Page 35 of Revive Me

“Liar. You did research onme,you little stalker. Admit it.”

Crossing my arms, I aim a glare at him. “Only ifyouadmit you’re not nearly as helpless as you want me to think you are.”

“Alright fine, I concede,” he says, lifting his hands in surrender. “Last thing I want to do is make you angry enough to grab Mrs. Wilson’s walker.”

I glance toward the equipment room. “I should really figure out which leg she’s whittling down.”

Roman’s smile has a giggle escaping my chest. This whole night has been unexpected, but I can’t deny that I had a lot of fun. ThatRomanmade it fun.

“You ready to close up?” he asks.

I nod. “I just have to grab my coat and purse.”

Roman jerks his head toward the break room. “Go. I’ll wait.”

I don’t know why I’m surprised to hear he’s going to wait. Clearly, there’s a protective side of Roman I haven’t seen before.

Once I have everything I need, I gesture for Roman to exit the back door while I set the clinic’s alarm. Then before I know it, we’re both in the parking lot, trying to figure out how to say goodbye. In the end, all I manage is, “See you on Saturday, I guess?”

He nods. “Sounds good.”

“Don’t forget to do your PT homework,” I say with an awkward laugh.

That earns me a look that screamsreally?“I’ll do mine if you do yours,” he says with a lifted eyebrow.

I frown. “What’s myhomework?”

“WatchingHereditary. You’re not allowed to call yourself a horror fan if you’ve never seen it.”

A shudder runs through me at even the title. “I can’t do paranormal horror by myself. I’ll have nightmares for weeks.”

Roman shrugs. “Didn’t realize my homework was optional. Guess I won’t do mine, either.”

Now it’s his turn to get areally?look. “Fine. I’ll watch it. But if you get an email from my boss saying you’ve been traded to a new PT, you’ll know why.”

His chuckle floats behind him as he starts toward his ride. “Goodnight, Doc.”

I’m still smiling as I walk toward my car. “Goodnight, Roman.”

12

ROMAN

“Comeon, quit being such a pussy and play another game!”

Sighing, I pull my headphones off and place them beside me. I hit my limit of teenage boy insults twenty minutes ago, so that one pretty much did me in.

I drag a hand down my face as I lean back against the couch. I’ve been sitting here for almost three hours, killing time with video games while I wait for Mikey to get off work.

Debating getting a head start on the night, I look at the fridge where I put the beer earlier. It’s become an unspoken tradition for our Fridays to consist of alcohol and video games. I already did my physical therapy for the day, made myself food, napped, and now I’m just bored.

Glancing at my phone, I have an errant thought wondering what Lily is doing right now. Is she working at the clinic tonight? Is she at home? Is she watching a movie? Maybe one that I recommended.

Part of me wishes I could text her. But even if I had her number, I’m not entirely sure Icouldtext her, what with our professional relationship and everything.

Or even if she’d be receptive to it.

My sigh is heavier this time, knowing the likely answer to that question but not having the mental fortitude to acknowledge it. I should just stick to being her problem patient, horror movies aside.

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