Hot Blooded, Cold Hearted! by Carolyn Barber (reading a book .txt) 📕

Morris, maybe my heart can't be fixed. I'm so afraid you're going to get tired of me, especially with everything I have to go through. Why would you want to put yourself through this? Why bother getting close to someone if you know their time is going to be short? What's in it for you?" I asked  him skeptically. "Penny if you haven't noticed, I love you. I've loved you for a long time, but I was afraid to admit it, just the same as you're afraid to admit it to me. No one knows how long any of us have, people die unpredictably everyday. If I only get five years of loving you and being by your side, I would consider myself blessed. So when you ask what's in it for me, I would say the honor and privilege of you allowing me to love you" he said as looked into my eyes. I leaned over and kissed him gently on his lips. "Thank you Morris, you're the only one who can see through me. You know I'm not very good at letting my guard down, so bear with me. It may be a bumpy ride" I said cautioning him. "It's alright baby, I've got my seat belt on!" he chuckled and put his arm around me pulling me close to him. My head nuzzled up against his firm muscular chest and I breathed in his cologne that reminded me of a fresh sunny day filled with happiness. "You were right you know?" I quietly mumble. "About what?" he asked. "Years ago when you told me I was a bitch because I was attracted to you and didn't want you to get close to me" I said recalling the memory. "I know, I think that's why we fight so much, it's called sexual tension" he replied. As he said that another flutter ran through me. I pulled away, "We should get going, don't you think? I wouldn't want to miss out on the opportunity to get radiated" I said trying to change the subject. "Wow. That was a buzz kill!" he said laughing.

He picked me up and cradled me in his arms, as I wrapped mine around his neck allowing him to carry me back to the car. "You're one of those romantic kind of bozo's aren't you Morris?" I mocked. "Only with you! You have this way of making me want to pick flowers, although sometimes you make me want to rip the blossoms off!" he said frustrated. I laughed, "Good, I like stems! Especially the ones with thorns!" I joked back. "One of these days you're going to want me to be romantic to you! And you're going to love it!" he stated. "Stop cursing me! Last time you said something like that I ended up holding your hand" I replied. "I know, I have this way of predicting the future, It's a gift!" he said with confidence. "Jesus, you're a cocky bastard!" I said as he set me down by the car.

I think something had snapped inside him, all of a sudden his whole demeanor changed. He looked me square in the eyes "Let's not play games, you're going to get your head on straight! Know this, I love you and you love me, the amount of time we have is irrelevant compared to what we do within our time together. Do you understand that?" he demanded. I was taken back by his boldness, but I realized he was right. "Yes Morris, I understand!" I said submissively. "Good. Here's what's going to happen, I'm taking you to get radiated, as you so eloquently put it, after that we're going back to my place and we're going to rid ourselves of the sexual tension between us. I don't want to fight with you anymore, do I make myself clear?" he said as though I had no choice in the matter. "Morris are you ordering me to have sex with you?" I asked candidly. "No, not sex, anyone can do that, I'm talking about love. I'm ordering you to make love with me" he replied. "Well, since you put it that way how can I resist?" I chuckled. "I'm not kidding, laugh if you want but I promise you it will be exactly what the doctor ordered" he said as he opened the door and I climbed in. He shut the door, alone with my thoughts for a moment, I realized I wanted this just as much as he did, but I didn't want to come across as being easy to get. He climbed in and shut the door. "And don't think that giving in makes you look easy to me, believe me when I say, you've been a challenge for five long years!" he said as if reading my mind. I sat there with a subtle smile on my face and flutters in my stomach.

Chapter 14

Neither of us said a word as he drove to the treatment center. Just as he was about to open the office door he stopped, turned and looked at me, "Gear up! You've got a big day ahead of you!" he smiled and winked. I felt myself blush as he opened the door and allowed me to enter first. I announced my arrival to the receptionist and then we both sat in the waiting area. I turned to Morris, "You know you can't just order..." I started to say as he put his finger up to my lips to shush me. "Shhhh! It's happening, no sense in arguing about it!" he whispered in my ear. "You know I'm going to get you for this! Just you wait!" I whispered back. "I'm counting on it!" he said as he picked up a magazine and slowly flipped through it. 

An older gentleman was sitting across from us, "You too huh?" he said noticing the incision mark on my shaved head as he pointed to the mark on his own head. "Yeah, today is my first treatment" I replied. He got up, "I'm Buck, nice to meet you" he said holding out his hand. I shook it "I'm Penny and this is my friend Morris" I said, the men shook hands. "It's great you have someone to support you, I lost my wife of thirty years a couple years ago, my kids are living in Florida, I have a couple friends who help me out and without their support I don't know what I would have done" he said gratefully. "I'm sorry you lost your wife" I said sadly. "Yeah, her and I were like two peas in a pod. We butted heads all the time, but man did we love each other. I'm sorry, I don't mean to bore you with my life's story, just seeing the two of you made me think about her for some reason" he said sadly. "Oh, you weren't boring me, I'd like to hear about it" I said, actually interested in his story. "Well, she died from breast cancer, I held her hand all the way through it and as painful as it was to watch her slip away, I'm glad I was there for her but even more thankful for the time we shared together before I lost her" he said and then stopped himself.

"Does it bother you me talking about death?" he humbly asked. "No. I guess it's something we all have to face someday" I replied. "That's a good attitude to have. People fear what they don't understand. I don't fear death one bit, that's because death and I have come to an understanding. I made a deal with it, as long as I'm alive I'll live each minute the best I can, and when it's ready to take me, I won't fight it. I know that my Liza will be waiting for me with open arms. Even though she'll probably nag at me for wearing the wrong color of tie when they bury me" he said chuckling. I giggled. "You're wife sounds like someone I know!" Morris said gesturing towards me with his head. "Oh, I see you two are in love aren't you?" Buck asked with a smile on his face. "Well, he insists that I love him, but I'm fighting him the whole way!" I said. "She loves me, don't let her fool you!" Morris replied.

The receptionist called Buck in as he opened the door he turned to us, "You know, where there's passion, there is fire!" Buck said as he winked and went through the door to receive his treatment. Morris looked at me with a grin, "No truer words have been spoken" he said. Again I blushed. The receptionist called my name, I stood to get up and Morris grabbed my wrist and stopped me. He held it and looked into my eyes, I felt compelled and leaned over to kiss him, "I'll be back in a little bit" I said hoping time would fly by quickly. "I'll be here!" he replied. I turned and walked through the same door Buck had just walked through, "time to get radiated" I thought to myself. I chuckled out loud. How ironic, now that I knew I was dying, l finally looked forward to living!

Chapter 15

"How did it go?" Morris asked me as I walked into the waiting area. "It was fine, I didn't feel a thing" I said feeling no different than when I walked in for my treatment. "Good! Let's go get something to eat before we go to my place, we're going to need some strength!" he said with a devilish look on his face. "Oh Jesus Morris, you're incorrigible!" I said hitting his arm. "That reminds me, I need to make a brief stop after dinner too!" he said as we left the office. "Dare I ask?" I said thinking I knew what it was he needed to get. "Let's just say, though the weather looks favorable, I may need some rain gear!" he said as he winked. "Oh my lord! Do you have to put it that way? You're starting to freak me out!" I replied blushing, yet once again. 

After dinner he stopped at a store to pick up the necessary items as I waited in the car. As he hopped in he handed me a bouquet of red roses with baby's breath mingled together. "Ah, thank you Morris, that was really sweet of you" I said sincerely. "That's just to let you know that I love you, now let's