Something Sweet

Chapter 13

Becoming a firefighter has a great cost. You put your life on the line for the sake of others. But in the end, it's you against fate and Samuel knew that well enough. Probably better than anyone on the current force team. When he sensed his body collapse and heard the unsettling sound of his bone contorting unnaturally, he realized it was game over.

The pain sizzled throughout his arm as he looked at the X-Ray scan. It looked and felt bad. My God, what was he going to tell Nalani? The required surgery, and Nalani was his designated emergency contact. He couldn't burden her now, especially since she had mentioned that today was her busiest day.

Nalani was icing her cake when she got the call, and it wasn't long after when she ran through the hospital's walls like a banshee. When she finally found Samuel's room he was already released from surgery, his arm wrapped in a pink cast.

Times like these only made her wish he'd quit so she can make him soft and squishy with her sweets.

"Samuel?" Nalani perched on the edge of his bed, her hand resting gently on his chest. He snapped his head towards her at the sound of his name, his eyes half-closed.

"How are you feeling?" she inquired, her gaze sweeping over him as he lay there, motionless.

"M'fine," he grunted quickly. "You look like someone I know." His cheeks flushed crimson. Nalani met his gaze directly and released a soft giggle. "Really, Is she pretty?"

"The prettiest. A perfect 10. M' wife's unlike any woman I've ever met . . ." he responds, proud smiles adorning his handsome face. Nalani smiled. Wait. Wife?

"I'm sorry?"

"Y'know . . . my wife . . .Lani" he says matter of factly.

Nalani was left befuddled at his retort. One, he just called her his wife. Two, Samuel just called her his wife.

Nalani's heart skipped a beat as she processed Samuel's words. His confession left her bewildered and her mind raced to comprehend the implications. Could it be true? Had Samuel, the man she had secretly loved for so long, finally acknowledged their connection in such a profound way?

Trying to maintain her composure, Nalani mustered a gentle smile. "Samuel, I think there might be some confusion," she said softly, her voice trembling slightly. "I'm not your wife, I'm Nalani, your friend."

Samuel's brow furrowed in confusion as he blinked up at her, the realization slowly dawning on him. "Oh ... Nalani when did you get here?" he murmured, his expression shifting from certainty to uncertainty. Nalani could only laugh at the terrible switch.

"What's up with the pink cast?" Nalani points.

"It's your favorite color, isn't it?"

Later that evening, Nalani drove Samuel home and made it her mission to take care of him.
Samuel let Nalani lead him up the stairs, taking him to his ensuite bathroom.

Nalani motioned for him to sit down on the toilet while she plugged the tub and turned on the taps. He watched with curiosity as Nalani opened the mysterious bag she'd brought, taking out a glass jar filled with some sort of greenish granules, sprinkling a generous portion of it into the filling tub.

"What's that?"

"Epsom salts with spearmint and eucalyptus. It'll help ease your sore muscles," you told him, replacing the jar in the cabinet. Nalani turned to look at him again. "Let's get you out of those dirty clothes. I'll get you some clean ones once you're in the bath. C'mon. Lift your arms."

Samuel considered protesting, feeling capable of undressing himself as a grown man. However, once he felt her hands on him, all objections vanished instantly. He extended his arms for Nalani to retrieve the tail of his shirt from the waistband of his jeans. He shivered as her fingers brushed against his lats while she peeled the shirt up and over his head.
Before he could unbuckle his pants, Nalani stopped him.

"One last thing," Nalani then bent down and pulled another thing from her magical bag. This time I was a box.
"Your cast can't get wet. So I bought a wrap." Nalani said shyly once she realized her previous actions. There were two adults in a bathroom and one was stripping.

Nalani quickly wrapped the cast safely and excused herself out of the bathroom to leave him in peace. Samuel emitted a deep, drawn-out groan as the hot water surrounded him, convinced it was the most blissful sensation he had ever experienced. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back against the edge.

Samuel cracked an eye open when Nalani re-entered the room, watching as she placed his clean clothes on the counter next to the sink. Nalani opened another cabinet and removed some towels and a washcloth.

Nalani brought it all to the tub with her and knelt by the side, near his head. "Can I?" Nalani said, pointing to his hair.

Samuel's initial impulse to refuse was evident as his mouth fell open, but he quickly composed himself, swallowing the words. Nalani's steady gaze, devoid of any discomfort or avoidance, signaled acceptance to him. With a deliberate nod, he silently agreed.

Nalani moistened Samuel's hair before dispensing shampoo into her palm, rubbing her hands together before applying them to his head. As her fingers curled and worked his hair into a lather, Samuel couldn't suppress the quiet groan that escaped him. The sensation was heavenly, the gentle massage of his scalp and neck. He almost protested when she paused, but his breath caught as her fingertips found their way under his chin, gently tilting his head back.

"Keep your eyes closed," Nalani's soft voice traveled through the sound of sloshing water.

Samuel complied with her directions without a hint of complaint as Nalani rinsed his hair and then gently dried his face with a washcloth. Running her fingers through his hair, Nalani observed its choppy and uneven texture. Perhaps he'd consider letting her trim it sometime, but for now, she'd stick to what she knew he'd permit.

"I'll catch your back and then I'll go downstairs and make you something to eat while you finish your bath?"
Samuel blinked, he could tell the trapped steam was making her sweat.

Pleased to see him so cooperative, Nalani dunked the washcloth in the water and grabbed the soap bar, and started working the cloth in her hands until she had a good lather, Nalani rested one hand on his shoulder and used the other to slowly scrub the cloth over his back in large circles.

Nalani could feel the tension easing out of his shoulders, watching his head tip forward until he finally crossed his forearms on his knees and rested his forehead against them. And then she remembered.

"Y'know I met the strangest guy this afternoon, he said I was his wife." Samuel's brow furrowed deeply. His jaw clenched, and a surge of jealousy flickered in his eyes. With a gruff tone, he muttered under his breath, "Strange. I don't remember sharing."

Nalani's heart jumped for the stars.

When Samuel went back to work he wasn't allowed back onto the force team until his arm fully healed. Until then he was tasked with minuscule things and boring paper work.

"I see someone signed your cast already?" Captain John grins. No one signed his cast not even Nalani. She refused, instead she applied the brightest red lipstick she could find and peppered it with kisses.

Samuel felt his ears burning at the memory.
"She says it helps with the pain,"

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Sorry for this long gap! That was very capital R—Rake of me! U_U