Free Spirit

seven

Once we had arrived at his building, it took about fifteen minutes to get him out of the car, into his wheelchair, and up to his apartment.

I shouldn't have been surprised that his residence was huge, considering he was the current CEO of a very successful accounting firm, but I still was in disbelief when I entered. The entirety of my apartment could fit into just the living room. It was enormous and had large, black couches facing a flatscreen TV. Past the living room, there was a beautiful, state-of-the-art kitchen, and then another hallway that had a few doors along it. I assumed that was where the bedrooms were located. There was also a beautiful bathroom and laundry room just past the entryway.

After ogling around at his exquisite apartment for a few moments, I regained my senses and began pushing Mr. Alexander's wheelchair further in.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked him. He had finally agreed to letting me help him, but I could tell he wasn't happy about it. He really thought he didn't need any help. I guess it was a pride thing or something.

"The couch is fine," he grumbled, not making eye contact with me.

Nodding, I pushed the wheelchair forward and parked it right next to the arm of the couch that was facing the TV.

We began the process all over again of switching him from one seat to another. I think we had gotten better at it, though, seeing as the act went a lot smoother than the previous times. I still got tingles when his left arm wrapped around me to steady himself. I knew he was way too focused on moving himself to notice, but I was reveling in the feeling of his strong body pressed against my own.

Mr. Alexander was still shirtless, and I watched as he leaned back against the couch, his tight abdominal muscles stretching out. I caught a glimpse of the little trail of dark hair that started at his belly button and disappeared beneath the waistline of his shorts. I quickly looked away. I didn't want him to catch his assistant checking him out.

He had closed his eyes and his eyebrows were slightly furrowed as he rested his head against the back of the couch.

I sat next to him in the couch, careful not to sit too close, and faced him. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

"Nothing I can't handle," he whispered.

"Okay...do you need me to get you anything?" I asked, slightly concerned.

He tried to lean forward to look at me, but hissed in pain when his right arm twisted at a bit of an angle.

"I'll be fine," he mumbled, trying to control his labored breaths.

I didn't like seeing him like this. I could tell he had was in a lot more pain than he was letting on, and it was upsetting to me. I knew he must have gone through a lot of pain when he suffered the accident that left him paralyzed, and I thought it was unfair that one man had to deal with so much pain repeatedly.

"Alright, then let's talk to keep you're mind off the pain," I decided.

He just grunted in response, eyes still closed.

I couldn't think of what to say, so I decided to ask the first question that came to mind. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-nine."

I rolled my eyes at his short response. "I'm twenty-two. Do you have any siblings?"

"Yeah, just the brother I mentioned. His name's Josh."

"You said he was flying in tomorrow?"

"Monday, but yes," he said.

"Where does he live?" I asked, curious.