Abe goes out of town for a conference and Henry invites Jo over for some drinks at the end of a really tough case. One thing leads to another…
HEY GUYS I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK ME AWHILE TO GET THIS CHAPTER OUT, I HAD TO GET MYSELF A NEW LAPTOP AND THEN HAD TO GET ALL MY STORIES OFF OF IT. SO AGAIN I'M SORRY BUT I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS CHAPTER. PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!
"Are you sure it's alright for me to come over? I don't want to ruin your night with Abe" I said and when I looked at Henry he shook his head
"It will be fine, besides Abe's out of town on a conference" he said and I thought for a couple of minutes
"Alright sounds good" I said and he smiled
"Ok I'll see you soon detective" he said as he left my desk. I was almost finished my report that needed to be handed in to Lieutenant Reece, so I would be leaving shortly. But as I returned to my report, I heard Hanson clear his throat
"Date night with the doc, detective?" he teased and I shook my head
"No just a drink detective. Besides even if it was I wouldn't tell you" I said a little too defensively
"I don't know, he's good for you Jo. You seem really happy when you're with him and you've been spending a lot of time with him and his roommate lately" he said and I nodded
"Abe and Henry are my friends, just like you and Lieutenant Reece are my friends" I said and when he shook his head I growled
"Alright whatever you say, I just think that you and Henry would be good for each other" he said grabbing his gear and leaving. When he was gone I dropped my pen on the file I was working on. I knew I spent a lot of time with Henry, it was partially because we had suffered the same amount of pain, but also because he made me happy, made me want to be a better person. Since we'd meet almost a year ago we'd had many close calls but he'd never once left my side and for that I was grateful. Also during that time, I was pretty sure that the feelings I had toward him had deepened and maybe I could see us becoming something more but how could I be sure it was what he wanted too. When I was with Henry, there would be times when I swear I could see the same feelings in his eyes, but maybe it was just wishful thinking, I mean the last time I loved someone he died long before his time and for me that was a dark and gruesome time. One that I never wanted to experience ever again.
Deciding that my report could be finished tomorrow, I grabbed my gear and made my way down to my car making a quick stop in to the morgue to check if Henry had already left, which according to the night guard he had. Driving to Henry's apartment by myself gave me way too much time to ponder my feelings for Henry and what Mike had said, could we really become something more than friends? Would we be able to make it work between us? Could Henry love me the same way he seemed to have loved Abigail? These were all questions that were running through my head, and all ones that confused me. Not that I hadn't been asking myself these same questions for the last six months now but to have someone else point them out and make me question myself wasn't helping much. Ugh I needed to stop thinking like this! After the case we'd just finished there was no way that I was going to be alright with thinking like this. A mother had been killed in front of her kids and then the kids had been tortured and killed as well, it had been a horrible case for all of us to work on and it was one that would be forever seared into my mind.
When I arrived in front of Abe's Antiques, I grabbed my bag and then knocked on the door of the shop, before realising that there was a letter there with my name on it. Honestly if this was anyone else I would be 100% certain that this letter would be gone by now but somehow it was still there. I grabbed it and read in Henry's elegant script:
Jo
Please excuse me for not greeting you when you arrived but I have been preparing our meal for the evening and I wanted it to be something special. I am not Abraham and have less confidence when cooking. The door is unlocked but please would you lock it behind you when you come up. Thank you for coming
Henry
I smiled reading over the note again, it seemed so old-fashioned to leave notes on one's door but then again it was something that didn't seem out of place when Henry did it. Opening the door I walked through, locking the door behind me before making my way upstairs into the apartment above the store. Thinking that one day I would actually have to stop in the store to take a look at all the antiques instead of just coming in to collect Henry or spend time with Abe and Henry after work.
I was greeted by the sight of Henry standing over the stove stirring something in a pot, from the ties around his back I could see that he was wearing an apron, something that striked me as a little odd. I made my way further into his apartment and stepped on a creaky floor board, one that I had never noticed before cause Abe or Henry were usually there to help me avoid it. Henry upon hearing the floor board turned with a wooden spoon in his right hand, a smile on his face and flour all over the apron and his face. I chuckled at the sight, making my way closer to him to try and wipe some of the excess flour off of him.
"You know the flour is supposed to be in the meal not all over you or did you have some kind of accident?" I teased and he raised his eyebrow but the smile still lingered.
"I know but I tend to get a little lost in the task and may have accidently chosen a dish that was beyond my expertise" he said wiping his arm over his eyebrow.
"Well then why did you chose it?" I asked and he looked at me a small smile on his face and a glint in his eye, I raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed answering a little nervously
"I uh- wanted to impress you. I mean I know we're colleagues and friends but I don't know something about doing this for you just felt right" and I smiled, my heart beating quicker at what he just said, making me think of everything that I was trying to stop. Seeing the look on my face he turned to the sink washed his hands and said
"Would you like some red wine? Apparently it goes splendidly with the sautéed chicken and cranberry sauce" he said and I nodded, thanking the lucky stars that he was trying to change the conversation.
"I would love some" I said and he nodded going over to a cabinet and grabbing two wine glasses before filling them half way. He handed me a glass and then we clinked our glasses together. Tasting the red liquid I moaned for a red wine it was a little sweet but it tasted amazing. I looked up and my eyes connected with Henry's, I felt the blush rise on my cheeks before he smiled and made his way back to the stove, grabbing a tea spoon and dipping it into the sauce
"Here try some" he said holding out the spoon for me to taste. I was about to protest when he had the spoon in front of my mouth, opening my mouth he placed the spoon in my mouth before the cranberry sauce was on my tongue and I tasted the delicious sauce.
"Mm, that's so good" I said, and Henry beamed at me. I watched as he grabbed another teaspoon and tried it himself.
"Mm you are so right" he said proudly.
When dinner was ready he brought our plates out to the deck overlooking the city, where we spent many evenings after work most of them with Abe, but I smiled at the setting as I followed him out with our glasses of wine. There were flowers on the table and candles lit around the place, and I couldn't help but think that this was probably the most romantic Henry had been since his ex-wife had left. As I sat at the table Henry placed a plate in front of me and I smiled my thanks. As we ate our dinner, Henry and I were continually making eye contact as we listened to the traffic down below us. The bottle of wine that had been brought out with us was getting lower and lower as the time passed and I could feel the alcohol course through my body, not quite as powerful as my usual liquor choice but still if we didn't stop soon the effect would be the same.
Back inside the apartment, after Henry had made sure that all the candles had been blown out so that it didn't catch a light, we sat on the couch, just talking at first before we began getting closer and closer together. As the alcohol made me feel emboldened to get closer to Henry, I took his hand and watched his reaction, our eyes meet and I could see hunger in them, a look that looked out of place on Henry but caused something to stir in me and I was gone. I leaned over and crashed my lips against his, tasting the red wine, sautéed chicken, and cranberry sauce, as well as something that was uniquely Henry. I moaned and felt Henry's hands ghost up my back to lace themselves in my hair. It felt so good, to be in the embrace of someone again, someone whom I loved. It was enough to let our guards down and as the kisses continued we became more lost in each other. When we pulled apart to breath after a rather intense kiss Henry leaned forward and rest his forehead against mine before he whispered
"I think I love you Jo" and all I could do was kiss him again, feeling my heart swell with pride and love for this man, this infuriating, know-it-all, smart, sexy man.
"I love you Henry" I whispered back.