Page 30 of Revive Me

I have to smother my smile so he doesn’t see it in the mirror as he works to flex his foot up.

He does four reps easily. On the fifth, his leg starts to shake. Roman’s jaw clenches in determination, and I internally cheer, since that’s become the tell-tale sign that he’s at the point ofI’ll die before I give up.

“Come on, two more,” is all the encouragement I let myself vocalize as he finishes the sixth rep.

It feels like it takes forever, but he gets reps seven and eight. Relieved, I sigh happily, about to open my mouth to congratulate him on a hard session, when I see he’s flexing against the band again.

He’s going for a ninth rep.

And a tenth.

By the eleventh, my heart’s nearly beating out of my chest. I can’t breathe for the risk of disturbing this incredible moment.

He’s shaking so badly, I’m worried the band is going to dislodge from his foot. “Come on, you son of a bitch,” I hear him murmur through a strained breath of his own.

The moment his lift reaches full extension, he lets the band go with an explosive exhale.Twelve.

I plant my hands on my hips, not even attempting to keep the smile off my face. “Well, well, well, look who’s an overachiever. I should’ve known.”

Roman rests his hands behind him and leans back as he calms his breathing. “You should’ve seen me when I was fighting. I didn’t know how to stop.”

“As far as I’m concerned, that was the definition of a fight,” I say, grabbing the band and putting it back in the bin. “Which you won, by the way. In overtime.”

When I turn back to Roman, there’s an amused smirk tugging at his lips. “There’s no overtime in fighting, Doc.”

I quirk an eyebrow, even as I battle a smile of my own. “Not anymore, there isn’t, but Bellator used to do an extra round if the fight was scored evenly at the end.” I force a mock-disappointed expression. “I would’ve expected you to know that.”

Surprise lights in his eyes.God, I love catching him off guard.“Did you just…?”

I just stare at him, waiting expectantly.

He seems to finally pull himself together. “Why do you know that?” he asks bluntly.

I shrug.I did a shit-ton of research into fighting so I could better understand you and hopefully figure out a way to help you. The fact that an organization’s old round time rules stuck in my head was a total accident.

“Everybody knows that,” I say instead.

Roman’s eyes narrow, but he doesn’t push me on it, just studies me with a skeptical look on his face.

“Alright, that’s it for today,” I quip happily, clapping my hands together. “See you Saturday?”

Roman only nods in answer before pulling himself over to his wheelchair.

Just then, my phone dings with a text. It’s set to DND when I’m with patients, which means it can only be from one of three people.

I sigh when I read the message.

“Everything okay?” Roman asks from where he’s settled in his chair.

“Fine,” I say with another sigh. “Just my boss.”

Roman gives me an expectant look.

“One of our machines is broken, so a technician was scheduled to come out and repair it,” I explain. “He was supposed to be here an hour ago. My boss just told me he’s only now leaving his last job.”

Roman frowns. “So he’s still coming? Is there anyone else in the building right now?”

I shake my head. “Just me. Since your sessions are late, this place is empty by now. Which means I get to be the one that waits around to let him in.”

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