Page 2 of Hooked On Seth (Hooked #5)

Jenna hadn’t been able to smell anything in days but something horrible and in close proximity was burning her nose hairs and she couldn’t place what it was. Her head was too fuzzy. Was this another side effect of her illness?

“I could be dying but I don’t want to go to the hospital.”

“You’re not dying love, I promise.”

She turned quickly toward her bedroom door, the sudden movement making her dizzy.

“Seth.” What is he doing here?

He approached her bed holding a little cup filled with green liquid.

“What is that?”

She hated taking medicine but she knew full well that’s what he had.

Jenna vaguely remembered letting Seth into her apartment at some point but was currently rethinking her decision.

He wanted to nurse her back to health but she didn’t even know which end was up.

She had no clue what time it was or what day.

She could only tell it was dark. She didn’t mean to be mean because she loved Seth but she just wanted to die in peace, which apparently, he wasn’t going to let her do.

As she begrudgingly took hold of the liquid he offered, her eyes panned up his body toward his sleepy eyes as she drank, stopping at his bare chest. Had she ever noticed before how well defined he was, and why didn’t he have a shirt on?

It shouldn’t bother her because she’d seen him that way hundreds of times but for some reason, it made her uncomfortable, just not a stalkerish kind of way.

She’d been off and on warm and cold for the past few days but the warmth she felt was inside her chest and it wasn’t the nasty medicine she’d just taken. She made a horrid face as she coughed.

“Sorry, I know it was probably horrible. It looked bad when I poured it out.”

“Yeah but I guess it’ll help me get better. I could use a drink of water though if you don’t mind.”

“I would let you but the pharmacist said you should let the medicine do its thing for at least five minutes before you take a drink so it doesn’t wash it away before it does any good.”

“You talked to the pharmacist?”

“Yeah, I needed to know what was the best stuff to give you. He was pretty nice too, and I learned a lot.”

I’ve never even talked to the pharmacist and I’ve lived here five years.

“Is that so you know what to do when you’re sick?”

“I don’t get sick.”

“Oh but I bet you will. All my germs are floating all over this apartment so I’m afraid you’re not getting out of it that easy.”

“Dang, I never thought about that.”

Seth sat down on the side of her bed and raised his hand to her face. She knew she was giving him a dirty look.

“I’m only feeling your forehead to see if you’re still running a fever.”

Jenna probably should have guessed that but she wasn’t really in her right mind. Besides, with the weird way she was feeling about her best friend, she wasn’t sure she wanted him to touch her. Not that he was giving her a choice.

“Oh my gosh your hand is so warm.” She placed both of her hands over his, holding it on her head.

“Really? Because you feel warm. Do you have one of those glass temperature taker things?”

He was using his free hand to mimic putting the stick in his mouth.

“Do you mean a thermometer?”

“Yeah that’s what it is, I couldn’t remember what it was called.”

That actually made her laugh. He really was a funny guy when he wasn’t trying.

Sometimes his jokes were a little less than funny but he was a naturally outgoing and energetic guy.

When they went out, he was always the life of the party and didn’t really have an enemy.

She loved that about him. He had the ability to bring her out of her shell just about every time.

He was so spontaneous, which was obvious by the way he showed up at her door and took over.

“So where is the thermometer?”

“I guess try the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. I haven’t used one in so long I’m not really sure if I even have one.”

He hopped from her bed and disappeared into the bathroom. When he returned, he was reading a little box he held in one hand while the thermometer rested in his other.

“Okay miss, let’s take that temp and see if your brain is frying.”

“Nice Seth. I doubt my brain is actually frying though. But is it ok if I lay down because I’m really tired.”

She didn’t wait for his answer as she slowly laid back onto her pillow.

“Open up.” He started to stick it in her mouth but explained to her that it needed to rest under her tongue and she needed to lay there perfectly still until it beeped.

When she started to talk around the stick, he held up a hand.

“No talking until it’s done. Still, I mean it.”

What was he going to do, paddle her? Holy crap, and why that thought gave her butterflies was beyond her.

No man had ever spanked her but her dad and that wasn’t a pleasant experience.

Even during sex the handful of times she’d been excited to have it, it wasn’t an option.

Would she like it though? She’d read a romance novel or two where spanking actually heightened the experience.

Oh my god, it didn’t matter. Seth wasn’t going to do that to her.

They weren’t sex partners, they were best friends and she needed to stop thinking otherwise.

He’d never made any advances other than friendship toward her and she’d gotten used to that a long time ago.

They were friends, they hung out together a lot. That was it, all she wrote. He probably hated her in any other capacity anyway so it wouldn’t matter. But…what if he didn’t?

***

Are all women this difficult?

He knew Jenna was her own kind of person and truthfully, it was one of her best qualities.

He loved that she didn’t take crap from anyone about anything.

No one did stuff for her and if they did, it was because she’d beat herself up until she didn’t have a choice but to ask for help.

Save for her secretary who she adored, she was as independent as they come.

Not that he knew a lot of other women like her but that was okay. One was enough.

The thermometer beeped in Jenna’s mouth, and he quickly snagged it before she could get to it.

“Nope, hands off woman, I’m the doctor tonight.”

He swatted playfully at her attempt and rose from the side of her bed to see the numbers more clearly in the bathroom light. She’d begged to have her lamp off earlier because it hurt her head.

“Well, what’s the diagnosis doc?”

He went back to her bedside and tucked her in with the comforter she’d thrown off of her at some point.

“Your temp is higher than I know it should be. 101 degrees means you will be staying in bed until further notice.”

“Ugh really? I suddenly felt the need to clean my kitchen. Oh please let me do it doc.”

She was trying to play at being funny even though he knew she felt like shit. It actually was pretty funny though.

“Awe honey, I’m so sorry but I already did that for you.”

Her look of shock made him want to burst out laughing but he bit his lip.

“You cleaned? Wait, what did you do to my best friend because I want him back. You know the bachelor that never takes care of his dinner dishes or his beer bottles on the coffee table. Or wait, the guy that uses the bathroom and leaves the seat up, that one.”

“So are you saying you like it when I do that stuff? That’s nice to know.”

He laughed when she smiled and shook her head.

“Okay so I think its time for an aspirin for your fever, then you need to get some sleep.”

“I hate to take pills.”

“I know but I can’t take it for you.”

“You know what I really liked, that pink liquid the doctor used to give me when I was a little girl. Do you have any of that? It cured everything.”

“Sorry, I don’t. You have to take this aspirin. I promise it’ll make you feel better in the long run.”

She begrudgingly took the pill from his hand and took the bottle of water he’d grabbed from the nightstand.

“See that wasn’t so bad, right?”

“It was horrible.”

Her pouty face was cute but it didn’t get her anywhere any other time and this was no different.

“Okay, lights out.”

As he started to move away from the bed, she reached for his arm.

“Do you think you’d be able to lay with me for a little while?”

He didn’t know what to say. Her couch is the only place he’d ever slept or even laid down in the past and he wasn’t sure laying in her bed was conducive to their friendship.

“If it helps, I promise not to breathe on you.”

“Well if what you said was true, I’m going to get sick from just breathing the air in your apartment anyway, so I guess you breathing on me won’t make much difference.”

“So is that a yes?”

“I suppose. Where do you want me?”

He moved toward the bathroom to shut off the light and walked to the other side of her bed, standing still until she gave him direction.

He wasn’t about to take advantage of the fact his best friend wanted him to sleep with her.

He wouldn’t take it the wrong way in that she only wanted him to sleep next to her.

Any other way would probably be wishful thinking on his part.

Not that he’d had those types of feelings before anyway.

Or at least not that he would ever mention anything to her if he did.

“Seth, just crawl in bed, I’m not going to bite. I’d probably throw up on you before I ever broke skin.”

“I’ll sleep on the top of the sheet that way I don’t accidentally touch you.”

“Since when is it bad to touch me? We’ve fallen asleep on the couch hundreds of times. Just get in under all the covers.”

He hesitated, not sure it was a good idea.

He wasn’t really worried about how she would react, she was sick after all.

He was worried about doing something dumb on his part but he also didn’t want her to keep nagging him so he’d just leave his jeans on and crawl in bed.

Wouldn’t take him long to fall asleep so they wouldn’t have any worries.

“Seriously?”

“What?” Seth was holding the covers and halfway into the bed when she questioned him.

“Since when do you sleep in jeans? Is something wrong?”

“No, everything is fine, I just forgot I had them on. Guess I’m getting tired”

Seth shimmied off his blue jeans, so he was only in his boxers and jumped into Jenna’s bed, covering himself up to his neck. What he didn’t expect was for Jenna to turn toward him to snuggle into his side and push her arm under the covers and across his chest.

For real, he’d slept with a lot of different women in his twenty some years but never been a fan of the cuddling.

He didn’t even let any of his actual girlfriends get that close.

After sex he always just fell asleep. Of course that’s probably why they didn’t stay girlfriends for long.

Right now, though, he had no desire to move Jenna from his side.

It was like a whole new level of comfort.

Once he heard her breathing level off and soft snores squeaked out of her clogged nose, he turned onto his side so they were nose to nose, careful not to dislodge her arm from around him. He liked it there. He wasn’t sure what that meant for their friendship but for now he’d just enjoy it.