“Thanks, but I won’t be gone that long. I didn’t bring my computer so I need to leave anyway. It won’t take me forever, then I’ll be back to make you something for dinner.”
“Are you mad at me Seth?”
Why would she ask such a question?
He’d never seen her play the helpless one so it surprised him.
“Not at all, you didn’t do anything wrong. I just need to work and you need to sleep.”
“Okay, if you say so.”
He really wasn’t mad at her for anything. Maybe a slight bit disappointed things didn’t go differently but it wasn’t fair of him to even expect anything with her being sick. Jenna was usually a busy person so finding a time when she was involved in nothing so they could talk was harder than one would think. He did believe however that it was the right time to explore the option that they could possibly be now or at some point, more than friends. He was deathly afraid to hear her answer because if she didn’t feel the same, it would be hard to go back to friends and he’d truly be lost without her.
He washed up what dishes he used, dried and put everything away. Once she did start to feel better, at least she wouldn’t have to deal with a dirty apartment. He didn’t want to bail on her while she was eating so he kept himself busy straightening pillows, folding the blanket he’d used on the couch and putting magazines away in the basket she had sitting by the television.
He finally heard her set the bowl on her nightstand so he meandered in and fiddled with the vaporizer. It needed more water so he filled it, then poured the menthol liquid into the well and turned it on.
“Thanks for the food Seth, it was good.”
“Glad you liked it. Now I’m going to get out of her and I want you to get some sleep. I’ll have my phone on me if you need anything before I get back.”
He didn’t wait for her to answer. He quickly stepped toward the front door, tapping his front pocket to make sure his keys were there, grabbed his sweatshirt and locked the door. Once he was in his car, he took a deep breath. The further away from her place he got the more horrible he felt inside. He shouldn’t have been afraid to talk to her but he couldn’t trust himself. He wanted to get into her personal space and tell her how he felt. He knew it wasn’t the right time though. He would have to just keep telling himself over and over until it sank in. She needs to be fully functioning to make the right choice.
“I’ve waited this long, what’s a few more days?”
With her out of site, maybe he could keep her out of mind and focus on work for a while. A computer and a hot cup of coffee would have to do.
Chapter Four
Things were becoming more habit than Jenna liked. She was usually an early riser and made a point to be one of the first ones in her office. Her secretary was a loyal employee and arrived just after her every day. She believed in the phrase, the early bird gets the worm. All her best work was done in the morning hours. This week though, she was thrown all out of whack, as far from her comfort zone as she could be. As she laid awake in bed, in the semi-dark, she noticed every single crack in the ceiling. They’d probably always been there but never once had she noticed them before.
She also never realized how annoying her refrigerator was when the door squeaked every time it was opened. Nothing a little WD40 wouldn’t fix. Therewassomething she did like though, and that was waking up to the ballgame on t.v. and Seth yelling at the officials. He’d always been a well-rounded and open mouthed person about sports. He taught her a lot but football would continue to be a mystery. Baseball she understood forward and backward and the Tigers were the bomb but gave up on the rest.
At some point in the last few days, she’d unplugged her alarm clock because the numbers were too bright and hurt herhead so she had no clue what time it was. Jenna had never had such a reaction to cold medicine before that it made her sleep all day, but she also couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so sick.
She could tell her bladder had come back to life because it was begging her to find her way to the bathroom. Carefully crawling out of bed, her legs carried her small frame across the non-squeaky parts of her floor, closing the bathroom door quietly so as not to alert him that she was awake.
After washing her hands, she realized there was no more dried toothpaste sticking to the basin and the hand towel washangingfrom the rack instead of where she left itonthe sink. He wasn’t lying when he said he cleaned. She was shocked. It sounded petty even as she thought it but no one had ever cleaned for her. She pitied him for the mess he’d had to tackle, especially the shower.
Jenna turned the door handle ever-so-slowly, careful not to open it too far that it would creak, and she tiptoed toward her bed.
“Glad to see you’re awake.”
“Ahh, shit. Seth don’t sneak up on me.”
She crawled into her bed, sank low and covered her head with the comforter. She felt the bed give on the opposite side then his face appeared under the covers.
“I never moved, you just don’t sneak very well.”
“Well you should have let me know you were there when I came out of the bathroom.” She closed her eyes and turned away from him, embarrassed that she was caught, because shewastrying to sneak.
“My apologies ma’am. From now on when I walk into a room, I will announce myself so you know I am there and I don’t scare you.”
She couldn’t help but laugh.
“Did you get work done?”
“Yeah I did. The coffee shop was quiet so I got through my entire inbox, even sent several messages out and worked on a few cases for Monday.”
