Inevitable

Chapter 64

The annoyed look on Henry's face softened into a smirk.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this but Jess is starting to become one of my favorite people. She's the reason I met you in the first place, she brought us back together, and now she's giving us really good advice on how to work through our problems. I feel like I should send her a fruit basket or something."

We both started to laugh and just like that, the tension disappeared between us. We actually worked through a problem. I was proud of us. Sophia came back with our food. I noticed Henry didn't even look up at her. I thanked her for bringing over our lunch and she walked away with a disappointed look on her face. I couldn't deny that I was uncomfortable with the way that Henry was treating her but I didn't want to push him. I could only handle one conflict at a time.

"So what do you want to do for the rest of the day? We could walk around some more or go home and spend the rest of the afternoon in bed." He moved his eyebrows up and down which just made him look ridiculous.

I smiled at him letting him know what I was thinking. He gave me his cocky grin and took a big bite of his sandwich.

"That's what I thought."

I knew I was blushing and my stomach was doing somersaults. Weren't we just having a serious talk about our relationship? I started eating my sandwich but I couldn't even taste it. Henry was staring at me with the intense look in his eyes that let me know how much he wanted me. It took my breath away. I finished half of my sandwich and asked Sophia for the check. Despite Henry's objections, I paid for our lunch. He was always treating me. I could return the favor.
We spent the rest of the day in bed. All memories of our awkward lunch took backseat to the happiness we felt just being together. I wanted to stop time. Everything was so perfect between us right now. I was afraid of something else coming along to ruin it. But Jess was right. We had to fight for it because life happens and things get sucky sometimes.
    That night, Henry took me to our favorite restaurant for our favorite fish tacos.

"Can I just tell you how much I missed these tacos? I literally had dreams about them." I was devouring my dinner and felt no shame about it.

"What else did you dream about?"

"Aren't you exhausted yet?"

"Nope! I told you I planned on making up for all the time we lost."

After we finished eating, Henry started to fidget like he was nervous about something.

"Em, I need to say some things to you. I just can't believe I have you back in my life. I feel like the luckiest man alive. When we were apart, I felt completely lost. And I realized that I have always felt lost. The only time things have felt right for me was when we were together. You found me and made me see the world differently. I wanted to get you something to let you know what you mean to me."

At this, he pulled a small dark blue box out of his pocket. He nervously handed it to me. I opened it and revealed a simple silver necklace with a small charm that depicted a compass with a heart in the middle. It was beautiful! And after his speech, I knew the powerful meaning behind it. Tears immediately sprang to my eyes. I quick wiped them away before people started to stare. Henry stood up and took the box from my hand. He took the necklace out and placed it on my neck. His hand lingered on the back of my neck and sent a shiver down my spine. I touched the charm and felt overwhelmed again by how much I loved him. 

"Henry, it's beautiful! I love it. I'm never going to take it off. And I know what you mean about feeling lost. Before I met you, I was alone for a very long time. It always felt like something was missing. And then when you came into my life, I felt whole. I think I was always waiting for you all along. Jess said that you bring out a different side of me that I usually keep hidden. That I'm brighter when I'm with you. It's like she sees us better than we see ourselves."

I felt my eyes start to water but I quick swiped it away before I started to cry in the middle of a very crowded restaurant. Henry quick paid the bill and pulled me out into the warm night. We drove home in companionable silence.
The next few days were magical. Sunday turned out to be rainy and chilly so we ended up just staying in bed all day. We talked about so much. Henry told me stories about all the shows he played over the summer and all the crazy antics of his band. We only ever ventured out of his room for food. Bill came home Sunday night and I spent some time with him while he told me about his weekend with Jane. I missed her so much. Listening to Bill talk about his girlfriend, I realized that they were in love as much as Henry and I. I was so happy for my friends.
On Monday, Henry surprised me by taking me to a fair that was about an hour away. We rode a bunch of silly carnival rides and ate a ton of junk food. I couldn't remember the last time I had so much fun. On Tuesday, we woke up early and drove to a lake where we swam and had a picnic lunch. We couldn't stay too long because Henry had rehearsal that night. I was so excited about finally hearing some of the songs that Henry wrote.
I was surprised to see that their rehearsal space was in the basement of the house where Pete the drummer lived. I was also surprised to learn that this was the house where Henry would be living in the fall. You could definitely tell it was inhabited by a bunch of guys. The furniture was mismatched and looked second hand. There were posters on the walls of different bands and movies. It also had the lingering smell of feet, stale beer and weed. Maybe when Henry moved in, I could help him do some cleaning. I had a feeling I was going to be spending a lot of time here.
The basement was a large room with a concrete floor and wood paneled walls. The furniture looked straight out of 1985. I took a seat on one of the couches that was pushed against the wall. In the center of the room, they had all their equipment set up ready to play. I was buzzing with excitement. Seeing Henry perform was one of my favorite things in the world. After I greeted the rest of the band, they all walked over and plugged in their instruments and started tuning. When they started playing, I became completely tuned into Henry. I was the only audience he had so it was like he was singing directly to me. He played all their usual numbers that I had already heard. And of course, they were perfect. After a while, they decided to take a smoke break.
Henry walked over and sat next to me. I couldn't resist leaning over to him and kissing him. He surprised me by pulling me closer to him and deepening the kiss. I loved that he didn't care about being affectionate with me in front of his friends. We pulled away from each other when Pete started making comments about getting a room.

"Petey here is just jealous because he can't even get a girl to talk to him."

"Fuck you dude. We can't all be a man whore like you."

"What the fuck? Don't say shit like that in front of my girlfriend."

"It's fine Henry. I know he's just busting your balls." I tried to diffuse the situation before Henry blew up. It was a sensitive subject for him.

"I just hate when people have to bring up shit from the past."

In an effort to calm him down, I placed my hand on the back of his neck and started to massage. He closed his eyes and instantly relaxed. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and excused himself to grab us some drinks. Pete took the opportunity to plopped down next to me.

"I'm sorry Em. I'm not used to having other people here when we practice. Especially girlfriends."

"Henry's never brought another girl here?"

"Fuck no! He's never been serious about anyone before. Just you. He must really like you too because he hasn't even looked at another female all summer. And that is completely out of character for him. And it's not like he didn't have girls throwing themselves at him at all our shows. Lucky bastard!"

I couldn't help the immense joy that Pete's words gave me. Henry really had changed for me. I didn't have to worry about him wanting to go back to his old ways. He could have very easily done that over the past few months and he chose not to.

"So have you heard any of the music Henry wrote recently? I guess the one good thing about you guys breaking up was that it inspired him to write some pretty fucking awesome songs."