I look at the fabric in my hands, my brain slow to catch up, realizing he threw me his shirt. “Tu n’es pas obligé de faire ça,”8 I reply, resisting the urge to look at my boss.
Holy shit, I’ll be lucky if I still have my job after this conversation. I guess if I get fired, then I can go to the house in France, and work at the gallery for a couple months. It’s not what I want to do, but I’m fortunate to have options.
This isn’t a version of Henry I’m used to. It’s entirely different from that morning on the surfboards when it was just us, the mermaids, and the ocean.
“I know you’re supposed to follow me around and all, but I’m going to shower without an audience if that’s okay with you.” He doesn’t pose it as a question as he stares at Stacey, almost like he’s expecting her to put up a fight. I have to give her credit, she doesn’t react, whereas the thought of watching Henry shower has me nearly self-combusting inside.
“You need to stop thinking of this as a bad thing. It’s not the end of the world for people to learn who you are.”
He rubs his jaw, clearly disagreeing. “Really? Then why don’t we switch places, and you can deal with everyone wanting to know every single fucking thing about you.” Henry’s hazel eyes have shadows underneath them, and he sighs tiredly. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a dick. I just . . . this isn’t easy. I don’t know how to do this.”
This is more like the Henry I know. I smile faintly, because this is the guy I’ve been in love with for years. Stacey opens her mouth to say something, but I beat her to it. “You’re in a position to be a role model and help people. You’re a good person, Henry. So what if they get to know you a little bit? It doesn’t mean they’re going to shun you if they find out who you are.”
Henry meets my eyes, but he doesn’t say anything, staring at me for a moment before walking away. Walking away might be worse than the alternative of him getting upset with me.
Stacey turns to face me, her arms folded over her chest. “When were you planning on informing me that you know Henry Price personally?”
I wish I’d never opened my mouth in the first place. I look down at my hands still holding onto his shirt. Henry is literally the kind of guy who would give people the shirt off his back if they needed it. I don’t know why he’s so afraid of people learning who he is.
“He played with my father for a few years, and our dads played together at Duke. I didn’t think it was important.”
I don’t think I like how she’s looking at me, as if I’m suddenly more interesting. It makes my skin crawl.
“You might just be the key to getting him to open up.”
Fuck me. I should have stayed home today.
CHAPTER FIVE
Mirabelle
THE DAY WAS rather unproductive. Henry didn’t give me and Stacey much to work with, but itwasonly the first day. After he showered and cooled off, he was a little more forthcoming, but not by much.
I wanted to go home after getting off work, break into Mom’s wine cellar in the basement, and lie in the hot tub for as long as I wanted—but that’s not where I am.
I’m stuck at a bar with some of the other interns who have finally stopped treating me like a pariah who belongs at the circus. They reluctantly invited me along after talking about their plans tonight in front of me. It wouldn’t have hurt my feelings if they hadn’t invited me, but Ginger, the nicest one of the bunch, clearly felt bad.
I wore Henry’s shirt until Stacey let me run out to my car to grab my spare. I haven’t decided whether I’m going to give the shirt back to Henry or not.
That’s what I’ve been pondering while answering mindless questions to get to know the people I work with. Except, for every question I ask them, they ask me three.
“Okay, I think I speak for everyone when I ask, is your gold medal made with real gold?” Ginger asks, and I’d give anything to have a drink right now. Unfortunately, I’m not twenty-one until February.
“They’re mostly silver, but they do have a certain percentage of gold in them.” She didn’t need to ask me that, she could have just looked it up on the internet like I did after winning them.
She smiles widely at my answer. “That’s so cool.”
“Yeah, it is.” I force a short laugh, attempting to redirect the conversation back to them. “So where did you all go to school?”
There’s a mixed range from West Coast to East Coast, but there is another girl who’s from North Carolina. Miley went to North Carolina State University, but I’ll try my best not to hold it against her. She seems nice enough, but she hasn’t stoppedstaringat me. It’s making me feel uncomfortable, and I’m trying not to stare back at her.
I take a sip of my water and nearly choke on it when Henry’s name is brought up. “Dude, you’re so lucky that you get to work with Stacey on that PR campaign for Henry Price.”
“Yeah, I guess,” I succeed at answering calmly, but my hand grips my water tightly.
Elias takes a drink of his beer. “Is it true you and Henry know each other?”
“Yeah, we grew up together.”
