Page 66 of The Battery
Ionce foundthe long, three-quarter turn stair in Leo’s home beautiful. Now, I stared at an infinite gauntlet of torture. My left hand curled around the newel post of the banister, left foot on the first step and looking up at my destination. Go figure, I had never been upstairs before and now that I had a chance, I was an injured bird who couldn’t fly.
“I’d offer to carry you,” Leo said beside me, “but that’d be more painful. Only one option, Hill.”
“I know, I know, I’m just trying to psych myself up. If I get winded halfway through…”
Leo burst into action and in no time at all, he was at the halfway point. Barefoot, impossibly short shorts, and a loose t-shirt. He looked at ease in his own home. Daylight poured in through the windows along the foyer. He would need to leave for the stadium in a few hours. After picking me up from the hospital that morning, he likely wanted to make sure I was settled before heading out.
“Come to me,” he said in a mockingly seductive way.
I snorted, then hissed from a lance of fire shooting through my chest. I held up my right hand and pointed at him accusingly. “As much as I want to flirt with you, youreallyneed to tone everything way, way down. I need the classic ‘leave me the hell alone’ Leo right now.”
In response, he crossed his arms and hit me with the look I needed.
Right foot up. Not bad. Leaning forward to bring up my left foot caused my chest to constrict in a way that didn’t feelgood. I resorted to one step at a time, favoring my right foot while holding onto the railing with my left hand. Thankfully, I didn’t get winded, which I thought I would. Any deep breathing blinded me, so everything had to be shallow and quick.
At last I reached the halfway point. Leo didn’t move or congratulate me. “Ready?” he asked. I nodded and together we ascended the rest of the stairs in no time at all.
A brightly lit hallway greeted me with white, wainscoted walls, crown molding, and golden-accented wall sconces. “You’re to the left,” Leo said and led the way. I ambled slowly, posture upright and stiff. Two doors down and we were at the farthest room on the west-facing side of the house. Leo pushed open the door. King-sized bed that looked like it could raise and lower with the touch of a button. An Eames chair and paired ottoman in front of a gas fireplace. A bureau as tall as me, topped with a mirror that reached the vaulted ceiling. One door led to the en suite bathroom, another to the walk-in closet. Two large windows made up the left side with a view of the trees separating Leo’s house from the next. Windows on either side of the bed gave a great view of the backyard.
“This is really nice,” I said and advanced fully into the room. A wall-mounted television sat over the fireplace. A nook built into the wall held three different gaming consoles.
“Freddie swung by yesterday and dropped off a lot of your clothes. He mostly got all the comfortable ones. You should be all set for that.”
“That bed looks incredible.”
“Came recommended. There’s this mattress liner on it that heats or cools. You’ll be in seventh heaven in that thing.”
I had a flirtatious comment on the tip of my tongue that I bit down on. Instead, I said, “Can I see your room?”
Leo’s lips pursed. He weighed options, none of which I thought could possibly be serious. I just wanted to see his space.
“Sure.”
We slow-walked down a long hallway, passing by the other bedrooms and shared bathrooms. A linen closet. Laundry room. A small study with a circular window overlooking the front yard. His room sat opposite mine and was much larger, though the layout was mostly the same. King-sized bed on the far wall, a nightstand on either side. Windows, windows, windows. So much light. A fireplace and television. Walk-in closet beside a bathroom. I peeked inside that. Huge, tiled shower that could fit a party. Claw-foot tub.
The whole room was suffused with the scent of his cologne. I didn’t want to leave. I closed my eyes and took in as deep a breath as I could, which wasn’t much. It sounded more like a sniffing dog.
“Okay, okay, you creep,” he said and gently guided me by the shoulders back into the hallway. “I’m locking this door when I leave.”
He brought me back to my room and over to the bedside. “Try it out,” he said. “Let me know if it’s going to be good for your chest. Need help?”
I held up my hand to hold him back. I lowered my ass to the bed, then found the remote to raise the back until it was near a forty-five-degree angle. Then I rotated carefully and lowered myself, letting out a long sigh. Not too much pain.
“This is perfect. Thank you, Leo. Really, thank you.”
“Good. Now some ground rules.”
I wanted to laugh, but the anticipation of pain stopped me. “Oh, hell. Here we go.”
He sat on the bed beside me. His hand extended to cup my hip, his thumb tracing along the bone. “We’re gonna date each other.”
I snickered through my nose and felt the pain. “Leo…”
“Yes. We can have dinners or meals when I’m home for them. They can be our little dates to get to know each other. As far as I am concerned, this section of the house is yours and is as far away as your place with Freddie. I won’t cross the line in the middle of the night.”
“Dating but living together, got it.”
“Something like that. The priority is your recovery, though. Everything else takes second place. If you’re having a tough day at rehab, there’s no need to worry about ‘going on a date’ that night.” He grabbed my hand. Our fingers interlocked. “You’ll be in fighting condition by postseason. I knew you’d help carry us to the pennant, Hill, and I’m not letting you off the hook this easily. I need you.”
