I went to Sharif's house at dinner time, because he offered to cook. While he was preparing the food, I curled up on the couch and petted the puppy. While the food was cooking and he didn't need to attend to it, he sat near me on the couch, and I rested my head on his lap in a way that encouraged him to pet my head. It worked pretty well.
Sitting home alone on my sick days, I was lonely. I didn't want to talk to anyone, really. I didn't want to go out and do active things. I just wanted to lean quietly on someone and have my hair stroked.