They switch him from IV to oral pain medicine when Nico requests something less strong, so he’s not as groggy, and Dr. Martinez seems perfectly happy with how Nico’s doing when he’s finished up.
“Alright, that’s all we have for you. Any questions for us, Mr. Harland?”
Nico wrinkles his nose. “Nico, please. Mr. Harland makes me feel old.” Oh, I am so calling him Mr. Harland to rile him up when he’s well enough to dole out a punishment. “There are no issues with my right side, are there? Just my left arm?”
The doctor looks confused, but nods. “There shouldn’t be, anyway. Does something feel wrong?”
“No, it’s fine. So, it would be safe for Este to lie on that side and take a nap? She hasn’t slept since the accident.”
Oh my god.“Nico, I’m fine.”
Dr. Martinez glances between us, considering. “Ordinarily, we wouldn’t allow that, but I know better than to suggest you take a nap in one of the family rooms, Este, so as long as you’re careful and don’t move around much, I’ll okay it. You both need to rest.”
The second he leaves the room, Nico turns to me with a smile that makes my stomach flutter. “Doctor’s orders, angel.”
I roll my eyes, draw the curtains, and flick off the smalllight beside the bed before kicking off my shoes. “I’m going to remind you how passionate you are about ‘doctor’s orders’ when you’re complaining about going to physical therapy or getting your wound checked.”
“I’m not going to complain. I have a vested interest in getting strong—are you taking your pants off? Why am I not surprised?”
I step out of my jeans, ball them up, and shove them in the empty closet beside Nico’s bed. We’ll need to figure out how to get some of his clothes before they discharge him.
“I can’t sleep in jeans,” I tell him before carefully climbing over the railing and under the covers he’s holding up. The second my body settles beside his, everything gets a little quieter in my head. But there’s one thing I don’t think he fully considered when he suggested I climb in with him. “Nico?”
“Hmm?”
“What’s your plan for when my dad comes back and finds his ‘little girl’ in bed with you?”
Nico groans. “Don’t you think I’ve been through enough without reminding me of the ‘little girl’ comment? Moving on… I think your dad will just be happy to see you sleeping. You don’t think he’s figured it out?”
“I think he has the pieces, but he’s avoiding putting them together until things are less… stressful.”
My dads and Sloane got back to Chicago a couple of weeks ago, but they got straight on a plane for Wyoming as soon as I called yesterday. I’ve never been so relieved to see them, so relieved to be pulled into my dads’ arms. Until theytried to get me to leave Nico’s hospital room and go back to their hotel with them.
If they didn’t figure out something’s going on between Nico and me from my very dramatic, “I’m not leaving him!” at the top of my lungs, I’ll be surprised. I assume they’re waiting until things have settled to bring it up.
Maybe if it really had just been sex a few times, we could’ve gone our separate ways without anyone ever finding out. But that’s never what it was. From my point of view, the way forward is obvious. I’m not sure if Nico is going to see it that way, though, and it’s probably not the right time to bring it up, considering he was on death’s doorstep yesterday.
Regardless, my dads finding out now is unavoidable, and I really don’t think it’s going to go as badly as Nico seems to think it is. They’ll be surprised, I’m sure, and we have more than my relationship status to discuss, but ultimately, I know they just want me to be happy.
There are a lot of conversations waiting, between me and my dads, me and Nico, but this isn’t the right time for any of them.
Nico’s eyes don’t leave mine as I trace my pinky over the curve of his lips. “I’m so glad you’re okay. Thought I was losing you for a while there,” I whisper, and Nico swallows, his gray eyes cloudy with emotion.
“I know, baby. Maybe we could both avoid near-death experiences for a little while, yeah?”
I laugh, and I love the way it makes his whole face brighten up. “Let’s. Oh, by the way, you lied to me.”
“What? No I didn’t,” he sputters.
“Did so. You told me the dogs hated everyone and made me feel special when they liked me,” I tell him with a faux glare.
“They do hate everyone except you.”
“Nope. They love everyone except Shay. They’re having a great time with Noelle’s parents.”
Nico frowns. “Huh. I guess they haven’t really been around anyone but me and Shay. You’re still the most special, though,” he promises, which earns him a kiss. A kiss I can’t stop myself from sinking into, sighing as Nico runs his tongue over the seam of my lips, groaning when he slips it between them. He tastes like toothpaste and relief, and if he wasn’t only a day out from surgery, I’d?—
“That doesn’t look like sleeping,” Dr. Martinez calls, and we break apart as he passes by the door. The open door. Right.
