“Done...”
“Ten days.” He nodded, and then Henry stepped away from me, breaking all contact before he pushed his hand back into the pocket of his swim shorts.
The two of us stared at each other for far too long—him with a satisfied smile on his face, me completely blindsided, unable to do anything but stand there gawking until he gave me a wink and turned to walk away.
Leaving me in desperate need of a cold shower and a dark room, where I could at least pretend his offer didn’t interest me.
“You coming?” he called over his shoulder, never looking back.
“Almost,” I whispered to myself, before I managed to find the strength to follow him.
Chapter Eighteen
Henry
We didn’t speak another word to each other the entire way back to the apartment, but I could practically hear the cogs turning in Phoebe’s head with every step she took until she’d scurried into her apartment with an embarrassed thank you and a blush that invaded every part of her exposed skin.
I had no idea if I’d gone too far, but when standing so close to her like that, feeling her breaths pouring over me, watching the way her skin pebbled against even the slightest touch, I hadn’t exactly had a fucking choice.
She was innocence wrapped up in sin she’d yet to discover, and all I could think about for the rest of the day into the night was exposing that sin to her and teaching her how to enjoy it.
Whoever had fucked her over and broken her heart deserved to be punched in the nuts several times for his deception. I didn’t need to be a detective to know she’d been cheated on from the way she’d reacted to my disaster of a relationship with Lillie. The heartbreak in Phoebe’s eyes had been clear for even an imbecile like me to see.
The thought of anyone ever thinking she wasn’t good enough for them was unimaginable.
I spent the rest of the day in my apartment, sitting on the balcony, thinking things over, wondering how I’d gotten here so quickly into our holiday.
Was I doing the right thing by her?
Was I doing the right thing by Andy and Lillie?
Was I doing right by myself?
Or deep down, was I really just a selfish prick, about to show his true colours by going after what he wanted without thinking about the consequences or anyone else’s pain?
The questions circled around in my head over and over until I couldn’t take them anymore, so I started getting ready, knowing it was pointless trying to grow too big of a conscience about it all now.
The seed had been sown.
Whatever happened now, happened, and all I could do was hope that despite whatever downfall awaited us, Phoebe still turned up tonight and said yes.
Tous.
Even if we had an expiration date.
Andy and Jace shared a look of surprise when I knocked on their apartment door later that night, ready to go out.
“What?” I eyed them, playing dumb.
Jace shrugged. “Nothing. Good to see you're coming with us, man.”
“Why wouldn't I be?”
“Because your social battery doesn't normally cope well with too much people-ing in one week,” Andy answered for him. “Plus, you’ve spent most of this afternoon alone again.”
“Luckily for you guys, I'm fully charged and ready to go.”
That's what had led us to standing in another packed bar crammed with sweaty, writhing bodies. 'Fiasco' turned out to be exactly that: a fiasco, with wall-to-wall people all around us. Random women at every turn came up to Jace and Andy, trying to flirt and make conversation. Naturally, both of them latched onto anyone who would show them an ounce of attention, especially with no Bailey or Rhea in sight. Me? I made a point of wearing a big ‘Fuck Off’ sign on my head that warned everyone to save their efforts.
