A shudder of revulsion rippled through her, causing her skin to break out in goosebumps. "Yes, and you are…?"
"I'm Kelekolio Tuatagaloa, but everyone calls me Toa. Gabe couldn't make it today, so he asked me to fill in."
Couldn't make it? Or didn't want to?
He said he wasn't offended when she questioned his fidelity last week, but maybe he'd decided she was out of line with her questioning. Or maybe he realized she’d been ready to kiss him and decided it was safer not to be alone with her.
"Gabe told me a little about your accident and your subsequentsurgeries." Toa’s thick eyebrows dipped as he grimaced. "Sounds like you've had a tough recovery. He said you only started bearing full weight this week."
He didn’t phrase it as a question, but Paige nodded anyway as she lifted her crutch. "Yes, but I still feel a little unsteady sometimes, so I'm weaning myself off the crutches one at a time."
"How's your balance in the water?" He stepped to the stairs and motioned for her to precede him into the pool.
Paige couldn't help comparing Toa's lack of concern for her well-being with the way Gabe always preceded her into the water so he could catch her if she slipped.
"It's been a little rocky." She laid her crutch on the cement and used the handrail to steady herself as she stepped into the pool. "But I'm improving with each session."
As the chilly water enveloped her body, she prayed she didn't get a cramp in her hamstring again. Toa was certainly strong enough to catch her and support her until it subsided but talk about awkward.
Her mind jumped to last week's Charlie horse. The way Gabe held her secure in his arms while he rubbed out her hamstring hadn't felt uncomfortable at all. It felt amazing and somehow right, even though it should have been wrong.
Funny how a little over two weeks ago, Gabe's one-on-one attention made her self-conscious, but now she missed it. From day one, she'd felt comfortable and safe with him.
"Let's warm-up with a high knees jog in place, then we'll stretch before we start your exercises." Toa started pumping his legs up and down.
Gabe never started with a jog. His warm-ups were more gradual and catered to her limited abilities.
As she started to jog, Paige immediately felt the pinch in her low back and hip. It took every ounce of her concentration to stay on her feet while jogging, especially with Toa's bulk creating extra movement in the water.
Gabe should have canceled this morning's session. Or at the very least, give me aheads up.
The pang of disappointment tightened her chest. Where was he anyway? Had he taken the whole day off? Or was he just avoiding her?
She was breathless by the time Toa stopped jogging and shifted to underwater jumping jacks. Paige only moved half the speed he did and was careful not to lift her right arm too high, but their up-and-down motion rocked the water so much it knocked her off her feet. She caught herself easily enough, but a sense of panic consumed her for a moment before she was stable again.
"I can't keep my balance when the water is so active," she gasped out after righting herself.
Toa stopped bouncing. "Gabe mentioned that, but I figured we'd give it a try anyway."
She glared at him. "Give it a try? You realize I have two metal plates holding my pelvis together, a rod in my femur, and screws and pins in my shoulder. After nearly dying and spending two and a half months in a rehabilitation center, I'm not interested intryingthings that might cause a setback."
“Okay." Toa gave an exasperated sigh as he raised his hands in surrender. "Let's go ahead and stretch."
Paige bit her tongue to keep from telling Toa he was doing it wrong every time he asked her to stretch beyond her limits. She silently cursed Gabe for putting her in this position.
Is a simple call or text too much to ask for?
Her heart rate spiked as her disappointment turned to anger. How many times had she asked herself that exact question while she dated Phillip. He treated her like a queen when he was with her, but he’d always been slow to return her calls and texts. And he’d canceled their plans more time than she could count when work interfered.
Except it wasn’t work.
It wasn't fair to compare Gabe to Phillip, but she couldn't help it. She wasn't in a relationship with her therapist, but she felt let down just the same. Despite the conversations they'd had and the things she'd learned about him and his family, there was a lot about Dr. Gabriel Rivera she didn't know. Add his lack of communication about being gone today, and it felt like he was hiding something.
"Gabe is one lucky duck." Toa said as they transitioned into his version of her exercises.
"How so?"
"He gets all the breaks." He raised a hand. "Don't get me wrong, he's a good therapist. One of the best at Summit in fact, but getting this gig in Providence…" He whistled. "The commute's not great, but I'd give my right arm for a sweet gig like this."
