“While you order the pizza, I think I’ll go change. I’ll be back in a minute. Can you hand me my crutches?” Gloria asked pointing to them. Slowly, Gloria got up while Jake brought her the crutches.

“You sure you don’t want me to just carry you?” Jake had noticed the way Gloria winced in pain as she started to move, and he hated to see her in pain. If he could help her avoid it by carrying her, he didn’t see anything wrong with it. Plus, he’d love to have his arms around her again, he thought.

“No, no,” Gloria said quickly. “I need to get the hang of this. Plus, what will I do when you’re not here to carry me?”

“I’m only a phone call away. Call me anytime, day or night,” he said looking at her.

“Ha, I don’t even have your number,” Gloria teased.

“Well, we’ll just have to remedy that,” Jake said winding.

While Gloria went to change, Jake began to order the pizza. “What toppings do you want on them?” He called out. Just then he heard a loud crash and yell coming from Gloria’s room. He immediately opened the door and ran inside, worry on his face. He looked around quickly and saw Gloria splayed on the floor with a broken lamp next to her. He jumped over to her and scooped her up in his arms then gently placed her on her bed.

“What happened? Are you all right?” He asked with concern in his voice. He was looking her over to make sure she was all right when he noticed blood on her forehead.

“Yeah, I’m just a klutz, that’s all,” Gloria said embarrassed. “I was hopping toward my dresser when I lost my balance. I tried to grab onto something but all I could grab hold of was the lamp. It fell and I went down with it,” she explained.

“There’s blood on your forehead,” Jake said reaching up to touch her. “Where do you keep a first aid kit?”

“In the bathroom down the hall, inside the cabinet,” she said reaching up to touch her forehead. “I guess I must have hit my head as I fell down.”

Jake came back with the first aid kit. He gently cleaned the cut and put a band-aid on it. “I think you’re okay but we can always go to the doctor if you want to get checked out?”

“No, I’m alright. It’s just a scrape and it doesn’t feel that bad. She leaned back on her bed and closed her eyes. How am I going to get through this on my own? She thought. The last thing she needed was a sprained ankle. She felt Jake take her hand in his.

“Hey, what are you thinking?”

“Oh, nothing,” Gloria said trying to sound calm. “It’s just been a busy day.”

“It will be okay. You’ll get through this and I’ll help you.”

Gloria smiled. “I just met you today and you’ve helped me so much already. I feel guilty and a little embarrassed.”

“Please don’t feel embarrassed. I want to help you. If you haven’t noticed, I really like you and I’m happy I can at least do that much. Please let me?” Jake pleaded.

Gloria sighed. “Okay,” she said. “But only because I really need your help”.

Jake smiled. “I’ll do whatever you need me to do. I really want to help you get better,” he said gently as he picked her hand up and kissed it.

Gloria felt like an electric shock had gone through her but in a good way.

Jake held Gloria’s hand to his lips a little longer than he needed to and looked up at her. “What do you need me to do right now?”

Gloria took a deep breath, trying to calm her breathing. “I need my jammies from my dresser. They’re in my bottom drawer.

“Got it,” Jake said as he grabbed some pajamas from the drawer and put them on Gloria’s lap.

“Now, I need you to hand me my crutches and help me to the bathroom, please.” Gloria moved to the side of her bed to get up, but Jake was faster and picked her up in his arms, carried her, and walked toward the hall into the bathroom, then gently placed her down so she could sit. “This was faster,” he said smiling. “Now what?”

“Now you close the door behind you as you go and order the pizza,” Gloria said smiling.

“No problem. Yell out if you need anything,” he said as he turned to leave.

Gloria smiled to herself. She liked Jake. There was definite chemistry between the two of them. Should she take the plunge and date him? She felt a very strong attraction to Jake, more than any other guy she had dated in the past. She had never felt the desire to give herself to any guy she dated but she had never felt so attracted to somebody as she did to Jake. What if she got in over her head?

Gloria slowly changed into her jammies and brushed her hair. She called out for Jake when she was done to come help her. There was no point in risking injuring herself any further. Plus, it felt good to have his strong arms around her, very good, she thought smiling to herself.

Jake came in and carried her back to her room and placed her on her bed. “I ordered the pizza. Do you want to eat here or in the living room?”

“Here is fine. I think it will be more comfortable for me here,” She said as she rearranged the pillows around her.

Jake propped up Gloria’s leg with one of the pillows. He gave her a big smile as he looked at her.

“What?” she asked.

“You have really cute bunny pajamas,” Jake said in a teasing voice.

Gloria stuck out her tongue at him. “I like bunnies,” she said. Just then they heard knocking at the door.

“That must be the pizza. I’ll be right back.” A few minutes later Jake came back in with pizza and drinks as he sat next to her.

Gloria smiled shyly.

They ate their pizza and talked about everything and anything under the sun for the whole evening.

Jake began to notice that Gloria was getting tired and sleepy. “Hey, I was thinking that maybe I should spend the night here. I can sleep on the couch,” he added quickly. “I want to be here just in case you need anything just for tonight. I promise I’ll stay in my spot unless you need me for anything. What do you think?” Jake asked holding his breath.

Gloria looked at Jake for a long time before she answered. She could see the concern in his eyes. She didn’t detect any kind of deception. He seemed genuine in his desire to help her and she didn’t get any creepy feelings from him. In fact, the opposite was true. She felt safe and secure with him. This was a man that would protect her against any harm, she thought. Still, she answered. “You know I have girlfriends that I can call to help me and spend the night here,” she said teasingly.

“That may be true, but could any of them carry you if, let’s say, you lost your balance and fell over, hitting your head,” Jake asked winking at her.

Gloria smiled. “Alright, but unless I call you, you stay in the living room,” she said matter of fact.

Jake gave her a huge smile. “I promise. One more thing before we call it a night,” he said leaning into her. “Will you go out on a date with me?”

Gloria looked at him and smiled. “Yes, Jake, I’ll go out with you.”

Jake couldn’t contain his excitement. He cupped her face in his hands. “Can I kiss you goodnight?”

Gloria wanted him to kiss her. She wanted to feel how it felt like to have his lips on her lips. But she didn’t want to move too fast so she said, “Not until after our first date.”

He looked at her with desire in his eyes. “Okay, after our first date then.” With that, he got up, picked up the leftovers, and slowly walked out of her bedroom. He turned back to look at her as he closed the door behind him.

Gloria had butterflies in her stomach. She sighed and smiled to herself. She couldn’t believe how the day had gone. She ends up spraining her ankle and meeting a gorgeous hunk. She closed her eyes happily thinking about Jake.

Next Chapter: Chapter Four - Finally!