Elizabeth woke the following morning to the amazing aroma of freshly brewed coffee floating into the bedroom. She had insisted they share the bed, pointing out that they'd already had sex several times in her room and they'd kissed most parts of each other so it seemed rather ridiculous to be bashful now, although she had refused to get changed into her pyjamas in front of him, much to Henry's obvious amusement.
His double bed was far more comfortable than her tiny single and the sheets were so soft she'd pretty much fallen asleep the second her head had touched the pillow. She'd stirred in the night and curled her body into Henry's automatically, holding onto him tightly as she fell asleep again instantly.
Finding herself alone. Elizabeth stretched out like a starfish in the middle of the bed and couldn't help but smile. She had been expecting to spend yet another holiday holed up alone in a dorm room with nobody to give a damn about her. But all of a sudden, out of nowhere there was this guy. This incredibly sweet and amazingly gorgeous guy who wanted to spend time with her and who genuinely seemed to like her for who she was. And she knew it wasn't just an elaborate ruse to get into her pants as he'd already done that and he still wanted to be around her. She so wanted to believe that he really cared.
She was just about to prise herself out of the cosy bed when Henry brought her coffee and toast.
"Good Morning! Did you sleep well?" Henry managed to find a spot on the bed that wasn't occupied by Elizabeth's arms or legs and sat down. "I just realised I don't know how you like your coffee."
Elizabeth took a sip and smiled "Strong and hot….Just like you." She groaned and buried her head in her hand. Why was she feeling so nervous around him all of a sudden? "Did I really just say that out loud?… Oh my god I am so sorry Henry." A soft blush appeared across her cheeks as she smiled "I slept so well thank you. You have a very comfortable bed."
Henry chuckled. She just got more adorable with every passing second "So I'm strong and hot huh? Wow…. That's made my day! I've always been the geeky kid so I may have to get you to write that down. And I'm glad you slept well as we have a busy day ahead."
She looked back up at him and caught his gaze. She usually had a pretty good read on people and Henry was by far the most genuine, kind hearted person she'd ever met. She felt completely safe in his company and it was as if they'd known each other forever. "Busy Day? I wasn't aware we had anything planned."
Elizabeth was about to lean in and kiss him when he jumped up off the bed "You have 20 minutes to get yourself ready. And don't worry, I'll leave the room so you can get dressed in peace,"
Elizabeth was intrigued. What could he possibly have planned when he was supposed to have been going home for the holidays. And why was he suddenly being so coy around her. Had he started regretting what they'd done? Had he stopped finding her attractive? Did he want her to leave? So many questions were swirling around in her head and she really wanted some answers. "Henry? Where are we going?"
"That's for me to know and you to find out. 20 minutes and we're out the door." Henry shut the bedroom door behind him and she pulled the covers back over her head. "And Elizabeth… Don't go back to sleep."
Elizabeth sat in the car and glared at Henry. When he told her to get herself ready as they had a busy day ahead of them, this was not what she had in mind.
"Grocery shopping! This is the exciting day you had planned for us? Grocery shopping in Walmart! Really Henry? You have some funny ideas about romance."
Henry laughed at the gorgeous blonde currently scowling at him. No matter what expression she had on her face, she always looked stunning, and the funny ones were the cutest of all.
"I was meant to be going to Pittsburgh for the holidays so have no food in the apartment. We can give shopping a miss and starve if you'd prefer? This is just a quick stop. I'll go in and you can wait in the car." Henry got out and chuckled to himself as Elizabeth came running after him, giving him a playful shove on the way past.
"I can't leave you to do it alone. We'll end up with nothing but beer and potato chips."
Henry laughed and gave her a shove back "Says the girl who had nothing in her room but cereal, chips and protein bars."
Elizabeth grabbed a trolley and grinned back at Henry over her shoulder "Come on McCord…. Let me show you how it's done!"
Henry watched her moving from aisle to aisle, gathering the stuff they needed and he quickly realised she was as bad for junk food, if not worse, than he was. Seeming to have a particular penchant for ice-cream and cake.
"How do you eat stuff like that and still have a body as sexy as yours?" Henry couldn't help but trace his eyes across her figure as he said it.
"You really think I'm sexy?" She suddenly took on a very flirty demeanour without meaning to. She had a cute smile that Henry found so incredibly infectious. "Nobody's ever told me I'm sexy before."
"You are SO sexy Elizabeth. And the fact that you don't even realise it is what makes you far sexier than anyone I've ever met."
Elizabeth moved closer to Henry and placed a soft kiss against his cheek "Thank you Henry. You're pretty gorgeous yourself." They stood close together, lost in a trace. Staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Neither one of them wanting to make that first move, but unable to move away either.
Henry shook himself out of his trance "I...Errr… We should get the rest of this done." He moved away, leaving Elizabeth wondering what the hell was going on between them. She was really starting to think this was not something he wanted at all.
They got the grocery shopping done and then Henry took them on a bit of a drive, finally taking them down a long winding track to the next stop on the magical mystery tour. They got out of the car and Henry took hold of Elizabeth's hand "Come on…. You're in charge." He flashed her a smile and dragged her off towards the waiting truck.
"In charge of what? Henry, what is going on?" She was starting to feel a little uneasy .
"You're going to choose our Christmas Tree and then we're going to cut it down and take it home."
"Are you serious? We're going to have a real Christmas tree?" The pure excitement made Elizabeth's whole face light up and it was by far the most beautiful sight Henry had ever seen.
"Yes. But it's all on you .Pick whichever one you want but you have to help me chop it down. Deal?"
Elizabeth flung her arms around Henry's neck, squeezing him tightly "Deal." Maybe he did want her after all.
They walked up and down the rows of trees looking for the perfect one. Elizabeth was very quiet and Henry was starting to worry he'd done the wrong thing.
"Elizabeth. Are you alright? Did I get this all wrong?" Henry had stopped walking and was bracing himself for her answer. He wanted to make her happy so badly but was coming to the obvious realisation that he knew practically nothing about her and it was all about to go horribly wrong.
Elizabeth looked back at him and smiled "Henry, it's perfect. It's just brought up some memories for me that I'd stored away and forgotten about since my parents died. We always had a real Christmas tree and my dad would take us out every year to choose it. My mom would spend so long looking for just the right one and then we'd take it home and have hot chocolate and cookies while we decorated it. I haven't even really looked at a Christmas Tree since I lost them." She slipped her fingers between his and he pulled her into a warm embrace "This really is so thoughtful Henry. Thank you."
Henry didn't say a word. He merely held her, letting her process her thoughts until she was ready to find her tree. Once she'd found the perfect one and they'd cut it down, the farmer helped Henry secure it on the roof of the car and then they went into the attached store to pick out the decorations. They each picked a few ornaments and gathered some tinsel and ribbon and then both reached for the same star.
"We have to get this for the top of the tree Henry. It's just perfect."
Henry smiled and nodded "It really is… Just perfect." He looked at her and realised it wasn't just the star that was perfect.
They grabbed some Chinese food on the way home and managed to get the rather large tree up the stairs and into the apartment. As they were decorating, Elizabeth decided it was time to speak up. It had been bothering her all day how distant Henry had seemed at times since she'd come to stay with him and if they were only going to be friends from this point forward, she at least wanted to know if that was the case. They hadn't so much as kissed since their rather intimate exploits in her room and every time they seemed to be getting closer to it, Henry would pull back. It was confusing her and she hated that feeling of being so unsure.
She was gazing down at the floor, tracing her foot across the rug, trying to find the right words when Henry shattered the silence.
"Are you going to help me with this or just watch? You need to put the star on the top." Henry was busily hanging ornaments and draping tinsel. Smiling away to himself as he did so.
"Henry… What are we doing here?" Her words lacked any real conviction and she couldn't bring herself to look up, almost frightened of what he would say. She so wanted this whole thing between them to be more, but if that's not what he wanted, she wasn't sure she could continue staying there. They had made the mistake of going too far, too soon to just be friends now.
"Well, I don't know about you but I'm attempting to decorate this huge tree you picked out. Could you possibly have chosen a bigger one?" He chuckled and reached for another ornament.
"I don't mean the fucking tree Henry." She said it in such an abrupt way it made Henry stop in his tracks and look across at her.
"Elizabeth? What's wrong?"
"What is this whole thing between us? Was it just sex and now you feel guilty? You haven't even so much as kissed me since I've been here and every time I think we're getting close you move away. Why am I here Henry?"
"I thought you liked being here? There was no way I wanted you to be alone over Christmas. Now come and help me finish this tree and we can watch a movie." Henry's heart was screaming at him to tell her how much he liked her and how he was starting to fall for her but his head was telling him to keep his mouth shut..They had only known each other for 2 days and he didn't want to scare her off.
Elizabeth looked at him and nodded, the bubble had finally burst spectacularly "You know what Henry, I think I need to go back to my dorm. It was such a sweet offer to have me here over the break but this really isn't working out and I need to get going. Thank you for your hospitality." She disappeared into the bedroom and packed the few things she'd brought with her, emerging a few moments later. "Your family will be really pleased to have you home for the holidays."
Henry was stunned. They had spent a fun day together and he thought they were starting to get to know each other. He was so looking forward to the next few weeks and what it may bring but this was completely unexpected. Why was she so upset?
"Elizabeth - Wait! Why do you feel you have to leave? Come on. Just stay and we'll talk about this. Let me be your friend."
"You're a lovely guy Henry and we had fun, but I can't just be your friend so I need to go." She wrapped herself in her puffer jacket and pulled her bobble hat onto her head ready to face the cold December evening "This has been great and i've had a really good time with you so please don't feel bad. See you around Henry McCord." She pulled her bag onto her shoulder and walked out of the door, leaving Henry and the perfect Christmas behind her. She managed to get outside before she let her tears fall and she started the lonely walk back to her empty room to spend another Holiday alone.
Henry stood in his apartment in total disbelief. What the hell had just happened? He wasn't quite sure if she was trying to let him down gently and regretted what they'd done or if she wanted more than his friendship and needed some time to process. He wanted to chase after her and tell her how he felt, tell her he was falling for her and wanted her to stay. But she clearly didn't want to be there and it's not as if they were dating or even knew each other all that well. Maybe it was just a prolonged encounter that had run its natural course and that was it….. So why did Henry feel as if his whole future had just walked out of the door.