“Hello?” Titus’s voice is slightly annoyed and amused when we reach his truck.
“I’m sorry, what? My brain was fritzing out.”
Titus chuckles and hands me his keys. “I asked if I should text Herc to come to pick you up after you drop my sorry ass at home.”
I answer when we’re both buckled in, and I start the motor, hoping his lessons on driving a manual transmission have stuck with me. “One thing at a time. First, I need to make sure you’re okay. You smacked your head pretty hard on the ground. I should take you to the hospital.”
“I thought you were majoring in gym class, not nursing. Ow!”
Yeah, it’s shitty of me to accidentally-on-purpose slam on the brakes. And he’s injured. But he’s supposed to be my friend, and that was a crappy thing to say even if I am double majoring in physical education and recreational studies.
“Oops. Sorry,” I say with an exaggerated wince of sympathy.
Titus grumbles, “I just need some sleep and possibly to tape up my ribs.” He leans his head against the passenger window and sighs. And now I feel bad about braking so hard. We can talk later about that dumb remark.
We drive the short distance to his dorm, and by that time, Titus has recovered enough that he assures me he doesn’t need me to stay to help him.
“Really,” he says, giving me that winning smile that melts my heart. “I’m fine, mama bear.”
Even as he says it, he’s staring at my mouth. This subtle look does things to my body that only Titus can do, and I feel a rising neediness inside my panties.
“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” I say, acting as a crutch once more.
I don’t want him to see me as a mother figure. Gross. But I have to admit it: I love taking care of him. It gives me more time to spend with him, and we’ve been so busy we’ve barely spoken two words to each other all semester. Despite the circumstances, being next to him again settles me. Warms me.
And how he’s looking at my dress—specifically my neck and my chest—is making my nipples tight. Maybe tonight, he finally sees me as more than a little sister.
I smile as heat rises my neck as we arrive at the door of his room. His low chuckle vibrates against my ribcage. Oh my.
Is this happening?
Sadly, no. Because now, Titus is speaking in gibberish. “Titus is 100 percent back in black, baby. Put me in, coach; I am ready to play. Shortstop.”
And then he sways to the left, then overcompensates and stumbles.
“Whoa,” I say, catching him before he falls, which is quite a feat.
“One hundred percent, my ass. We’re going to the hospital for a brain scan immediately, and if you resist, I’m calling in Herc.”
He sighs and smiles at me, and I’m no longer holding him up. Instead, he’s pinning me against his dorm room doorframe. “God, you’re gorgeous, Squeaks. Do you even know how ridiculously sexy you are?”
Oh god.
I have dreamed about this moment. But I never imagined it would take a probable concussion for Titus to notice me.
It’s going to be a long, disappointing night.
SIX
Titus
Cassandra tapsher finger to her chin. “So, what should we do? Play cards? Do a puzzle?”
We’re back in my dorm room after a trip to the E.R., where a doctor diagnosed a mild concussion. With only having student medical coverage through PMU, the hospital was not keen on keeping me there for long and sent me packing with pain meds and bandages for my cuts and scrapes. Cass had been determined to let them keep me there for further observation. She was ready to pull out some tennis ball money to pay for a more extended hospital stay. And it tugged at my heartstrings. In the end, I had to insist she keep her money. And I make a mental note to move the trunk out of the storage locker. If I know Cass, she’ll spend what remains of that money on others and not on herself.
Ordinarily, I appreciate her generosity when little things crop up, but now I feel differently. Now, all I want to do is take care of her, not the other way around.
My dorm room is equipped with a box of ramen chicken soup and a stack of board games. I love Cass for being here for me. And I adore Cass for thinking that this dorm room would be big enough to do a puzzle unless it was a puzzle for toddlers.