Page 42 of Golden Goal

I peer into his sapphire eyes, realizing in this light, they have different shades of blue in them.

“Becca,” he repeats.

I snap out of my haze and pull away from him. He lets me go, sinking back in his seat and dropping his hands to his lap.

“Nothing. Sorry, I-I didn’t sleep well last night.” My voice comes out gruff.

I need to be professional. I already slipped and crossed the line once. I cannot do it again. I’ll chalk last night up to the ambiance—being in the dark, pressed up against him, watching a movie. Today, if we cross the line again in my brightly lit office, I’ll have nothing to blame it on but my own stupid hormones.

“Let’s get started.” Standing, I gesture for him to follow me.

He’s silent for a few seconds before giving me a curt nod and getting up. I exhale a sigh of relief, grateful he’s dropping the subject that easily. I lead us out of my office and down the hall to the treatment room.

Pushing the door open, I flip on the light, Holt trailing behind me.

I pat the padded exam table. “Lie down on your stomach, please. Let’s see how your hip is doing.”

He complies, and I take a second to pull myself together before walking over to the right side of the table. “Bend your knee for me.”

He does as I ask, and I grip his ankle. “I’m going to work on your hip, and glute, okay?”

“Fine,” he mumbles.

My hand trembles as I push down on his hip, and I use my other hand to slowly move his leg back and forth. I press along his hip, and the top of his glute, while running through the stretches we’ve been doing for the past few weeks. He’s just another patient. A player I’m treating. I repeat those two sentences over and over to myself as I work.

“Any pain?” I ask, making a mental note that the tightness I’d noticed before is all but gone, which means the treatment is working.

“Nope,” he mutters against the table.

“Good.” I let go of his leg. “Roll onto your back, please.”

He does as I ask, and focuses his gaze on the ceiling, bending his leg at a ninety-degree angle the way I always instruct him to do at this point in the session. I wrap one arm around his leg and push against his hip flexor, ignoring the hitch in his breath and the way his eyes flicker to me for a second when I touch him. I force myself to stare at the wall and not down at the man lying on my table. The man I kissed last night. Whose lap I sat on while doing said kissing.

At this moment, I hate past Rebecca. Before today, I could have gone through this session no big deal. Yes, I’d seen Holt shirtless, seen him holding his daughter, seen him as an attractive man. But I could still shut those memories and thoughts out. We hadn’t crossed the line. Even though I’d spent time in his apartment, it was all harmless. I could do my job. Keep separate the Holt I know as a friend, and the Holt I know as a patient.

Last night we crossed the line, and everything between us is now blurry. I know what it feels like to be wrapped in his arms. Hear him moan. Feel his very hard dick rubbing against me.

Do not think about his dick, Rebecca. Don’t do it.

“You okay, Doc?” Holt asks.

I blink, dragging myself out of my thoughts, and meet his gaze. “Fine. Sorry. I was making a mental note for myself.”

He smirks at me, and it makes him even more sexy, and me, even more screwed.

“Stop it,” I hiss with a shake of my head. “Doctor. Patient,” I remind him.

He drops his head back onto the table, muttering something I can’t hear, and I focus on the rest of our session. As we’re wrapping up, Dr. Walt pops into the room.

“Hey Holt, Dr. Jansen,” he greets us. “How’s it going?” He shoves his hands in his trouser pockets and turns to face me.

“I am considering you fully healed and ready to go,” I tell Holt, and he breaks into a huge grin. “I want you to continue doing the extra stretches you’ve been doing. But there’s no need for us to have more sessions unless you have pain again.”

“Doc, that’s great,” Holt says.

“I’ll let the coaching staff know.” I frown. “Although you’re still on your leave of absence, right?”

He rocks back on his heels. “Yeah. I’m going to go talk to Coach about ending it, though. I feel like I’ve got everything figured out, and with my sister here, I’m ready to play again. The guys need me.”