Henry wasin bed by the time Dom’s reply came through.
Dom: That looks great. Must’ve been a great place you got it from ;)
Henry: It wasn’t bad. Staff weren’t all that helpful though. One guy kept me talking so long, my sister ended up picking it on her own.
Dom: Shit. I totally should’ve helped you pick out a tree. Sorry!
Henry: I was kidding! Seriously, Ella would’ve picked it out anyway. She has a far better eye than me.
Dom: I think you’ve got beautiful eyes.
Dom: Shit, that sounded cheesy. In my defence, I’m knackered, I’m not at my best.
Henry: So you’re saying I’ve not got beautiful eyes? I’m hurt.
Henry grinned to himself as he stared at the screen waiting for Dom’s reply. He didn’t have to wait long.
Dom: I love your eyes, Henry. They remind me of warm summer days with cloudless skies. I get lost in them sometimes when I look at you.
Henry swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. That might be the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him. He stared at the words, heart thundering against his ribcage, and despite telling himself Dom was probably just messing with him, Henry clung to the warm feeling they evoked inside him.
Dom: Too much?
In his rush to reply, Henry fumbled his phone, sending a stream of nonsense.
Fuck.
Dom: I didn’t know you had a cat?
Henry: I wish I could blame it on someone else. I almost dropped my phone. And no, not too much, he typed quickly, not wanting Dom to think it had been too much and try and gloss over it.
Henry: Perfect actually.
Ugh, he cringed rereading his own message. That probablywastoo much though.
Dom: Good. I meant every word.
Dom: And as much as I want to stay up talking to you, I need to be up at six tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to Monday.
Although a little disappointed about not getting chance to talk more, Henry’s smile remained huge as he clutched his phone tight. This was so much more than he’d expected when he’d got up that morning.
Henry: Me too. Night, Dom x
He hit Send, holding his breath for Dom’s reply. It popped up two seconds later and Henry’s heart swelled as he read it.
Dom: Night, Henry x
That little x at the end might be a small thing, but to Henry it waseverything.
* * *
After spendingtwo days with no contact from Dom, Henry’s phone was in his hand all day Sunday, and Monday he snuck into the toilet so many times to check for messages, his co-workers thought he had a dodgy belly.
Monday night Henry met Dom at a country pub about halfway between Henry’s house and Dom’s aunt’s. They could’ve met at one of the gay bars in the city centre, but Henry figured Dom would be knackered from work so had suggested somewhere closer.
He’d never had a problem at this pub, and it wasn’t as though they were going to fuck over the table or anything.
Although as soon as that thought passed through his head, that was all he could think about doing, and keeping his hands to himself was torture. Despite that, it was a good evening.
