“You don’t understand,” I say, looking at Jamie, not her. He’s the only one who matters. “If he has the sheep flu, I’m already exposed. We share abed.”
Then, leaning over him, I kiss his forehead. Even if we’re in this chamber of horrors, he still smells likehim. And this calms me down. “I love you, baby,” I whisper in his ear. “Don’t worry about a thing.” Jamie’s eyes fall closed. But I kiss him once more, this time on the lips. Just so he knows I’m still here.
When I look up at the window again, the nurse is gone. For now.
FIFTEEN
WES
The photo hits the Internet six hours after I walk into Jamie’s room.
TMZ leaks it first—how do those fuckers always out-scoop everyone??—and after that, it makes its rounds on various hockey websites, celebrity blogs, gossip rags and newspapers that really ought to have better things to report on. Two prominent papers actually feature it on their homepage, where the photo’s thumbnail sits higher on the page than an article about the capture of aterrorist.
I guess the sight of me, Ryan Wesley, kissing the lips of another man, is a national emergency. And at the moment, there’s nothing I can do to put out that fire.
Did I mention I’m in quarantine, too?
Yep, the moment I ditched my protective gear, I signed my own prison sentence. Dr. Rigel had marched into the room in his quarantine suit with the angry nurse at his side. He informed me that since I had potentially exposed myself to what might be a dangerous strain of flu, I would be unable to leave the isolation unit until Jamie’s test results came back.Then his pissed-off nurse took some blood from me and sent it to get tested, too.
Do I have any regrets? Not a chance. I wasn’t planning on leaving Jamie’s side anyway. At least this way, nobody can kick me out when visiting hours are over. And now that some asshole has outed us without our permission, I can’t deny it’s nice having an excuse to hide from the rest of the world.
I don’t know who snapped the picture, but hoo-boy, they’d struck gold with the intimate moment they’d stolen from us. Me, sitting at Jamie’s bedside, pressing my lips tight to his. It was right after he’d regained consciousness, and I’d been so overcome with joy and relief to see those beautiful brown eyes peering up at me that I’d forgotten we were in a glass box with the shades open.
He slept for another hour after that, while I held his hand. Maybe it sounds dumb, but I’d never felt more useful to anyone in my life. If he woke up confused, I wanted him to know he wasn’t alone. In spite of the shit swirling through my life right now, I felt calmer than I had in weeks. Because for once I knew I was doing the right thing just when it needed doing.
And when he woke up for real, he was confused. “Where are we?” he said, startling me.
“In a hospital, babe. You’re sick. You probably have the flu, but they’ll tell us after the test comes back.”
“Okay,” he said, squeezing my hand. But the more he woke up, the more agitated he became. And when he realized what an odd hospital room this was, it wasn’t long before he caught on to the fact that I’d been exposed, too. And now he won’t let it go.
“You shouldn’t have taken your mask off,” Jamie croaks at me. “You’re insane, Wes. You shouldn’tbehere.”
It’s not the first time he’s questioned my sanity since he woke up, and now I’m questioninghissanity, because where the hell else would I be? Standing on the other side of the glass watching the man I love suffer?
“You’re gonna catch this stupid sheep flu,” he mumbles.
“First off, we don’t know if you even have the sheep flu,” I point out. I’m sitting in a chair next to his bed but leaning toward him, my ungloved hand stroking his cheek. His skin is still burning up, which worries me. It’s been six hours on that IV, at least. Shouldn’t his fever be going down? “Rigel seemed to think it was unlikely, remember? Second, if you do have it, chances are I already do too, because I had my tongue down your throat the other night. Third, Ishouldbe here. Take a look at this torture chamber, babe.” I wave around at the oppressive space. “I’d never let you suffer in here all alone.”
He laughs weakly.
Jesus. I’m so relieved he’s awake. My first glance of him lying in that bed, so still… It scared the crap out of me.
“Coach Hal is going to shit a brick.” He sighs. “What if you miss practice tomorrow morning? And you have a game in Tampa on Thursday night. You can’t afford to get sick, Wes.”
I stare at him in disbelief.
Jamie falters. “What?”
“Do you really think I’m going to practice tomorrow when you’re in thehospital?”
“I might be discharged by then.”
“With all the precautions these fuckers are taking? Yeah, right. They’ll keep you here at least a couple days for observation.” My tone sharpens. “I won’t be on that plane to Tampa, I hope you realize that. I’m not leaving your side until I know you’re out of the woods.”
“I was neverinthe woods,” he protests.
My jaw falls open. “You passed out at work! You have a hundred-and-three-degree fever! Your skin looks like a boiled lobster and yet you’re shaking like a leaf, you’re so cold. You’re too weak to lift your head!”
