Bite me

"You saved me again."

He looked up from the papers he was reading and snide.

After placing the papers down, he walked towards me. He's not in his suit now. The long-sleeved black shirt appeared creased as if he had slept in it.

"Again?" He gently moved a few strands of my hair away from my face. He seems mellow. "Well, you don't have the fever anymore." he declared after placing his hand on my forehead.

I tried to sit up, but my body felt heavy. He helped me up with his hand under my arms. I suddenly felt embarrassed since I felt sticky, and I am sure I smelled of sweat. With his nose near my neck, I'm pretty sure he could smell it, so I placed my hands against his chest and tried to push him away, but my feeble efforts were ignored, or he barely noticed as he continued to plump the pillows behind me.

"Do you need anything?"

He is too close. I didn't want to open my mouth and let out my stagnant breath towards him, so I pushed him away. But my efforts were weak, and he just raised his brow at my gesture. No other choice.

"Move away." I turned my head to the side to avoid breathing his way.

"Why?" he still stayed close. Why is he trying to eat up my personal space?

"I smell," I mumbled

"What?"

"I smell," he suddenly laughed and ruffled my hair. Finally, he gave me a little space. I am still at arm's reach, but I can't feel his breath on my neck any longer.

"You don't. I made sure that you are bathed every day."

"Bathed? Every day?" A lot of scenarios are running in my head, and one of them is him running a wet towel across my naked body. I could feel my face turning red.

"From your face, I could deduce what you were thinking. And you would be incorrect." I sighed, "Well, I only did it that first night."

The heat spread towards my neck, and I grabbed the pillow behind me and tossed it to his laughing face, but he just caught it and held it on his side as he continued laughing.

"Look, you were sick, and there was nothing sexual about it." He moved close once again to place the pillow he was holding behind me. I couldn't help but pinch his ear. "Hey! Let go."

I pinched harder, then let go.

When I leaned against the pillows, I suddenly felt nauseous. He immediately grabbed a pan under the bed and placed it before me, and I threw up.

Great. Now he saw everything embarrassing about me.

=======

"Just make sure there are no sudden movements." the doctor reminded us before leaving the room.

I glared at Michael as he stood beside the bed, annoyed that he knew so many embarrassing things about me. And yet, he is a stranger to me.

"We will take it easy." he declared as he pinched my nose.

"Just give me the paper I need to sign and get out of my face." he had the gall to smile at my annoyed order.

"Stubborn." he mumbled.

"Micheal, you don't need to do this." I sighed, "I'm alright now. Just leave me with the nurses." I am not used to someone taking care of me - and him being the one to do it, for that matter, makes things feel very awkward and annoying.

"Stubborn."

"Do you have a vocabulary of a five-year-old? Don't you know any other words?" I suddenly felt sleepy, but I blinked my eyes and glared to make sure it stayed open.

"So stubborn," he said as he placed his hand over my eyes, forcing them closed. The warmth from his hand made me let go and welcome the darkness.

When I woke up, he was sitting in front of his laptop, wearing glasses. He turned his neck to the side, presumably to relieve some stiffness. When he noticed that I was awake, he closed the laptop lid and stood up.

"Water?" I nodded, and he helped me sit and plump the pillows behind me.

After drinking, he pulled a cart towards the bed and revealed an array of food covered by the silver dome.

"Don't you have work?"

How long have I been in this hospital? And why is he staying beside me?

"I brought it here," he replied nonchalantly.

"I'm going to ask the obvious. Why are you still here taking care of me?"

"The obvious answer is - because I'm your husband."

"You don't have an obligation to be here, you know." He placed the tray across my lap by pulling the side table. "Besides, you will not be my husband soon."

"Then let's wait for that soon to happen." He scooped some mashed potatoes onto a spoon and brought it to my mouth. "For now, I am your husband."

I reluctantly opened my mouth and ate, but after only a few bites, my stomach refused to take anymore. For fear that I would throw up again, I pushed his hand away when he tried to feed me some more.

"Is there anything you need?" He placed the tray back on the cart

"Can you call someone to help me to the bathroom?"

He wordlessly pulled the blanket away from me, revealing my legs and the hospital gown. He placed his arms under me and lifted. I had no choice but to wrap my arms around his neck as he walked with me towards the bathroom. He placed me beside the toilet and waited, looking at me.

"You have to get out," I ordered.

"Not a chance. What if you fall?"

"Micheal, this is really embarrassing," I complained, not noticing that I was pouting like a child.

"As I said before, I have already seen your embarrassing moments." He turned away, so that I was staring at his back, "Just sit. Your gown would hide everything. Anyways, you are not wearing undies, so you don't have to bend."

The urge to punch this guy is mounting minute-by-minute. But the call of nature won, and I sat down.

When he heard the flush, he turned around before I could pull down the gown to cover myself.

"Micheal!!!' I shrieked

"What?!" he gave me some tissues and pulled the gown down. "Done?"

"I hate you."

He smiled, placed his arms under my legs, and carried me back to the bed. I couldn't resist but bite his neck in frustration.

He pulled back and stared at me.

"I hate you."

He smiled and suddenly gave me a peck on the lips before moving back to his laptop. "Bite me."