He seemed to sense my need for an explanation and nodded his head toward the shower before tapping the high edge of the tub with his booted foot.
“You’re s-staying until I’m in? So I don’t fall?” I guessed.
He shrugged and I knew I guessed right.
With a defeated sigh, I uncrossed my arms and clasped his hand. The spray of the shower angled toward the front of the tub making it possible to step in without getting my remaining clothes wet. He closed the curtain behind me and I waited to hear the click of the door.
Once I knew he left, I finished undressing, tossing my things on the bathroom floor and stepped into the hot spray of water.
It felt so good that I stayed there, just standing under the spray, for several long minutes. A slight side-to-side rocking motion my only movement to keep all of me as warm as possible. The shivers lessened, but didn’t disappear leading me to believe they weren’t really due to the cold. My energy drained further with each minute making my headache progress to a steady thump. When I heard the click of the door again, I knew I’d pushed it.
“Clay?”
I heard a grunt, but peeked around the curtain to be sure. He stood holding out a towel with his eyes closed. I turned off the water and grabbed the towel.
With the towel securely wrapped around me, I peeked out again. Clay turned around so he faced the door, but held out a hand to help me. Clasping it again, I got out of the shower warmer, but more exhausted than when I’d gotten in.
I hustled as best I could to my room. Choosing wisely, Clay remained outside my closed bedroom door as I threw on the warmest pajamas I owned. Standing next to the bed, shivering, I did my best to blot the dripping water from my hair, but my arms quickly grew too tired. Giving up, I tossed the towel to the floor.
Trying to dry my wet hair caused me to lose all the heat I’d gained from the shower by the time I crawled between the covers. I curled into a ball rubbing my feet together trying to generate more heat.
Clay must have been listening for me to get under the covers because he walked in as soon as I lay in bed. He turned off the lights and I listened to the familiar rustle of clothes. Instead of the usual bounce of him jumping up on the end of the bed, he peeled back the covers and the opposite side of the bed dipped as he slid in next to me.
“I really hope you’re wearing shorts or something.” I murmured, my words starting to slur.
I didn’t bother to pretend I wasn’t interested in what he offered. Heat radiated from him, chasing the chill from the sheets. I stuck my cold feet right on his legs and shimmied over to his side huddling against his warmth. And boy was he warm. Sighing, I immediately fell asleep still shaking.
Bright light filled the room when I peeled my eyes open, barely consciousness. I still lay against Clay basking in his warmth. My headache had faded from a steady thump to an annoying dull ache. I felt drained and still very tired.
Tilting my head with effort, I met his observant gaze. Worry glazed their chocolate brown depths. I tried swallowing, but the muscles didn’t want to work.
I rasped out, “I’m thirsty.”
He moved to get out of bed and I closed my eyes. I didn’t want him to prove me wrong about the shorts. After a few seconds of hearing nothing, I forced my eyes back open. He stood next to the bed holding a full glass of water out to me.
Shakily leveraging myself up on an elbow, I grasped the glass. Its coolness felt good going down. I drank it all and handed him the empty glass. He watched me curl up with my pillow.
I closed my eyes.
The next time I woke, I checked my alarm clock. The red digits showed two in the afternoon. Turning my head on the pillow, I happily noted the absence of weakness and pain. Whatever I’d done to cause my sudden illness, a good night’s sleep, and part of the day, appeared to have helped.
Gingerly, so as not to bring my symptoms back, I boosted myself into the sitting position. Clay no longer lay beside me. Glancing at my closed bedroom door, I figured he must have gotten bored watching me sleep. I didn’t blame him. I still felt a little tired.
Although I could have lain back down and slept longer, I pulled myself from bed to grab my books. I’d lost a night of studying because of the party, and most of today too. I couldn’t afford to lose more time.
A moment later, I hopped back into my warm nest of blankets, books in hand. With my pillows stacked up behind me, I spread the work out in front of me. I still had a few assignments from Friday to finish. In addition, I needed to review the prior week’s materials to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
After about fifteen minutes of studying, I smelled bacon. My stomach growled loudly and the aroma tempted me to leave my warm bed.
The door opened fractionally and Clay peered in. Seeing me sitting up, he nudged the door further to show a plate of food and a glass of juice. His appearance ended my internal debate and saved me from exposure to the cold.