A bubble of amusement pushed past my snark, and my lips twitched. “You’re notthatbig.” Okay, he totally was. Having known the man for as long as I had and inevitably been naked so often, I had no issues admitting as much. Usually. Sutton did not need an ego boost, so there was no chance I’d be agreeing with him.
Once again, the ass quirked his brow at me, calling bullshit.
I lost some humor, my aching head letting me know it was almost time for another dose of painkillers. I hoped one of the nurses would be by soon. “What are you doing here?” My sigh was heavy, tired.
Sutton’s gaze danced around my face, reading my expression before he spoke. “I may have overreacted and panicked when Nate called telling me you’d been injured, asking if I could let your parents know.” His voice was tight, his concern bleeding through his words.
That was the thing about Sutton. He always told the truth, said it how it was. It was why his distance over the past season had hit me so hard. It just wasn’t like him. His concern for me inched its way into my awareness more fully. When it settled, my pulse sped up.
“And now that you’re here?” I had no idea what his plans or intentions were. Did I even want him to stay? Hell yes. There wasn’t a chance I’d beg, though. I missed him, so much so that emptiness had burrowed deep and taken root in my gut. But I’d tried over and over again to figure out what was going on, and I was exhausted.
With his gaze fixed on mine, he took a swig from his can of soda, taking far too long to swallow the liquid. I narrowed my eyes at him, sure he was doing so on purpose.
“Since I’m here, I thought I’d stick around for a while. Make the most of the trip.”
I twisted my mouth and ran my tongue over my top teeth, buying myself some thinking time. “You’re staying here? With Nate and Ryan?”
He nodded.
“You sure you can handle being in the same space as me? ’Cause honestly, Sutton, I came here to get away from the sullen shit show you’ve been dishing out all season.” I ignored the heat creeping up my cheeks, but the fuck if I’d hold back. Not with him. I watched him carefully, my heart jolting when a flash of remorse appeared on his face.
I wanted nothing more than to go back to how things were. I wasn’t dense enough to not know all this distance was because of my actions last off-season. I’d mentioned it a time or fifteen, but Sutton hadn’t confirmed or denied anything.
That simply left me more confused.
I’d apologized and laughed it off, teased, and shrugged. None of my reactions had made a difference, though, and in many ways, they’d made Sutton more distant.
Maybe now, if he could pull his head out of his ass long enough, we could finally figure things out.
“I’ll make sure I work at removing the dick from my head. How about that?”
I smiled, the gesture wide and warm. “Sounds good. Just don’t strain yourself in the process.”
He snorted, the sound relaxing my shoulders.
“So apparently I need to hold back for a week or so before anything high octane.”
Sutton smiled, the whites of his teeth perfect and almost blinding in the rays filtering in from the setting sun. Fuck, it had been a long time since I’d had that directed my way. “I think only a week is wishful thinking and it may be closer to three, maybe more, but just to be clear, no bungee jumping.”
“Or riding kangaroos, apparently.”
He grunted out a laugh and looked at the time on his phone.
“You know, I don’t think you’re allowed to stay.”
Intensity shone in his eyes as he stared me down. I quirked my brow at him in response until he sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m not leaving until you stop freaking me out by falling asleep midsentence.”
Emotion fizzed in my chest, the reality of the past twenty-four hours creeping into my system. I hurt, ached like I’d been body-slammed by a truck, which wasn’t too far from the truth. On top of that, my injuries worried me. It wasn’t like I was at death’s door or anything like that, but concussions were the worst, and I could totally do without a broken bone. While training for the new season was still a couple of months away, I didn’t want this to hold me back from a killer season, especially since Sutton was speaking to me again.
When Sutton gripped my uninjured hand once again, my gaze lifted to his. There was no disguising my watery eyes, and Sutton was the only person alive who I’d allow to see such emotion.
“You’ll be okay, and I’m not going anywhere, you hear me?”
I swallowed hard and blew out a shaky breath, forcing a light chuckle. “Fucking meds.”
He squeezed my hand in response and pulled back when a nurse entered the room. I hadn’t seen the dark-haired woman before.
“Hey, Jayden. I’m Maddy. I’m just going to check your vitals, and it’s just about the end of visiting hours too.” She cast a glance at Sutton, whose large frame stiffened in the chair.
