Page 415 of Seasons of Love
As if he could read my mind, he smiled and said, "I want one too."
"Well, that's my cue to go. From the way you're looking at each other, I wouldn't be surprised if you started trying now, and one baby named after me is enough," Sam said, and we all laughed.
Sam took his phone back and was about to leave when Jake came in.
When Jake saw Sam, he froze, and his eyes darted between the three of us in panic.
Sam grinned and said, "Oh! So, they were the reason you couldn’t… Good choice, man…good choice." And then he walked past Jake, squeezing his shoulder. "Nice to bump into you again."
I looked at Mal, who was just as confused.
Jake was still wide-eyed even after Sam left, and stood by the door, so Mal got out of the bed and went to Jake.
"Hey, are you okay? Frank and Gabe?" he asked.
"Yes…um, yes, my uncle and Gabe were both at home when the earthquake hit. They're safe. Jessie is still a little shaken, but she'll be fine too." Jake looked at Mal and then at me. "Nothing happened between Sam and me. I mean, it almost did, but I couldn't go through with it."
"Hey, come here," I said, extending my hand to him. He came and stood by the bed.
I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Jake was a free single man, and I didn't want him to feel bad for being with other people, but at the same time, I was beyond happy that nothing had happened between him and Sam.
We were on the verge of something, but a hospital room was not the place to have this conversation, and under the current circumstances, I felt too vulnerable to push anything. Knowing my luck, all of this was a dream caused by my concussion, and in a minute, I'd wake up alone in the hospital room.
Mal and Jake talked about their meetings and evening the day before and how they got back on the island. It felt so natural to have them together, talking, laughing. I wondered if they could see what I saw. Feel what I felt.
The doctor came in shortly after to discharge me. I couldn’t be left alone over the next forty-eight hours, and I had to have plenty of rest and no stress. Doctor's orders.
Jake took us home in his car, and I was surprised to see him come inside.
He and Mal shared a look, and as much as it warmed me to see they had a connection, I was wondering what it was about.
"Okay, guys, what's going on?" I asked with my hand on my hips, which was probably not as menacing as if I was standing up instead of sitting on the couch.
"When the doctor said you couldn't be alone, Jake offered to take turns staying with you if Frank and Gabe were okay. And since they are…" He shrugged.
I wasn't sure I was happy with this development or annoyed that I apparently needed a babysitter.
"Wait, are you leaving?" I asked Mal.
I sat next to him. "I need to get to the resort and see what's going on. We had one of the other managers fly in with us, but he probably needs a rest. It'll only be a few hours, okay?"
"Okay."
He kissed me quite thoroughly and then left.
"Great, and now I have a hard-on," I said aloud before I caught myself.
"You're not the only one." Jake groaned. "You guys are too sexy together. It's unfair to the rest of humanity."
I laughed. "Since you're stuck with me, how about we watch a movie? After all that sleep…and that kiss, I'm wide awake."
"Sure, how about I order some food?" he asked.
"You can order food on the island?"
"You can when you have a younger cousin that owes you a million favors."
I laughed. Half an hour later, Gabe showed up with a bunch of Chinese food containers, declaring he was staying to watch a movie with us because Frank wanted to watch Dancing with the Stars.
