He looks at me in shock.
“Hi,” I say again.
His eyes grow wide, and I smile.
“Did you just say my name?” he asks, slightly confused.
I nod hesitantly. I remember him saying I could call him that, but maybe he was just being polite and didn’t want me to actually.
He beams a smile at me and moves toward me. I flinch in anticipation of being pounced on, so he stops.
“You don’t have to be afraid of me,” he says, holding my hand.
“I’m not. You were just moving so fast,” I whisper.
Bear laughs and then moves toward me again, but slower.
“I’m going to help you sit up first, and then I will give you a hug,” he says.
I nod as he places his hand under my back. He moves his other arm around my stomach and looks at me.
“Tell me if I am hurting you at all. I don’t want to cause you any pain.” He looks directly into my eyes.
“Okay,” I say.
“On three.” He smiles, and I give him a smile back.
“One, two, three.” He lifts me with his hand on my back as I try to sit up.
I grimace as my body protests the movement. He panics at my pained expression.
“Did I hurt you?” he asks.
“No, I think moving in general will hurt. It wasn’t too much pain,” I say quietly.
He gives me a sad smile before he opens his arms.
“Ready for the hug? Then I have to call the doctor. I should have done that right away, but I really want to hug you,” he says.
I crack another smile and nod. I love his hugs. I melt into his arms and relax.
His strong arms wrap around my body, pulling me into him. I let out a sigh and snuggle into him. He tightens his arms a little and kisses the top of my head.
“All right, I need to get the doctor now. Press this button, and a nurse will get him. So just let me do that and then we can hug again,” he says, letting go of me.
After pressing the button, he opens his arms and wraps them around me. I lean toward my left and rest my upper body on him.
“You don’t know how worried I was when you were gone. I didn’t want to do anything but try to find you. You mean too much to me, and I don’t want to lose you again,” Bear softly says, running his hands through my hair.
Before I can respond, there is a knock on the door. I startle, and Bear starts to rub my back, calming me down.
“Come in,” Bear says.
The door opens, and the doctor walks in. He gives me a smile and walks closer.
“Hello, Brooke. I’m Razor, the club’s doctor. It’s nice to finally meet you. Bear here has been talking about you a lot,” he says, holding his hand out to me.
I hesitantly place my hand in his.
