Chapter 4

"You came in late again today. Don't you roll your eyes at me!"

I stared at the robust CEO crossing the plush carpet of the highest floor of Earldet building.

"Is that why you called me in here, dad?" I asked with the least bit of interest. This was not my week and I didn't want to hear him going off, even though admittedly, he had every right to.

I hadn't been on my game this week.

"It's Mr. Jones whenever you're in this building, don't forget that. And I am getting complaints about your work." He sat down, surprising me when he tore his eyes from the paperwork in front of him; albeit with great effort. Daddy was a workaholic. Work was his first love, though that wasn't abnormal for CEOs.

The critical look he gave me was normal. I'd received it most of my life whenever he did take time out of his busy schedule to look my way.

"I keep hearing that It's not up to par. Why do you not do your part? You're not even that great at it and you're slacking off. You should be busting your chops, I've heard enough about favoritism. Should I talk to Giles about hiring you at his company? You can't make it here by half assing, especially just because you're my daughter. The Massachusetts project was a group one and your part was integral yet you did next to nothing. Stacey had to pick up your slack. What was your excuse this time?"

I had no excuse. I wanted to tell him I'd been carrying the project and just slipped up closing it. My coworkers assured me they wouldn't have trouble completing the project without me. I was sure no one in my group tattled and that my father just had one of his little 'spies' making sure I was doing my job. He had a lot of those to make sure his business was constantly in tip top shape.

My father was owner of Earldet, a company that dealt with cloud services, offering software as a utility. It was his latest business venture; one of many. He was a revered software engineer and businessman who just wanted to keep pushing the envelope. I felt for him because the competition was fierce with all these start ups from young entrepreneurs that kept popping out of nowhere and inking billion dollar deals because they were hip to what people of our generation needed.

He was well passed retiring age. Money was not the issue for my father--he had lots.

He just had competitive blood.

Even though my father had made many contributions to the industry, he felt he hadn't done enough. He was never satisfied with himself and rarely satisfied with anyone else.

This was a very difficult company to work for and while I was pretty alright at my job, I knew if I wasn't his daughter I wouldn't have even gotten through the door. I knew I was lucky but that didn't stop me from being miserable. I just couldn't reconcile myself to completely accepting that I'd be working this job for the rest of my life.

I hated software development for the most part.

I'd grown to like some things about it but for the most part I was kind of over it. I had my days when I enjoyed it and this was just one of those days when I wasn't feeling it at all.

I slipped up a couple of times, but I'd never been an hour late for work. I was getting my ass handed to me for taking the privilege of being his daughter too far. Well, most people thought I was privileged but I knew different.

My father was hard on me. He felt even though the world had been hard on him, that didn't mean he was going to let his kids have an easy ride. Although it did seem like my younger sister ten years my junior was having it much easier than I did.

I wouldn't be surprised if he fired me today. Even though he hired me to work here, he didn't play favorites at all. If anything, he was harder on me than others.

"So do you have anything to say for yourself?" he was already looking back at his paperwork.

"Nope. I have nothing to say."

My father's incensed dark brown eyes that many said were identical to mine, flew up to me. I kept my expression blank. One thing I got from my father was stubbornness. Because we were alike in that way, we got into quite a few spats. 

I waited for him to say I was fired but he simply looked down at his work again and began to scribble.

"I'm cutting your salary."

"Like hell you are!" the spoiled brat in me came out and I bit my lip. My dad whipped his eyes up to me again.

"Excuse me young lady?" he rumbled. I could see his blood pressure rising.

"Now you look at me. You don't ever look at me. When's the last time you looked at me and said hey how's your day going? When I ask you how your day is going you act like I'm being such a nuisance."

Any time I tried to speak about anything other than software with my dad, he looked at me like I was crazy. Emotions did not compute with this guy.

"Are you really going to try talk emotions at 10 in the morning when I'm in the middle of a crisis?" he asked me in disbelief. My dad's version of a crisis could be a one dollar loss to the company. His need for professional perfection was overwhelming. It bled out into his personal life sometimes and those closest to him had to suffer for it.

He dismissed me quickly, refocused on his work once again. "Go home. I don't need your bad energy affecting your team and it's not like you're doing much anyway. If you don't shape up come Monday, you're outta here and will have to fend for yourself after that. Not like you know how to anyway."

I mentally slung a pack of curse words at him but give a brittle smile and said instead, "Thank you father dearest."

"And the next time you raise your voice at me or try to get smart with me, you'll be on the streets picking up cans quicker than your head can spin. Don't you give me that tone ever again. Do I make myself clear?"

I nearly stuck my tongue out at him just to be a pest but that damn 'good girl' that was trained into me as a child always became the victor. At the end of the day despite some of my rebellious ways, I still had respect for my parents.

"Yes sir," I mumbled grudgingly and left.

Three hours later I was sitting at home in my super mario pajamas pants and an oversized sweatshirt, playing video games on my xbox. My hair was in a messy pony tail and beside me was an empty bowl that previously held my low fat pop corn.

"Danny!!! You're going the wrong way!!" I said to my friend into the microphone of my headseat. Four of us were all playing an intense shooting game online.

The door opened and in came Ella.

"Hello," I greeted, not taking my eyes off the game.

"Hey."

Ella and I were only on diplomatic speaking terms. I'd tried to go back to talking to her like things were normal but her resistance showed me she wasn't ready for it. It had been a long time since I resorted to bratty behavior like I did over the past weekend, and usually Ella got over it quickly, but this time Ella's reaction was different. She went into her room without saying another word and I frowned to myself.

This is what I got for being the negative party pooper that ran everyone into the mud. I'd asked for it, so feeling regret and mopping around would be stupid at this point.

As I sipped on my green tea, my phone rang. I smiled with glee when I saw that it was Josephine, my other good friend besides Ella. Those were the only two I could completely be free with.  She was a tall, slender, woman with shoulder length black hair and the prettiest, smoothest dark brown skin ever. She was now an ambitious lawyer trying to work her way up the ranks and usually had no time for anything so I was surprised she had time to call.

"Jose!!" I answered. Ella and I met Josephine at one of our college functions. Though three years older than us, she was amazing. She stood up for me many times when I had problems and basically took care of Ella and I when we were some wet behind the ears freshmen. We kept in contact with her even when we graduated because the bond among us three was so strong I was sure nothing could ever break it.

"Hello my dear. What's up?" she asled then suddenly began talking to someone else. "John? I need that paperwork now. You guys need to hurry up, pick up the pace. Sorry Val I thought I had a bit of a break but these interns are not doing what they're supposed to."

"It's fine. How are you?"

"Good! Busy as ever. You?"

"Same. Chillin'."

"Are you at work?"

"I'm at home. In my pjs. Playing video games."

"You and those videogames! You are about to be 27!"

"Apparently I don’t have this growing up thing down pat."

"Yeah, about this guy that you turned down?"

I groaned, letting my head fall on the back of the couch. "She told you didn't she?"

"Yes I did."

I jumped at the sound of Ella's voice. "Ella?! You're on the line?"

"I called her and she called you for a threeway," Ella explained. "She needs to cuss you out for me."

"And Jose here I thought you were calling cause you loved me," I said dryly.

"Oh hush. Now who is this British god that you apparently said no to?"

"He's a music producer Josephine and he's rich. Like filthy fucking rich," Ella answered before I could.

"A music producer, huh? You don’t run into those pretty often at Tilden. How old is he to be so rich?"

"27," Ella answered again. I realized then that I wouldn’t need to say much in this conversation.

"Ah, does he fly a helicopter too?" I could hear the smile in Josephine's voice. 

"No but I wouldn't be surprised if he had one," Ella said.

"Do we have a Christian Grey in the works?" she was grinning now I could tell.

"Oh god," I murmured, dropping my face in my palm.

"All I'm saying is she had absolutely no reason to say no this time. Like, absolutely none. Then the next time we're with our boyfriends she's going to start going on and on about how she doesn't have one. She'd been a bitch to him from the start and for some reason he just kept pursuing her," Ella explained.

"Thanks for the bitch compliment…" I murmured.

"Val why do you do this?" Josephine asked.

"She says he just wanted her for sex," Ella said and Josephine laughed. Ella did too. I sat there with a heated face feeling like a foolish little child that had made a mountain out of a mole hill.

"No shit? A straight man meets a woman at a club and wants to have sex with her cause he's attracted to her. Where they do that at, huh?" Josephine suddenly started yelling. "John?! This is not what I asked for! Just shut the door behind you." She calmed again. "I'm sorry guys. What were we saying?"

"It makes her feel cheap when guys are sexually attracted to her," Ella explained. "Oh but you just hear her how she talks about men as sexual objects. Yep. Valerie is the only one allowed to fantasize about sexing guys, but let a guy tell her he thinks she's sexy, it's either death stare or run for the hills time." 

I sighed, knowing that defending myself at this point would be pointless. Saying that I wasn't attractive didn't seem a good enough excuse anymore.

"Okay, I only have a few minutes." Josephine began, taking on her maternal role in the group. "Most men want sex. That's just how they're programmed. It doesn't make them bad people. You just have to weed out the notorious ones. Many women want sex too, and Val I know with all the cobwebs building down there you want sex too, don't lie. I saw the porn websites you visited in your history the last time I was there when you thought no one was looking."

"What the--you?!"

"It's normal," she continued. "Now get off your sympathetic ass and go hop on some nice British dick and then come back to us with a dick report."

"Oh my god sex isn't everything for crying out loud!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah but it's something," Ella said. "I don't know why she sees it as such an ugly thing. Society has made you believe as a woman that it's wrong to enjoy sex and it's also made you think that's all men want. Sure, some of the stereotypes are true, but it's not all true. And what's wrong with you and Henry having sexual attraction towards one another? Why am I even bothering when you're going through your 'I'm not good enough' stage."

"Yeah this is where I hang up." Josephine said impatiently. "I have no time for that. Get over it and hop on that dick. Okay, I have to go. This intern really fucked up. I love you guys and I will be there in a few weeks. Smooches."

She hang up, leaving Ella and I on the phone.

"Listen, Ella--"

"Nope. Don't talk to me. I only talk to you through third parties now." She hang up on me and I sighed.

I tried to focus on the game, but I couldn't. The week had been hellish for me and I hated for Ella to be mad. Sucking up my pride, I got up and went to Ella's door, which was thankfully open. She was walking around her room and looked to be getting ready to go out. I already expected to have a lonely weekend, but that didn't mean I liked it.

"Hey," I began tentatively.

"I think I hear the feel sorry for me marching band in my room but I will ignore it. I don't have time. I'm going out."

I frowned but took it like a champ and just nodded.

"What have you been up to?" She asked. despite the grudge in her tone, I could hear the concern. I smiled lightly and walked in to sit cross legged on her queen sized bed.

"I've been alright. Just trying to focus on work." I was reminded of getting kicked out of work today but didn't bother mentioning another fail in addition to the many I'd had since that fateful weekend.

"What about you?" I asked.

"I'm good. Going to Margaret's for her pool party."

"Oh."

I knew she was coming around when she asked my opinion on a couple of bathing suits that she wanted to wear. I realized then how I'd normally get depressed and insecure, wailing over how lucky she was for her thin yet curvy figure that could pull off any attire. Even my therapist reminded me when I saw her earlier that week that nobody wanted to be around a sourpuss all the time when I recounted that weekend's events. I forced myself not to make the situation about my insecurities and helped her pick the best choice. Ella didn't deserve my grievances. No one did. Even as I knew this, sometimes the worst got the best of me because of all the taunting I'd received over the years.

Ella must have noticed my attempts at being more positive than usual and surprised me when she invited me. "Please come. I know she sent you a text about it."

"I already told her I have plans."

"Nice cause I told her you'd probably say that but you'd be lying so she knows you have no plans," She said while putting a folding towel into her bag.

"Damn it Ella! No wonder she's sounding pissed in her texts."

"Come on, get ready."

When I said nothing, she sighed heavily, her shoulders sagging and a genuine frown on her face.

"I'm trying Valerie. I'm fucking trying even though I really don't want you to come, you know why? Because you're just going to ruin the whole fucking thing with your problems like no one else there has problems."

I knew my cousin was worn out with my sensitivity. She'd dealt with it for so long. She remembered the taunts. She knew why I was this way which was why I'd gotten her sympathy and enabling so long. I guess a person could only take so much.

"You were doing so great. You became fun like how I know you are and then, look okay I'm not mad at you about the Henry thing. I just was frustrated because I know how unhappy you've been. I know that George still bothers you--"

My entire body tensed at the name. "Please don't mention--"

"Just hear me out."

I clamped my mouth shut and lowered my head. 'George' was still a very heavy subject. It was something I'd chosen to speak about because it still hurt so much.

She came and sat down next to me.

"I know that that's part of why you're so afraid of trusting someone else, okay? Henry was a nice guy but you weren't ready and that's okay, but would you stop mopping around? We're family and I hate seeing you like this. Please."

I looked up at her pleading expression and decided to go ahead and give in. "Okay. I'll go and I'll try to make the best out of it. Thanks for asking even though I know you could use some more time without me."

"And don't just say this and do the same thing again Valerie. No one wants to be around that. I understand why you think the way you do, but could you at least try?"

"Yeah. Stop, I'm not a baby. I know I been acting like one but I'll try to be better." 

She grinned the happiest grin I'd seen all week.

Two hours later, we were pulling into the driveway of Margaret's modest, yet very welcoming beach house. It was a boxy white house with palm trees and many large blue tinted windows. I got excited whenever we visited her with hopes of getting one of these bad boys myself when I'd saved up enough.

The wide windows showed quite a few people there already.

"So, anyone we know going to be here?" I asked while unclasping my seat belt.

"Henry went back to Britain a long time ago. Don't you worry." She gave me a cool smile.

"Oh. Cool. Great. I don’t have to face embarrassment again ever," I said as we both got out.

While we walked up the pathway, I caught a vague glimpse of myself in the mirror. I wore jeans and a tucked in oversized light blue denim shirt. It was casual but cute enough for hanging out I supposed. I wasn't looking to impress anyone really but more focused on trying to have as good of a time that I could with Ella and some friends.

When we stepped inside, we said hello to some people we knew. 

"Look who showed up," Margaret said, giving me an exasperated look as she opened up for a hug.

"I did have plans. I wanted an isolated weekend, so I wasn't lying," I told her as I hugged her.

"Well I'm glad you came! I was about to get mad at you!" Margaret said and I smiled as she pulled me in a side hug and walked around with me, introducing me to other people.

I felt very happy and spoiled when some familiar faces were very happy to see me since I usually didn't go for these things, opting to play video games at home instead. It showed me how I always over thought things and expected for the worst. I was feeling pretty good about being there until I heard loud laughter from the other end of the room and saw a bright orange beanie. I'd seen it through the window briefly wondering who was wearing such a bright color.

Under the beanie were some dark brown curls. My heart skipped a beat when I heard a deep, male, British voice that stood out among all the voices in the room, as the guy in the orange beanie continued on the joke amongst the guys. He had on a light grey shirt, with the short sleeves rolled up at the hems and dark blue jeans. A guy standing next to him shoved him playfully while he bowled over laughing and the orange beanie guy's shoulders hiked while he held out his arms blamelessly. The tattooed, slim yet muscular arms I distinctly remembered gawking at when Ella threw the volleyball at my head.

It was Henry.

My heart shot up to my throat and my legs went weak. I told myself to chill. Maybe it wasn't him.

"So, you know the part where I said Henry went back to Britain?" Ella asked while waving at Peter from their group. Peter's reciprocating wave made all the other guys in the group turn around. If I was quick enough, I'd be behind Ella right now, but I wasn't.

Henry turned around, holding a plastic cup in his hand. His eyes locked with me and his smile faltered for a second, but he surprised me when he quickly recovered, smiling kindly and waving at both Ella and I.My legs nearly gave. I never knew a man wearing a beanie could be so sexy until I saw him.

Damn.

"How could you not tell I was lying?" Ella asked as she waved back enthusiastically. I only managed a weak smile and a wave just as weak.

He looked so good.

He sipped his drink, and then continued his conversation with the guys as Peter approached us.

He hugged us both and when he pulled back from me, he grinned down at me. "I'm surprised you came out. I'm glad you did actually."

The face I made at him made him laugh.

"Right…" I muttered suspiciously.

"No really. I know I give you a hard time but, I want you to be happy."

I lifted an eyebrow. "What's with this change of heart? I thought you hated me?"

He slung an arm over my shoulder and drew me close. "Valerie I don't hate you. I can't stand your negativity sometimes but not hate."

I decided to take what Peter was saying in stride and just let bygones be bygones. My behavior last time was a testament to how negative I could be so I let it go. We talked for a while before Peter ventured off to meet some people he knew.

We mingled with a few people then it was just me and Ella again, though it was hard to keep the guys from swarming to her--she was so pretty they didn't even care that Peter was hers. When they gave us a break and it was just us two, I was talking to her when I heard a deep voice from behind.

"Hey ladies."

I turned and there Henry was, holding his cup of some copper beverage.

"Henry!!!" Ella sprung out to hug him.

"Ella!!! You look amazing," he said as they pulled back.

"You do too. Your beanie is so cute!!!" she exclaimed as she touched it. At that moment a good friend of Ella's pulled her aside and I cursed inwardly cause this left Henry and I alone.

 He smiled as he looked to me, catching me off guard with the sweetness of his smile

"Valerie. Hey."

My mouth went dry and I suddenly found it hard to speak when I looked at those lips that had kissed me.

"Hen…" my voice tapered off at the worst moment. Looking at him left me dumbly speechless.

"It's Henry."

I felt like a bucket of water got splashed on my face and stared at him feeling humiliated and stupid. "I…"

He quickly assessed my body. "You look nice. Are you going for a swim with the rest of them?"

"I'm not much of a swimmer. Are you going to swim?" I silently hoped so because I wanted to see him shirtless.

"Probably not. They asked me to D--"

"Hey Henry, they're waiting for you outside, come on!" The stranger looked my way. "Have I met you before? You look so familiar?"

The chestnut haired, shoulder length, slender girl with bright blue eyes had approached us. The first thing I did out of habit was judge her body. She was skinny, wearing only a bikini top and shorts, with obviously nothing to hide or be ashamed of. Her pencil thin waist made me glad that I wore a concealing outfit. I felt a tightness of jealousy and envy inside.

"I don't think we've met," I said to her with a smile that I hope didn't look as forced as it felt. She held out her hand to me.

"Oh, well hey! I'm Savannah."

"Hi Savannah…" I shook her hand, wishing I'd poof into thin air. Women as skinny as her made me feel so insecure.

"And you are…" Henry supplied to me with an impatient gesture of his hand.

"Oh! I'm Valerie. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. This is random but your freckles are so freaking cute!" she told me, surprising me. I thought I'd hidden them effectively with my make up.

"Don't compliment her. You might get your head bitten off."

I looked at Henry in surprise over his comments while Savannah laughed.

"I'm sorry. I'm just kidding. If you remember I'm not good at telling jokes," he said to me.

"He's really not. He's horrible," Savannah told me then grabbed Henry's hand.

"Come on Mr. DJ, let's go."

"Good to see you again," he said, holding up his drink up to me in a farewell as Savannah dragged him away. He suddenly stopped, looking at me concernedly while wresting his hand from Savannah, who didn't look too pleased about that. "Oh wait I'm so rude. Can I offer you something to drink?"

I was beginning to learn that Henry's manners were ingrained in him so much he couldn't help himself. It made me smile despite the awkward situation.

"Oh no I'm fine. Good to see you too." I smiled and after nodding, Henry pocketed his free hand this time. If that was a sign for Savannah, she missed it because she linked her arm with his as they left.

Watching them walk away, I realized they made more sense together. She looked like his type.

I soon felt a consoling rub on my back, then a side hug.

"Its okay. There's other fish in the sea." Ella was back at my side, now with a drink in hand.

I knew she was talking about Henry and I didn't want to show how disappointed I was feeling. I just smiled and nodded."Yeah."

"Actually no. I think he would be the best thing you'll never have. Sorry, you're not going to do better than him." She spotted someone she recognized and waved erratically. "Oh! Cheryl!! Aw your hair!"

"Thank you for your honesty, El," I said to myself, then decided to mingle with some people. Eventually we migrated outside where the real fun was starting to happen. There were tents around the pool, and nightlights surrounding the pool as well. The pool itself had floating lamp spheres which made it all the more beautiful. The setting sun added to the beauty with a variety of warm colors hitting everything.

It felt great too outdoors not being too hot or too cold. It was a perfect night.

Small cheering forced my eyes away from the people playing in the pool. I glanced at the small group that congregated around a double deck where Henry stood with huge headphones looped around his neck. In front of him were double turntables. So he was going to be our DJ for the night. The women that surrounded him started impatiently shouting requests at him.

Trying my best to ignore the table of food, I sat under one of the tents. I tried to focus on the entire get together because I loved these kinds of things, but my eyes kept floating back to Henry.

He took the mic and spoke into it, "How are you all doing tonight?"

His voice was gravelly and loud, catching everyone's attention. It sent a shiver down my spine. The response from the crowd was loud due to the good turn out. I couldn't stop the smile on my face. He looked to be in total command of what he was doing and completely fearless. It made me crave for him more, and the strength of the craving surprised me. 

"Are you ready to have a good time?" he asked with boyish charm lighting his eyes and everyone cheered once again in response.

Setting his mic aside, Henry put his headphones on and the heavy bass filled the party once he began playing the music.

It was pure entertainment for the next two hours. His choice of music stuck out to me and surprised me. He played almost every kind of music from different eras and managed to make it all blend together smoothly. Everyone was either dancing around the pool or in the pool and those who couldn't dance bobbed their heads appreciatively.

I was too mesmerized by him as I watched him work. There was something very sexy about this really nice guy playing some very sexy and feel good songs. It was no surprise that he had a good ear for music, but I was surprised he didn't play any of his songs, which were pretty good.

After finding out his full name from Peter, Henry Walker, it wasn't hard for me to find out his discography from the internet. He was a much bigger deal than I thought, especially to be so young. Him owning a home in the Bahamas made more sense now. Very little was about him on the internet though. He seemed to have a tight lid on his personal life, but that wasn't uncommon for most people behind the scenes since the focus wasn't normally on them unless they were attention whores and Henry didn't strike me as one.

Eventually the women begging him to play a song he produced got so much he could no longer ignore them. When he played the song, the entire party went crazy not just because the creator of the music was here, but it was also just a good song by a very popular artist at the time, and this reaction came about whenever it was played at clubs and the like. It was a song that had been in heavy rotation over the past few months. I found myself being very proud of him even if I didn't know him that well.

I think I just really liked the fact that someone so humble, with no ego whatsoever, encased so much talent and was still a gentleman who treated everyone equally. At least from what I'd seen. All kinds of women had gone up to him to make requests and Henry never picked a favorite. It's no wonder women fell for him so easily.

I continued to watch him admiringly throughout the party, even as I mingled with others but it was hard to take my eyes off of him. While interacting with others, I realized I wasn't the only woman checking him out. Many women had their eye on the 'nice', cute, yet quietly sexy British guy, which made me think my thoughts last weekend were justifiable. There were so many women there who I believed were a thousand times better looking than me, and I couldn't stop the thought no matter how hard I tried.

The party ended with everyone in high spirits. Because it had began so early it didn't go into the wee hours of the morning. It was around 11:00 when the beach house began to empty. Most folks were heading home and others decided to go downtown to party more. I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but the beach house was a mess, so I took initiative and started to clean up around the pool while deciding what I was in the mood for. There was a big chance I'd be going home.

I sneaked glances at Henry, who was trying to politely respond to three women hovering him and speaking while he tried to clean up the djing area.

My admiration of him heightened after watching him at work, but I told myself to just leave him be after how I'd messed up last time.

I ended up cleaning up much more than I expected and carried three hefty bags of trash to the kitchen with great effort. As I placed them in a corner of the kitchen, I heard a bunch of ladies giggling and chattering. I turned to find Henry following the three women in with his eqiupment in tow. They walked right through the kitchen and Henry briefly locked eyes with me. I smiled and looked away quickly, returning to focusing on cleaning the kitchen now.

People had left it in a mess.

"Stop, stop stop," I heard moments later when I was bent over picking up beer bottles. The bottle was pilfered from my grasp and as I stood straight I saw Henry taking it.

"What?"

"You've been picking up bottles for the last thirty minutes like a homeless person. Let me take it from here." He took my trash bag, dumping the beer bottle in it.

"I'm basically done. I was going to start on the dish--"

"Sorry. Mother always taught me never let a woman strain herself. I got it. And no, that wasn't a sexist comment. I know you're capable but you've done enough. I'll take it from here."

I smiled at the mention of his mother. He was clearly a mama's boy.

"Samantha, right?" I asked as I  walked up to the black counter connected to the bar. For some reason I was glad it was just the two of us in this messy kitchen and I wanted to stretch the moment as long as possible, so I perched myself on the counter and watched him work. I didn't mind at all. Watching him use his arms was exciting.

"Yeah. I'm surprised you remember. You were so drunk that night," he said with an implicating grin.

"I was not so drunk." I looked around guiltily and he laughed, continuing to pick up the trash.

"So how have you been?" I asked when it got silent.

"I've been fine, thank you for asking. How about you?"

"Oh, I'm great."

"You really are."

"Huh?"

"You really are great." He looked up at me. "Well, only when you allow people visitation rights into your world. What are your business hours?"

I blinked at him dumbly as my cheeks heated. He smiled while piling the trash bag with the rest.

"I'm just being an insensitive git," he said with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry."

"A what?"

"A jerk."

"Oh."

He walked to the island counter where the sink was and began washing the dishes I'd heaped there.This was something I just hadn't expected to see him do. It's not like he hadn't worked hard already, djing and all, but I knew if I fought him now to clean, it would look like I was being difficult again, so I let him be. I knew he must have been exhausted but he didn't look like he minded. I also heard that he did the djing as a favor and didn't want to be paid at all. How that made me swoon, I'm not even sure.

I found him helping clean up to be incredibly cute and rare. I grew up with a housewife of a mom and a father who I rarely saw doing stuff in the house. In fact, my happiest memories with my father were when he was helping me build my playhouse for a weird yet fun neighborhood summer contest. This was before he got obsessed with working again. Even though he just wanted me to win, it was nice to see him doing something around the house. I wasn't used to seeing men in such domestic situations and seeing Henry cleaning up, not putting himself above it, made me really respect him.

It made me think of all that I'd researched online about him and I couldn't help myself.

"Temptation is a pop classic."

He looked at me for a short moment and back at washing the dishes.

"I've heard your songs on the radio and I didn't even know you were the one who made those songs," I continued.

"Really," he said.

"I actually bought some of them too. Before I even met you. She Cares was in my ipod, fully and legally paid for. 1.99 from Itunes." My toothy grin was like that of a proud kid that did their homework.

This made him smile more even as he focused on washing the dishes. I knew we'd broken some ice when he said, "Why thank you. I'm sure it helped me pay for that piece of gum that one day."

I laughed, once again loving his sense of humor.

"You're really actually a big deal in the current state of music. Your career is impressive."

He smiled silently, then shrugged, "It's alright."

"Why do you always get like this about your career?"

"Why do you always get like that about yourself?"

So long for breaking the ice.

My mouth opened but I was mute. I could only smile with chagrin and lower my eyes. "I guess. I deserved that."

"No. You didn't. I'm sorry."

The silence that followed forced me to speak what was niggling the back of my mind.

"Your girlfriend is cute."

"Could've just asked if she was actually my girlfriend," he said with a knowing smile.

"Is she?" at that point there was no trying to hide how jealous I was. And I'd only met the guy once. Ugh.

"Why does it matter?" even though he asked the question without an attitude, it made me pause nonetheless.

I frowned and downcast my eyes, "I'm sorry."

He sighed ruefully. "No, I'm sorry. All these backhanded comments I'm making, that's not me. Believe me, I'm not a spiteful person at all. I just really felt like..." he seemed to be struggling to find the words. "I really fancied you, Valerie."

I shyly glanced up at him to find that he was staring at me earnestly. I blushed.

"Did you not feel like it was all happening faster than the speed of light though?" I asked.

"What did?"

I made a helpless motion with my hands. "This…our…"

"Connection?" he asked, his green eyes piercing. I gulped hard.

"I've never…" my voice tapered off.

"Me too," he said and I was surprised he knew where I was coming from without having to articulate all of it.

I looked back down at my hands.

"Do you always react like you did on the beach when someone tries to court you? Did you react the same way when you were asked out to prom?" he asked and I shook my head with a bitter smile.

"I was never really truly asked to prom."

"Somehow, I find that hard to believe."

"Trust me, it's not. If you knew me back then..." My voice trailed off and when he regarded me curiously, I recoiled and shrugged helplessly.

"You speak in parables," he murmured as he continued to do the dishes.

"Huh?"

"I feel like I'm in a suspense movie with you. You just give me bits and pieces. You don't tell me the whole story."

When I said nothing because I was at a loss for words, he glanced up at me.

"I'm not a bits and pieces kind of guy, Valerie. It's all or nothing with me."

My heart leaped and I looked down, clutching onto the edge of the counter. I didn't know what to say, but his words shook me.

He continued to wash the dishes as he went on. "That was just general information. I know we just met so, I don’t expect you to give me everything. Just it peeves me when people start something they can't finish." 

I guess for some reason I didn't want to be one of those people he thought to be unreliable enough not to finish what the start. So the floodgates of my mouth suddenly opened.

"This guy that I had the biggest crush on, he was the biggest crush I'd ever had, and he knew I liked him, well he asked me to prom. I got ready and excited cause it was the first time a guy wanted to do anything with me publicly but then he never showed up to the house to pick me up at 7:30 like he promised he would and when I went up to him the following Monday to ask him what happened, he asked if I really thought he would ever be caught dead around me. Then him and his friends laughed and one of them made a comment about the letter I gave him earlier that semester saying that I liked him."

Midway through what I was saying, Henry paused from washing the dishes to look at me intently. I suddenly realized what I'd done and what I'd said. I knew what was coming was a 'why? what was wrong with you? why wouldn't he want to be seen around you? why did his friends laugh at your letter?' I didn't want to get into all of that. Plus, it was highschool. I didn't want him to think I was some weirdo that was still affected by the trials of highschool.

"But, you know, we were just kids," I said with a forced laugh. "You know how kids play around." I broke eye contact when I saw that he wasn't laughing with me.

"No he was just being an inconsiderate fucktard." Henry said, looking rather bothered. I didn't really know what to say. I was confused as to why he wasn't automatically trying to find some fault with me over why the guy would treat me like that.

"He never even told you he wasn't coming? He didn't even call?" his eyebrows were drawn together in the way I found incredibly sexy and his eyes were so penetrating I nearly forgot to speak for a second.

"No but it's fine I had fun at home anyway." I remembered playing with my little 7 year old sister, babysitting her and urging my mother to go on a girl's night out instead of sitting home engorging a tab of ice-cream with me.

He looked very miffed and his reaction was making me nervous cause I'd never really experienced it, especially from a guy. I normally got strange or 'well….' stares, but I knew the difference between telling others and Henry was cause I hadn't told him everything about me. I tried to change the subject before he asked more questions that would lead me down a darker path of my past. I didn't want to bog him down with my issues yet at the same time I wanted him to understand.

"Are you still mad at me for last time? I'm really sorry."

He eyed me silenlty, his eyes saying the conversation was not over, but I was lucky when he went along with the subject change, continuing to wash. "No. You had quite a few to drink and you're right, it's the first time we met. I guess I just really enjoyed myself and wanted more of that." He looked at me briefly before continuing on. I heard what he was saying but it was just hard to compute. My stubbornness only allowed me to see that men were incapable of just wanting to pursue an emotional connection.

"And did I want to have sex with you?" He went on. "Of course. It's only natural because I find you physically attractive." He looked up at me and I shifted nervously, looking away. "But just because I do, or did, doesn't mean I'm objectifying you or think that's all you have to offer. You're a good conversationalist. If all you wanted to do was talk for the rest of your life, I'd be okay with just that."

Stubbornness aside, I had to quit doing this.  I remembered how annoyed Ella got with me when we were driving back home.

"I'm sorry for assuming the worst. It's a real problem of mine and I'm working on it."

"It's okay. We all do it sometimes. "

I really appreciated that he was nice and comforting even when he didn't have to be. I fought off the negative thought that was soon following when I branded him 'nice'. He was now wiping down the island counter top, wearing the focused look once again that made me subconsciously cross my legs when I felt a delicious ache. I finally accepted that his 'concentration' look would always do something to me. He had nice broad shoulders and those arms…

He lifted his gaze and I jumped like a fool, glancing away. How fucking great, huh? When I finally gained the courage to look at him again, he was focused on cleaning the counter, but now there was a smirk on his face. I silently cursed him.

The silence began to get too loud, only making me feel more awkward.

"So how do you come up with all those melodies? I'm still in shock over the songs you've produced. You're actually a big time song writer too, right? In fact I think you write more than you produce."

Henry simply looked at me with a small smile on his face and I trembled inside. As opposed to his sweet smile, there was something in his eyes though that made my toes tingle. Something hibernating. Something slightly devilish and mischievous. I'd seen it when we were seated across from each other at Seaburger.

He said nothing and washed his hands in the sink when he was done.

"I think out of most of the popular ones you've done, Timeline was my favorite. You've actually won so many awards and uh…" My voice tapered off because Henry started to look at my lips with deep concentration, his brows knotting, all as he dried his hands with the kitchen towel. He rounded the counter and started making his way over to me slowly, still drying his hands. His eyes were still on my lips as he suddenly rubbed his plump bottom lip with an inscrutable look on his face.

My heart rate spiked and my palms became sweaty.

"Uh…a-and I liked the one you did with that artist Bridget. What was it like working with he--"

"Give me your lips."

I was caught off guard and didn't know what to say. He wasn't giving me much room to decide anyway, he kept on walking to me, making me anxious and…excited.

"Huh?" I laughed nervously and hopped off the counter when he got close and tossed the towel on the counter beside me. "Uh--wait, we were talking about your musi--"

He grabbed the sides of my stomach and let out a straining grunt as he lifted me the short distance to sit be back on the counter. The movement was so sudden and swift my thighs slapped against the marble. As I reeled in shock over the fact that he had all that strength in him to carry me, he cupped my face and kissed me before I could do anything else. I froze. This time he didn't wait for me to acclimate myself to the kiss. He slipped his warm tongue in between my lips, groaning deeply as he caressed my tongue with his.

I felt myself dizzying. He kissed me with so much passion; so much want. Just as the thought crossed my mind, I began to feel confused and a little bit panicked. Those monsters that hibernated deep in my soul crawled their way out and began to mar this good feeling he was giving me. I was paralyzed though and didn't do anything about it. I just sat there and let him have his way.

I had only kissed two other people in my life, so I wasn't an expert. I didn't have much time to think about what to do or how to do it because he was taking me by storm. I realized that he was working to get a reaction out of me when he tilted my head further back and began slowly thrusting his tongue in and out of my mouth.

My fingers clung tightly, crackling around the edge of the counter as a billion sensations went through me. My nipples were aching having tightened and I felt a delicious twinge between my legs.

Fuck.

"Henry the girl you came with--" I managed to come up for air only a second.

"Shhhh."

He reclaimed my lips and I got lost in the kiss again. Wasn't he worried that someone would come and see him?

I didn’t know what to say and Henry chose then to continue kissing me like his life depended on it. I was so gone, far, far away. His hands circled my neck, the smoothed over my shoulder and arms. When they ran down my hips, I froze. I didn't like my thighs, but the effect Henry had on me didn't give me time to worry about my imperfections.

"Hmm," he kissed me then titled his head to the other side and kissed me again. "It seems like," He kissed me again. "I can't seem to get enough of these lips."

He trapped my bottom lip in his teeth and began sucking it off lightly before claiming both my lips and sliding his tongue into me again.

I moaned and fell right into the kiss.

I couldn't fight this guy.

"Mm," He  moaned as he pulled me closer to him and left his hands on my thighs, massaging them. "So good."

I was a shaking, blushing mess. "I-I'm sorry I don't have much experie--"

"Shhh." He continued to kiss me gently and unhurriedly.

I was shuttering inside but somehow managed to lift my hands because the need to touch him became very strong. My hands were clamped around his hard arms, which flexed as he ran them up and down my thighs, stopping for an occasional squeeze. I shivered. Without warning when squeezing the side of my thighs, he yanked me closer to him until his groin was rubbing the sensitive area between my thighs. I felt his hardness against me.

I hated to use the term melted, but that's what I did.

Henry moaned iwhen I started kissing him back, my staple hesitation surprisingly abating from me. I got so bold that my hands trailed up to his biceps, then his broad, strong shoulders. I squeezed the firmness and sighed while kissing him. My hands then travelled to his strong neck, and then his angular jaw. I got wetter just from touching him.

My fingers soon traveled to his locks. They were an interesting contrast to his hard body; soft and lush against my fingers. They felt softer than they appeared, if that made sense. I unthinkingly removed his beanie, letting it fall to the floor, when the need to feel more of him became stronger. Now with his head in my hands, I pushed him closer so that we could kiss each other deeper.

This being a clear sign that I'd let one wall down for him, Henry wrapped his muscular arms around me, the action causing our chests to press firmly against one another. I could have fainted from how turned on and excited he made me. his scent, the feeling of him, the taste of his mouth, it was all so perfect.

"Umm…uh Henry? Henry?"

I jumped away from Henry but he kept trying to kiss me. When I angled furtherback, he finally stopped, breathing heavily as he looked down at me. I turned to the source of sound to find Savannah watching us in something between shock and annoyance.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Henry but you're my ride and I really have to go," she murmured monotonously, trying her best not to show her irritation but failing miserably. She was beginning to frown too.

Henry stared dumbly at her as if he couldn't understand the language she was speaking. All the while his arms never eased their strong hold around my waist. I sat there trying to ease him off me but he wouldn't give, as if afraid that .

Finally her words dawned on him and he nodded and looked at me once again. I was about to try climbing the nearby cabinet to get away from him. He wouldn't let go! Couldn't he take a clue?! She was obviously pissed and he was still holding on!

When she didn't leave, Henry turned to her and forced a sweet smile. "I'll be right there Savannah. I need a minute.

She seemed taken aback and stubbornly lingered. I could have sworn she was about to ask us what else we were going to do, but she thankfully ended up exiting the kitchen, trying not to stomp her feet.

"You should probably go after her," I told him when he tried to start kissing me again.

"Why?"

"Did you come here as her date?"

"No. I gave her a lift here."

I still wasn't sure and he must have noticed from the look on my face. 

"She has a boyfriend, Valerie, that's why I'm not taking her advances to heart. I wouldn't play with someone's emotions like that ever again." The word 'again' made me wonder if he'd broken someone's heart before. Nice guys could be heartbreakers too, even sometimes moreso than bad boys because they easily made everyone fall in love with them with their actions often mistaken for something else. At least with bad boys what you saw was what you got.

It's no doubt in my mind even after watching him tonight Henry had the charm to drop the pants off of any person and he was really good at flirting. I couldn't keep up with how many women he had giggling--even when he wasn't trying too hard. 

I then remembered Ella asking me to try and decided not to think too deeply about all this. We were just having fun after all. I was acting like I wanted a relationship and I'd just met the guy. Also the disappointment on his face made me feel bad.

The honesty on his face made me nod with the decision to trust him for now. To be completely honest I wasn't sure why he chose to kiss me when he already knew how difficult I could be.

I didn't want him to feel like he was the only one putting up the effort, so it surprised him when I kissed him languidly. He was smirking when we pulled back. 

"What time is it?" I asked quietly.

A slow grin spread on his face as he pulled out his phone, and I knew he was glad that I was trying to come around, at least even a little bit.

"12:04."

"My new favorite time of the day," I said and we shared a secret smile. This time and favorite moments was our thing, it seemed.

I gave him a farewell kiss on his dimpled cheek and he searched my face before adding, "This isn't over, you know that, right?"

I knew it. I think I knew it wasn’t over last time either. I just had a feeling about this guy.

"Your number," he said as he punched through his phone.

The finality in his tone showed me that he wasn't going to take no for an answer or play the coy immature game I played last time. The tone told me this done deal was something I shouldn't try to fight.

Now I understood the reason for that 'light' he had in his eyes when we were at Sea Burger and the one that sprang up when he looked at me from the counter. At that point, he'd just been playing nice. Now he'd let the lion out of its 'nice guy' cage and he was on the prowl to get what he wanted and he wanted me.

The thought was daunting but flattering.

"415-777…"  I found myself saying.

The last time I gave a guy my number things didn't really end well but I tried not to think too much of it.

"Do you have your phone on you?" he asked.

"I left my purse in the car. My phone's in my purse."

"This had better be your number, Valerie," he said as he stashed his phone in his back pocket.

I was about to sigh and tell him to say my name again but I told myself to get a fucking grip.

I gulped hard and nodded only for him to trap my chin in my fingers and kiss me lightly. When he pulled back, our lips were so close they rubbed together when he spoke.

"I'm going to make you mine pretty soon. And I hope you are ready when we get to that point."

With that said, Henry left the kitchen.

I sat there mind blown, just wondering what the fuck, and so terribly turned on I was afraid to walk on my shaky legs.

I was way passed royally fucked now.

I was done for.

When I finally regained my composure, I got off the counter and realized we'd left his beanie on the floor. I was astounded by what I did. And here I'd sworn I'd never openly kiss another man and feel desirable while doing so.

I picked up the beanie and curiosity made me inhale it. The smell of apples surprised me but it was extremely comforting and brought a silly smile on my face.

I was smelling the beanie again when Ella stumbled in and stopped in her tracks. We looked at each other for a few awkward beats.

"Isn't that Henry's? You creep! You turn a guy down and then you sniff his belongings after he leaves?" she sighed heavily and went towards the fridge. "We really need to assign you a new therapist Valerie. I'm soooo over your shit!"

"I gave him my phone number," I blurted out, unable to hide it. Ella whipped around, staring at me ogle eyed as though she'd just heard the most impossible thing on earth.

"What?"

I hid my smile and lip bite behind the beanie. My toes curled when I thought of what we'd just done and I felt fuzzy and warm inside. I nearly started tap dancing right there in the kitchen. So this is what 'letting go' was like. Deep down I still had my inhibitions, my doubts, my insecurities and queries about Henry, but I was trying really hard to suppress those emotions.

I just wanted to welcome all this goodness he was making me feel. Though I wouldn’t lie to myself that it was happening so fast, these feelings. Who knew when they'd fizzle out?

I did what he said on the beach about living in the morning, enjoying the hell out of this 'I'm finally desired by a guy I actually like too' phase I was going through.

"I gave him my phone number and we kissed."I blushed, looking down at the beanie as I twisted it nervously in my hands. "Like really, really kissed. Like really, really, really kissed."

Ella was gaping at me and surprised me when she suddenly fell to her knees with her hands outstretched to the heavens.

"THERE IS A GOD!!!" she cried with her eyes closed and I burst out laughing, going over to her and forcing her back on her feet.

"You are so dramatic!"

"This is a big fucking deal! Don't steal my happy, okay?!"

"Okay."

By the genuine smile on my face she smiled back and we had a moment where I'm sure like me, she was having flashbacks of the past. She knew what I'd been through, hell what she'd been through with me, and she knew how grand this situation was, so she threw her arms around me.

"Ahhhhh!!!"

I laughed and hugged her back.

I tried to drown all those mental and emotional demons gunning after me.

I forced myself to enjoy the moment and leave that negativity out.