Page 26 of Axe-identally Married
I rubbed my eyes, confused. It was five a.m., which in my resident days was practically mid-afternoon.
In another life, I’d be sleeping in, loving life as a fellow, with regular hours and normal daily expectations. I’d sip my coffee and read new journal articles, flagging things to discuss with my mentors over designer salads at lunch.
Instead, I was half awake, tripping over the largest shoes I’d ever seen. I owned snowshoes smaller than these.
This man was an actual giant. Always ducking through doorways and accidentally bumping his head. He was lucky he lived with a doctor. I had a penlight in the kitchen, and I was pretty sure I’d have to use it to check him for a concussion more than once.
My plan was to exercise before I left for work. I’d found my groove lately, working to prioritize self-care. Without a littlemorning workout, I wouldn’t have the energy to get through a busy day of patients, and I found it was helping me sleep better too. But the thought of jumping on my bike and singing along to Beyoncé in front of him brought a wave of dread with it. Hence the extra-early wake up. I figured I’d exercise, grab a cup of coffee, and shower before he woke up.
Except when I flipped on the kitchen light, I came face to face with my new roommate-slash-husband.
Shirtless.
I froze in place, my mouth instantly watering.
His athletic shorts hung low on his hips, and from behind, a whole slew of muscles was on display, his latissimus dorsi, trapezius, rhomboids, and one of my personal favorites, the levator scapulae. Thank God for anatomy. I could happily trace the lines of fascia under his skin.
He turned around before I started naming blood vessels, but the damage was done.
Because Cole was built. It may not have been surprising, but it was still jarring this early in the morning.
His attention dipped, and a wave of heated embarrassment crept through me. Crap. I’d come out here in nothing but a sports bra and shorts. Despite how I wanted the floor to swallow me up, I had no doubt my nipples had joined the party.
Becausechest hair.
I’d never had an opinion. It was there. An evolutionary adaptation.
But the dark hair sprinkled across his sculpted chest? It looked delicious. Manly.
And I was hit with an urge to nuzzle him.
Nuzzle? Jesus, I needed coffee and a lobotomy.
“Morning, wifey,” he said with an easy smile. “Coffee?”
With a deep breath in, I willed my mind and my body to settle and asked, “You made some?” in a relatively normal voice. It was a miracle.
He nodded. “Couldn’t sleep.”
“The bed not comfortable?”
He shrugged and held a steaming coffee cup out to me. “Most beds aren’t big enough for me, but I’ll deal.”
I cupped the mug with both hands and inhaled, relishing the rich scent.
With his own mug in hand, he took a sip. “Black, yes?”
Bringing mine to my lips, I nodded. As the flavor hit just right, I asked, “How did you know?”
“I pay attention.” He held my gaze in a way that once again had my body temperature rising, but not in embarrassment this time. And suddenly I needed out of this kitchen. As quickly as humanly possible.
How on earth could I have thought this would work? I was barely holding things together as it was. Now I had to dodge through the beefcake obstacle course every morning?
“Go back to bed,” I said.
“Nah.” A half smile tipped his lips. “I’ll keep you company.”
I huffed. Seriously? “I’m going to exercise and get ready for work. Mondays are usually ridiculously busy. I’ll have patients booked all day, not to mention the walk-ins.”
