Mitch didn’t want to tell her that he’d had a half dozen concussions in his life. This wasn’t his first one. He nodded, slowly bringing his legs over the edge of the bed and waiting as she held his arms.
“Let me get a wheelchair,” she said.
“No. No, I can walk if you allow me to lean on you,” he said staring at her. She stared back, unsure of whether to believe him or not.
“If you fall, I can’t lift you. You’re too heavy,” she said with a strange expression.
“I won’t fall. I promise,” he said standing beside her.
He slowly wrapped his arm over her shoulder, feeling the heat of her flesh through her dress. She’d taken off the white coat and now he saw all of her and it was magnificent.
Marnie held her breath as her patient stood. He was enormous. Big, strong, and he was so handsome she was having a hard time breathing.
“C-can you walk?” she stammered.
“I can walk just fine, Marnie. Let’s go out the back and you can drive me on our first date.”
“It’s not a date,” she said emphatically.
“Are you married?”
“No.”
“Are you engaged?” he asked.
“No.”
“Are you dating someone that I should know about?”
“No!”
“Alright, are you a lesbian? Do you prefer women?”
“No!”
“Okay. Then it’s me. You don’t like something about me. My hair? Should I cut it? Or maybe it’s my clothes. I mean, I was working when I got hurt but I have nicer clothes.”
He took the seat in the ATV and she sat behind the wheel with a loud sigh.
“No. I’m not married, engaged, or dating. I’m not a lesbian. It has nothing to do with your appearance. I mean, almost nothing.” She started down the long main road toward the houses and the cafeteria. It was already dark, but the ATV was equipped with headlights.
“You’re going to have to explain that to me,” he said staring at her. She could feel his eyes on her and squirmed in her seat.
“Why is this so important to you?” she asked. “I’m sure you could have any woman on the property or in this city for that matter.”
“Well, I suppose I should be offended that you think I would just choose someone out of a lineup and flattered that you believe any woman would want me. But I’ll ignore all of that for now. I don’t wantanywoman. I want the woman that makes my heart stop and then speed up. She makes me nervous and shaky and yet I know that she’s all I want in this whole world.”
“You can’t be serious. I think you hit your head harder than we thought. Let’s get back to the hospital.”
“No,” he said gripping her hand over the steering wheel. “No. I didn’t hit my head harder than you thought. I’m just fine. Listen, Marnie. I know that we don’t know one another very well, but I don’t play games with women and I don’t lie. Ever. In fact, I’m known for my brutal honesty.
“Now, it’s obvious that some asshole told you that you weren’t worthy of love and affection somewhere in your history. And it’s obvious someone made you feel insecure about your appearance and if I get my hands on him or her, I’ll beat the shit out of them. Just know this. I like everything I see. Everything. I want to get to know you, take you to dinner without the headache.”
She gave him a small grin and he counted that as a win.
“I want you to get to know me. I want to know why you chose emergency room medicine. I want to know who your parents are. I want to know it all, Marnie. All of it.”
They sat in the ATV for a long moment in silence. He could see the flesh of her breasts moving up and down with her breathing and it was everything he could manage to not lose control.
