I wasn’t going to complain, so I got up to take a break. Once I’d made it outside, I called Henry. Brenda would want an answer after lunch, so best do it now.
Henry answered on the second ring. “Hi, Nick. Miss me already.”
More than he knew, but the way he asked, he felt the same. “Yes. I could get used to mornings like today.”
“Nice, because I was thinking the same thing all the way to work.”
Score one for Nick’s intuition. “Guess we’ll need to figure out a way to do it more often, only next time I won’t forget to bring a tie.”
“You can have that one as your backup in case you ever forget.”
He meant it from a good place, but it cost more than all my ties combined. “Hopefully I won’t need to take you up on the offer. Anyway….”
Henry laughed. “Fine, change the subject. Anything new and exciting happen in the last three hours?”
The subtle reminder might have deterred me, but he’d started the conversation expressing he’d missed me already. “Let’s see, got to the office on time, I finished my morning work by 10:30, and Brenda invited us to a party on Saturday. I know we said we’d make plans, but I thought maybe we could make it part of our weekend. Only if you want to, of course.”
He paused and I worried it was too much too fast. “That sounds like fun.”
Relief washed over me and I let out my breath. “Great. I’ll let her know.”
“Speaking of plans,” Henry said. “If you’re not busy after work today, would you like to go for a run?”
My mood improved even more. It was like I’d hit the lottery dating a hot guy who wanted to go running with me. “That’d be dope. I mean great.”
Henry laughed. “I know I said I had three years on you, but I know what dope means. And then I’d like to take you and Trevor to dinner. To thank him for cooking last week.”
We might be almost the same age, but Henry seemed so much more mature than I felt. “Cool. I’ll check with Trevor about dinner, but unless he’s crazy, he’ll say yes.”
“Trev’s done some stupid things in his time, but he doesn’t turn down free meals.”
I huffed out a laugh. They might be distant play cousins or something, but Henry knew Trevor. “Awesome. Where should we meet?”
“Your place makes the most sense,” he said. “And unless it’s a problem, I’ll shower there and then we can go to dinner.”
Showering at my place planted the image of the two of us, in the shower together. I’d do it in a heartbeat at his place, butI’d die of embarrassment if Trevor caught us. “Um… sure. I’ll let Trevor know.”
We said our goodbyes, and I was so amped for the day to end. I wondered if it would be like this forever. It wasn’t likely, but I was going to ride this high as long as it lasted.
The elevator was empty on the ride back to my floor. Stepping off, the lights seemed to twinkle slightly, as if in unison with my heartbeat. I watched them, trying to feel my pulse, but the sensation passed. I shook my head, chalking it up to my excitement for my after work plans.
I sent Trevor a text and went back to my cubicle. If I kept up the morning’s pace, I might get a bonus at the end of the quarter. Nothing big or life changing, but it would be welcome now that I needed to take Henry out now and then.
Henry
Walking up the stairs to Nick’s apartment, he was visibly nervous. I didn’t need to be a mind reader to know he was worried about the differences between his place and mine. I’d hoped doing this two nights ago was a step in the right direction, but watching him I wasn’t sure.
Nick unlocked the door, and a tinge of disappointment ran through me when he didn’t stop to give me a kiss. He walked toward the kitchen area, and when he turned, I couldn’t read his expression.
“There’s a movie in the park tonight,” he said. “It’s one of the Star Trek movies. I thought it’d be fun to take food and go watch. You can say no if you think it’s lame.”
The words tumbled out so fast it took me a minute to comprehend what he’d said. It also explained what happened on the stairs. He wasn’t nervous about his place, he wasn’t sure I’d like his attempt to surprise me. I stepped into his space. “Have you been practicing this speech the whole way home?”
“Yes?” he said. “I just thought I could treat you to something. Since I don’t have enough money to impress you, I tried to find something….”
“Romantic and sweet,” I said. “That sounds wonderful. Do we need to stop and get food?”
“Nope.” He disappeared behind the wall and I heard him rummaging through his refrigerator. “Trevor helped me make chicken breasts, biscuits, and pasta salad last night. I have water, brownies for dessert, and everything else we need for a picnic.”
