A Burning Thing {Avi Kaplan fanfic}

-4-

The ride back was uncomfortable in every way possible. The lap belt wasn't a problem but the fabric of the seat against my back was rough, and I winced each time we hit a bump.

The second issue was that since Ellie had walked to the lake and the three of us had come down in the pick-up, it was a pretty tight squeeze to get us all in. Austin drove, and Tim being the tallest got the passenger side while I sat in the middle of the bench seat. That meant Ellie had to sit on Tim's lap, which had Tim smiling and Austin in a foul mood.

I was surprised by how unhappy it made me as well, even feeling a little betrayed by Tim, who just hours earlier seemed to be encouraging me towards Ellie while insisting he wasn't interested. He certainly looks interested now, I thought grumpily, as his right hand held her waist tightly and his left rested on her knee. In fairness, his options were to put his hand on her leg or mine, so I didn't entirely blame him, but it still put me in a bit of a funk.

I got my revenge when we got back to the farmhouse and Ellie rushed to nurse my sunburn.

"Go lie face down on your bed and I'll get the aloe," she ordered. I could've sworn I saw Tim pout as she brushed past him, pulling me along behind her. Tim made as if to follow, but Austin grabbed his shoulder and gestured towards the porch. I couldn't restrain a small smile. I wouldn't want to be in Tim's shoes right now.

I lay down and soon Ellie was sitting beside me on the narrow cot, spreading cool gel over my shoulders. I'm sure I sighed aloud as her soft fingers moved gently across my hot skin. She slid her clean hand up my neck, holding my hair out of the way before applying more aloe.

"I don't want to get it in your beautiful curls," she said, her hand resting gently on the back of my head.

"That's … don't … no worry …" I muttered incoherently, feeling thoroughly blissful despite the pain.

"I'm going to see if we can't get a bit more of the heat out," she said, and bustled back up the stairs. She reappeared a moment later, and I gasped as she pressed a cold, damp towel across my back.

"Sorry,” she giggled. “I should have warned you first. This should help cool you down." She smoothed the towel over my shoulders and neck. After a moment her hands were finally still, with one resting on my lower back.

"How does that feel?" she asked.

"Amazing," I said in a low rumble, realizing too late how strange that sounded.

She laughed. "Well I guess I've found my calling then." She handed me a glass of water and some ibuprofen. "These will help too."

I raised myself onto my elbows to swallow the pills. "What do you mean your calling?"

"I'm in nursing school," she said. "I'm hoping to work in the ER though, so I probably won’t get a lot of sunburn patients."

"Well, you certainly have the right bedside manner," I said, relaxing again into the pillow.

"I'm going to leave this on you for about 15 minutes, so why don't you have a quick nap while I go get changed and I'll be back to check on you." She ran a hand over my hair then disappeared through the door, tugging her sundress off from over her still-wet bathing suit. The last thing I saw before my eyes drifted shut was her shapely bottom going around the corner.

I didn't expect to fall asleep, but when I opened my eyes next she was back, sitting next to me in a dry dress and smoothing the curls over my ear. I smiled, then my eyelids shot up as I remembered what I'd been dreaming about, and realized that I was not going to be able to stand up in front of her any time soon.

She peeled the cloth off my back and the cool air hit my shoulders, making me shiver.

"I'll just pat this dry and put on a bit more aloe, and then you can get up. Just don't put on a shirt until it's all dry."

I tried to block out her touch and think dull thoughts. I was attempting to transpose mental sheet music and think of my grandmother at the same time when she said I was good to go. Fortunately the trick had worked and I was able to stand up without any embarrassing revelations.

"Thanks, I feel great," I said, picking up my shirt as she came eye level with my bare chest. "You are definitely welcome to nurse me any time!" I smiled as her blush deepened. I think two can play at this game.

~~~~~