Page 10 of Ripped

Donnie nods. “Probably the adrenaline. It masked the pain so you could deal with it later. Can you get up?”

“Yeah.” I take the hand he offers and let him pull me to my feet—foot. I sit down on the bed and wince as my head throbs again.

“Headache?” Donnie asks.

“Yeah.”

“It’s because you’re de—”

“Dehydrated. I know.” I smile and point to the half-empty bottle on the nightstand. “Thank you for that.”

Donnie gives me a stern look. “Finish the rest of that while I get you some Aspirin and ice.”

I really want to brush my teeth first to get rid of the fuzz on my tongue, but I do as he says and polish off the rest of the bottle. Now my bladder is protesting and I shift uncomfortably. Fuck it—I need the bathroom.

I’m cautious as I test out my ankle. It’s not so bad if I step on it gingerly and don’t put too much weight on it. I hobble to the bathroom without falling on my face and even manage to pee standing up.

Donnie’s waiting for me in the bedroom with a glass of water, a bottle of Aspirin, and a bag of peas. He shakes two tablets onto my hand and holds out the glass of water for me. He eyes me while I swallow the pills down.

“Do you want to shower before we ice your ankle?”

I must look as gross as I feel. “Yeah, please.”

He stays close as I inch my way toward the bathroom, like he’s afraid I’m going to collapse under my own weight. “You’ll be okay in there? You’re not going to slip in the shower?”

“I’ll be fine. It doesn’t even hurt if I’m standing still.” Although, if he’s offering to come into the shower with me… “Really, I’m good. Thanks.” I give myself a mental smack in the head. No coming on to the spin instructor. Not when he’s been nothing but kind and generous. It’s like I’ve completely forgotten that I had a boyfriend as recently as twelve hours ago.

“Okay, shout if you need anything. I’ll bring your breakfast up.” Donnie shuts the door for me, maybe a little quicker than necessary.

The shower feels fucking amazing. It’s one of those rainwater showerheads that pour water directly on top of my head and I stand there letting it wash everything away. All the icky sweat and all the fuzzy shit on my tongue. I wish I could wash Miles and Wyatt away too, the hurt, the betrayal, the rejection. If only.

Even then, I feel about a thousand percent better when I get out of the shower. Except now my choices are to hang out in Donnie’s house naked or wear yesterday’s clothes. I really don’t want to wear yesterday’s clothes.

With a towel wrapped around my waist, I go back to the guest room and find a pair of sweats and a t-shirt waiting for me on the padded bench. Donnie again, always thinking of things two steps ahead of me. I’m pulling the t-shirt on when there’s a knock on the door.

Donnie has a tray of food. Coffee, orange juice, a banana, an apple, and omg, a stack of pancakes. There’s even a little jar of what looks like milk and a packet of sweetener on the tray. This is legit room service level of pampering.

“Whoa.” I step back and let Donnie in. “Is that all for me?”

“I figured you’d be hungry.” He sets the tray down on the spot where he left the clothes, then goes to rearrange the pillows on the bed. “Sit down and prop your foot up on this.”

I really don’t think I need to ice the ankle, but it’s his house and he’s the spin instructor, so I do as he says. He balances the bag of peas over my ankle, then brings the tray over and slides it carefully onto the bed.

“I didn’t know how you liked your coffee.”

“With lots of milk and sugar.”

He stares in shock as I dump all the milk and sweetener into the mug. “That’s more milk and sweetener than coffee.”

“Just the way I like it!” I take a sip and yeah, that’s the spot. Honestly, I’d be happy with just this. He didn’t need to bring up all the extra stuff. Still—pancakes. I pick up the fork and knife and cut into the small stack.

“Those are protein pancakes.”

I stop with the fork in my mouth. Whatever I’ve taken a bite of, it’s not a pancake.

Donnie snickers from where he’s sitting at the end of the bed. “Egg whites, low-fat cottage cheese, rolled oats, and a honey drizzle. You can slice the banana on top if you’d like.”

I chew. It’s not bad. It’s not a pancake, but I’ve eaten worse shit as a college student. I swallow and wash it down with my milk and sweetener with a dash of coffee.

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