Colt watches me with an expression I can’t quite place before leaning over and placing a quick kiss on my lips.
“How was your day?” he asks.
“It was good,” I say. “Work was busy with Doug on vacation,but all in all, it wasn’t a half bad day.”
Peeking up at me, a smirk slides on his face. “The idea of you helping patients all day, being the only doctor there, manning the fort, really does something for me, Doc.”
I huff a laugh. “Is that right? Got a doctor kink?”
“I got a William kink,” he throws back with a shrug. “Everything you do does it for me, I think.”
“Good to know.” Crystalline eyes shimmer as they gaze into mine, warmth spreading from my chest out to the rest of my body. “What about you, what else did you do today?”
“Had physical therapy this morning, then came here.”
“Yeah? How do you feel it’s going?”
He grumbles a bit. “Slow as fuck.”
That makes me chuckle. “Give yourself some grace, Colt. You had actual surgery on your shoulder; it’s not going to go back to normal overnight.”
“I know that, but we’re six months from the start of the season, and I don’t know what I’ll do if I can’t compete.”
“Six months is a long time to work on physical therapy, training, and getting your strength up. I think you’ll be surprised in yourself.” Rubbing my hand gently up and down the side of him, I add, “And if for some reason you’re not able to compete when the season starts, you’ll stick with it and make sure you’re ready for the next one.”
Colt’s quiet for a moment. Letting out a deep exhale, he says, “I know you’re right, and logically speaking, my recovery is going as well as can be expected and Iamon track to competing on the circuit, but I can’t help this small, negative part of my brain that’s telling me my career is slipping away from me the longer I have to wait.”
“That is not true, Colt,” I tell him, even though I know heknows that. I’m well aware of how sneaky self-doubt is, and I know he’s scared to follow in his father’s footsteps, but these situations are just not the same. Not even close. “You’re so young. Your career has just begun. You’ll get back out there when your body is ready, and you’ll kick some ass when you do.”
Watching me for a moment, he chews on the inside of his cheek. “If I do go back on the circuit in the spring, what’s that mean for us?”
The question takes me by surprise, almost as much as the uncertainty written on Colt’s face. Truth be told, it’s a question I’ve asked myself a lot lately, especially when I realized I was feeling a lot more than lust toward Colt.
“What do you want it to mean for us?” I ask, nerves taking hold of my chest.
Breathing out a nervous laugh, he looks down at his hands. “I don’t know. I know it’s a lot to ask from somebody. Dating a rodeo cowboy isn’t easy, I’m sure.”
“Dating, huh?” I lean in, nudging him with my shoulder, all the while loving how that sounds. “Are you saying I’m your boyfriend?”
Shoving back playfully, he smiles and nods. “Yeah, well, I mean… what would you call us?”
I grin, unable to bite it back. “I like the sound of boyfriend, actually.”
“Yeah?” He raises a brow, biting the inside of his cheek.
“Yeah. And I don’t see why you leaving would have to change anything for us,” I reply softly, feeling oddly vulnerable. “If you don’t want it to, that is.”
“I don’t,” he hurries and says. “Want it to change, I mean. I know you’ve got work and your dad and a life of your own, but it would mean a lot to me if you came to see me on the road,maybe.” Colt’s cheeks darken to a deep shade of pink, and I have to bite the inside of mine to keep from smiling at how adorable he is. “I mean, I know we’ve got months to go, and who knows what’s going to happen with us, but?—”
Placing a hand on his thigh, I cut him off with a brush of my lips against his. I kiss him slowly, but deeply, making sure he canfeelhow much I mean this. Pulling back, I murmur against his lips, “I would love that, Colt.”
A grin splits his face. “Yeah?”
“One hundred percent.”
“Okay, cool.”
I have no clue what’s going to happen in the future, but I can’t deny that in this moment, being here with Colt feels more right than anything I’ve done in a really long time.
