Haven't Had Enough → Chenry

     I must admit that I was a bit nervous to see Henry after the big coffee debacle. I had no idea what Becca might have told him about me after I left, and that troubled me a bit. Back at home, I sat down on the couch with a cup of tea and wrapped myself in a knit blanket. The whole thing was pretty cozy.

     It was so cozy, in fact, that I didn't realize when I fell asleep. In my peaceful slumber, I didn't hear the front door open and close, and I didn't see the figure that walked up to the couch and crossed its arms in front of its chest.

     "Shortie." A voice wafted its way into my dreams. "Shortie, wake up."

I felt myself stir and I stretched with a yawn before realizing abruptly that there was only one person in the world who ever called me that. My eyes shot open.

     "So, you took my couch?" He raised an eyebrow while donning a mischievous smirk. "Somehow, I thought that giving you my entire room was gentlemanly enough."

     Feeling ambushed and, frankly, embarrassed, I flushed and threw the covers off of my body. "Whatever," I grumbled, still rubbing sleep from my eyes. "I'll go." I stood up and started toward my room.

     I was halfway across the room when I was stopped by the sound of his voice. "You don't have to," he called after me. It was the first time I had ever heard him so serious. I turned to look at him. "Leave, I mean. If you don't want to."

     I stood frozen for a moment, contemplating his words. I looked into his eyes in an attempt to gauge whether or not he was just messing with me, but as soon as I did, I forgot what I was supposed to be looking for. My lips fell open slightly and my eyes fluttered. I was at a loss for words – I was hypnotized.

     After a few more seconds of silence, his jaw locked and he looked away, effectively breaking my trance. "Nevermind," He grumbled. "Good night."

     He turned to face the wall and pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it aside. I could see the muscles in his back flexing as he did. I stayed in place, watching him, in no rush to look away. Then he crawled onto the couch and pulled the blanket over himself, facing away from me. Neither of us said another word.

     I fiddled with my fingertips before letting my shoulders fall and turning back to the bedroom once more. I wasn't sure what had just happened, but it was clearly over as quickly as it had started. For some reason that I couldn't quite pinpoint, though, part of me was disappointed.

☽

     I woke the next morning to shining beams of sunlight pouring in through the window. I grabbed my cellphone from the bedside table and saw a message from Becca. You're not needed today. Fine by me.

After trudging groggily to the kitchen, I poured myself a coffee and took a big swig of it in order to get myself adequately caffeinated.

I looked up from my mug to see Henry seated on the couch, tying his Vans. The events of the previous night flashed in my mind. He couldn't have actually wanted me to stay with him, right? I convinced myself that it must have been a pity thing or a joke and shook the thought from my mind.

     After lacing his shoes, he stood up and tugged on his leather jacket. He began to make his way to the door to disappear to God-knows-where for the better part of the day. Hastily, I decided to speak up.

"Do you want some coffee?" The sentence hadn't even left my mouth before he barreled out the front door without looking back. I huffed in defeat and took another sip of the bitter coffee.