Sounds like a regular Florence Nightingale,” I snicker as I turn around.

 

“Mmhmm.”

 

“How does your head feel?”

 

“Hurts like a motherfucker, but I’m surviving.”

 

“I thought about waking you for yoga, but you looked peaceful. Besides, no Felicia today,” I smile.

 

“Damn,” he chuckles. “I needed the extra sleep anyway. I had a really hard time waking up this morning.”

 

“That’s probably not a good thing with that concussion,” I say with concern.

 

“We’ll see how today goes.”

 

“Just take it easy.” I pat his knee and then move to my dresser to pick up my hair brush.

 

“I’m off of work the rest of the week,” he tells me. “You’re more than welcome to bring my meals to me in bed.”

 

“Shucks, and I almost packed my French maid’s uniform,” I chuckle as I brush my hair.

 

“Mmm, that would’ve been perfect,” he hums as his eyes close.

 

“I’m sure you would’ve loved it.” I pull my hair over my shoulder to the left and part it into sections to braid it.

 

“I’m sure I’ll hurt something else at some point,” he snorts.

 

“I doubt you’ll have a tough time finding another nurse to take care of you.” I begin weaving my hair without looking at what I’m doing.

 

“Hmm, but you already know my body. I think I’ll keep you.”

 

“How the heck do I know your body?” I laugh. That must be the head injury talking.

 

“You’ve seen like eighty percent of it,” he shrugs. “That’s all you need to know.”

 

“Riiiight.” I wrap the elastic tie around the ends of my hair.

 

“I can show you the rest if you want.”

 

“Oh I’m sure I wouldn’t even get all the words out before you drop trou.”

 

“Definitely,” he laughs.

 

I shake my head and pick up my dress to take it to the bathroom. I’m out of my robe and in my dress in less than ten seconds. When I open the bathroom door, Eric is sitting up on my bed.

 

“I’m gonna go get breakfast before group. Are you coming or should I make a delivery?” I ask as I get a pair of sandals from the closet.

 

“If you can, I wouldn’t mind a delivery. The last thing I need is Freyda trying to turn me in my weakened state.”

 

“But I thought you would be a sexy beast of a vampire?” I put on my necklace and reach for my earrings.

 

“I wouldn’t want her as a maker.”

 

“You’re putting way too much thought into this, Sparkles.”

 

He chuckles and says, “Well, she’s pretty fuckin’ intense.”

 

She’s out of her fucking mind.

 

“I hate to kick you out, but I’m starving. I’ll bring you breakfast,” I tell him.

 

“Thanks,” he says as he gets up from the bed.

 

“No problem,” I smile.

 

I pick up my cigarettes and journal to take them down to breakfast with me. When I get out of here I’m quitting smoking.

 

“I’ll leave my door unlocked,” he tells me as we walk out.

 

“Okay. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

 

We walk down the hall together until we reach his room, and then I continue on alone to the dining room.

 

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