On Thursday morning Jack had been given the all-clear from the consultant to go home, having recovered the infection and with his scars healing well. His parents had stayed in Manchester for the five days he had been in hospital and had headed over to his flat that morning to give it a spring clean and to stock up the fridge and cupboards ahead of his return.
Lucy, meanwhile, had managed to secure a last-minute day of annual leave under the guise of catching up with an old friend; the next Premier League game not taking place until the following Monday evening. It meant she could get to the hospital early and help Jack prepare for being discharged. Frustratingly, she had only managed to grab an hour with him for the previous two nights after work, the time speeding by as they chatted and giggled and cuddled up on the bed, before he had quickly tired and nodded off in her arms. The doctor had told Jack he would feel fatigued for a while yet, and to not fight his delicate state in his haste to recover his fitness.
"Nothing strenuous for six weeks or so," the doctor had warned, "not even lifting heavy kettles or bags - your scars and muscles need time to heal." Jack had rolled his eyes, sighing gustily and running his fingers through his hair.
Despite the prospect of slow progress, Jack was bright and eager when Lucy arrived at the hospital on Thursday morning. He was gingerly shuffling around the bed, attempting to pick up various belongings he'd managed to scatter across the room during his stay.
"Morning sweetie," Lucy greeted as Jack hugged her enthusiastically. "How are you feeling today?" she squeezed him gently around the waist, conscious he was still pretty sore.
"Much better now you're here," Jack whispered huskily into her ear, making Lucy quiver. She wondered if there would be a time when he didn't make her quiver.
Lucy leaned into him and kissed him softly on the lips, Jack meeting her with his tongue. It was delicious. Reluctantly, she pulled away, knowing she would struggle to relent if she allowed herself mere seconds of succumbing to his advances.
"Have you had your breakfast?" Lucy asked, motioning for Jack to sit down on the bed while she packed his phone charger and iPad away.
"Yeah, Weetabix again," sighed Jack, "I want a fry up, but the nurse keeps asking if I've opened my bowels," he rolled his eyes, "like I'm a cupboard or summat."
Lucy snorted with laughter. "That's nurses for you! Obsessed with bowel movements."
"Yeah like, I told her I'd hardly eaten anythin' for days," Jack grumbled, "which is hardly my fault. Then she made me take a laxative! The cheek, man!"
Giggling, Lucy joined him on the bed and pulled him to her, kissing him on the cheek. "Bless you. It will take a while to recover...I'll just make sure to put you in the en suite and I'll take the main bathroom, OK?" She poked him gently in the side.
Jack's eyes lit up. "So ya comin' back to mine, to stay like?"
"Of course you silly sod! I'm not leaving you on your own in this delicate state." Lucy took Jack's hand and rubbed his warm skin with her fingers. "You need some TLC."
"Ah that's good, 'cos me mom and dad are heading back to Brum today."
"Are you going to spend time with them and see your sisters?"
"Yeah, gonna spend a few days at home and once I can get up and about a bit more I'll go down there." Jack furrowed his brow and turned back to face Lucy. "I really want ya to come as well, like stay for a bit? Meet me sisters? Hollie's dying to meet ya!"
Lucy smiled, her heart feeling warm. She had spent the last two days processing Jack's declaration of love for her. She felt like she was sixteen again, her head giddy with hormones, her body feeling light and fluttery and she floated through the corridors at work, safe in the knowledge that somehow - still - no one else knew, apart from Stones and Walker who had been too distracted by Jack's illness and absence from the pitch and training ground to concern themselves with his relationship with Lucy. She didn't want to think about how to deal with the situation. She wanted to lap it up, her own feelings for Jack intense - almost suffocating. Tara had quizzed her at length about it, excited for her friend, with Lucy saying "I know it sounds mad and cliched but honestly I've not felt this way about anyone before." She hadn't.
"I'd love to meet your whole family," Lucy said, grinning. "And I want to take you to meet the rest of mine, although it would be mostly my cousins considering I'm a sad only child." She remembered that, her parents aside, the rest of her family had no idea about her relationship with Jack. That was going to be a difficult one to explain.
"Nah I'd love that like," beamed Jack.
Monica was on shift again after two days off and was in charge of discharging Jack from the hospital. She dished out a range of medication for him to take.
"We'll arrange for a nurse to visit to take your dressings off at the weekend, and to check everything is healing properly," Monica said. "The stitches are dissolvable so we won't be needing to take those out. Just take care, OK? And do let us know if you aren't sure about anything."
Jack nodded as Monica shared instructions for the medication she was leaving him with.
"Make sure you finish the course of antibiotics - that's very important," she said. Jack looked a bit flummoxed with the various instructions, glancing over at Lucy for reassurance.
"I'll make sure he takes everything," Lucy interjected with a wry smile, stroking Jack's hand.
"And..." continued Monica, handing over the final large packet of medication, "some laxative sachets here if you need them. Just dissolve in a glass of water before you go to bed."
"Pfffffftttt," muttered Jack, rolling his eyes, "nah won't be needin' them once the one you gave me earlier kicks in." His eyes then lit up mischievously as he turned back to Lucy. "Or...maybe I can save them for when we play Man U and I can mix up their drinks."
"Jack!" exclaimed Lucy, in mock outrage, "you're so naughty!"
"Don't tell my husband you said that," smiled Monica, "he's a red and his whole family are reds."
"Yeah but ya won't tell," Jack winked at Monica as she finished up her discharge notes.
"Course not," she replied, "we're going to miss having you on the ward, that's for sure. Just make sure we all get our signed shirts, OK?"
"Nah nah I won't forget, I got loads to give out now!"
Jack put on his zip-up hoodie, physically unable to lift anything too heavy over his head, and his baseball cap, tugging his hood over it. While it was an open secret he was in this very hospital, he wanted a quiet exit. The hospital staff had arranged for Sandeep to park in a designated loading bay at the back of the building which was fairly secluded, with one of Man City's minders, Abdul, joining him to ensure there were no issues in safely escorting Jack into the car. Lucy, meanwhile, carried Jack's bags as they headed out the hospital.
It was slow progress, with Jack still stiff and slightly hunched over with the tightness around his abdomen. However, it was a smooth transition into the car and soon they were on the way home.
"Ah so good to get fresh air," enthused Jack, winding down the window a little despite the fresh December temperatures outside.
"We're so happy you're out of hospital," said Abdul, "we told the lads first thing this morning so they're all excited."
"Yeah they ain't stopped messaging me," said Jack, holding up his phone.
"Pep's going to sort you out some proper rehab in the next few weeks," said Abdul, "honestly the club are so good at stuff like this."
Lucy squeezed Jack's hand, knowing he would be relieved to hear that the club would be doing all they could to get him back to action as soon as possible. She just hoped he appreciated it wouldn't be an easy ride back to fitness.
When they returned to the flat, it was spotless, with Jack's parents having spruced it up before they departed back to Birmingham.
"I coulda just got me cleaner in but mom said no," Jack said, sinking into the sofa almost breathlessly as soon as they got through the front door. "They've done a good job like."
Lucy wandered over to the dining room table where there was a bouquet of flowers and an expensive looking bottle of red wine. There was a card next to it, addressed Lucy. She opened it - it was a thank you card - and read the message scrawled inside.
Lucy,
We can't thank you enough for everything you have done for Jack. Without you we dread to think what would have happened...We know our son is in safe hands with you. Please do come and visit us with Jack when you have the time, we would all love to see you.
Karen and Kevin X
P.S - it's not much but just a couple of small gifts to enjoy when you're home
Jack had been watching her read the card. Lucy looked up with a smile on her face.
"Your parents are so sweet," said Lucy, handing Jack the card to read, "although they need to know that John had a lot to do with it - if he hadn't been so on the ball..." her voice tailed off.
"Yeah Stonesy's messaged me, wants to pop round later now he knows I'm home," said Jack.
"Would be great to see him," said Lucy, "and I'll be in a better state than when he last saw me to thank him!"
Lucy went over to the kitchen and found that the kitchen and cupboards had been stocked with a load of essentials and also plenty of fresh fruit and veg, and meat and cheese. It was like walking into a market as Lucy opened drawers in the fridge and the freezer and sifted her way through packets of pasta, pulses and rice. Jack's parents had really gone to town in stocking up on food.
"Wow there's so much food here," Lucy called over to Jack who was now almost reclined on the sofa, staring into his phone. "I can cook something up for later - tell John he can come for dinner if he wants as there's loads....what do you want for lunch?"
"Pot Noodle!" yelled Jack from the sofa.
"No bloody Pot Noodles!" exclaimed Lucy, "besides, there really aren't any in here. Do you want a sandwich?"
Jack decided he wanted a bacon and egg sandwich, and Lucy didn't have the heart to tell him she couldn't be bothered to start frying bacon after the exhausting week she had ensured - Jack had been living off uninspiring hospital food and was also well enough now to enjoy something more adventurous than soup, jacket potatoes and Weetabix. As they ate their sandwiches together at the table Lucy realised how hungry she was as well - when life got stressful her appetite vanished. Now she was back home with Jack, everything felt like it had fallen back into place. She could relax now.
"Gonzo!" Jack pushed his empty plate away from him. "Man I was starvin'. What's for pudding?"
Lucy studied Jack's face, his curtains flopping over his forehead, the twinkle in his dark eyes, the smirk developing on his lips. The only pudding she wanted to devour was him.
"I did spot...some Viennetta in the freezer," grinned Lucy, collecting the empty plates.
"Bangin'! Yeah get that out! Knew me mom would get some...we always had that at teatime when we was little." Lucy felt her heart swell at Jack's pure enjoyment of the smallest things.
Between them they ate the entire Viennetta, leaving an empty box, empty bowls and Jack leaning back on the chair rubbing his stomach. "God I've not eaten that much since I got ill...that was SO good."
"You'll be fast asleep after lunch," said Lucy.
Jack returned to the sofa to rest, while Lucy fetched his medicine bag that Monica had given them. She dished out his antibiotic tablets and also painkillers to keep the abdominal aches at bay. Jack handed her the glass of water to put back on the coffee table when he'd taken the last of his tablets and sighed contentedly. Lucy snuggled up to him and kissed him gently on the neck, inhaling his scent and pressing her nose against his soft skin.
"Think that's you sorted for the time being," Lucy murmured, "is there anything else you need?"
Jack gazed at her. Those puppy eyes. That look.
Lucy shot him her own look in return. That I know what you want and you know I won't say no look.
"Please," whispered Jack, his fingers already tugging at the waistband of his joggers.
Lucy leant forward and kissed him slowly and teasingly on the list. "Is this a want or a need?" she whispered.
"Both, but definitely a need, trust me," murmured Jack, as Lucy stood up. She picked up an ample cushion from the sofa and laid it on the floor by Jack's feet. She knelt on it and placed her hands on Jack's knees, gazing wistfully up at him.
"Honestly," mumbled Jack, "it's been agony stuck in there..."
Lucy gently moved Jack's hands out the way and began to tug on the waistband of his joggers herself, slowly manoeuvring them over his bum as he steadied himself with his hands, careful not to use his delicate stomach muscles too much to lift himself briefly off the sofa. Lucy could already hear Jack's breathing becoming ragged in anticipation, as she slid his joggers over his knees and down to his ankles. In front of her was the sight she had ached longingly for, Jack's erection straining against his black Puma briefs, his chunky thighs offering her a warm, fuzzy surface to grasp onto.
"I'm desperate," Jack was still mumbling as Lucy kissed his knobbly, hairy knees with affection.
"Shhhh, patience," soothed Lucy, running her fingers along Jack's inner thighs, savouring the moment. She was never going to take caressing Jack's beautiful body for granted again. "Did you not sort yourself out in the hospital then?"
Jack shuddered as Lucy squeezed his quads and leant forward to dot kisses along the tops of his thighs. "Nah...nah...can't knock one out in there can ya?"
Lucy knew that Jack waiting days to get relief would have been more of a preoccupation to him than the restricted movement brought about by his operation, the sore cannula site or the lack of proper food. She eyed his ever expanding bulge through the fabric of his pants as she felt his hand on the back of her head, grasping on her hair. He was gasping and she hadn't even touched the elastic of his Pumas yet.
"I'll sort you out baby," whispered Lucy, reassuringly, "I've missed you." She reached for the elastic of his briefs and began to tug them down.
"You've...missed me dick...haven't ya..." mumbled Jack, breathlessly.
"Uh huh..." Lucy began to struggle for breath herself as she pulled the black Pumas all the way down, his engorged cock springing free, Lucy gasping with anticipation as she steadied her weight on her hands that were gripping his thick thighs that were already covered in a film of sweat.
Lucy glanced up at Jack. He was staring down at her, his eyes black with desire, frustration and desperation, his lips parted as he sucked in air with anticipation.
"Have you got even bigger or something?" Lucy raised her eyebrows and pouted at him, knowing it was driving him wild.
Jack gulped, unsure of how to answer, or whether to answer. Lucy's mouth was mere inches from the glistening tip of his penis, pre cum seeping out uncontrollably. He wondered if this would be the first time he would orgasm without being touched...was it possible? he thought.
His train of thought was halted as Lucy gripped the base of his shaft with one hand and took him deep into her mouth. Jack let out a long, low, animalistic groan at the sensation that enveloped his penis; Lucy began sucking hungrily, her other hand reaching for his balls that now felt just as swollen as his appendage. Jack grabbed the back of her head with both hands now, absentmindedly pushing her head further onto his cock, his hips jerking forward automatically...his abdominal muscles tightening automatically...God that was hurting...but this was too good...
"Fuck Luce!" yelled Jack, as she attacked his hard, throbbing cock with her tongue.
Lucy shut her eyes as she worked on him, savouring his taste - oh how she had missed his taste, that salty, savoury, almost botanical delight on her tongue - swallowing his pre cum, flicking her tongue over the tip of his penis and back down the veiny underside. She knew this wouldn't be the longest blowjob she would give him - she could feel the jerking of his thighs and the thrusts of his hips increasing as he moaned and groaned and whimpered - but it would be one of the most satisfying.
She slid her finger further under to his perineum and pressed on it. Jack cried out as she did so, grabbing onto her long hair with flailing hands and fingers.
It was going to be some explosion, she thought...how many days?
Lucy pulled her head back, withdrawing her mouth from his cock and took over with her hand. It was going to be messy whichever way she finished him off. She gripped his shaft firmly, squeezing as she tugged frantically. Whole streams of sweat were running off his thighs. This was glorious.
"I'm gonna!" yelped Jack, barely sounding human now, the sensations in another stratosphere.
With a bellowing grunt and a string of expletives, Jack reached his orgasm, exploding his hot white cum onto Lucy's face and beyond. His whole body juddered uncontrollably as he slowly fell back into the sofa, panting for breath. He stared down at Lucy who was wiping what looked like pints of ejaculate off her face and her jumper. At least, that's what it had felt like. Lucy gazed back at him. She took her finger, covered in his juices, and put it in her mouth, sucking it off.
"Fuckin' hell," gasped Jack, "that's fuckin' hot."
"Still tastes good," grinned Lucy, "and you've given me a facial...win-win."
Jack was still groaning with the intensity of his climax. It felt like it was continuing in waves inside him. Was this what it was like to climax as a woman? Had he given Lucy this much pleasure?
"Unreal," he stuttered, pushing his hair back on his head as Lucy began to stand up and remove the cushion she had been kneeling on. "Like, totally unreal."
Lucy smiled at him. He looked spent as he stretched his legs out in front of him, regaining his breath and gently cradling his stomach near his scar dressings. She recalled her many conversations with Tara in the last week, how she had explained how she'd not felt this way about someone before. She had also confessed she'd never really enjoyed giving her ex blowjobs. It had felt like a chore, even from the very beginning. Her ex hadn't been bad looking physically, so it wasn't that. But obviously he wasn't Jack. Obviously, as Jack would say.
"Don't leave it so long next time," grinned Lucy, stepping away so she could fetch some towels from the kitchen to clean up with. "Look at the mess you've made."
When Lucy returned Jack was gingerly rubbing his stomach.
"You've not pulled on your scars have you?" she asked, ruffling his hair with her fingers.
"Just a small bit," groaned Jack, "me stomach muscles hurt, an' that were a bit intense."
"Just relax and the pain should go," said Lucy as she cleaned up the carpet and cushion. "I think you need a cup of tea after that?"
"Yes please beautiful," Jack smiled through the pain, furrowing his brow as he realised that it might be a few weeks before he could have proper sex again. His mind turned over as he thought of how he could get his end away safely without hindering his recovery. He didn't want Lucy to feel like she had to service him on a regular basis, like a car. His brain began to hurt.
By the time Lucy had boiled the kettle, made cups of tea and brought them back over to the lounge area, Jack was fast asleep, his head rolling back on the back of the sofa. Lucy giggled to herself as she placed the cups on the coffee table, thinking he did look somewhat silly sleeping with his hoodie on and his pants and joggers around his ankles, his pleasure bits all exposed. She fetched the blanket from the chair and draped it over him. This afternoon's nap was going to be a little more unconventional.
Lucy snuggled onto the sofa next to him and rested her head on his firm shoulder as he slept, sipping her tea. It was good to be home.