Tuesday, 12:00 PM

Callie

Callie waited all morning for Ethan, wondering where he was. By noon, she couldn’t stop pacing the room. He’d been limping badly on the way to Belmont, gritting his teeth with every step. It broke her heart to see him suffering. What made it worse was she’d been the reason. He’d reinjured himself by running back and forth between Providence and Boston, frantically looking for her.

What if the pain had gotten worse? What if he was in surgery now? Her pulse spiked when an even scarier possibility jumped to mind. What if he’d gone looking for painkillers?

“Any word on Ethan?” she asked when Janet entered with her lunchtime meds. “Is he okay?”

“I wouldn’t worry, Callie. He’ll be fine.”

“I’m not so sure about that.” She swallowed the pills, pulling a face at their bitter taste. “He was supposed to meet with Doctor Choi this morning. Could you ask her how he’s doing? Please?”

“Sure, dear.” The nurse handed her a cup of water.

Moments later, there was a knock on the door. They both turned to see Ethan standing at the entrance. Callie heaved a sigh of relief, then noticed the crutches. The brace on his right knee.

“Speak of the devil,” Janet muttered.

Callie handed her the empty paper cup. “Be nice. He’s hurt”

The nurse crumpled the cup and shot Ethan a dirty look. “He doesn’t know hurt. We have a busy schedule today. No time for distractions.”

“I’ll only take a few minutes,” Ethan promised.

“That’s all you’ll get. Remember…” The nurse pointed from her eyes to the ceiling-mounted camera. ‘I’ll be watching.”

After she’d left, Ethan set his crutches by the door and hobbled toward Callie. “Yikes. I always thought she liked me.”

“She does.” Callie held his hand and led him to the bed, careful not to jostle his knee. “She’s just being protective. I might’ve let something slip about our sleepover last night.”

“You did?” Ethan sat on the edge of the bed, grinning. “Hope you gave her the tame version.”

“Was there any other version? Dude, you didn’t even try to kiss me.”

“Hmm.” Ethan massaged the stubble on his chin, which was growing in with different shades of honey. “Guess that part must’ve been a dream.”

She nudged his shoulder. “What part?”

“Never mind.”

“Tell me.”

“No. It’s embarrassing.”

“Was it, like, a steamy sex scene?”

He blushed. “Maybe.”

“With me?”

“Nope.” He smirked. “It was with Janet.”

“Shut up!”

“No, seriously. It started with her shedding those racy fuchsia scrubs. Then she peeled down her beige support stockings…”

“You’re not funny.”

“I haven’t even gotten to the part where she ordered me to strip for my physical.”

“Ew. Now you’re just getting gross.”

He laughed, then winced when his right leg bumped against the bedframe.

“Careful!” Callie touched his knee and rubbed gentle circles, wishing she could take away some of the pain. When he tried to return her smile, his lips looked pale.

“It’s really bad, isn’t it?”

“I’m okay.” He gazed into her eyes with such affection that it made her stomach flutter. “It’s only physical pain. There are worse things.”

“Like what?”

“Like thinking I’d lost you.”

She glanced up at the camera, then massaged his thigh. Screw Big Brother.

He must have been thinking the same thing because he reached for her and cradled her chin in his palm.

“Are you sure?” she whispered.

“Sure as I’ll ever be of anything. I was wrong last night. I don’t want to wait.”

“Then don’t.”

She nibbled on her bottom lip as he leaned closer, his forehead touching hers. His stubble tickled her cheek. His breath smelled like cinnamon. “I love you, Callie. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. It’s that simple.”

“It’s never that simple.”

“Sometimes…” He brushed his lips against hers. “It just is. You’re –”

She kissed him before he could say another word.

Amazing. Beautiful. Perfect. He didn’t need to say anything more. It was in his eyes. In his lips as they opened for a deep kiss that kept going until she felt dizzy and breathless.

When they finally parted, she knew Ethan was right.

They were meant to be together. Sometimes, things really were that simple.

“Hey.” She looked up at the camera, grinning ear to ear. “No sirens. No flashing red lights. I think we’re going to get away with it.”

He squeezed her hand. “Told you.”

She glanced at his knee. At the medication schedule posted by her bedside.

“What’s next?”

The smile faded from his lips, but never left his eyes. “I’m taking a leave of absence from med school. One of my dad’s partners is going to scope my knee tomorrow. Hopefully, he’ll clean things up in there, enough to control the pain for a while.”

Callie shook her head. “That won’t be enough.”

“I know. I talked to my addiction counselor Vic this morning. He wants to set up a rehab stay. He works with a place that specializes in treating addiction and chronic pain. It’s on the Cape, near Provincetown.”

Callie laced her fingers in his. “That sounds like a good plan. But what about Jess?”

“We spoke for a few minutes this morning, but she cut me off. Said she had work to do.” He glanced out the window, squinting into the sunlight. “I’ll keep trying. She deserves an explanation.”

“What will you say?”

“That she deserves more than I can give her.” He turned back to face her. “She’s an amazing person, Callie, but we want different things out of life. I’m pretty sure she realizes that already. She’ll move on quickly. She's not the type to look back in anger.”

“She sounds like a strong woman.”

“She is. And so are you, songbird.”

Okay. So the line was cheesy, but she melted anyway. Besides, Ethan meant it. She could tell how much the words came from his heart. When he brushed the hair out of her eyes and went in for another kiss, heat washed over her like tropical sunshine.

She rested her head against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. His embrace felt so warm and calm, like floating in Caribbean waters. No chop. No undertow. No fear that somewhere in the distance, a tsunami wave might be building.

So peaceful. So still.

Just the sound of two hearts, beating a simple rhythm of hope together.

***

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