They ate way too much, as Dom knew they would. He never managed to resist getting both a savoury and sweet pancake, even though every time he felt comatose afterwards.
They decided to take a walk to work some of it off. Bundled up in coats, hats, and gloves against the elements, Dom steered them towards the wooden walkway down to the lake. “Come on, the firework display should be starting—”
A loud bang tore through the air, and they looked up to see a shower of fireworks above the treetops.
“Now?” Henry finished for him, grinning.
“Apparently so.”
They walked quickly, catching the last twenty minutes of the display. Dom bought them both a mulled cider, and they found the perfect spot to drink and watch.
As bright colours lit up the sky, Henry leant into him, his weight solid and right. Dom had the urge to wrap an arm around him and pull him close. Something stopped him, though, and he couldn’t decide if it was because they were surrounded by people or because he was trying to remind himself that Henry wasn’t actually his boyfriend.
“Why did you and Sam break up?” Henry asked, breaking into Dom’s thoughts and taking him by surprise.
He hadn’t been expecting that question at all. “Err...”
“Sorry, that’s probably none of my business. I was just thinking that you know all about why me and Kyle split, and honestly, I’m just being nosy.” He laughed and shook his head. “Forget I asked.”
But he was right, Dom did know why Henry had split with his boyfriend. Granted, so did a lot of people after his public declaration at the start of the holiday. And wow, didn’t that feel like a lifetime ago. “It’s nothing as exciting as your story.”
Henry snorted. “Tragic, you mean. When it’s not a three-way, there’s nothing exciting about seeing your boyfriend’s cock in another man’s arse.”
A shocked gasp from behind them had Dom choking on his cider, and Henry quickly turned round to apologise to whoever was unfortunate enough to be behind them.
“Again?” Dom muttered, trying not to laugh.
Henry scowled at him. “What can I say? I have comedic timing.” He gestured with his hand for Dom to continue with his tale. “You were saying?”
“Right. Well, it seems to be a pattern with me. I wanted to settle down, maybe get married at some point, I don’t know, but I wanted an exclusive relationship and Sam didn’t.” He shrugged, ignoring the spot inside him that still hurt to talk about it.
What is it with me?
Henry was quiet for a moment and Dom wondered what Henry’s thoughts on relationships were.
Probably another reason you should think seriously about contacting Henry after you leave here.
Dom couldn’t deny he was still smarting from his and Sam’s breakup, and he had no desire for a repeat. No, the next person he got involved with, he’d communicate what he was looking for from the start. If that scared them away, then so be it. It was far worse finding out later, when you were already invested, that the pair of you wanted different things. He’d made that mistake too often.
He nudged Henry’s shoulder. “It was no one’s fault. I’m not the injured party or anything. We started out casual and didn’t communicate properly. By the time we did and discovered we had different needs from our relationship, we were in too deep for it not to hurt.” He blew out a breath and glanced up at the night sky, the fireworks coming to the end of their display.
“It was hard, but we’re still friends. Albeit tentative ones at the minute, but we’ll get there.”
“That’s nice.” Henry said eventually.
“Nice?” Dom asked, eyebrows raised.
“That you can still be friends, after everything.” He said quickly. “Not nice that you broke up. Obviously.”
“Obviously.” Dom laughed softly when Henry elbowed him. “And Sam’s a great bloke. I don’t want to lose him from my life completely. We were friends first.”
Dom finished the rest of his cider and threw his cup in the bin, before facing Henry again. “What about you?”
Henry snorted. “Yeah, there’s absolutely no chance I want to remain Kyle’s friend.”
Dom smiled but rolled his eyes. “That’s not what I meant. Before you found him—” He glanced around them, then lowered his voice. “—fucking his neighbour. Were the two of you serious?”
Henry took a moment to think about it. “No. I don’t think we were ever going to last, looking back.”
