“It’s from the iodine the surgeons use to disinfect the skin.” She threw the bandage in the trash. “We’ll get you a new one. You’ve never had surgery before?” She pulled off the white gauze pads covering the incision.
Fascinated, he stared at the three-inch long line in the center of his knee. “Wisdom teeth, that’s all.”
“Looks good. The swelling is normal and there’s no outward signs of infection. The orthopedist will give you more detailed instructions on care, but if you notice any redness or swelling around the incision or if you start running a fever, you need to let someone know.”
He nodded. “What’s up with the doohickey?”
She smiled and picked up the device. “This has the very original name of Electronic Muscle Stimulator, or EMS. Wanna guess what it does?”
He grinned. “Bakes a turkey?”
“Close, but no.” She unpeeled the pads from the clear sheet and stuck them to his leg, two on each side, one pair close to his knee and the other farther up on his thigh. “These are going to make your quads work by sending an electrical current into your leg.”
“You’re going to shock me.”
Laughing, she turned on the EMS. “Not enough to hurt. That’s not our goal.” She pushed buttons, watching his face. He stared down at his leg, feeling the brief tingling in his muscles. She pushed the button two more times and the tingle increased.
He winced and tried to pull back from the bed when pain shot down into his knee cap the next time she increased the voltage.
“Okay, back it off a couple,” she said. “How’s that?”
His muscle clenched, but it didn’t send any pain shooting into his knee. “Good. Slightly uncomfortable.”
“That’s where we want it. It shouldn’t hurt, but you should feel it.” She set the device next to his leg. “What I need you to do is try to engage your quad when you feel the tingle. You’re going to have to concentrate on contracting the muscle and it’s going to feel foreign to you.”
Focusing on his leg, he squinted as if that would help his muscle work. “How long do I have to do this?”
“We’ll see how you’re doing after fifteen minutes.” She sat on the stool and wheeled over to the desk.
After a few minutes, the silence felt awkward and he searched for something to talk about. “Have you been camping again?”
“Jase and I have been a couple of times by ourselves, but I haven’t gone out with a group.”
“So you and he are still good?”
“Yeah.”
Her voice carried the smile he couldn’t see. Shit. She was a girl. Maybe she would know what he should do.
“You’re a girl.”
She spun on her stool, a look of amusement on her face. “Yes. Last time I checked.”
“No. Yes. Fuck. I’m screwing this up.” He dropped his head back in frustration and stared up at the ceiling.
“What are you trying to ask, Jordan?”
“Never mind. It’s stupid.”
“Whatever it is, I’ve been told I’m a good listener. And you don’t have anything else to do for the next…” She looked at the clock on the wall. “Ten minutes.”
Blowing out a breath, he told her everything that had happened from being asked to go with Titan to reading Emme’s email after waking up in the hospital. “We were only together for two weeks. We’ve been separated more than twice that long.”
“So what are you asking me? Since I’m a girl and all.”
“Whether she’s written me off and moved on after not hearing from me.”
Bree’s look was sympathetic. “The only way you’re going to know that is if you ask her.”
