Gorgeous, green eyes stared back at me. They were only matched by this incredible reddish-brown hair that had just a slight wave to it. If I could have made my arm move, I’d have reached out and touched it.
“Jake?” She said my name softly. It had never sounded better coming from anyone else’s lips. And those lips—they were perfect.
I pushed through the fog and smiled at her. Dream or not, I had to try.
“How are you feeling?” She held up a cup with a straw. “Are you thirsty?”
What was this? I looked down at my arm and there was a damn IV stuck in it. “Where am I?”
“You’re at New Hanover Regional Hospital. You were in an accident.” She said it so calmly, like she was talking about the weather. “I’m your nurse. My name is Emily.”
As soon as she said it, everything came back to me. Being at Tom’s house—Daniela telling Ben—going to Gill’s, and my Jeep flipping over.
“Are you sure I’m not dead?” She was wearing scrubs, but there was no way I’d be lucky enough to get a nurse that looked like her. Knowing my luck, mine would be an overweight 70-year-old man.
She smiled again. “You’re not dead. You could have been. You’re very lucky.”
“Yes, I am.” I meant having her as my nurse. I think she got it because she blushed a little. It looked adorable on her pale cheeks.
“Would you like me to call your family? I wasn’t expecting you to wake up so soon. The medication wore off faster than anticipated.”
“My family? Have they been here?”
She looked at me strangely. “Of course.”
“Just my parents…”
“Your parents, and your brother and his wife.”
“Ben and Molly were here?” I was surprised they’d bother after what I did.
“I practically had to kick them out.” She looked at me for a moment before continuing. “They care about you a lot.”
“What time is it?” I couldn’t handle thinking about how pissed Ben had to be. How disappointed my parents would be. Obviously I needed to see them, but I wasn’t ready yet.
She glanced at her watch and then back to me. “It’s five-thirty a.m.”
“And you’re still working? Or did you just get here?”
“You were right the first time. I prefer working nights actually.”
“When do you think they’ll get here?” I figured she’d know I meant my family.
She fidgeted with the button on her sweater. “My guess is they’ll be here by seven.”
“Okay, that gives us an hour and a half.”
“Gives us an hour and a half for what?”
I gave her my best grin. “To get to know each other.”
“I’m glad to see you still have a sense of humor. It means you’re doing all right.”
“Who says I was joking?” I tried to wink at her, but it didn’t work.
“Your face is still bruised up.” She reached over like she was going to touch me but stopped herself.
“Oh.” That was the first time I even thought about what I must have looked like. No wonder she wasn’t flirting back.
“Yeah. You actually look a lot better now. You must heal fast.”
“I do. I’d get injuries when I played football that should have kept me out for weeks, but I’d be over them in days.”
“You played football?” The way she said it left me wondering if she really cared or was trying to be polite.
“In high school.”
“Cool.”
“Yeah.”
We sat awkwardly for a second. I usually could fill those silences easily, but my brain still felt kind of foggy.
“I saw that you’re from Clayton Falls. Do you know someone named Mel Garrison?”
“Melanie Garrison? Sure I do. She was a year behind me, but we went to a really small high school.”
“Oh, cool.”
“Where are you from?” I had to keep her talking. If we stopped, she’d probably leave to see another patient. I wasn’t ready for her to leave yet, and I didn’t feel like being alone.
“I’m from a small town just outside Asheville. Have you heard of Ridgeview?”
“Yeah, definitely.” I wanted to say more, to tell her that one of my friends from high school went to the college up there. But I was already getting exhausted. “I’ve heard it’s pretty.” At least my brain was functioning enough to answer her.
She smiled, and I could tell her mind moved elsewhere for a minute. “Yes, it is.”
I gave myself a minute to recover. Why was talking so damn hard? “Are you going to be my nurse the whole time I’m here?”
“I don’t think you’ll be staying in the ICU much longer so you’ll be moved to another floor. Of course, that all depends on what the doctors say. It should only be another day or two at most, but you’ll have me again tonight.”
I decided not to mention how else her comment could be interpreted. “In case I’m not here later, I better get your number now.”
She laughed. “Hold your horses there, stud. I think you have more important things to worry about than lining up a date.”
“Is that a no?”
“It should be.”
I smiled. “We don’t have to line up a date. But could I at least get your number?” I glanced around for my phone but didn’t see it. “But I guess I don’t know where to write it down.”
“It looks like you’re out of luck.” It would have disappointed me, but that twinkle in her eye made me think there was still hope. “Are you sure you don’t want me to call your parents? I know they’ll want to see you.”
I let out a deep breath. “I might as well get this over with.”
“Don’t you want to see them?”
“Yes. Well, my parents. Probably not Molly and Ben, but I’ll have to face them eventually.” I hadn’t meant to say the Molly and Ben part out loud. Lucky for me, she didn’t comment on it.
“I’m going to go ahead and call them.”
I watched her retreating figure and decided she looked just as good from behind.
***
“Oh my god, Jake.” Mom nearly choked me in her excitement.
I decided complaining was a pretty bad idea, and let her attack—I mean hug me. “Hi, Mom.”
She was tired. It looked like she hadn’t slept in days—she probably hadn’t and it was my fault. “I’m so glad you’re awake.”