Page 25 of The Hero Next Door

“Yeah,” he sighed. “It was time for a change.”

Sage waited, but he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. It was three in the morning, and he technically had to work tomorrow, even if it was on his computer at the kitchen table. “Do you need anything else right now?”

“No,” Sage murmured. “Thank you, Brian. I know this isn’t what you planned on when I called you yesterday, but I truly appreciate everything you’ve done for Adam and I. I promise you, I’ll be back on my feet as soon as I can so you can get out of here.”

12

Saying the words and putting them into action, though, was a lot harder to do than expected.

Brian stayed with them for two more days, cooking random food when she was hungry and occupying Adam as she napped and recovered. They gave him a key so that he could come and go as he needed. Sunday, he went home, and the apartment echoed with the loss. Yes, he was literally right next door, less than fifty feet away. She’d gotten used to him being aroomor less away and sleeping on the couch beside her at night. Whether she realized it or not, it was nice sleeping with someone close at night.

Gary was still hanging in there, but the leg wasn’t healing. Candice had called this morning with an update, and they were taking him back into surgery. Sage wanted to run down to the hospital to see him, but she wasn’t supposed to drive for a few days, at least. Her knee was getting better, but the arm was going to be a longer recovery.

Gary was a weight on her heart, though, and she really hoped he did well.

On Monday, Sage tried to get back into their regular schedule. She got up early enough to make Adam some breakfast and see him off to school, then she went back to the couch for a nap. Mid-morning she got up and knew she had to try to take a shower. It had been days, and she couldn’t stand her own stink anymore.

She did fine taking everything off, for the most part. As soon as she ripped open the Velcro on the arm sling, her shoulder began to ache, but it had to be done. The bra had been lost long ago and she’d resorted to an array of sweatpants and flannels she could button one-handed. Her panties rolled and tangled, but when she first stepped under the hot stream of water, all the aggravation was worth it. She rocked under the water for as long as she could, letting it run over her strained shoulder and down her back. That was bliss.

When the water began to cool, she stepped out of the stall. She’d hung two towels on the rod, and she very carefully wrapped one around her body. She was getting some movement back into her arm, but it still hurt. In the middle of the action, she hadn’t realized how much she’d hurt herself. But, in the end, they’d gotten the bad guy off the street.

Unfortunately, it had also probably taken one of the really good guys off the street as well. She would bounce back, but she didn’t know if Gary would.

The second towel she draped around her shoulders to wick water from her hair. Then she limped out of the bathroom. She picked clothes from her closet and dropped them on the bed, then started toweling off. Everything was so awkward with one hand. Then the towel started to slip, and she grabbed for it. Unfortunately, automatically, she used her right hand.

Sage cried out. Seconds later, there was a clatter at her bedroom door and Brian flung it open, lurching inside.

They were quite the pair. They stared at each other for a long, timeless moment, before Brian’s glance drifted ever so quickly down her body, then slammed back to her face. Sage dragged her hair towel down over her body.

“Are you okay?” he gritted out.

“Yes,” she breathed. “Just grabbed for my towel with my bad hand.”

“Okay,” he said, and spun away, closing the door softly behind himself.

Sage didn’t know how to feel. She had a good body she’d worked hard to maintain, but she didn’t go around flashing random men. Well, Brian wasn’t random, but she hadn’t even realized he was in the apartment. He must have come in to check on her and heard her cry out.

Very carefully, she bent down and retrieved the towel, thinking about the look that had been on his face. Normally, he was stoic, but she’d seen appreciation in his expression before he’d spun away. She would bet her paycheck on it.

* * *

Brian hada mind full of random data he’d memorized over the years, and now the sight of Sage’s naked body would be burned into his brain right beside it all. On top of it all. Those breasts…

When he’d heard her cry out, he’d reacted immediately, terrified that she’d been hurt when he should have been watching her. For a split second, he’d worried about opening her bedroom door, but again, he thought she’d been hurt.

Her fucking beautiful breasts….

Over the past four days he’d gotten very close to her. He’d seen her with no makeup, and it was obvious she preferred no bra. Or maybe she couldn’t fasten it right now. When he’d helped her up, there had been a few instances where they’d brushed against each other, and her unbound breasts had taunted him. When he should have been caring for her, his body had been responding to hers. It had been a constant battle.

Finally, he’d had to return home. Being close to her, whispering in the dark at night, had created the closeness he’d so desperately been fighting against, and all he wanted to do was kiss her. And touch her. And be a part of her life.

The thought of her breasts made his mouth water. The sight of her soft pink nipples, flushed with heat from the shower, made him want to reach out and touch. Her skin was so fair.

Moving out to the kitchen, he went to the sink for a large glass of water. It did nothing to cool him off, but it gave him something to do for a few seconds. He washed the glass and put it in the drainer, then didn’t know what to do. Sitting down at the table, he pulled out his phone and started surfing, trying to get his body to settle down.

She walked into the kitchen a few minutes later and Brian had to avoid her eyes. He knew if he looked at her, she would see what he wanted and it wasn’t fair to her right now. She was injured, and it wasn’t the right time to even bring it up.

“I’m sorry,” he said finally, glancing up at her. She’d dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and had managed to pull jeans up over her hips. Her hair was down, and it looked like she’d tried to dry it a little. But she had foregone the sling.

---