Page 45 of Shielding Aubree

His smile warmed her all over and she got up from her bed struggling with the heat she felt inside. "I think I should... wash my hands... or something."

"Okay," he turned back to the stove, "everything should be ready to eat when you come back."

Licking at her lips, she made a quick trip to the bathroom before washing her hands at a speed she'd never used before, vigorously rubbing her hands with the oat milk soap she used all the time. And brushed her teeth as if there was a timer ticking down the seconds.

With a quick swipe of a dampened towel over her face, she blinked back at herself in the mirror.

She could see the warmth of a blush in her cheeks and across her chest above her slouchy t-shirt.

Not wanting to waste a single moment she hung up the towel to dry and stepped out of the bathroom door, drawing in a gasp of breath when she saw him still standing at her stove.

He turned slightly, looking over his shoulder. "That was fast."

"I guess..." She cleared her throat to make sure she still had a voice and walked toward him. "I guess I was worried that I'd come back out and you'd be gone."

He shook his head, and she saw the morning sunlight illuminate his back. That's when she saw them again.

His scars.

It was one thing in the bright sunlight, but in her kitchen with the sunlight smoothing over his back like a physical touch, it hit home.

Before she knew what she was doing she was standing behind him, her hand lifted over his scars, but not touching.

"Does it still hurt?"

He froze for a moment, his body going still.

"You don't have to-"

"Aubree."

She heard the click as he turned off the burner on the stove top. He set the tongs off to the side and turned around so he was facing her.

"You can ask me anything." He reached behind him and grabbed up one of her towels from the oven door handle. He wiped his hands clean and reached back to put it away, but he missed when her hands reached out and caught at his waist. "Anything," he reminded her.

"Does it hurt when you stand around for a bit?"

He lifted a brow at her question but answered it immediately. "Not so much anymore. I spent a lot of time building up my core muscles and back strength."

She nodded, thinking about the times when her back would start to ache. "How long did that take you?"

His hands settled on her shoulders and slowly swept down her bare arms as if they were falling in slow motion. "It took a while. I didn't want to give in to the fear that I might not be able to get back in the game again. I pushed, a little too hard at first. I almost pushed myself into traction."

Aubree's lips tightened at his words.

She'd seen those devices before.

She'd passed by rooms where other patients were in traction, and she'd wondered what it would feel like to be trapped in something like that.

"Hey," Ruben's hands rubbed at the outsides of her arms as if he could feel how cold she was inside, "are you okay?"

When she didn't answer him, he leaned down, bending his knees to look her in the eye.

"Breathe with me, baby. In..."

It took her a moment to copy his in drawn breath.

"And out..."

---