Page 56 of Unraveled

A giggle bubbled up from my throat. “We could do that.”

His eyes danced with mischief. “Or—hear me out—you could eat a couple of crackers to make me feel better, and we could avoid an argument. I’d rather wait, so we can make out during the subsequent makeup.”

I was shaking my head while reaching for the Ritz crackers. “Sounds as if you’ve given this a lot of thought.”

He grinned. “I’m always thinking of you.”

God, he was sweet. “Thank you for being there today.” I swallowed hard and admitted it. “I’d thought I’d be okay to go through this alone, but I was wrong.”

His thumb caressed my face. “No, you weren’t. Russ once called you a badass, and I believe it. You would’ve made it through this, but know you don’t have to. I understand you don’t want to hurt your mom’s feelings, so only Russell and Patty are aware I went with you today. And I can continue to go with you, if you wish.”

“I can’t ask you to take off work every three weeks for this.”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering. I want to be there for you. Now, eat your crackers like a good girl.”

I held one up. “What if I’m tempted to be bad instead?”

Only this man could manage to make me flirt the night of chemo.

He flashed me a mischievous grin. “We’ll save that for date night. What do you think about two and one half weeks from now? It’s your window for feeling your best, right?”

I sure hoped so. “That’s what I hear. Why, what do you have in mind?”

“My cousin Becky’s wedding is down in Portland on Saturday, September twentieth. We could go and make a weekend of it.”

It would, in fact, be the weekend before my next chemo appointment.

Spending a couple days in Portland sounded like something two people who were dating would do. Except what if I wasn’t feeling better? What if I lost my hair? What if it wasn’t my window? So many insecurities overwhelmed me. Yet I craved that normalcy. To be Kellan’s date at a normal wedding where I sipped normal champagne and forgot about having cancer. So, I forced myself to swallow down my worry and hoped Patty was correct about getting a few days of feeling better.

“It should be the best timing. But does your cousin know you’re bringing a date? Didn’t you already RSVP?”

“My sister was supposed to bring a date but now isn’t. So, the plus one can be transferred to me.”

I took a deep breath. People returned to workdays after chemo. Moms took care of their kids. I could attend a wedding. “In that case, it’s a date.”

He grinned. “Good. Did I mention there may be a direct linkage between the number of orgasms you’ll receive and the number of crackers you eat?”

You’d better believe I shoved the cracker into my mouth.

Chapter Seventeen

Layla

The next morning, Patty arrived. Her first order of business was to take my temperature and then draw blood for testing. The important thing was to keep my white blood cell count up. Next was a steroid shot designed to help prevent nausea and stimulate my appetite. Tomorrow, I would start taking the shots of G-CSF, which would boost the growth of healthy white blood cells.

I hadn’t slept much overnight. My body wouldn’t settle in order to rest. It appeared the metallic taste in my mouth was here to stay. Although there was a bit of soreness, I was thankful I didn’t have any blisters. Yet. That was the hardest part. Waiting to see what would happen. I felt like a hypochondriac looking in the mirror every hour to see if I had anything new happening. I was gentle with my hair, thankful I’d had Patty help me blow it out on Sunday. That allowed me to gently brush it and wear it back this week in a low ponytail. I didn’t want to yank on it in any way that would speed up hair loss.

Since I knew I had to eat breakfast to keep my strength up, I settled on Rice Krispies. It might taste like cardboard, but it was easy to get down.

“I sure like Kellan. He seems to care about you a great deal,” Patty commented while giving me the paracetamol which would help ease the aches and pains.

“He is. I don’t know how it’s possible to have known someone for such a small amount of time yet have him become such an important part of my life.” The thought, now spoken out loud, gave way to a shiver of fear. Fear over becoming too reliant on him for my happiness, only to drive him away with neediness. Baby steps, I reminded myself.

“I’m a hopeless romantic. It’s nice to see the way he looks at you.”

I swallowed down the liquid medicine, wincing at the taste. “He asked me to go to a wedding with him in a couple of weeks. You think I’ll feel up to it?”

“You very well could. After the next few days, while we see how your body reacts and recovers, we’ll know better.”