Page 64 of Whispers and Wildfire

No.

I followed her out of the restroom. “I have a first-aid kit in my office. It should have a few ice packs.”

“Maybe you should use one on your nose.”

“Probably, but let’s take care of you first.”

I led her through the garage to my office and took the first-aid kit off the shelf, setting it on my desk. I dug through the assortment of bandages, gauze, and other supplies in the red plastic box, finally finding several small ice packs that would get cold if you squeezed and shook them up.

Ignoring the ache in my nose, I got the ice pack ready for her. When it started feeling cold, I lifted her hand and placed the pack gently on her knuckles.

“Thanks,” she said. “Sorry about your nose.”

“I’m all right.”

I could have let go. Made her hold the ice pack herself. I could have told her I had to get to work and sent her back to the front desk.

But I didn’t. I couldn’t seem to make myself stop touching her.

Memories flitted through my mind. It wasn’t the first time I’d held an ice pack for Melanie.

“You’re smirking again,” she said.

“No, I’m not.”

“You totally are. What are you thinking about?”

“I was just remembering that time you slipped off a log and fell in the lake.”

“In my defense, that log was very slippery.”

“Right. I’m sure it had nothing to do with you reciting some monologue and gesturing with basically your entire body.”

“I was not. That doesn’t sound anything like me.”

I chuckled. “And then you flailed around so much on the way down, you smacked your elbow on the log.”

“What was I supposed to do, swan dive?”

“That would have been more graceful.”

She sighed. “There’s a reason I was never good at musical theater. The whole coordination part. But I do remember that. You jumped in after me and carried me to shore.”

“I think you hit me in the nose that time, too.”

“No, I didn’t,” she said with a laugh. “Oh wait, maybe I did.”

“You did. You were still flailing around in the water when I got to you, like you thought you were going to drown.”

“I was just very surprised to suddenly be in the cold lake water. It’s freezing.”

The rest was vivid in my memory. She had hit me in the nose. Once she’d realized I was there and the water was shallow enough to stand in, she’d thrown her arms around me and peppered my face with kisses to apologize. Then I’d gathered her in my arms and carried her to shore. We’d made out on a towel for a while before realizing her elbow was starting to bruise. So we’d gone to my folks’ place to get an ice pack and spent the rest of the night cuddling on the couch.

Despite the minor injury, it had been a good day.

The memory hurt.

I let go of her and stepped away. She moved her other hand to hold the ice pack in place. Clearing my throat, I grabbed another ice pack and shook it up, then held it to mynose. Not because I thought I needed it, but to pull myself from her orbit.

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