My Universe [a Roman Reigns story]

6 My universe

Roman POV

After I threw my suitcase in the trunk of our rental car and sat in the back seat, I checked my phone to see if I had received a message from Stefanie in the meantime. I hadn't heard from her all day and it was starting to make me nervous.

These last three weeks had really been a wild ride. So many things had happened. First my birthday, which I had spent with my family and friends, then the last few days together with Dean and Seth as a group, then this accident. The way Stefanie had come into my life was unexpected and abrupt, but still it changed a lot.

And now our last match together and the separation of the Shield were added to that list. It was a lot. And there was probably a lot more to come. I just felt that my life would change a lot. But at this point I had no idea in which direction.

I sighed deeply as I realized with disappointment that I still hadn't received any messages from her. It was good that we were on the way to the airport and I could visit her again. Those few days when I couldn't see her had definitely been too long.

"Tell me, Roman... how is your girlfriend?" asked Renée unexpectedly.

"What are you talking about? I don't have a girlfriend." I replied.

"Oh please. Don't kid yourself. You got it bad." said Dean, who was behind the wheel.

"That's not true." I grumbled.

"It is true! All it took was one look in her eyes and she had you!" he retorted.

"That might be the case, but she's not my girlfriend. We haven't even been on a date yet," I explained to him.

"Oh, come on. It's just a technicality. You visit her in the hospital as often as you can. It's like dating. And you like her. Very much so, and I'm very sure she likes you, too," Renée said.

"Why are you so sure? It might just have something to do with the fact that I saved her," I replied.

"Bullshit! Why would she want you to visit her if that were the case? Why would she be happy to see you if she didn't like you?" she said.

I decided not to say anything further on the subject. I was too deep in thought for that. Was it really possible that Steffi liked me as much as I liked her? I was not sure. Maybe it was just the fact that I saved her life. Maybe she thought she owed me something. Maybe I was just fooling myself. Maybe... So many maybe's.

These thoughts accompanied me all the way to the airport and throughout the flight. It ticked in my head as if a bomb was ready to explode. It was slowly but surely driving me crazy.

Instead of going home and freshening up, I decided to go straight to the hospital.It was shortly after 1 p.m. That meant I could already visit her. I walked the now familiar path through the corridors of the hospital until I finally stood in front of the equally familiar door. I took a deep breath before I eventually knocked.

"Come in." said a voice of which I was quite sure that it was not Steffi.

I went in and looked around the room. Leo was there. She was sitting at Stefanie's side. When my eyes fell on Steffi, my heart sank into the pit of my stomach. She was lying flat in bed with a breathing mask over her nose and mouth. Whatever was going on, it certainly wasn't good.

"My God! What happened?" I wanted to know as I rushed to her side.

"Oh hey Roman. Steffi spiked a high fever last night. Her inflammation levels were incredibly high. The doctors examined her immediately and discovered a severe inflammation in the region of the surgery. They then performed another surgery on her right away to remove the pus and flush everything thoroughly. The test results show that she has built up a resistance to the antibiotic they have been giving her so far. Now they are trying another one. I hope it works. After she woke up from the anesthesia, they brought her back to the room, but she went back to sleep almost immediately," she explained to me quietly. The whole time we were looking at Steffi's face, but she didn't seem to notice.

For an hour we sat there in complete silence. Until Leo looked at the clock and sighed deeply.

"Oh damn.... It's so late already. I have to get home to check on Reese. And then I have to go to work. Will you stay here?" she muttered.

"Of course," I replied.

"Good, that's good. I really don't want to leave her alone right now, but unfortunately sometimes there's no other way. I'll leave you my number here. Can you send me a message when she's awake again?" wanted Leo to know.

"I can do that," I said.

She wrote her number on a small piece of paper for me and then left. But it was obvious how worried she was and how reluctant she was to leave the hospital in this situation.

Then it was quiet in the room once again. I watched Steffi closely, waiting for any sign that she would wake up, but so far it didn't look like it. The minutes passed. I had the feeling that the clock on the wall was getting louder and louder.

Her face was still very red. The fever was probably still high. When I could stand it no longer, I rose from the chair and leaned slightly over her. Then, after a slight hesitation, I very gently pressed my lips to her forehead. She felt hot, but not as hot as I had expected.

As I pulled back a bit, I saw her begin to stir. Her eyes fluttered and opened shortly after. Stefanie looked at me with her big blue eyes. She seemed a little surprised at my closeness. But I was just happy and relieved to see her awake. I had missed that gaze.

"Hey..." she whispered and pulled the breathing mask down.

I was mesmerized. Instead of answering, I leaned down and touched her lips light as a feather with mine. A very tender kiss that lasted only a second. But it was enough that now the heat flowed through my veins like a wildfire. Afterwards I looked deep into her eyes. Neither of us said a word. Only a small smile played around the corners of her mouth. Carefully she lifted her hand and put it to my face. Stefanie's thumb stroked very lightly over my cheek. I saw how she licked her lips.

"Could... could you do that again?" she whispered shyly and equally embarrassed.

It was a wish I was only too happy to grant her. Slowly I leaned toward her again while her hand still cupped my face. Our lips moved together. Slowly... Sensually. I realized how much I had wanted this all along. And it was even better than I could have imagined. I couldn't imagine losing this woman anymore even after this short time.

She had quickly and permanently become my universe. The brightest part of my life.