2 Help

If he wasn't unconscious, Sophia would be completely mortified that a large, muscular guy had his cheek pressed against her chest and some other organs in very wrong places.

With her small hands on his well-defined shoulders, she applied all her strength and pushed him lower. Finally able to wiggle her way out from underneath him. 

However, she was mindful of the large gash on his head so she rested his head against her thigh. Sophia could feel the wetness of his blood soaking through her pants.

As her eyes drifted lower, she seemed to only just remember that he was naked and she started removing the grey sweater he had stretched out already. She covered the lower half of his body, trying to avert her eyes as if he would wake up again and accuse her of something else horrible.

Luckily, it was late summer so being outside in jeans and a tank top wasn't all that bad. 

Even though she could only move a little bit, she stretched out and was able to get her phone that he had slapped out of her hands before. 

"You're lucky it isn't cracked," she muttered. "I'll demand compensation from you otherwise."

When the dial pad was pulled up on her screen, she started dialing emergency services but she paused. He told her not to call an ambulance and said something about being worried that someone would find him. 

She wondered what sort of trouble this man was in to be in that state and still worried enough to want to remain hidden. 

With a sigh, she went to her favorites list and saw her best friend at the very top. The name Ethan with a bunch of hearts and a bicep emoji at the end. It was a name he entered himself when they were in high school. 

She tapped on the call button and put her phone to her ear.

"Pick up, pick up," she urged her friend. 

Her heart hadn't stopped racing as the situation unfolded. Even though the guy was kind of a jerk, she was genuinely worried about his well-being. Based on the puddle of blood where he formerly lay, she thought he might be suffering more than he led on. 

"Soph," Ethan answered after a few rings. "You don't usually call me for anything, what's up?" 

Sophia rolled her eyes at her friend's voice. He was as sassy as always. 

Before she went to pastry school, they were in the same graduating class in high school. He was her dearest friend and closest confidant. When she moved back home after completing her education, he already had a place lined up for them to live in.

They had been inseparable ever since. 

"I need your help," Sophia spoke quickly, not wanting to waste a moment. "I found a guy in the alley down the street from the bakery. He was awake for a couple of minutes and told me not to call an ambulance but he needs to get to the hospital. He has a head injury. I need you to drive us." 

Ethan yawned and Sophia heard rustling and the squeak of a chair. It was clear to Sophia that he had likely been off work and gaming in his room as he often did. 

"You what?" Ethan asked in disbelief. "You're lucky it's my day off. I'll be there in a sec." 

The phone beeped, signifying that the call was over. 

Sophia let out a light sigh, but her relief that someone was coming to help was short-lived. 

As the man's scent reached her nose again, she felt it to her very core, except it came with a familiar pain. It was something she was trying to get used to for the last year. It didn't make sense that her smelling him would trigger something within her body. 

It was easier to accept it as a coincidence.

All she could do was observe him while he used her as a makeshift pillow. 

When he was calm and his eyebrows weren't lowered, she realized just how handsome he truly was. He had the face and body of someone in a magazine but she didn't recognize him from anywhere as far as she could tell. 

"Just what happened to you?" she whispered. 

His dark hair was falling onto his forehead and she slowly brushed it away.

As her thoughts became less than innocent, she quickly pulled her hand away. Her green eyes went to the end of the alley as if someone were going to be standing there. 

She wasn't single. She had a boyfriend even though he hadn't shown himself to her in a while. She convinced herself that they were going through a rough patch even though the reason they were there was because of his infidelity. 

Sophia put a hand on her forehead and sighed. She had been avoiding thoughts of her boyfriend, Grant, all day, knowing that thinking about him only ended up with her feeling hurt and lonely. 

Before she could dwell for too long, she saw a white car pull up to the curb at the alley's opening. She would recognize Ethan's car anywhere. He paid enough for it, after all. 

Her roommate stepped out of the car and was finally revealed to her when he was no longer hidden behind tinted windows. 

Even while wearing a white tank top and red sweats with a white stripe down the side, he was perfectly fashionable. He had grey-blue eyes and naturally blonde hair but, at that moment, it was a shocking shade of blue. 

He rushed forward to Sophia and saw the predicament she was in. 

"Christ…" Ethan uttered. "All that blood." 

Sophia nodded. 

"Please help me," she said. "He's heavy." 

Luckily, Ethan was a personal trainer with muscles to show, but the injured man still had to be at least five inches taller than Ethan's 5'10 frame. 

They had no choice but to use a wooden pallet that had wheels on it to drag him forward until they could get to the side of Ethan's car. 

On the way there, the sweater fell off of the man and Ethan was taken aback for a moment at his naked form. 

"Damn," he said. "Good for him." 

Sophia's eyebrows knit together.

"What, is he your type?" she asked, her eyes narrowing at her friend. 

"A guy like that is anyone's type," Ethan smirked. "He could be your type, Soph. I haven't seen that idiot Grant around in a while." 

Sophia bit the inside of her lip.

"Focus," she muttered. 

It took a few tries, but they eventually got the man into Ethan's back seat, his bloodied head resting against a rolled up blanket so the light seats in the car wouldn't be soiled. 

"I'll sit on the floor so he doesn't fall off the seat," Sophia said. "The hospital is close anyway." 

Ethan shrugged and shut the door. In little time they were off. 

Since Sophia was on the floor, Ethan couldn't see her lean into the injured man. 

The urge to bury her face in his neck and see where that smell was coming from was eating her alive. 

"Do you smell that?" Sophia uttered. 

"Smell what? Blood?" Ethan replied, confused.

"No… it's something else. Like… mint?" Sophia asked.

"No I don't," Ethan responded, though he didn't sound entirely certain. "Are you sure you're alright, Sophia?"

"I'm fine," Sophia shook her head and tried to relax. She felt crazy. 

The ache in her stomach reminded her that she needed to calm down, but every time she caught sight of the stranger, her heart raced.