He’s probably asleep, too tired to turn out the light.
He’s a grown man, Tess. Leave him alone.
Righting myself in my chair, I turn my attention back to my glass of wine and my show. Ryan Langley is not my problem. He’s the solution to my problem…he just doesn’t know it yet.
To my credit, I last about fifteen minutes. That’s ten minutes longer than I would normally last, thank you very much. I finish my episode of Bridgerton, and then I’m up out of my chair, snapping my laptop shut.
Ignoring the bossy voice in my head telling me to leave him alone, I inch down the dark hallway. His door is cracked open. I take a step closer and peek in.
Ryan is shirtless, sitting up in bed. Holy mama, I forgot how ripped he is. His boyish blond hair is mussed. It’s the hair that ages him so young. He’s in his early twenties, but his college frat boy hair gives him a look like he isn’t old enough to order a shot of J?egermeister.
I shift my weight, and the floor creaks loud enough to wake the dead. I duck back, but it’s too late. He glances up sharply, his eyes locking on mine.
“Tess?” he calls out.
I wait a beat and then push open his door. “Hey,” I call, keeping my voice soft. “Just checking on you. I figured you fell asleep with your light on. I was gonna turn it off,” I say, gesturing at the lamp in the corner.
“You can turn it off if you want,” he replies.
I step into the room, leaving the comfort of the dark hallway. “Why are you still awake?”
“Can’t sleep,” he replies.
“Aren’t the pain meds supposed to help with that?”
He shrugs. “I’m not taking them.”
I drop my hand away from the lamp. “Why aren’t you taking your meds? You’ve gotta be in pain, right?”
“I don’t like the way they make me feel. The pain’s not so bad compared to the stomach cramps from the meds.”
I put my hands on my hips. “Am I gonna have to tell Rachel that you’re being noncompliant with her rehab routine?”
“I am being compliant,” he replies, gesturing to his knee. “Look. This is me being fucking compliant, and I’m fucking miserable about it, okay?”
“Are you uncomfortable? Do you need another pillow?”
“Of course I’m uncomfortable,” he huffs. “I can’t fucking sleep like this. It’s been two fucking days.”
“You can’t sleep with the brace on? Does it hurt or—”
“I can’t sleep on my back,” he corrects. “I can’t—I don’t ever sleep on my back. But all the docs say I have to keep my leg like this to protect my MCL from any pressure or twisting. So, I can’t fucking sleep.”
He looks so perfectly miserable. I don’t even realize that I’m crossing the room towards him. “Oh, Ryan,” I say with a sigh, reaching out to brush his messy hair back from his brow. “What are we gonna do with you?”
“Put me out of my misery.”
I smirk. “I don’t think things are quite that dire.”
“I’m going out of my fucking mind,” he admits, a slight catch in his voice. The poor man is past the point of exhaustion.
Alright, it’s time for someone to take charge of this situation. Geminis love a good problem to fix. “Well, okay,” I say, hands on my hips as I glance around the room. “I don’t think it’s a matter of you not being able to sleep on your back. I think we just have to set you up for success.”
“Tess…”
“Step one, turn off the video games,” I say, plucking his phone off his lap.
“Hey—”
“Studies show that phone use before bed disrupts your sleep cycle.”
He crosses his arms over his bare chest and glares at me. “Oh, yeah? Name one.”
I turn away from him, searching the bedside table for his phone charger. “Johnson and Bernstein 2002. It was a sleep study done up at Mayo. Groundbreaking stuff.” I turn off his game and plug the phone in.
“You totally just made that up.”
“Of course I did. I’m a corporate mergers and acquisitions lawyer, Ryan. Not a sleep specialist.”
“So, you admit you have no qualifications to help me fall asleep,” he presses, a glint in his eye. He’s liking this. Truth be told, I am too.
“Sit up,” I reply. “We’re gonna get you horizontal.”
He laughs. “And now to distract me from your lack of qualifications, you’re trying to use your feminine wiles to get me horizontal. Are you gonna have your way with me, Tess?”