Page 3 of Catching Feelings

I tilt my hips backward and think about double sessions, green beans, and Coach’s ass when he bent over and accidentally dropped his towel in the locker room last season. Unfortunately, none of those unpleasantries help tame my raging boner. It doesn’t help that I lean down and breathe in her scent. Vanilla and sugar. Almost like carrot cake.

Now I want to lick her. Nibble her. Eat her.

Fuuuuuuuck.

“It’s long but not too wide.”

“That’s not what she said.” The words tumble out before I think to apply my filter. I’m not the filter-applying kind of guy, but Rowan has girl-next-door vibes and is the sweetest human I’ve ever met.

She snorts and pats my uninjured side. “Nice to see the scrape didn’t alter your personality.”

“Scrape? My intestines are practically hanging out. I’m gonna need a mouth-to-mouth, Doc.”

Rowan points to the table and I hop up.

“FYI, your intestines extend from the bottom of your stomach to your anus.”

I laugh like a ten-year-old boy. “You said anus.”

Rolling her eyes, she sets out gauze and antiseptic shit. “Your boo-boo is a surface wound. No surgery required. I would, however, recommend liquid stitches, if not the real deal.”

“You gonna stitch me up, Doc?”

“Me? No, because I’m a pediatric RN, not a doctor. When I was an emergency room tech, that was one of my jobs, but not anymore. I can give you a sticker though.”

“No lollipop?”Or something else to suck on?My gaze drops to her chest, hidden behind scrubs decorated with footballs, baseballs, and soccer balls.

She cleans up the blood, which isn’t gushing anymore, and pours some antibiotic on the wound. It’s cold and stings, which has me flinching.

“Need me to hold your hand, big guy?”

“Yes.” Or my dick. Fuck me, I gotta clean up my brain. Rowan’s too sweet to be on the receiving end of my thoughts. Those lines work on women looking for a quick hookup, but when I talk dirty, I only mean it ten percent of the time.

Rowan chuckles and wipes the area dry before applying the liquid stitches. She’s gentle and attentive, and that makes me want to be gentle and attentive to her. Not something I’ve ever strived to be before.

I’ve been secretly crushing on Rowan from afar, or at least, from the other side of the room, for freaking ever. If she were the wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am kind of girl, I would have approached her long ago, but she’s the kind of woman you wine and dine.

Movie dates. Strolls through the park. The kind of girl you bring home to your parents. Oraunt, in my case.

Rowan peels back the casing to a Band-Aid and sticks it on my uninjured side. “There. I don’t want to cover the wound just yet, but you were such a good boy and deserved a boo-boo covering.”

I glance down at the pink princess stuck to my rib.

“I’m not sure if you have the most impeccable or the worst bedside manner, Doc.”

“Nurse. And it’s impeccable.” She beams at me, her chocolatey eyes dancing with mischief.

Fuck me. Why have I been such a pussy about approaching her?

“Hey, Row. You’re officially off the clock.” A male nurse joins us in the tent. “Oh, wow. You’re Miles Buckingham, right? Love watching you play.” He dips his chin to my hands. “Hell, the media is right. Your hands are enormous. No wonder you’re so good at catching balls.”

“Thanks.” I’m not immune to the attention my hands get. At six-five, I’m a big guy. I wouldn’t be a pro-bowl tight end if I couldn’t catch a football, and my hands are part of what make my stats so good. There are evenBuck my Handsfan pages on different social media accounts. Hey, if you’ve got it, flaunt it.

But right now, more than anything, my hands want to catch something else. Someoneelse.

“Anything I need to know before you take off?” he asks Rowan.

“Nothing major. A girl was in here not long ago icing her knee. Recovering from an ACL surgery. Trainers took a look and told her to take it easy. Her name is Anastasia, so be on the lookout for her.”

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