Page 17 of The Perfect Game

Ben smiled, and the combination of his cologne and the dark blue eyes caused a surge of attraction to blossom in my chest.

“Don’t worry. John will help you get back to playing in no time.”

“Mmmm-hmmm.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say. No wonder Penny had gone from a hardcore tomboy to a more feminine athlete with a boyfriend. I shook it off, doing my best to focus on the stretch John showed me on a raised platform. Boys in general were just a surefire way to tears, but Ben was showing me that maybe I’d jumped to the wrong conclusions about every guy in the world.

We worked through several stretches and then a few strengthening exercises. Ben’s patience helped to keep me calm, even when I felt the pain. His dry sense of humor had me laughing a few times, and I was almost sad to be done with the session.

I texted my dad as I sat with my leg dangling in the cold bath. Twenty minutes would give him plenty of time to pick me up. When I glanced out the window at the parking lot when I was done soaking, however, there was no sign of the red sports car. I tried to shake it off, hoping to keep the tears at bay. I’d already cried enough over the last week. I didn’t need to continue the waterworks where the world could see.

Ten

Ben

I pretended like I hadn’t been glancing up at Serena while I helped another patient get hooked up to the stimulation machine. She was talking to another girl sharing the cold tub and they were laughing about something, probably with the light dose of sarcasm I knew her for.

“Ben, go grab Serena and let’s get her ready to head out.” John’s words made me jump, and I wondered how long I’d been staring at her.

I nodded and strolled over to the small room with the tubs. “John said he’s ready for you, Serena. Let me help you out.” I grabbed a towel from the rack and held it out, waiting for her to lift her foot out of the whirlpool.

She reached for the towel, but I quickly dried off her foot and then held her upper arm, waiting for her to step down. “Thanks,” she said, red surging to her cheeks.

“Here, let me help you.” I lifted her arm gently and placed it around my back. One drawback of being so tall was most people couldn’t put their arm around my shoulders.

The first step we took, she lost her balance, and her reflex caused her other arm to go around my waist, hugging my middle tightly. It took a few seconds for her to relax. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—I mean, um, I thought I was going to fall again.”

“I’ve got you,” I said, smiling down at her.

Her smile in return was hesitant at first, her eyes searching my own for something I couldn’t figure out. She blinked and looked down, her arm nudging me forward like she was ready to go. It took a few steps before we were able to get into a rhythm, making it out to the taping area near the front of the clinic.

“That was faster than the crutches for sure.” Serena grinned at me as she shifted onto the table and scooted with her back to the wall.

All I could do was nod. This had been the best forty-five minutes of work ever, and I was sad to see it ending.

John walked up, pulling a new Ace bandage out of the drawer below, and started wrapping her foot.

“How long will it take to heal?” Serena asked him.

“I think you’re at a grade-two sprain. Worse than a quick tweak where you keep playing on it and it starts to feel better. You’ve still got pain coming from it, right?” He looked up at Serena, but she didn’t meet his eyes, concentrating on his hands wrapping the bandage.

She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess as long as I don’t go jumping off tables,” she glanced up at me with a smile before focusing back on the wrapping, “it’s not horrible.”

“Good. It’s going to be anywhere from four to eight weeks. Just don’t push it yet. Most people with an injury like yours need at least two months or so before they feel like they can put their full weight on it.”

I opened the ice machine, not wanting to leave to do anything else while she was still there. After scooping some ice into a plastic bag, I spun it around and wrapped the ends around my fingers, tying it off as I watched John finish wrapping her ankle.

Once he finished, John said, “I’d say come in at least three times a week for now. The more we can strengthen it, the sooner you’ll be back to normal, which your father requested.”

“He did?” The surprise on her face made her look more vulnerable than the outer shell of sarcasm she usually wore. But after all I’d learned about her in the past few weeks, especially today, it was understandable. I’d probably feel the same loneliness she felt if my mom didn’t come to all my games. And yet, Serena seemed to be grasping at any sort of love her parents would give her.

“Yeah, he said to make sure we take every measure to ensure a speedy rehab. The most important part now is to not rush it outside this clinic. You might feel stronger, but you don’t want to do more damage because you pushed harder than your ankle can handle. Just trust the process, and we’ll get you fixed up.”

Once finished, Serena slid down and grabbed the crutches, looking as though she wanted to throw them across the room.

John chuckled and looked at me. “Clark, go grab a pair of crutches that are a normal size for Serena.” He turned to Serena. “Using your dad’s old set won’t make it easy to maneuver.”

“You’ve got that right,” Serena said, smirking. I hadn’t looked at the crutches until John said something, but they were way too tall for her.

I hurried into the back room, having to sort through a few stacks of different sizes. It would be a lot easier if everything had been organized into certain rows, but I wasn’t going to mess with John’s system. I already had too much to do around the clinic.

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