Oh dear God, this turned into an 18-page Word document. Sorry if it's too long. I just kept going. Sorry if it's too fluffy or too corny or too soon for them to be having such conversations. I haven't had a date in ages and I don't know the drill anymore. Anyway, here we go. Enjoy and please leave reviews and / or suggestions.
First visit
7th December 1986
Their study date in the library on Saturday went really, really well. Finally they had kissed. And Henry had taken the initiative this time. Well, every time they had kissed actually. Before they started studying together but also while each of them was reading their respective books and after. After, when Henry had walked her back to her dorm; he had snuck his hand in hers and locked his fingers with hers. When her building came into view he stopped and slightly pulled her to a halt as well. When she turned around he immediately brought their mouths together. Sweet at first; he was so gentle and careful. It got a bit more heated and passionate as their tongues sought and found each other. However, it ended rather sadly, sad for their date was about to end. Henry had promised his mom he would visit and he would leave on Saturday evening and come back early Monday morning.
"I'll miss you," he had said.
She had nodded. She wasn't quite sure if she would be missing him. She had enjoyed all three dates with Henry so far and she had not felt uncomfortable once. She thought he was handsome, strikingly so and she liked his company. She wondered if she would feel the same way as he did about her while he was in Pittsburgh. After one final soft kiss they had parted their ways. Elizabeth had waved one last time as she disappeared into her building. Henry had walked back to his own apartment before heading for Pittsburgh to see his family.
Henry had only been gone for a little more than a day. It was ridiculous. She'd seen him on Saturday but still; it felt like a really long time. Weekends were always kind of hard on Elizabeth. Some of her friends had gone home over the weekend. Others just partied themselves into oblivion while she had stayed indoors and had read most of Sunday. Now, Monday was here and Elizabeth had to admit that she had in fact missed Henry's company. It hit her as soon as her alarm went off at 7.30. At 8 am the phone rang. Becky, who had gotten in late yesterday, was enjoying sleeping in, as her classes didn't start until late on Monday afternoon. "What the fuck," first Elizabeth's alarm clock had interrupted her precious sleep, now the phone was blurting. She grabbed the horn off the hook and held it to her ear, not saying a word.
"Hello?" it was unmistakably Henry's voice.
"Lizzy," Becky yelled, her voice still drunk with sleep.
Elizabeth emerged from the bathroom with nothing but a towel around her. She saw Becky was holding up the phone, her eyes already closed again and from what Elizabeth could tell, she was back to snoring already. Elizabeth took the phone and answered silently:
"Hello?"
"Hi," she heard Henry reply.
"Hi, Henry. How was Pittsburgh?" she asked him all cheery.
"It was good; no, let me rephrase that, it was okay."
"Oh," Elizabeth didn't really know what to say to that. "When did you get back?"
"Just after midnight. I didn't know if you were already asleep, I didn't dare to call you that late. But listen, I've got my first class in about an hour,…" Henry started.
"Me too," Elizabeth said.
"… and then I'll be taking other classes non-stop till four with only a fifteen minute break."
"Poor thing!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
"I know, Mondays are the worst," Henry replied. "But, I was thinking, maybe you'd want to come over tonight and have dinner here? At my place?"
"At your place?" Elizabeth asked teasingly.
"Yeah, nothing too fancy, though. I'll probably just fix us some pasta."
"Pasta," Elizabeth just repeated.
"You do like pasta, right?" Henry was being nervous again.
"Of course I like pasta. Who doesn't like pasta?"
"Great!"
There was a short silence.
"I really look forward to seeing you, Elizabeth. I've missed you."
Contemplating his words and whether or not she should talk about how she felt, she took a breath. "What time shall I drop by for this pasta?"
"I'll be home for sure at around five. Whenever you're free, you're welcome to come early. If you want to." He added that last part.
"Okay, I'll see you tonight."
"Have a nice day Elizabeth. Can't wait till tonight."
"Bye." She put the phone down and exhaled. He'd missed her. He had got home late last night and had wanted to call her immediately. Now, the first thing he did today, was call her. Elizabeth was relieved because even though she didn't want to admit to him, she had missed him too. She just wasn't sure if she should tell him that. She didn't want to seem needy and clingy and god knows what else. She decided to get ready for her day. The sooner it started, the sooner she could get to Henry's.
It was a quarter to five when Henry finally made it home. He didn't really know what time Elizabeth would come. He decided to take a quick shower and put some more comfortable clothes on before she arrived at his place. At half past six, Henry decided he would start on the sauce. He peeled an onion, sliced up a couple of tomatoes, peppers and a zucchini. Once everything was on the stove, there was a knock on his door. He quickly grabbed a towel and made his way towards the door wiping off his hands.
His breath hitched when he saw her.
She smiled shyly at him. "Hi," she whispered.
She stepped inside and put her hands on his abdomen and kissed him softly on the cheek.
"Cat got your tongue?" she asked him as she started to take off her coat.
Henry looked her over. Her hair was loose and fell down in long waves. She had on a casual sweater which read 'Harvard Law – Just kidding' and a loose pair of jeans. "You look even more beautiful than I can remember."
"You're good," she replied and winked at him. She held the coat in her hands and stood there waiting until Henry would take it from her.
"So, where shall I put my coat?" she asked him when he was obviously too nervous to act normal.
"Oh, here, I'll take it and put it on the bed. Make yourself comfortable."
As Henry came back from the bedroom, Elizabeth was standing in front of his giant collection of books. "Have you read all of these?" she wondered out loud.
"Most of them, yeah," he said as he went to stand next to her.
"Wow," she was struck. "That's a lot of reading."
"Yeah, well, I had a lot more time on my hands," he laughed before suggesting they'd have a drink.
When Elizabeth had affirmatively nodded, Henry asked if she wanted some wine.
"Yeah, sure."
"Red?"
"Red."
Henry went to the kitchen and set out two wine glasses. When she heard the cork pop out of the bottle, she turned and went to him. He was standing on the other side of the counter pouring their wine.
"Your place is really nice, Henry. I like it."
"Thanks!" He felt proud of himself.
"Is it always this neat or have you cleared out all of your mess because of me?" she smirked.
"I would clean up because of you, but I'm actually a very neat guy. So, I haven't cleaned up."
"Wow, you must think my dorm is a pigsty."
"You have to share a much smaller space with Becky, so it's absolutely normal your place looks messier." He handed her a glass of wine.
"Thanks," she gladly accepted it as she eyed Henry. He looked at her intently. He brought his glass to hers and clinked it before taking a sip.
Elizabeth moaned as the liquid reached her taste buds.
"Are you already hungry?" Henry asked.
"I could always eat, but I'm perfectly fine with waiting if you're not hungry yet."
Henry smiled sweetly.
"Okay, I just have to finish the sauce and boil some water for the pasta. Would you mind putting on some music in the meantime?"
"Sure," she put her glass back on the counter and turned around. His record player was near the wall next to his couch. She sat down on the floor and crossed her legs while going through his vinyl collection. She put on something Jazzy with Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. She got up and saw Henry was still busy in the kitchen. She approached him as he was standing by the stove.
"This smells great," she acknowledged as she put her hands on his shoulders before halting next to him. He cast a look at her. "Anything I can do? Nothing too fancy though because I really can't cook."
"Open your mouth." Henry ordered.
Elizabeth looked at him and what he was doing. He took the wooden spoon from the pot and blew it.
"Careful, it's hot." He said as he offered her the spoon to taste the sauce.
Elizabeth's mouth circled the spoon and she lapsed up everything.
"Oh my God, Henry," she licked her lips. "That's so good."
"More flavouring?" he asked as he took a spoonful himself.
"I think it's pretty great," she said convincingly.
"Okay, then the sauce is done. You cook the pasta while I set the table."
He left Elizabeth dumbfounded.
"Euh, Henry," she was turning around looking and not finding the answers to what she should do. "Perhaps it's best if I set the table."
As Henry was taking the plates from the cupboard, he gave her instructions to help her: "There's a pot in the second drawer next to the stove."
Elizabeth did as she was told. Henry behind him and nodded. "Great, fill it halfway with water and put it on the stove. Just add a little bit of olive oil and wait till it starts to boil.
"I can do that," she started to do what Henry had just told her. "I think."
Of course she could do that. Henry looked at her from his tiny dining table and smiled. He loved having her over. He loved seeing her in his kitchen as if it were theirs.
"It's boiling," Elizabeth nearly shouted after staring at the boiling pot intently for several minutes.
"Okay, the pasta is in the top cupboard next to the fridge. Just take 250 grams, which is about half a pack of pasta and put it in the water."
She had to open one other cupboard but finally found the one with the pasta.
In the meantime, Henry had got out a small candle and lit it. The table was ready and he could go and see how Elizabeth was doing.
The pasta was in the pot. "You're doing great, babe," he said as he stood next to her and kissed her softly on the cheek.
"Babe?"
"Yeah, babe. You don't like it?"
"Ah, euhm, well, I… " she looked back into the pot with the pasta and cleared her throat "when do we know when the pasta is done?" Elizabeth asked.
Henry smiled at her nervousness after calling her babe. "The amount of minutes it should boil is on the package. Have you looked at the clock when you put it in?"
Elizabeth's face fell. She had screwed up, or at least that's what she thought. Of course, who was she kidding thinking she could do this.
Henry put his hands on her shoulders and let his thumbs caress her neck.
"Don't worry, I don't ever look at the package either." Henry let go of her and took out a fork and fished a strand of spaghetti from the pot. He threw it against the wall and it fell down onto the worktop. "When it sticks to the wall, your pasta is done. Just a bit longer."
She looked at him suspiciously as he turned towards the fridge. He pulled out a piece of pecorino and started grating the cheese into a tiny bowl. He set the grated pecorino on the table and saw how Elizabeth had thrown another strand against the wall. It fell down. She picked it up and ate it anyway.
Henry stood behind her and put his arms around her. He inhaled her scent and enjoyed being this close to her.
"How was your day?" he asked her.
"Just classes. Yours?"
"Me too; classes and thinking of you."
Elizabeth smiled shyly as she fished out another strand. She repeated the same action, threw it against the wall and this time it stuck to the wall. She shrieked.
"We're done," Henry said turning off the stove from behind her with his right hand as his left lowered to her left hip.
He let go of her and took out a colander. He poured the pasta in it and rinsed it with water. Elizabeth watched his every move and was impressed with how well he worked around the kitchen. And around her, she thought. How she loved being close to him. His hands on her neck, his arms around her, his hand on her hip; it had ignited something deep within her. Could she be falling for him?
She was brought back to reality as Henry was babe-ing her again. "You coming?"
He was already at the table holding two plates of steaming pasta in front of him.
Elizabeth grabbed the two glasses of wine that had been left abandoned on the counter top and made her way to the table.
"Oh, Henry, this looks really good. Thank you."
"No need to thank me. I'm glad you're keeping me company."
Elizabeth smiled. "Don't you have many friends around here?"
"A couple, but they're all rather nerdy."
She had to laugh out loud now. "And you're not?" she was teasing him.
"Do you think I'm nerdy?" he was curious how she would answer that question.
"Not more nerdy than I am, I guess."
Henry smiled. "You're not a nerd."
"Then you're not a nerd either."
"To not being a nerd together," Henry raised his glass.
Elizabeth laughed out loud and clinked her glass with his. Her laughter was working infectious.
"The fact that we're toasting to not being nerds makes us such nerds," she admitted.
Henry was laughing too now.
"The emphasis was on together," he was flirting again and her cheeks turned a bit more rosy.
"So, the nickname. You haven't answered my question yet."
Elizabeth looked at him as she was twisting her spaghetti on her fork.
"Babe," Henry said. "Do you like it?"
Elizabeth swallowed hard. She put her fork in her mouth and started chewing. She held her hand up and ordered him to wait for her response.
When she was done, she put her fork down and rinsed her mouth with the red wine.
"Frankly, I'm not sure. I like the word 'babe'. I like it more than 'sweetheart,' or 'darling, or god forbid 'dear'."
Henry was nodding while chewing on some pasta himself.
"I just…," she was twisting her fork again. "I haven't been named anything other than Elizabeth or Lizzy since my parents died." She waited until she was emotionally ready to continue. "They used to call me 'honey' or 'sweety'." She fell silent again.
Henry swallowed his mouthful of spaghetti and looked down. Sad that he had made her feel sad.
Her hand reached out for his on the table. "It's not that I don't like the name. It's just that I would have to get used to hearing these terms of endearment again."
Henry put his other hand on top of hers. "Just tell me whenever I'm making you feel uncomfortable."
She smiled sweetly at him. "You could never. You haven't so far."
They looked at each other before both went back to eating their pasta.
"So, your parents, how was your visit this weekend? You didn't seem too happy about it on the phone this morning."
"I know. It's my dad, again. He's always making remarks about college and the fact that he thinks I'm wasting my time reading and studying while I could be making money with my hands."
"You know you're gonna prove him wrong one day, right?"
"I hope so." Henry sighed.
"I know so." Elizabeth smiled sweetly.
"How's your sister? How far along is she?"
"Just a bit over three months. She's doing great. She's not showing yet. But I think she's glowing."
Elizabeth's heart warmed at the way he spoke about his sister.
"Your mom must be so excited, her first grandchild."
"She is, she's already making plans and she's already arranging Maureen's baby shower. She couldn't be happier. She's constantly saying how she's going to spoil him or her. She's even had my dad grab our crib from the attic to paint it and put it downstairs for when they'd have to babysit. She just couldn't' stop talking about it."
"Feeling a bit jealous of your unborn niece or nephew already?" Elizabeth was just messing with him.
"Ha ha. Funny. No, my mom and I had lunch together on Sunday and I got my quality time with her." Henry winked. "It's funny though, when I told her about you, she couldn't talk about anything else but you. The baby seemed to have disappeared from her mind."
"You told her about me?" Elizabeth sat back, dumbfounded.
"Well, yeah." Henry sat back too afraid he'd made a mistake telling his mom about her. "I told her I'd met someone; someone so beautiful that I don't want to look at anyone else but her."
"Henry," Elizabeth exhaled.
"Was I not supposed to say anything?" he enquired.
"I don't know. We hardly know each other. We've only been on three dates. I guess it's all just going so fast, you calling me 'babe', me being here for dinner and what else knows what, you telling your mother about me."
Henry stared at her in disbelief. "Elizabeth, listen to me. I like what I know about you so far. I've had a wonderful time on each of our dates. I told my mom about you because you make me feel things I've never felt before. From the first time I saw you, leaving professor Matthews' office, I knew I wanted to be with you and I still feel that way."
Elizabeth looked down. She slowly stood up.
"Henry, I don't know if I feel the same way." She brought both her hands to her forehead. "I mean, I like you, I really do. I told you that I'm totally comfortable with you. And I must say that it was a really long weekend with you gone. Even though we didn't even know each other a week ago. It's crazy."
Henry lit up at her words. She had missed him.
Elizabeth continued in the meantime: "But it's difficult for me to let someone in. I've closed myself off from people for so long and you're tearing down all of my walls in one week. Heck, in three days. I just don't know if…"
"Hey," Henry had got up too. He was standing in front of her. "Hey," he lifted her chin up. "We'll do everything at your pace. And I have invited you here because I wanted to have dinner with you; nothing more, nothing less. I would never want to hurt you. I would never make you do anything you're not comfortable with."
She looked at him and he hugged her, standing in the middle of his apartment.
"Thank you," she murmured against his shoulder.
"For what?" He pulled away a bit to look at her.
"For making me feel the way you make me feel."
He hugged her again.
"More pasta?" He asked after a while as he put a soft kiss to her hair.
She nodded eagerly and gave him a sly smile. "Of course, more pasta."
He went to the kitchen to top up her plate while she took her seat again. She poured herself some more wine and did the same for Henry.
She took a large gulp.
As Henry set another full plate in front of her, he warned her: "Leave some room for dessert, okay."
She looked up at him and followed his gaze as he sat down.
"There's dessert?"
"Yeah, of course there's dessert."
"You're spoiling me. And getting me fat, probably."
"Get used to it, babe." He put emphasis on that last word.
After dinner, they did the dishes side by side. Elizabeth rinsed the plates while Henry dried them.
"Do you have a busy day tomorrow?" Henry asked her as he was putting the cutlery away.
"No, my first class isn't until 11 o'clock, so I can sleep in. I have a half hour break at one. And I'm done at three in the afternoon. Tuesdays are better than Mondays. You?"
"I have a lecture at nine and then another one at two in the afternoon."
"Wanna grab coffee in between?"
"Another date? And here I was thinking I was going too fast," Henry teased.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Just because I want to take it slow, doesn't mean I don't want to see you tomorrow."
Henry poked her side, which made her yelp.
Henry poked her again. Elizabeth defended herself while shrieking. "Henry, don't!"
He kept attacking her, tickling her sides whenever he saw an opportunity. "Henry, I swear to God, …"
He put his hands up in defeat at the word God. When Elizabeth thought he had finally retaliated, he attacked one more time.
"No, Henry," she couldn't help but laugh hysterically as he was squeezing her sides. He'd backed her against the counter by now.
He stopped his teasing and stilled.
He held her face in his hands and closed in on her. His lips softly touched hers for the first time that evening. It had been nearly 48 hours since they'd last kissed each other properly. He looked at her and rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs. His eyes were drawn to her lips again, as were Elizabeth's to his. They kissed again; this time Elizabeth slowly allowed Henry entrance and let his tongue find hers. Elizabeth's hands slid up his strong arms and eventually locked them around Henry's neck.
When oxygen became necessary for both of them again, they split. As Elizabeth was regaining her breath, Henry told her: "I would love to see you for coffee tomorrow."
Elizabeth pecked his lips at that.
"You're so beautiful."
Elisabeth couldn't help but blush at his words. He spoke like he really meant it. And she believed him.
"Dessert?" Henry asked.
"I'm still stuffed from all that pasta. Would you mind if we wait a bit longer before having dessert? Unless, you want to call it a night, then I'll get back to my dorm. It's your call, you have to be on campus at 9 tomorrow morning."
"I would never tell you to leave," he pecked her lips. "So, what do you want to do while we wait for dessert?"
"Oh, I have some ideas," she flirted.
"Do you?" he replied.
She closed the distance between them. Instead of going for his lips, she put a kiss to his ear. "Do you have a scrabble board?" she whispered before slightly biting his earlobe.
Henry shivered. "Of course, come one."
Henry grabbed her hand and drew her to the couch. He sat her down while he went to his desk that was in the far corner of his apartment. He opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a scrabble set.
Henry put the box on the small coffee table and put the table closer to the couch. He sat down next to Elizabeth. She grabbed the letters from the bag and then gave it to Henry. They fell into an easy rhythm of playing scrabble all the while teasing each other.
It was their third game and Elizabeth had put all her letters on the board. Henry who was looking the word up in a dictionary, was impressed. He closed it and lowered his head. "I admit defeat. You are even better at Scrabble than you are at bowling. I give up."
"Sorry," was all she said. "You're a good competitor, though."
"Please," Henry said. "Spare me your pity." He chuckled.
"No, Henry, I'm serious. For a moment there, I didn't think I would win this last game. I just got lucky with the letters I'd drawn." She put her hands on Henry's lower arm as she said that.
Henry looked at her hands on his arms and then up into her deep-blue eyes.
His eyes darted to her lips. He licked his before he brought their mouths together. "You're sweet but merciless when playing," Henry whispered as their lips were already touching. They both turned more towards each other. Elizabeth's hands were still on his arm. Henry brought his other hand towards her neck and pulled her closer to him. He opened his mouth to gain a bit more oxygen before he intensified the kiss. Elizabeth's hands left his arm and she cupped his face as he drew her to her even more. Henry let the palm of his hand slip to her side and touched a part of her bare skin, setting it on fire.
Elizabeth withdrew from him after a while, out of breath and completely flustered.
"I need that ice cream now," she admitted still breathing heavily.
Henry chuckled. He stood and held out his hands for her to take them.
She willingly accepted and he pulled her up from the couch. As he was walking her towards the kitchen and his fridge she asked: "Mind if I use your bathroom first?"
"Sure, it's through the bedroom."
"Thanks."
As Elizabeth entered Henry's bedroom, she could see his bed neatly made. He really was a tidy guy who didn't like a big mess. Her coat was on the bed waiting for her to go home. She looked at a picture of Henry and his family on the dresser. A pile of books was stacked on one of the bedside tables. She entered his bathroom. The walls were white. There was a sink and a mirror, a shower and a toilet. It was clean and orderly. She hadn't expected anything else.
Elizabeth put her hands on either side of the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. She took a deep breath. "You can do this, Elizabeth." She inhaled and exhaled deeply once more. She used Henry's toilet and noticed a small spot of wetness in her panties. She used some toilet paper to wipe it away and finished up and flushed. After washing her hands, she made her way back to the kitchen where Henry was waiting.
"You really are a tidy guy," she said as she was walking towards him, not noticing the three boxes of different ice cream flavours on the worktop.
"Henry, my God." she was surprised.
"Vanilla, chocolate or pistachio?" he asked holding the spoon up.
She contemplated which flavour she wanted. He could tell what she wanted.
"Or a combo of all three?"
She looked up at him and smiled so brightly.
He smiled and nodded too. "A combo it is."
He put a big scoop of each flavour in one bowl and did the same for the other bowl. He put the remainders back in the fridge and asked: "Want any toppings?"
"No, thanks, this will do. Just ice cream."
They went back to the couch. "Do you want to watch a movie?" Henry asked.
Elizabeth looked at the time on the watch on her wrist. "I do but it's almost ten. I don't want to get back to my dorm too late."
"We can always pause it. That will give you a reason to come back and finish it with me." Henry smiled. Hoping she would indeed come back. He was hopeful. She might not feel the same way about him but she had been honest and he appreciated that. And their kissing indicated that she did indeed feel something; that there was indeed something there.
Henry put his bowl of ice cream on top of the scrabble board that was still displayed on the coffee table as he looked for a movie.
He put the video of Romancing the Stone in the record player, pressed play and made his way back to the couch.
"Kathleen Turner is my weakness," he quipped as he took another spoonful and sat back down next to her.
Elizabeth nudged him and the spoon somehow ended up next to his mouth. Elizabeth snorted loudly.
Henry tried to wipe off the ice cream with his fingers but he missed a spot. "Wait," Elizabeth said.
She put her bowl in her lap and wiped the ice cream off of Henry's face with her thumb. She was still giggling while doing so.
"You think that's funny?" Henry asked. She just nodded while smiling widely.
"Not so funny now, is it?" He saw Elizabeth's facial expression change; obviously expressing she couldn't believe he had just smeared a spoonful of ice cream across her chin. Her mouth was open from disbelief. Before she could say anything, Henry had started to lick it off. He sucked on her chin and made his way up towards her lips. Soon, their tongues had found each other; the movie was long forgotten before it had even started.
As he came up for air and let go of her, he whispered a little out of breath: "Correction, you're my weakness."
In the meantime, she took the last spoonful of ice-cream from the bowl that was still in her lap. She let the ice cream melt in her mouth while bringing their faces back together. As she was kissing him fervently, she put her bowl on the coffee table before putting her hand on Henry's knee and doing the same with his bowl.
"No more ice cream?" he asked.
She shook her head. "You're better," she pecked his lips, "tastier," another peck.
She put her right leg on the couch while the other was dangling off the side. Turning all her attention to Henry, she pulled his T-shirt and brought him closer to her. She closed the distance between them and started kissing him passionately.
She literally took Henry's breath away.
"Elizabeth," he hushed. "This is not taking it slowly," he was able to say before her lips were back on his and her hands were roaming all over his chest.
"Isn't this what you want?" she asked as she tried to snuck off his shirt.
He took her shoulders. And pushed her away lightly so he could look into her eyes.
"I like this," he pecked her lips. "But I don't think we're ready for this. I'm not, anyway."
"Really?" she asked him incredulously.
"Really." He looked into her eyes. "I've said it before. I think you're gorgeous. I think you're amazing. I think you're bright. I think you're one of the best people in this world. And if the time is right, when I'm ready," and then he stared at her even more intently, " and when you're ready," he searched her eyes, "then we can pick up the pace." He smiled. "If you know what I mean."
"Wow," she breathed.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing. I just figured that's what any guy would want when he asked a girl to come over for dinner."
"Not me." He gave her the sweetest smile. "I mean, I will want this, at some point. Just not now. And I don't think you really want this either. I don't want us to be purely physical, you know?"
She nodded and placed the softest of kisses to his lips. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Come here," he said as he pulled her into his side. "Let's watch Kathleen Turner."
"Well, I'm here for Michael Douglas," she retorted.
"Really? Michael Douglas?"
"Nice butt and body. He's cute." she said rather casually. "Not as cute as you though," two could play this game.
"Wait till you see my butt and body," Henry exaggerated. It earned him a snort from the girl in his arms.
Somewhere near the end of the movie, Elizabeth had laid her head on Henry's shoulder and after a couple more minutes he could hear her soft snoring.
When the movie was over, he turned off the TV and nudged her awake. "Elizabeth, babe," he whispered. She stirred. "Hey, baby, movie's over."
"What time is it?" she asked sleep drunk.
"Close to midnight," he answered as he put a kiss on top of her head. .
"I'll go," she said putting her arm around his torso and hugging him closer, snuggling in his side before she started to use him as leverage to push herself off of the couch.
He put his hand on her back and stroked her backside soothingly.
"Babe, I don't want you to go out alone this time of night. I'll drive you back to your dorm." He got up himself to get his car keys.
"Henry, you don't have to do that."
"It's either me driving you back to your dorm or you staying here tonight. In that case, you can catch a ride with me tomorrow morning."
"Are you suggesting I spend the night?"
"Yes. Or driving you back. Your call."
Elizabeth was wide awake again by now. "Okay, I don't want you to be all overprotective of me. Although it's kind of cute. I can take care of myself just fine."
"I know. I want to take you home for my own peace of mind." Henry gave her a shy smile.
"What's it gonna be?"
"Fine, give me some linen, so I can set up the couch. I'll stay here. I'm dreading going back out in the cold anyway."
"Euh, you're sleeping in my bed, babe," he insisted. "You can have the bathroom first. There's a washcloth and towels in the closet underneath the sink and I have a pack of spare toothbrushes in there as well. Help yourself. "
"Henry, you're not going to sleep on the couch because of me."
"I'm not," he said as he tossed her a T-shirt. "I'm totally capable of spending the night with a girl without touching her or whatever. Even if she's as stunning as you are."
Her mouth opened just a bit out of wonderment and he shoed her off to the bathroom: "Go on, we don't have all night."
While Elizabeth was getting ready in his bathroom, Henry took care of the abandoned ice cream bowls and the scrabble board on his coffee table.
He headed back inside the bedroom but Elizabeth had not emerged yet. He put Elizabeth's coat on the chair in the corner of his room. Next, he pulled the curtains closed and turned off the lights after having lit the small light on his right bedside table.
When the door opened, he noticed her small feet and legs that seemed to go on for miles. He swallowed thickly, as he looked her over. When he reached her eyes, he spoke with a husky voice: "Fits like a charm," he said as he looked at her thin figure in his oversized T-shirt.
"I left my clothes in there," Elizabeth said shyly indicating behind her.
"Great! Make yourself comfortable, in here," Henry said as he pointed his finger towards the bed and winked at her.
He closed the door to the bathroom to get ready himself. Elizabeth's mind started wondering to what else this night would bring. Henry had already made himself clear he did not want to take advantage of her. She had been willing though. In fact, she didn't think it would be that weird. Would it? Their kisses had intensified to a whole other level. She liked him. He was a great cook, that was a plus. So she would have been willing to thank him for this evening by giving herself to him. However, after him stopping them earlier and having heard Henry's arguments, she respected him even more. He really was a genuinely nice, no wait fantastic, guy. And now she was going to spend the night here with him. In his bed.
Henry emerged from the bathroom and noticed she was still standing in front of the bed.
"Do you sleep standing?" he joked.
She smiled. "No, I just wanted to be sure which side was yours."
"Do you have a side?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I haven't slept in a double bed since I left the farm where I used to live with my parents."
"I tend to sleep more towards this side, it's closer to the bathroom, but if you're more comfortable with me being closer to the door of the bedroom, I'll take that side."
"No, no, this side is fine."
They each moved towards their side of the bed. Henry to the left, Elizabeth to the right. "What's with all the pillows?" Elizabeth asked.
"One can never have enough pillows," he said.
"Aquinas?" she asked.
"No, that's just me," he goofed.
They settled in and just lay on their backs for a while.
"So, you lived on a farm?" Henry asked as he turned on his side and looked at her. Never had he been in bed with such a beauty.
"Yeah, a horse farm. We had about ten horses. My mom was crazy about horses and my dad was crazy about whatever my mom was crazy about."
"What are you crazy about?" Henry asked.
Elizabeth turned her head towards him and looked into his eyes.
She thought long and hard. "Math, popcorn, and ball games."
Henry laughed out loud. Elizabeth followed and turned back to look at the ceiling.
"You?" she asked.
"You," he softly said. He could see her blushing even though it was quite dark in the dimly lit bedroom. He put his hand on hers that were holding on to the sheets across her chest.
"I think it's crazy you're here with me. But I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than here with you."
She looked at him again. "Me too." A tiny smile appeared on her face.
"Are you comfy?" he asked.
He saw her nod.
She turned on her side as well so she was facing him.
"Are you?"
He nodded as well. "Never been more comfy."
He put a soft kiss to her lips and stayed close as he whispered: "Sweat dreams, Elizabeth."
She returned the gesture, put her lips to his. "Sweet dreams, Henry."
They looked at each other for a long time. Just staring at each other.
As he noticed her eyes were getting heavier, he spoke softly: "Whenever you're ready, you can turn off the light. Unless you want to sleep with the light on, then you can leave it on of course."
Elizabeth turned on her other side and reached for the lamp on her side of the bed. She switched it off and sank deeper into the bed. She really was comfy. She let out a sigh and felt her eyes slip closed.
Just then, Henry scooted closer to her and locked her in his embrace, spooning her just enough for both of them to feel safe and comfortable in the completely dark room.
"Goodnight, beautiful." He pressed a lingering kiss to her hair.
"Goodnight, handsome."
