20 Questions

Chapter 138

After Hunter was rolled through the OR doors, I wandered aimlessly around the hospital with my head in a fog, trying to put everything back together in my brain. My husband is in surgery and will have a long recovery, Ivan is back in Louisville and waiting for his son to get home to end his life, Hunter knows what happened between Griffin and me, and I am uneasy around Griffin now. Something about having a man's head between your legs makes going back to a normal friendship a tad bit challenging.

After Hunter embarrassed me with his asinine Golden Corral comment, he and Griffin talked it out and seemed cool with each other. As for me, I'm still struggling with how I feel about Griffin and how we are going to make things work. Adult playtime is no longer an option, but I don't know how to act around him anymore. Griffin is strong, but can I trust him to walk the straight and narrow? Can I be certain he won't interfere with my marriage? After the intimate moments we've shared, will he be able to stomach seeing Hunter and me together? Will I be able to let go of what we shared?

I suppose I need to take it one day at a time. If challenges arise, I will deal with them when that time comes. There's a lot of things up in the air, but the one thing I am certain of is that my hand is throbbing. I need to have it checked out. The surgery will take several hours so I make the decision to check into the ER for evaluation, but only after walking up to the room to notify Griffin and Elijah. I've been walking around the hospital for twenty minutes now and I'm surprised they haven't notified hospital security and had the whole building put on lockdown.

When I make it back to the room, Griffin is sitting in the recliner watching TV, but Elijah is nowhere to be found. I'm alone with Griffin and that makes my stomach flutter. He glances up at me and smiles and I wish I could say that it settled my stomach, but it didn't. All that nervous energy returns and the only thing I can do is offer him a shy smile.

"Where's Elijah?" I ask.

"He went back to the warehouse to investigate Ivan's inventory."

"is everything ok? Did they find something else?"

"It's kind of a long story. We will fill you in a little later. You have a lot on your plate already and don't need to be concerned with anything else. We got everything under control. Do you want to lay down and take a nap?"

"No, I'm actually going down to the ER to have some x-rays done on my hand. It's really starting to throb."

"Oh, ok. Let me put on my shoes and I'll go with you," he says, standing from the chair.

"It's ok. I'll be fine by myself. It shouldn't take too long."

"You don't want me to go?" he asks, looking hurt by my pushback.

"You don't have to. It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal, Jenna. I don't want you going down there by yourself. I can keep you company. Unless there's some other reason you don't want me to go. Is something bothering you? Are we ok?"

"Yeah, we're fine," I say. It's not a lie, but I don't want to tell him that I am now uneasy being in his wake. "I just figured you were tired and I'm sure the last thing you want to do is sit in a loud ER while I get checked out."

"Jenna, we're friends and friends are there for one another. Come on, let's go."

I surrender and tell Griffin I want to pull my hair back into a ponytail first. I walk into the bathroom and grab my brush, running it through my locks when Griffin comes walking in. He stands behind me, towering over my body with his massive size and watches my troubled expression through the mirror. His proximity is making me restless and at some point in time, we are going to have to talk about it. Figuring now is just as good of a time as any, I open my mouth to speak when Griffin puts his hands on my hips. With one simple touch, my whole body catches fire and I tense up.