Later that night, I woke up and stared a bit at the clock while listening to Henry doze behind me. It was two in the morning and I could time his breaths to the small glow-in-the-dark hand ticking away the seconds.
The house was quiet now, and I noticed that Henry had likely gotten up sometime after I slept and cleaned up a bit. A habit he didn't used to have. In the living room I sat down on the couch, taking a breath, listening to the stillness in the house now. I was suddenly so aware of the sound of the small clocks ticking away the seconds of the night. I went outside in the backyard now, and remembered the one night in the rain, my body shivering against the memory of rain pelting our combined forms. Henry had done everything he could to comfort me, to support me through whatever this thing was that made me scared to look him in the eyes longer than I had to.
"Do you ever sleep normally?" I turned around at the sudden question. "What?"
Henry walked over, frowning at me, but not repeating his question. A small twitch of his eyelid let me know he was still waiting for my response.
"Sorry."
He quietly ushered me into one of the small cushioned chairs underneath the covering and sat beside me, the two of us sinking into the deep cushions.
"You know, thinking about how we were so long ago, I still think about how we ended up here..." He smiled peacefully, brushing the stray lock of hair away from my eyes.
"I don't know either..."
"Jeez honey, couldn't just say "I knew I loved you the moment I saw you" and let me have that one?"
"Nope, and if you recall, you saw me first... literally all of me, naked, in the showers."
"That was very memorable..." I gave him a light smack.
"Do you regret it at all? All the trouble with our parents, being with me, dealing with me and all of that?"
"Of course not... if I had to do it all again, I'd do exactly the same. Except you know, the whole... being naked the first time we met thing."
He grinned and held onto me closely, cuddling with me in the chair while we looked at the stars and the moon in the sky.
After the night, I think Henry finally felt comfortable enough to leave me alone for a bit, opting to go into the office for the first time in quite a while. It was so surprising that Elise had called home, asking if it was really okay for him to be there. With a few words of encouragement, I assured her that I would be fine, and that she should take advantage of the time he's there. She chuckled to herself and agreed, hanging up.
I had arranged for Jason to come over, feeling that I had neglected him lately. He came over around noon, and we set to work making lunch.
"So.... When you say "we" will be making lunch..." He looked at me sheepishly.
"Yes... I meant... me." I replied flatly, laughing as he happily nodded.
"So how is everything now? Settled in?"
"Its like... I never left" I lied, chopping some veggies.
"Oh really?" He smiled, obviously aware of my lie.
"Well..."
"Exactly." He nodded to himself before I could say more.
I filled him in on some of the details I hadn't been able to talk about until then, and then filled him in on some of the details surrounding Josh and I.
"Wow... you really were going to try and leave it all behind weren't you?"
"I tried.. and it didn't work."
"Of course it didn't work.... I mean look at the two of you." He gestured in the air wildly
"What?"
"I mean look at the two of you, you both fell apart at the seams without each other. He was practically comatose and you were living like a conspiracy theorist."
"I... I wouldn't put it quite like that..."
"Well... all I'm saying is that at least you're back now, and you know better since you leaving isn't good for EITHER of you." He stressed the word as if giving me a warning, to which I obediently nodded.
Once "lunch" had been taken care of, the two of us sat in the living room, talking about his new crush, the cute barista boy who was so obviously giving him "extra attention" and then somehow the bag boy at the grocery store who he was sure was checking him out.
"I think... you're delirious." I chuckled, getting up to grab more water from the kitchen.
"You say that, but you aren't there when they look at me! Actually, on second thought, stay away from me, you'll distract them and pull them away from me." He grinned
"Well... don't you worry. I'm taken." I said, filling my glass again before plopping onto the couch beside him.
"Oh darn, my phone's dead.... Is the charger still on the counter?" Jason got up before I could answer, and I heard the faint blip of the phone as it was plugged in and began to charge.
"Yep." I sighed, laying down again.
"Can I use your phone really quick? I was going to call the roommate to let him know I need him to take out the dog."
Spending the day with Jason made me realize how much I had missed him, the pure unrestricted way he said everything on his mind made me wonder how I'd ever lived without him to bring me some excitement. Before we knew it, the sound of the garage door greeted us and the door chime beeped Henry's return.
"Hellooooo Henry" Jason teased as he nudged me forward.
"Hey Jason...?" Henry looked puzzled by his mischievous tone.
"Welcome home.." I smiled as I walked up to him and leaned in to give him a kiss. Only as I did so he immediately threw his arms around me and spun me around ending in a dip and a kiss that sent chills through my body.
"Whoa..." Jason looked on in jealousy.
"Today, was a good day." Henry grinned, letting me stand up again, but holding me now, his arms in front of me, pushing me back against his body.
"How so?" I asked, shuffling the pair of us slowly towards the kitchen counter so he could lay his keys down.
"I don't know exactly... but it's the first time in a while I've felt like myself again.. and I think... knowing you were home waiting for me was part of that.." He said sheepishly, and out of the corner of my eye I could see Jason mock-swooning.
"Cheesy."
The three of us sat down in the living room again and watched as my best friend and my boyfriend began talking about their most recent movie recommendations.
"Chinese?" Jason asked, waving a take-out menu in front of my face.
"Uh sure." I nodded, realizing I had zoned out again and making to stand before realizing my legs had fallen asleep from being under me for so long.
"Oww..." I pouted as I stretched them feeling the pins and needles sensation run through them.
"Fell asleep?" Henry asked, returning with his cell phone.
"Yeah...."
"Its cause you've been cooped up in here all day.... you've got to go outside and get some air, walk around again..."
"Yeah, maybe I'll go for a run tomorrow." I felt their eyes boring into me now, studying that phrase again before reassuring themselves that I wasn't going to run away again.
"I'll run with you!" Jason chirped.
"You mean you'll fall behind me and pant relentlessly as we go around the neighborhood."
"Yep." He frowned and then went back to furrowing his brows at the paper menu in his hands.
"Go ahead and order for us, the usual for me." Henry said, getting up to change into his house clothes.
"Same for you?" Jason asked, and I thought for a moment before nodding.
"Here, get whatever you want." Henry returned, his wallet in hand and a card extended in the other.
"Woo Henry's paying!" Jason grinned before happily taking the card and dialing the number on his now charged cell.
Dinner came and went and suddenly it was 11 at night. The three of us had been talking through dinner and had been talking through clean up, slowing everything down. The small session of wine drinking in between probably didn't help matters either. Jason had opted not to go home since it was so late and had taken residence in our guest room upstairs.
I gave Henry a kiss as he went into the bathroom for his shower before bed and realized I hadn't given Jason a towel or a blanket for the night.
"Hey... these are for you..." I said, walking into the room, and finding him sitting on the bed, texting away at his phone.
"Who are you going on with hm?" I asked, placing the items at the corner of the bed.
"No one... don't worry..." He grinned.
"I wasn't worried... just... curious." I smiled as he leaned forward and pulled me back onto the bed again,
"My best friend is home... " He smiled to himself and hugged me tighter, making a happy squealing noise that he knew would annoy me.
"Oh stop it." I separated us, leaning back on the headboard with him. There was a small moment of silence where we understood each other. The two of us were simply enjoying the moment, a single part of the night where everything was quiet, and we were in good company.
"Good night." I said softly, and he nodded before spreading the blanket over the bed.
By the time I got back to the bedroom, Henry had come out already, he was toweling his hair dry now and was walking around in just his pajama bottoms.
"He all taken care of?"
"Yeah... just had to give him some blankets and a towel." I said, making my way past him into the bathroom. I took a quick shower, practically jumping in and out of the water before throwing on my own pajamas, these days it was a small t-shirt that had gotten a small hole in the front, but was so comfortable I chose to ignore it, and a pair of black soft basketball shorts.
"Hi honey." Henry grinned as I got into the bed beside him, and he moved over to encircle me again. I buried myself in his arms and curved my back against his stomach, feeling the firmness and the warmness of his body against mine. I loved the way his strong arms felt around me, and the small minty tingle of his breath against the nape of my neck. I heard him drift almost instantly to sleep and wondered if I should move away to let him sleep more comfortably. It was a short-lived idea though as the minute I made any motions to unwrap him from me, his arms gripped me back in return. Eventually I gave up and fell asleep listening to his breath lulling me asleep.
In the morning, I woke up to find him coming out of the bathroom and as I made to get up he stood in front of me, staring at me intently.
"What?" I raised an eyebrow, somewhat concerned about his mischievous grin, and proceeded to shift myself between him and the bed towards the bathroom door. I did my business, and took a quick shower before tossing on a small button down shirt and some shorts to start the day.
When I entered the bedroom again, Henry was busy making our bed and he turned to face me, again with that dopey, yet somehow sneaky, grin on his face and he came towards me again so quickly and intently that I felt myself back into the closed door behind me.
"You know.... I always did love this freshly showered version of you..." He threw his hand against the door and pushed himself forward and stared so deeply in my eyes I thought I'd melt.
"W-Wha" He kissed me and smiled as his hands undid his own shirt before starting on mine. I could feel him stumble blindly at the shirt buttons against my stomach and in the moment after my I felt my shirt be pulled down off my body in one swoop.
"H-Henry....Hen-!" I gasped but he pressed his lips against mine again and I relented, allowing myself to melt between him and the door behind me. His hands moved lower again and just as I felt him slip the first finger in under my waistband...
"GOOD MORNING!" There was a sudden knock on the door from Jason, who was clearly waiting on the otherside.
"Are you both decent!?" He called, and I chuckled as my poor boyfriend grimaced and picked up my shirt, handing it to me before reluctantly straightening his own.
"No..." I replied aloud.
"Oh.. well carry on then." Footsteps went away from the door and Henry turned to me again.
"No..." I shook my head, and he frowned before leaning back onto the bed again, messing the sheets he had painstakingly pulled taut.
"Maybe tonight... if you're lucky that is." I smiled at him, pushing the last button through my shirt and leaning over to give him a kiss.
Out in the living room Jason had gone ahead and made himself a home among the many pillows he had collected onto the sofa, the TV was set to some movie I didn't recognize and he looked genuinely surprised when I walked out.
"Oh... he's gonna be mad at me again isnt he?" He frowned
"For what?"
"For you know... blocking him..."
"We weren't doing anything..."
"Uh huh... do you normally come out of your bedroom with hair like that after doing "nothing" hm?" He asked.
"What?" I looked at my hair in the reflection of the nearby wall mirror and realized the back had been pressed flat and upwards when I was against the wall, giving me a spike of hair that stood straight up.
"Oh... well... maybe, but he'll... be okay.... I think." I smiled, flattening my unwanted spike and sitting down next to him.
Henry came out of the bedroom a little while later and sighed as he saw Jason and I sitting with each other, Jason laying his head against my shoulders.
"You know... if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you two were lovers the way you are now..." He said in mock jealousy.
"Are you trying to pawn me off then?" I raised an eyebrow at him and he smiled as he saw down and put his arm around me, pushing Jason's head off gently.
"Of course not... you're mine and mine alone."
He was always so good with words...
Jason spent his time on his phone, chatting away while Henry and I were trying to plan our week, there were still so many things we had to do to make up for the time I was away. His father had postponed quite a few meetings and was personally attending the unmovable ones since Henry had basically become a vegetable during my absence apparently. I had to catch up with some coursework, which Jason was more than happy to help me with, and together we had missed quite a few events with our friends that were now coming back to demand our presence so they could see for themselves that I was back to the world.
When it was close to the mid afternoon, Jason excused himself and left the two of us home alone. I could tell something was on Henry's mind so I sat him down and waited for him to talk. "Well.... You know we will have to talk to him... eventually." He started, and the firm look I had planned on maintaining suddenly melted away.
He was right.
"I don't know what to do... I'm still... scared."
"Honey..." He moved forward, putting his arm around me and holding me for a minute, his habit when he doesn't quite know what to say next. After such a peaceful day at home, I hated that I still had this... thing... to think about. If only I could just leave it behind...
But I know better than to think Landon would just drop it... sooner or later.... something would come.
"I need a drink...." I said suddenly, and even though the words came as a surprise to me, I made a beeline for the pantry and pulled out whatever wine bottles we had...
"Aiden....." Henry stopped, but relented.
"Let me join you then." ---
Author: Thank you so much for sticking with me! I am so sorry it's been so long since my last chapter, and many thanks to all of you who have been writing me! I feel so privileged to have you read my story. I love hearing from you all and if you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to let me know at Keito.Nakagawa@gmail.com.
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