It didn’t feel wrong or awkward though, so Henry decided to take it at face value and just enjoy the moment.
Chapter 3
Heat hit them like a wall as the doors swished open and Dom let go of Henry’s hand to quickly unzip his coat. Holding it in the first place had seemed like the natural thing to do, maybe habit leftover from being with Sam. Who knew? But Henry hadn’t seemed to mind, so Dom had thought, what the hell? Being tactile was something he enjoyed. Not everyone felt that way, but having Henry’s fingers wrap around his was... nice. He hadn’t realised how much he’d missed simple things like that until now.
The park shop was relatively empty, so it didn’t take long to get what he needed. When he picked up a packet of rice, Henry laughed beside him.
“And here I was thinking you were all super organised.” His eyes danced with laughter. “Fancy bringing chilli but no rice.”
Dom rolled his eyes. “I must have forgot to pack it.” Setting it in his trolley, he nudged Henry with his shoulder. “At least I’m not the one with a totally empty fridge.” He shot a pointed look at the items Henry had added. Tea bags, milk, bread, and a few more essentials. “Did you expect it to come fully stocked?”
“No, I—” Henry broke off with a shrug. “To be honest, I was trying not to think about coming here at all.”
Dom came to a stop in the middle of the aisle. “If you weren’t looking forward to it, why bother coming at all?” Coming here on his own had felt bittersweet for Dom in some ways, but he’d still wanted to come. Still looked forward to a week away, relaxing and being outdoors.
Henry sighed, his shoulders sagging like he had the weight of the world on them. “I know it makes me an ungrateful arse. Not everyone gets to come somewhere as lovely as this for a holiday. I was just...” He blew out another breath and gave Dom a sheepish look. “I was wallowing in self-pity and wanted to hate everything.”
A laugh burst out of him, and Dom quickly held a hand up to apologise. “Sorry, don’t know where that came from. You have every right to be upset still.”
Henry reached for the trolley and started pushing it, so Dom walked beside him. “I don’t know why it affected me so much. We weren’t together all that long, and deep down I knew he was a bit of a wanker. It’s just...” He shrugged again, looking a little bit lost, and Dom couldn’t help himself.
“Hey.” He glanced around to check they were alone, then cupped Henry’s jaw, gently urging him to meet his eyes. “We feel how we feel. It doesn’t matter if you were together six months or six years. What happened hurt you and you’re allowed to feel how you like about that. So what if you thought you were going to hate it here. You came anyway, and I’m hoping it’s not as bad as you were expecting.”
Henry stared at him, and for whatever reason, Dom held his breath waiting for his reply.
A slow smile crept over Henry’s face, and he placed a hand over Dom’s. “It’s not been too bad so far.”
Dom laughed, the sound loud in the quiet of the shop. “Well, let’s see if we can’t improve onnot too bad.”
He steered them to the checkout, shaking his head, with Henry’s wide smile burnt into memory.
Once outside, Dom led Henry up the pathway instead of the steps. “Let’s go this way. I want to show you the outside pool.”
Henry zipped up his coat and then took his bag of food from Dom to carry. “Didn’t we come this way earlier?”
“Yes, but it’s so much better at night.” Well, in Dom’s opinion it was. But then he was a sucker for all things Christmassy. As they walked up to the small viewing platform, he reached for Henry’s hand again, smiling at his small gasp of surprise.
“Wow. They really do go all out, don’t they?” He stared out at the illuminated trees that surrounded the outdoor pool area, bathing it in warm, magical light. A winter wonderland to swim amongst under the stars. “Is that like a lazy river? I didn’t really pay that much attention earlier.”
“Kind of. You don’t get floats. The water’s faster and you kind of half swim, half get swept along. Seems faster at night too.” He turned away from the water to face Henry. “We should come swimming at night. It’s a lot less busy and not too many kids.”
Neither of them had mentioned meeting up beyond tonight, but Dom was a big believer in putting himself out there. The worst Henry could do was say no. And if he did, then fair enough.
Henry stared back at the water, watching a couple of teenage boys laugh as they slid face first down one of the long wide slides. “Aren’t we a bit old for that?” He gestured with the hand holding his shopping bag.
Dom scoffed. “No. It’s fun. Since when are you too old to have a bit of fun?” As he said it, a group of adults came around the corner in a tangle of limbs, their loud laughter drifting up to where Dom and Henry stood. “See?” He bumped Henry’s shoulder. “Fun.” They watched as the group raced down the slide then proceeded to get stuck in the whirlpool at the bottom, their laughter only getting louder. “No one cares how old you are, Henry.”
Dom watched him out of the corner of his eye, saw the moment he seemed to accept Dom’s words.
“Yeah,” he said after a moment. “We could do that.”
Dom didn’t push for a day or time, better to see how their night went first. But the fact that Henry was open to spending more time with him left him with a smile that lasted all the way back to his villa.
“Just put your whole bag in the fridge. There should be room.” Dom said as he let them inside. “That way you won’t forget anything later.” He set his own bag on the worktop and started to unpack his shopping.
Henry opened the fridge door and whistled. “How long are you planning on staying?” Glancing back at Dom, he gestured to the well-stocked shelves.
“A week. Same as you.” Dom didn’t add that although he didn’t mind being here on his own, he hadn’t fancied eating out with no one to talk to or share it with. Not this time around anyway.
