Page 37 of Memphis

“Still can’t feel much, but I’m getting some reflex action here and there. And I wasn’t gettin’ any when I first got in here.”

“That’s gotta be a good sign.”

“Certainly hope so.”

“If not, I could break you out of here at any time. All you gotta do is say the word, and I'll?—”

Before he could finish his thought, the door opened, and Toni stepped into the room with a bouquet of flowers in her hand. She looked radiant, a stark contrast to the drab surroundings of my small room, and I wasn’t the only one to notice. A smirk crossed his face as he said, “And who do we have here?”

“Goose, this is Toni.” I motioned my hand towards Goose. “Toni, this is my brother, Goose.”

“Hi. Nice to meet you.” Toni placed the flowers on the table beside me. Goose moved closer to her with that cocky grin of his as she asked, “How have you guys been doing?”

“Been a bit slow.” His eyes skirted over her. “But things are looking up now that you’re here.”

“Is that right?”

“No joke.” Goose nodded his head toward me as he added, “Sitting here with this one is about as fun as watching paint dry.”

“Not like you’ve made things any better. You’re like listening to Dad give one of his club financial reports. Hell, I’ve had to count backward in my head just to drown you out.”

“I’m the best thing that’s happened to you all week.”

“I just had a colonoscopy, so that’s not saying much.”

“Okay, boys,” Toni interrupted. “Play nice.”

“Yeah, Memphis,” Goose scolded. “Play nice. We wouldn’t want to scare off your guest.”

It was clear Goose was into Toni. Hell, it was written all over his face, and it was tough to keep my jealousy in check. He was a tall, good-looking guy with two working legs, and he was laying it on thick. Toni gave him a warm smile. “That’s okay. I don’t scare off that easily.”

“Hmmm. If that’s the case.” He cocked his brow. “Come have a cup of coffee with me.”

She glanced over at me, and I kept my expression blank, doing what I could to hide the turmoil inside. I was expecting her to take him up on his offer, but she quickly replied, “I appreciate the offer and all, but I wanted to visit with Weston for a bit.”

“We could always go a little later?” Goose was relentless but charming enough to get away with it. He gave her one of his smiles as he said, “There’s a coffee joint downstairs.”

“Okay. Maybe.” Toni stepped over to me and asked, “How ya making it today?”

“Not bad.”

Goose stepped back, leaning against the wall, still watching her with that infuriatingly charming gaze. I wanted to punch the asshole right in the throat. I gave him a warning look as I told him, “If you’re done flirtin’ with Antonia, maybe you could give us a minute.”

“Oh, I’m not done. Hell, I’m just gettin’ started.” Goose gave her a wink. “But I’ll give you a minute.”

Goose walked out of the room, leaving Toni shaking her head with a smile. “Your friend is quite a character.”

“You have no idea.”

We continued talking, and she shared about her day, and I told her about mine. I was tempted to tell her that I was starting to get more feelings in my legs and how it’d given me more mobility, but for reasons I couldn’t explain, I kept it to myself. I was enjoying my time with her. It was nice. There was no awkwardness or unease, and I didn’t want to mess it up.

But like most moments between us, it didn’t last long.

I don’t know if it was something she said or something I did, but one minute we were laughing and then, we weren’t. In the silence, she looked over at me in a way that had me looking at her, and the longing in her eyes had me thinking things I had no business thinking. My cock started to stir, and for the first time in weeks, my mind wasn’t consumed with thoughts about my legs.

Instead, they were all about her.

I wanted to stay wrapped up in that moment with her for as long as possible, but as luck would have it, Goose strolled back into the room, and it was over. “You ready for that coffee?”

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