Page 36 of My One and Only

“Yeah, it’s great,” she said, finishing her first piece and reaching for her second. “You must be starving. You probably didn’t feel like eating anything yesterday, and you’ve had nothing today.”

“Wasn’t hungry until I smelled the pizza,” he said, chewing on his piece. “Now I’m ravenous.”

“Don’t go crazy there,” she said. “I clean up vomit if I have to, but it’s not my favorite job.”

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I puke, I’ll clean it up.”

She snorted. “Right. The guy who can barely walk is going to get on the floor to clean up after himself. I’d pay money to see that.”

Eating pizza in the kitchen with Jo brought a rush of memories of all the times they’d shared a pizza in high school. Usually at her house. They’d hole up in her kitchen, protecting their pizza from her brothers, who were always ready to grab a piece.

He managed to eat the two pieces, then his stomach rebelled and said ‘no more’. He pushed his empty plate away and studied Jo for a moment. She was on her second plate. “How did you know to only give me a couple of pieces?”

She shrugged. “I’ve been around concussion patients. Eating is usually a problem for a day or two.”

“Aren’t you a fount of information?”he said, then wanted to slap himself. He had no reason to be snarky to Jo. She’d stayed with him all day, and she wasn’t getting paid to be his bodyguard.

But instead of snapping at him, she leaned back in her chair. Gave him a tight smile. “That’s me. A walking encyclopedia.”

“Sorry, Jo. No filter on my mouth right now.”

“That’s okay, Cam. Don’t worry about it. Like I said, I’ve spent time with people who had concussions.” She reached over and touched his hand, and the caress shot electricity all the way to his toes. And places in between.

She apparently didn’t notice, because she just kept on eating. She probably hadn’t had any lunch, he realized. She’d been here with him all day. And he was pretty sure his mom wouldn’t have thought to bring her lunch. She’d assume Cam would make sure Jo ate.

Ashamed of himself for not thinking about that, he waved his hand toward the pizza box. “At least we have leftovers for tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” she said, leaning back in her chair. “Plenty left to nuke tomorrow.”

After Jo ate another piece, she nodded at his plate. “You want another piece?”

“Maybe a little later. My stomach has to get used to food again.”

“Okay, you sit there for as long as you want.” She stood up and walked to the sink to refill her water glass. “You want me to put a piece on a plate and take it into the living room? You can watch TV if you like. You’re probably not ready to read yet.”

“Actually, I think I want to go back to bed. I slept all day, and I’m still exhausted.”

“Not unusual for a concussion,” Jo said. She set her glass on the counter and helped him stand up. “C’mon, I’ll get you back to bed.”

As they shuffled down the hall, she said, “You need to stop at the rest room?”

“I’m fine,” he said, his face turning red. “I have a bathroom off my bedroom. I’ll use that if I need to.”

“Okay. Give me a call if you need help.”

Like she was going to hold his dick for him? He snorted. “I think I can manage pissing in a toilet.”

“Okay.” They’d reached his room, and she paused in the doorway. “You want to use the bathroom now? Then I can help you back into bed.”

He wanted to tell her that he could take care of it himself. But he knew he was wobbly. And unless he wanted to crawl into the bathroom, he’d need her help.

“That would be great,” he said through gritted teeth.

He glanced at her in time to see her bite her lip to keep from laughing. But she didn’t look at him. Just focused on steering him around the bed and into the bathroom.

“I’ll wait outside the door,” she said.

“Gee, thanks, Nurse Ratched. I appreciate that.” He closed his eyes. Jo was being nothing but kind, and he was being an ass. He didn’t like feeling helpless, didn’t like relying on someone to take care of him, but that was no reason to take his anger out on Jo.

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