The pressure on my knee was already a little better, and I sighed in relief. “Yeah. That helps. This couch is more comfortable than it looks.”

“I know, right?” she said, smiling huge. “I found it at a garage sale. It’s not pretty, but it feels like a warm hug when you sit in it.”

I laughed at her description.

“I can’t believe you came over when you were in so much pain,” she said as she swatted my shoulder. “You should be at the hospital or at least home in bed.”

“I wanted to see you,” I replied, grabbing her hand. “And it’s not that bad.”

“You have”—she pointed to her temple and tapped it, grimacing—“sweat. Right here.”

“Shit,” I mumbled, reaching up to wipe off my face.

“I’ll get our dinner,” she said with a small smile. “What did you bring? Would you like some water?”

“You don’t have to serve me,” I argued, leaning forward to move my leg off the ottoman.

“Do not move,” she ordered. “Stay right there.”

“Sarai,” I said, frustration making my voice come out lower than normal.

“Alex,” she mimicked in the same tone.

I leaned my head against the couch and scowled. This wasn’t exactly how I’d pictured our evening going. I hadn’t gone to her house so that she could take care of me. I’d wanted to bring her dinner, do something nice because I knew how busy she was. Instead, she was waiting on me.

It took only a few minutes before she had us all set up in the living room, our bowls of soup and glasses of water on a little tray between us on the couch. Sarai sat facing me, her back against the arm of the couch and one leg folded under her.

“How did you hurt your leg?” she asked, picking up her bowl. Both bowls had little Koozies of some sort wrapped around them, and I took a closer look at mine as I grabbed my food.

“I twisted my knee sliding into second,” I said with a sigh. I sounded like an idiot.

“That sounds painful,” she murmured, blowing gently on her spoon before taking a bite of her soup.

“It was stupid,” I confessed ruefully. “I was joking around, and it backfired.”

“What do you think is wrong with it? Are you going to see a doctor?”

“Yeah, I’ll go tomorrow.” I took a bite of my soup, and my eyes opened wide in horror. The liquid was so hot that it was like molten lava. I choked for a second before swallowing it down. “Holy shit,” I gasped, quickly grabbing my water glass and taking a large gulp. “I didn’t realize how hot it was.”

“I’m so sorry,” Sarai apologized, wincing. “I forgot how much the bowl sweaters fool you into thinking the food is cooler than it is.”

“Bowl sweaters?” I asked, my lips twitching.