Page 3 of Hooked On Seth

“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.

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