Page 54 of Pirate

Not one to dance around a subject, she asked bluntly, “Did you hit him because of what I told you? About what happened in college?”

“Yes and no,” he answered honestly. Her fingers through his hair felt amazing. “I didn’t mean to punch him. I meant what I said on Sunday. I’m not angry with you or him about what happened. I have no right to be even if I was. But I’ll admit that I was jealous. It was irrational and completely unexpected, but it’s the truth.”

Her fingers paused before continuing their strokes through his hair. “There’s nothing to be jealous of. There’s nothing between Carlos and me. He’s happy with Zoe and I’m?—”

When she stopped talking, Pirate opened his eyes and tipped his chin up enough to look at her. “You’re what?” he prompted.

Sophia looked down at him. “I’m happy too,” she confessed. “It makes no sense, but I am.”

Pirate smiled up at her. “Me too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed. Closing his eyes again, he turned his face back into her belly. She smelled like chocolate and her favorite cucumber-melon body wash.

Sophia draped an arm over his chest. She was still running her fingers through his hair with the other one. Pirate clutched her arm tighter to his chest like a child would a stuffed animal and promptly, contentedly, fell asleep.

Pirate slept soundlessly.Which was good because he clearly needed it. Sophia didn’t know what he’d been up to the night before, but she was pissed it had kept him awake and on his leg all night. She needed to do a better job of encouraging him to remove his leg when he was home and maybe even around the clubhouse. She hadn’t realized that the prosthetic could have a negative effect.

Reaching for the tablet that had thankfully not been squashed under them, Sophia did some research on the care required for a prosthetic. And soon discovered just how many different types of prosthetics there were! Jesus! Looking up at the coffee table, Pirate’s seemed like a basic kind. It didn’t have any electronics that she knew of. She’d never seen him plug it in.

He had two as far as she knew. The one he’d been wearing plus a running one that looked like a giant hook. She’d never seen him wear it but knew he had it because she’d seen it in his closet. Then there was the peg-leg he had worn last Halloween. So maybe he had three, but she wasn’t really sure if the last one counted.

She’d never seen him put lotion on his knee around the scars or the skin that was attached to the cap that was implanted to what remained of his leg stump. She went online and purchased a couple of bottles of the leading recommended brand. She’d strap him down and apply it herself if she had to.

For all the time they’d spent together, his leg hadn’t been a topic they discussed. Guilt seized her heart. It was such a big part of his life and who he was. It felt wrong that they’d never talked about it.

The two of them certainly had a lot to talk about. Both of them confessing they were happy was a start, but it certainly wasn’t a conclusion. She’d let him rest first. He obviously needed it. And his confession gave her enough hope that Jasmine was right for her to be patient…for a bit.

She was concerned about the next day though. He would need to go back to work and be on his leg all day. Would that re-irritate him? Could he miss work? She did not like the idea that he would be in pain all day just so he could pay his bills.

Other than his insisting on paying her back for his portion of their trip to Hawaii and then the delay in San Francisco, they’d never discussed finances. It also wasn’t like they’d been on a real date where they fought over who paid or agreed to go Dutch for such things. There had been nothing monetary about their relationship so far.

If their conversation went the way she hoped it would, the subject would come up. Pirate certainly wasn’t the type of man to accept a handout or expect something from her. It was one of the things she admired about him. But would he be offended if she paid for some things anyway? Would he allow her to pay his rent so he could afford to miss a few days of work to take care of himself?

She didn’t think so. Which made her feel awful. She’d never had that type of struggle, never had to worry about rent or a car payment. It didn’t seem fair. Pirate had given up so much of his life, first for his country and then for his brother. When was it time for someone else to take care of him?

Sophia must have dozed off too. She woke up when Jumper and Jazz came home. From the darkness outside the living room window, it was late. As soon as she saw them, she put a finger to her lips and then pointed down at Pirate still asleep on her lap.

Jazz’s look was a mixture of aww and I-told-you-so.

Sophia stuck her tongue out at her bestie.

Jazz pointed to the dogs in question. Sophia shook her head. She’d walked them when she first got to the apartment that afternoon but hadn’t fed them dinner or walked them since.

Jumper and Jasmine worked together to get Aerial, Kidd, and Pooch fed. Sophia felt bad that she’d slept through their dinner time, and was a bit surprised they hadn’t woken her to demand their dinner. Aerial must be a good influence on them because no way Enola would have allowed Sophia to get away with sleeping through her mealtime.

Jazz mouthed to ask where Enola was, to which Sophia mouthed back the single word of “Mom”. Jasmine nodded and then joined Jumper as they took the three dogs for a walk. Normally Jumper and Pirate took the three, or four, dogs for their morning and nighttime walks. Sophia was grateful that they let Pirate sleep.

Once they were all back, Jumper came over to take a closer look at his brother. After noticing his leg on the table, Jumper reached to lift the ice pack, which had to be completely thawed by now, off of Pirate’s knee. His frown said he was displeased by what he saw.

“What happened?” Jumper asked softly.

“Not really sure,” she answered just as quiet. “He was limping when he came home. Said he was up all night on it and then had to go work. He passed out shortly after four.”

Looking at the clock, she saw it was after nine-thirty. Jumper and Jasmine must have gone out for dinner to be getting back this late.

Jumper reached under Pirate’s knees and then his back. Pirate must have really been out of it because he didn’t even wake as his older brother lifted him off of the couch. He just kind of hung there limply.

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