Chapter 15

Jenny was missing Liam already. Thinking about him made her feel all tingly inside.

Tingly in a good way.

A very good way.

Liam had done more than just see her as a woman, instead of a handicapped person, he had given her a reason to be happy again. She hadn’t had that in a long time. She had just been going through the motions.

But now, she had found Liam, and she could barely contain her joy.

Through sheer poor luck and the inability to make their schedules sync, it had been a week and a half since their first date. Their chats and calls hadn’t diminished, but Jenny was bummed they hadn’t seen one another again.

She grabbed her phone and sent a message to Liam.

“Confession ... I kind of want to see you again.”

“What’s on the schedule for this evening?” He typed back.

“Grading papers from my students. Never-ending task. I’m tired and bored and hungry and I just want to not do this. It’s Saturday night!”

She took a pic of her desk, and sent it to Liam.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to complain. I’m getting cranky from lack of human interaction,” she added.

Her stomach grumbled loudly.

There were three loud knocks on the door, and Jenny welcomed the excuse to take a break from correcting papers. She rolled her wheelchair to the front door to answer it.

She swung the door open and squealed in delight.

Liam.

Looking too perfect to be true.

Her eyes misted.

“Are you crying?” Liam asked, his face creasing with concern.

“Mm-hmm,” she nodded, brushing at her wet eyes.

“Good tears or bad tears?” he looked uncertain now, unsure of what he should do.

“Good tears,” she assured him. “I’m just happy to see you.”

“Well, that makes two of us, because I’m glad to see you, too.” Liam stopped and pressed a quick kiss to her lips, while he glanced over her shoulder.

“Looking for something?” she asked.

“Is your sister home?”

Jenny shook her head, “She went out on a date. Why?”

“I didn’t want to get my head smashed because I’m kissing you.”

“No worries. Kara likes you.”

“I come bearing gifts,” Liam said, putting two takeaway bags on the coffee table and taking out various containers. “We have enchiladas, burritos, tacos, and for dessert sopapillas.”

As he named them, he opened the containers, “Dig in.”

“You are a godsend!” Jenny exclaimed. “I could kiss you again right now, but I’m freaking hungry and I need to eat before I get hangry. You don’t want to see that.”

“Are you going to rip your clothes off like the She-Hulk?”

“You wish!” she said, with a wink.

“I’ve got beer, soda, juice or water to go with them,” she offered.

“Beer, of course. That’s a given,” said Liam, as he sat down on the couch.

Jenny hurried her wheelchair to the kitchen, opened the fridge, got two bottles, and wheeled back to the table. Then, she grabbed a container, and started to eat.

“Oh my God, this is amazing!” she moaned, through a bite. She swallowed and added, “Thank you, for the food, I mean. I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome, Jenny,” he smiled at her. “You handle yourself well around the house.”

“I don’t like to depend on others for assistance in everyday activities. Environmental modifications and adaptive equipment make it possible for me to help myself in almost every way. That’s one of the reasons why I moved out of my parents’ house. They had become overprotective.”

Liam nodded, thinking that a wheelchair-accessible place wasn’t cheap.

“So, you own this house?”

Jenny shook her head. “No, we signed a lease for the place. The landlord let me renovate the place, and the local contractor gave me a fair price for the renovations.”

“Even so, it must have cost a lot of money.”

“My parents and my sister helped me. Why are you giving me the third degree?”

Liam shrugged, “Just curious. You’re the first girl in a wheelchair I’ve dated.”

Jenny devoured another burrito before glancing at Liam, sitting there, a huge smile across his face. “You better hurry up before I eat everything!”

“I’m hungry for you,” said Liam. He moved closer to Jenny and nibbled her ear.

“Serve yourself,” she moaned.

Liam took Jenny in his arms, lifted her from her wheelchair, sat her on his lap, wrapped his arms around her neck, and kissed her long and good.

“Better?”

“Much better,” Liam said, with a widening grin.

Jenny hugged him tightly, her cheek pressed against the side of his head, interrupting his thoughts. “Do you have any siblings?”

“Nope, I’m an only child. My parents had an RH-factor problem. I was born okay, but my baby brother was stillborn because of the antibodies. My parents didn’t want to suffer this grief again and decided not to have more children. My father always said the real reason was that I was all they could handle,” Liam’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.