“Jeremy,” I said after managing to compose myself a little.
He looked up, crinkled his cute nose a little, and smiled the most heart-warming smile I had ever seen. “What are you doing here?” he asked, placing the magazine back down on his lap. It was a Top Gear magazine, of course.
“Is that the way you normally greet people?” I replied, sitting down with a frown on my face.
Looking away for a moment, Jeremy grinned cheekily. “Well, that depends on whether the said people bring me Twiglets.”
“Have you really gone through them all already?”
Jeremy looked at me as if I was crazy. “Well, it has been two days.”
Placing my hand in my bag, I pulled out the Twiglets. “Well, it’s good I brought these then, isn’t it?” Jeremy’s face lit up and, at that moment, every bit of stress I had today was all worth it just to see him smile.
“You’re hot, and you bring me Twiglets. How could I not fall in love with you?”
I rolled my eyes. “Steady there, kiddo. We’re not going back to the kissing subject again.”
Jeremy thumped his bed a little. “Darn it! I was hoping you would have come around by now.” He smiled cheekily and I giggled. “Did you get your visitor last night?”
My face immediately flushed, remembering what had taken place. Jeremy spotted my embarrassment and smiled. “He did, didn’t he? And what did he do this time? Cook himself a meal, bake some bread, or did he eat your muffins this time?”
I almost choked on the muffin comment. Unfortunately, there was none of that going on last night.
“He’s becoming a pain in the arse, Jeremy. Excuse my language. He keeps turning the toilet paper the wrong way around. He’ll also insist that if there is anything he considers out of place, he puts it where he wants to. It’s like he’s ruling the roost. I’m surprised he hasn’t taken a pee around my apartment yet, just to mark his territory.” I screwed up my face in distaste, then wondered if I had maybe taken my eagerness to tell Jeremy things a little too far. Sometimes it was hard to picture Jeremy as only a fifteen-year-old lad when he has had to deal with so much.
I realised that Jeremy was fine with it. In fact, his burst of laughter was so loud, it had everyone in the ward looking. Most were intrigued, but the nurses smiled brightly. I think they were just glad someone was around for him.
“You two sound like an old married couple. To be honest, I would be frightened for you and tell you to call the police, but you say he’s been doing this off and on for three years?” I nodded. “Have you ever considered that this person might be a friend of yours? He might secretly admire you from afar and this is the only way he can communicate what you mean to him.”
I was about to retort that him annoying me wasn’t getting him very far when I suddenly thought of Ian. I know we had quite an unconventional relationship, and I know we’d always made sure it was playful, but what if Ian wanted to take it further?
I thought, wondering if I could connect the mystery voice and body to Ian, but nothing quite matched. The voice was husky and masculine. Ian’s was deep, but it certainly didn’t have that edge of sexiness to it. He could have altered his voice so I didn’t recognise him. But his body didn’t match, either. Not that I’d seen my stranger’s body. He had always made sure he was completely covered. He almost looked like a villain about to rob me. The problem was, he does rob me. He robs me of my body and leaves me wanting more. Despite what he did to me last night, I still wanted more. Nothing about it made any sense. It was probably because he was so mysterious and made my body quiver. Hell, he didn’t even have to touch me. Just opening his mouth and whispering to me with that husky voice was enough.
Shaking my head, I couldn’t see Ian doing all this. It did make me a little suspicious, though, and I suppose this was one avenue I would need to explore more, but I doubted it would get me anywhere.
“I’m really not sure, Jeremy. But I’m glad you brought it up. It is something I will look into. I know I should really try to find out more myself.”
Jeremy smiled, opened a pack of Twiglets, and popped one in his mouth. “Glad I could help.”
I shook my head when he offered me one. “I’m a little full from lunch. Anyway, I’m sick of talking about me. How are you feeling today?” He looked a little pale.
He shrugged. “I’m feeling a bit tired, but generally okay. I don’t think I can run any marathons, but I can’t complain. I had Chemo yesterday, so I’m still feeling the effects from that.”