Innocent Seduction

Connor really didn't want to get up. He was so comfortable snuggled up, a warm body pressed against him, the scent of lavender tantalized his nose and he buried it deeper into her hair.

Connor's eyes jerked open. Girl. There was a girl in his bed. Wait. Apparently not his bed. The night before came back to him, and he relaxed, pulling Kat closer to him. The movement woke her up. She blinked sleepily at the chest in front of her eyes, a clean, male scent filling her nose and she pushed her nose into the shirt inhaling deeply and then sneezing before bolting upright.

She looked beautiful and sexy in his sweatshirt, her hair tousled and her hazel eyes filled with worry and confusion.

"Morning" he said softly, smiling gently.

Kat worried at her lower lip with her teeth, her arms wrapped around herself finally stuttering, "Hi, um sorry...I, um, I didn't mean to...I...d-d-don't know....I'm...I-I should go...um...sorry" She slumped onto the couch, bringing her knees up and hugging them to her chest.

Connor would've laughed at her if he hadn't noticed how hard she was shivering. Instead, he frowned, a crease appearing between his brows. He grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around her, settling on the couch and pulling her close to share his body heat.

"You're shivering," he murmured against her hair. "And your forehead's hot. You're not leaving in this condition my dear." So saying, he stood up with Kat bundled in his arms, and carried her to his bed. He lay her down gently, and tucked her under the covers, his hand tenderly smoothing her hair.

Kat was too cold and tired to think, so she assumed she imagined the tenderness and care she saw in his eyes. She snuggled under the covers, curled up, and promptly fell asleep.

Connor studied her for a moment, struck by her innocence. He was jerked out of his reverie by a noise that sounded like a phone ringing. It was coming from the main room, so he left Kat alone for a moment. The sound stopped for a moment and then started again. It seemed to be emanating from Kat's backpack. After rummaging around for a second, Connor found the phone.

He flipped it open, "Hello?"

"Ohmigod Kat where are you? I mean, are you ok? You always call but I got home and you weren't here and your bed hadn't been slept in and I was so worried after last night's downpour and you didn't call or leave a note or anything and..."

Connor wasn't quite sure how to stop the flood so he just interrupted "Um, sorry, Kat's sleeping, uhh..." "Wait, you're not Kat? Where is she? Who are you? What have you done with my friend?" This last was spoken slightly hysterically but then there was a pause and it sounded like someone was taking a deep breath. "Ok sorry, lemme try that again. I'm Anna, Kat's roommate. What happened yesterday?"

Connor smiled, introduced himself, and proceeded to inform Anna of the previous day's events, "...and now she's sick, so I think it's best if she stays here until she's better...It's no problem for me since I didn't have plans this weekend or anything, my roommate's out of town, and I know that moving her is unnecessary and might make her fever worse. I can take care of her, so you really don't need to worry anyway."

"Are you sure? Because that's really nice of you and my cousins are in town so it's super helpful. Um, I believe you and everything cause you sound reasonable, but can I just talk to her for a minute?"

"She's sleeping, but you have a point, one sec," Connor padded to his bedroom to get Kat, "Hey Kat, it's Anna on the phone, she just wants to make sure you're okay."

Kat opened her eyes tiredly and blinked at Connor before poking and arm out from the covers and taking the phone.

"'Lo?"

"Hey babe, I just talked to Connor...you're gonna fill me in on everything once you feel better. Speaking of which, how do ya feel?"

"Terrible." Kat mumbled.

"Well, you can stay at Connor's and I'll pick you up tomorrow afternoon all right? He offered to take care of you...is that okay with you?"

"Uh huh."

"Bye then...feel better."

"Bye."

Kat hung up and handed the phone back to Connor and went back to sleep. Connor put the phone away and then went to the kitchen. He got some advil, a glass of water, and some gatorade and brought it all back to the bedroom. He got Kat up again, sitting her up against the headboard and gave her some advil to wash down with the water and then made her drink some gatorade before letting her curl up again. He looked down at her uncertainly. She looked so lonely and vulnerable; the sight tugged at his heart and with a sigh he lay down on the bed pulling her towards him to warm her up a little. Before long, he too had fallen asleep.

*****

The rest of the day had passed in a blur for both of them. Kat was too tired to think about her luck, and Connor did all he could to help her feel better.

He'd been pretty nice for someone who'd never noticed her before. His attentiveness disarmed Kat and she let down her defenses, allowing him to take care of her. That night, her fever had gone up and she'd had the nightmares but he'd woken her up and soothed her until she fell asleep again, snug and safe in his arms.

When Anna picked her up the following afternoon, Kat was wearing a pair of Connor's sweatpants and one of his undershirts--two items which she had no intention of ever returning partly because they were so comfortable and because they smelled like him.

Kat went home and straight to bed, but right before she fell asleep, she remembered the look Connor and she had shared before she'd said goodbye. It had been intimate; a secret between the two of them, the knowledge that things were different now. She fell asleep with a smile on her face.