Page 26 of Take Me Home

When Jake returned, I was a few sips of Gatorade deep, dozing upright in my sea of fluffy white pillows. His fingers on the inside of my wrist stirred me awake. He didn’t notice me waking up and continued looking at his watch, checking my pulse. I admired his long, dark eyelashes and the sun-worn crinkles around his eyes.

“What’s the prognosis, doc?” I asked, my voice gravelly. I flushed, realizing how sex-laced it sounded when really that was the best my voice could do at that moment.

Jake’s brow furrowed. “Your pulse is pretty fast. You definitely have heat exhaustion,” he replied. “Do you know what day it is?”

Okay, that was freaking me out.

“Uh, assuming I didn’t sleep through a day, it’s Thursday?”

“What’s your name?”

“Darcy Saturnina Rossetti,” I said, my S sounds slurring a bit.

“Do you know where you are?”

“Uncle Bill’s house.”

He chewed his lower lip, looking intently at my eyes. He pressed a finger into my forearm, watching closely to see how quickly the flesh filled back in.

“Alright. Let’s focus on getting you more fluids and then see where we are. I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet.”

I eyed him suspiciously. “How are you so good at this?”

He laughed. “I was a paramedic through college. Heat exhaustion and alcohol poisoning were the top calls for Blacksburg parties. You’re a pretty textbook case, though I’m not sure you don’t have heat stroke.”

The overwhelm in my head started to spill out again, the hot pinch of tears pricking behind my eyes. Jake saw it and took my hand again.

“Hey. It’s going to be alright, Darce. I’ve got you, remember? I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” I blinked back tears as he studied me. “Would a hug help?”

I pressed my mouth into a line and nodded, my face starting to crumple. Jake scooted closer to me, and he didn’t lean to give me one of those shitty butt-out hugs. He used his strength to pull me flush with his side, surrounding me with his arms and bringing me close to his chest. He rested his cheek on top of my head, really snuggling me. I wrapped one of my arms around his back, feeling the impressive lat muscles that lined his ribs. Jake took a deep breath, reminding me to breathe, too. I breathed in his clean scent, along with the smell of sun-warmed skin and some sweat. Even sweaty, he smelled intoxicating.

“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered. “Promise.”

I had been somewhat stiff, but his words made me relax. He must have felt my muscles give to him.

“That’s it,” he coaxed me. He pressed his face to my hair like he was going to kiss the top of my head. Instead, he just held me there, and I heard him breathe in. He wasn’t kissing me, but was he smelling my hair? Vulnerable in his arms, I slumped deeper into his embrace. I heard his miniature satisfied sigh. “Let me tuck you back in. You should rest.”

He adjusted my pillows to be a little lower and shifted me into place. He pulled the sheets up to my shoulders and gave me a friendly pat.

“I’m going to call Becca and make sure she didn’t make the same mistake you did. You were both outside all day yesterday. Caleb’s out picking and the beasts are all fine, by the way. We’ve got it covered. Can I get you anything else?”

My mind was soupy. What I really wanted was to have him burrow down in the bed with me and hold me. I needed to feel like everything would be okay. Because being sick and out of control like this was a reminder of how out of control my whole life felt. It wasn’t just being sick. It was everything.

All of those thoughts must have shown on my face.

“What’s on your mind? You can tell me what you need.”

I hesitated. “It’s stupid.”

“No way. You’re sick. You have needs. Don’t be embarrassed,” Jake said. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.”

Fuck it. He asked for it.

“Will you lay down with me for a while? I’m just kind of freaked out.” I winced, like if I didn’t look at him all the way, I wouldn’t have just said that.

Jake got a surprised look on his face.Fuck. He’s going to quit his job. He’s going to call the state on me or something.

“You totally don’t have to. This is a bad idea. I shouldn’t have asked. It’s so inappropriate. I’m so sor—” I said quickly, backpedaling.

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