Page 50 of Tempting the Player
She shakes her head. “Don’t say that, he’ll be fine - he's probably got a concussion or something. I’ll find out which hospital he’s going to and we’ll follow in my car, OK?”
I nod numbly.
We eventually arrive at the hospital where Nathan has been taken – it took a while to get away from the sports ground because Amanda’s car was buried in the parking and there was a lot of commotion.
I'm shaking as I walk into A&E and ask for Nathan. I get shown into another corridor and told to wait there, that someone will come and get me. Amanda and I both stay there for ten minutes, she sits while I pace around ranting about what’s taking them so long.
Eventually, I find Olly still in his rugby gear. He comes through the doors and stops in his tracks. “Kate, what are you doing here?”
“I needed to talk to Nate - I was at the match to speak to him afterwards, and I saw what happened.”
He cringed, “Yeah, it looked pretty bad, didn’t it?”
I ignore his question, “How is he?”
He motions with his head towards the doors, “Come on, I’ll take you to him.”
Oh, bloody hell, why isn’t he telling me how he is?
I walk behind him, not saying anything, and we arrive at a room. He motions his head inside. “He’s in there, sweetheart.” He smiles at me, kisses me on the cheek and walks away.
I knock lightly and open the door slowly with trepidation, scared of what’s behind it.
Nathan is sitting on the edge of the bed, his arms braced as he grips the edges, his head bowed. He is only wearing his rugby shorts and nothing else; his head lifts because he has heard someone come in. When he sees me, surprise flashes in his eyes.
“Kate?” he whispers
I nearly sink to my knees with relief when I see that he’s OK. “Honey . . . you’re OK?”
His eyes soften at my endearment. “Of course I am, just got knocked out, that’s all, and because I was out for longer than they’d like, they wanted to get me checked out here. I have to have a scan, but I'm pretty sure I'm OK.”
A sob escapes me, and I cover my mouth and walk to him, throwing my arms around his neck. “I was worried, it looked bad, Nate.”
“Hey,” he says softly, his arms coming around me “I'm fine, babe, it takes more than that to keep me down. You were at the game?”
This is it, I have to tell him now. My heart hammers fast through my ribcage.
“I was at the match because I wanted to talk to you. I . . . I love you, Nate. I can’t not be with you because I'm scared. I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about you, and I don’t want to throw it away.”
He stares at me, stunned and silent.
Finally, he speaks. “Jesus... really? Are you serious - I've got another chance?” he gazes at me with hope in his eyes.
I nod. “Don’t let me down, please?”
“Fuck . . . if I’d known this is what happened when you get knocked out, I’d have done it years ago. Are you saying what I think you're saying, Kate? Us... together?”
I shrug, “If you still want me?”
He makes a low guttural sound deep in his throat and bends to kiss me. His mouth meets mine, and we sink into the kiss. I open my mouth, and our tongues meld together, and lightning shoots through me. He breaks off, breathing heavily and butterfly kisses my neck, then quietly says in my ear, “Fuck, I've missed you, babe . . . I love you.” He continues to kiss my neck, finally coming back to my mouth. He lifts his head back to look into my eyes.
“I won’t mess this up again, I promise. It’s me, you and the girls now... together forever. I promise.”
I nod and lean forward and take his lower lip between my teeth and drag it through, he groans and releases me. I wonder what he’s doing as he stands and goes to the door, opens it and shouts, “Ol, come here.” He says, “Guard the door for me, OK?” My stomach flips. Olly must agree, because he turns around and closes the door behind him.
“I've got a problem. I need to be inside you, like, five minutes ago - but we’re in a fucking hospital – on the plus side of that, there is a bed right here. He walks to the bed, I'm sitting on the edge of it, and places both his hands on either side of me, leaning in to kiss me urgently . . . this is a ‘means business’ kiss. He wants me to have sex on a hospital gurney?
Fuck it – I want that too . . . hang on . . . he’s supposed to be waiting for a scan. I break off from his kiss, this time, we're both panting.
