Free Faithful by Kelly Elliott Page A

broken ribs or me lying in this hospital bed, I would want to make love to you. But I don’t want it to be like all the other girls. I want to get to know you again. I want to know everything about you.”
    What? Oh. My. God. Breathe. Breathe, Heather. Daddy, help me to breathe.
    “Heather, breathe, honey. You’re holding your breath,” Josh said.
    I snapped my head up. “What did you just say?”
    “Um, I told you to breathe. You looked like you were holding your breath.”
    When Josh glanced down at my lips, I looked to his, and without thinking, I got up, leaned down, and kissed him. I needed to feel some kind of contact with him.
    Placing his hand on my neck, he held me closer to him and kissed me back.
    I let a small moan escape my mouth. Oh god, I miss him.
    We kissed until we needed to stop for air. After I slowly pulled my lips away, I rested my forehead on his.
    I love him so much. I’d wait an eternity for him.
    “I’m sorry, Josh. I shouldn’t have done that,” I whispered, keeping my eyes closed. I was so afraid to open them.
    “Heather, please don’t ever apologize for kissing me. As a matter of fact, feel free to do it anytime you want!” Josh said.
    I opened my eyes, and when I saw him smiling, my heart dropped to my stomach. It had almost felt like it was our first kiss. I let out a giggle that made him smile.
    “Um…should we come back?”
    I spun around to see Gunner, Jeff, and one very pissed-off Victoria standing there, staring at us. Gunner was smiling from ear to ear.
    “Y’all look like you were having a…moment,” Jeff said as he walked up to the side of the bed. Leaning down, he kissed me on top of the head before he moved toward my ear. He whispered, “What the fuck? Victoria is his nurse?”
    I let out a laugh. “Yep. We need to talk later.”
    I stepped back, so Jeff could talk to Josh.
    “Jesus H. Christ, dude. You look like shit,” Jeff said, gently shaking Josh’s hand.
    “Thanks, dude. Holy shit. Do you have a wedding ring on?”
    When Josh glanced over toward Gunner, Gunner held up his wedding band for Josh to see.
    “Motherfucker. Both of y’all are married?”
    “Yep. I just had a baby girl two nights ago…the night of your accident.” Gunner’s smile faded a bit.
    “No shit. You’re a dad, Gunner? Well, goddamn!” Josh looked back at Jeff.
    “I’ve got a six-month-old little boy. His name’s Luke,” Jeff said with such pride in his voice.
    I was bursting with joy. I was so happy for my friends. I really need to go see Ellie and Alex.
    “Excuse me, but I need to get in there and take some vitals. Josh also needs to take his pain meds,” Victoria said as she smiled at Jeff. Then, she gave me a look that should have dropped me on the spot.
    “Sure, Victoria. By the way, it’s good seeing you again,” Jeff said as he gave her a wink.
    “Yep, y’all, too. Been a long time. We’ll have to get together for old times’ sake,” Victoria said to Jeff before she glanced at me with an evil grin.
    I smiled back at her, shaking my head.
    I’m going to put this girl in her place. Time to pull out my inner bitch.

 
    I sat there and listened to Gunner and Jeff talk about their lives. Married and with kids? Fuck me.
    Then, I remembered the engagement ring. My parents had already come back from Starbucks, but they’d left with Heather for a bit to let Gunner and Jeff visit with me. Victoria had kept coming in every fifteen minutes. She was back again, and this time, she was leaning up against the bed, talking to Gunner.
    “Hey, Tori, do you think I could have a few minutes alone with Jeff and Gunner? I need to talk to them about some things in private,” I said as I winked at her.
    I watched as a blush slowly crept up her face. I wanted to roll my eyes at her reaction, but instead, I gave her my smile.
    “Sure, babe. I’ll be back in a bit.”
    Leaning down, she went to give me a kiss on the cheek. When I turned my head away, she stood back up.
    “Oh