Page 44 of Playing with My Heart

Chapter Fifteen

TRAVIS

The hum of the clinic was a familiar backdrop to my day, but today, every sound seemed amplified—the tap of fingers on keyboards, the rustle of patients shifting on treatment beds, and the soft murmur of Parker’s voice as he instructed Mrs. Henley on her exercises. I tried to focus on the chart in front of me, but my gaze kept wandering over to where he stood, the sunlight from the window casting a halo around his head, like he truly was an angel.

“Travis, are you with us?” Justin’s teasing voice snapped me back to reality. I looked up to find my office manager eyeing me with an amused smirk.

“Uh, yeah. Where else would I be,” I replied, though we both knew my attention was elsewhere. “Just reviewing the Henderson case.”

“Uh-huh,” he said, not buying it for a second. His eyes flicked towards Parker before returning to me with a knowing look. I gave him a glare that I hoped conveyed “drop it,” and thankfully, he did.

“Mr. Brooks?” The uncertain voice of my next patient pulled me out from under Justin’s scrutiny. I plastered on my best professional smile and turned toward the young athlete who had been rehabbing a knee injury for the past month.

“Right here, Jeremy. Let’s see how that knee is holding up today,” I said, all business now. As we walked towards the treatment area, I couldn’t help but steal a glance at Parker, catching him observing us with a small, secretive smile. Our eyes met, and the connection was instant, a silent conversation in a crowded room.

“Everything feels a lot better,” Jeremy was saying, and I locked back into therapist mode. “I think I’m ready to get back on the field.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I cautioned, even as my peripheral vision betrayed me, drawn to the way Parker leaned down to adjust Mrs. Henley’s ankle weights. His movements were precise, his touch gentle—qualities I had become intimately familiar with.

“Focus, Travis,” I muttered to myself, turning my full attention back to Jeremy and guiding him through a series of stability exercises. I corrected his posture, praised his progress, and made a few notes in his chart. But the moment Jeremy was settled into his routine, I found myself searching for Parker once more.

Our game of covert glances continued, each look a promise of things to come, charging the air with anticipation. It was ridiculous, really—we were grown men acting like teenagers—but I didn’t care. There was something exhilarating about this secret dance we were engaged in.

As the day wore on, the clinic began to empty, the bustle giving way to a quieter atmosphere. I was finishing up some documentation when Parker knocked softly on my office door.

“Everyone’s getting ready to leave for the day,” he said, his voice low as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

“Is that so?” I asked, leaning back in my chair, trying to maintain a semblance of control over my overwhelming desire to pull him close.

“Yep,” he replied casually, strolling towards me. “Just thought I’d check to see if you need me to do anything else before we head out.”

“Actually,” I started, my voice thick with arousal. “There is something.”

He stopped just short of my desk, the growing tension between us, a tangible thing. Then, with a swift movement, I was out of my chair, and we collided in a heat of urgency. Our lips met in a stolen kiss, fervent and hasty, as if we were making up for lost time.

“God, I’ve wanted to do that all day,” he breathed against my mouth, and I responded by deepening the kiss, my hands finding their way into his hair.

“Me too,” I admitted, our kiss slowing, turning tender and exploratory. We savored the taste of one another, the feel of lips and teeth and tongue in a slow burn that promised more.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway, and we sprang apart, each of us smoothing our hair and straightening our clothes. By the time the door swung open, we were the picture of professionalism—or so we hoped.

Justin leaned against the doorframe and shot me a knowing look—one that had my heart hitching in my chest. “Travis, you might want to take a break from ‘reorganizing your files’ with Parker,” he said, air quoting with a wry grin. The tips of my ears heated up as I glanced over at Parker, who was trying, poorly, to disguise his flustered state with a shuffle of patient charts.

“Justin, we were just—” I started, but the gleam in his eye told me it was pointless to feign innocence.

“Save it. I’ve known about you two for weeks,” he admitted, pushing off from the doorframe and sauntering into the room. His smile was infectious, and despite the initial shock, I found myself grinning back.

“Seriously?” Parker asked, his eyes flickering between Justin and me.

“Yep, and so has everyone else.” Justin’s voice held a lilt of amusement. “In fact, we’ve been taking bets on how long it’d take for you guys to get caught.”

“Wait, there’s a betting pool on us?” I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up from my chest. The absurdity was too much.

“Uh-huh, and let me tell you,” he continued, pulling out his phone and tapping away. “I was pretty close to winning. I guessed three weeks. We’re at two and a half.”

“Who else is in on this?” I pressed, still reeling from the revelation.

“Who isn’t? Even Bryan threw in a guess, though he’s terrible at keeping secrets.” Justin chuckled, scrolling through what I assumed was a list of bets.

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