Page 12 of Desire

Once I’m parked, I grab the bags with the sheets so I can get them in the wash, knowing from experience I can only carry so much without the pain ramping up. “Honey, I’m home!” I call out when I come in through the garage. I head directly to the laundry room and quickly get the sheets out of their packaging and into the washer. Sebastian comes up to me and pulls me into his arms, kissing me like I was gone for days instead of maybe an hour and a half.

“Anything else out there?” he asks once he pulls back. My lips are tingling from his attention and I can’t speak coherently so I nod. “Let me go grab the rest, then. Go see how it looks,” he encourages, squeezing my hip.

While he’s finagling the rest of my purchases, I head into the master bedroom. We painted the walls a soft heather gray to complement the darker hardwood flooring. The seating area, which now boasts two of what I call ‘big papa’ chaises, is in shades of sage and gray. “Perfect,” I state, looking around at our new furniture. Sebastian won the bed size discussion, so we have a California king that takes up the far wall; the large sleigh bed headboard and footboard in a weathered white. Matching nightstands, a triple dresser, and a man’s wardrobe are placed where we discussed prior to me leaving to shop. “All we need now are some throw rugs.”

“I’m sure we’ll find some,” he says, walking into the room with the huge dog bed I found for the boys. He goes over to the corner opposite of the bed and places the bed down. “I see you found some things for the dogs.” I grin at him as he smirks. “Come here, Jussie.” His voice has deepened and need courses through me. As I make my way to him, he reaches out and pulls me into a much-needed hug. “It looks good, doesn’t it?” he asks.

“Just like I imagined,” I admit. While we have a television in the sitting area, we opted not to have one in our actual sleeping area. I’m not sure how I’ll do sleeping with no background noise, but I’ll give it my best shot.

“What do you say we call your old doctor and see if we can find one around here and get that ball rolling?” he asks. I roll my eyes because he’s almost like a dog with a bone right now.

“Do we have to?” I whine.

“Made a promise to your brother, sweetheart,” he replies. I groan because next to Rayne and of course, my dad, Sebastian is the most honorable man I know. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if any of them promise something, they’ll go to the ends of the earth to make sure they keep it. “Come on, we can go cuddle on the couch and make it a little less unbearable.”

“Ugh, why do you have to be so perfect for me?” I mutter, nearly stomping my way into the family room. Next to our bedroom, I think this is my favorite room. We have a formal living room that I expect will get used during any events we might have, but our family room is comfortable. A huge television is mounted over the stone fireplace, which is deep and wide, with a hearth made out of flat slate. In addition to the most comfortable leather couch in the world, we have two huge recliners and a loveseat, with side tables next to all of them. Because of the size of the room, we have two overhead lights with ceiling fans. The room is cozy and warm, inviting you to come in and make yourself comfortable. I plop down on one of the recliners, my hands crossed over my chest. Sebastian follows, two bottles of soda in one hand and his tablet in the other. He sits the drinks down on the table then hands me the device before settling in next to me and pulling the lever, so our feet are propped up. I have to hold back my grin when I hear the click clack of the dogs’ nails and they come ambling in and immediately go to the doggy bed that Sebastian put down by the fireplace and flop down.

“You good?” he asks, leaning in and kissing my forehead.

Sighing, I nod. “I don’t mean to be a bitch about this. I’m sure once it’s done, I’ll wonder why the hell I waited.”

“You’ve got every reason to be nervous, Jussie. Your hands are your livelihood, so I get it. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

Deciding to bite the bullet and tell him one of my biggest worries, I say, “I know you mentioned you’re having a bidet installed, which takes care of one of my issues about doing both arms at the same time. But, Sebastian, what if I get my period before I have any functionality? There’s no way in hell I’d feel comfortable telling you I needed my stuff changed!”

He starts chuckling and is soon laughing so hard, he’s got tears streaming down his face. Personally, I don’t think what I said was that fucking funny. Long minutes pass while he tries to get himself under control again. “Sweetheart, we’ll figure it out, okay? If you’re not comfortable with me doing that for you, I’ll hire a damn nurse or see if one of your sisters or Jacey will help you during that time, okay?”

Fucking logical man! “I’m being stupid about it, I guess. It’s just that I hate the thought of you having to do that for me, Sebastian. Would kind of ruin the mystery.” He chuckles again and pulls me closer to him.

“Sweetheart, I suspect you’re always going to retain a bit of mystery no matter how long we have together. Fifty years from now, there’s going to be something new that I discover, so don’t worry that me taking care of that for you would ruin your mystique. Besides, if we ever have kids, I’ll be involved in the birthing process and I suspect that’s far messier than you having your period for a few days. Now, quit stalling and call your doctor.”

I huff at his bossy tone but pull my phone out and call the orthopedist I last saw, putting the call on speaker. After following the voice prompts, I finally reach my doctor’s assistant, Kelly. “Hey, Kelly. It’s Justine Wilde. How are you?”

“I’m good, Justine. Let me guess, you’re finally ready to discuss having surgery?” she asks.

“Yeah, but I live somewhere else and was wondering if Dr. Albritton could recommend someone here,” I reply, rattling off our town name.

“Believe it or not, he’s transferring out there in two weeks to an affiliate practice. Do you want me to schedule your surgery for you? We can set it up for two weeks after he arrives which will give you plenty of time to get stuff in order,” she inquires.

Sebastian nudges me when I hesitate. “He mentioned that we could do both arms the same day since I’m a bit of a chickenshit and afraid that if I do one and it hurts too much, I’ll be too scared to do the other.”

“As long as you have someone who will take care of you those first few weeks, it shouldn’t be an issue,” she says. I hear clicking through the phone and realize she’s setting up my surgery.

“I do, yes.” I’m still not sold on the idea of Sebastian helping me like that, but a small part realizes that he’ll have to bathe me and wash my hair. The thought of his hands on me in that manner have my insides heating up.

“Great! Is your email the same? I want to send over all the details, as well as the paperwork we need you to fill out. You’ll be contacted by someone in the surgical center a few days ahead of time to do your pre-registration.”

“Yes, it is,” I tell her. “Can’t wait.”

She giggles and says, “I can hear the enthusiasm over the phone.”

“Thanks, Kelly, for all your help. Do I print the papers out and bring them or what?”

“No, it’s a pretty cool system we use that allows you to sign and submit right from your computer. Gotta love this paperless environment we’re in now.”

“I’ll get them done as quickly as possible. Have a good day.”

“You too, Justine. I promise, you’ll feel so much better once you have it done and they’ve healed up.” The call disconnects and I slump back, sighing.

---