You Saw Me

16

We hurried back to my condo, so I could change. I was still in my bikini, which would be odd turning up to dinner in. I quickly changed into a dress and Henry wolf-whistled at me when I came back out.

We entered the restaurant and were met by loud hooting. Henry smiled his big, charming smile at our friends who were obviously teasing us. I got shy and couldn't meet anyone's eyes except Henry's. He smiled at me and twirled me around before he pulled my chair out so I could sit down. He sat down next to me and squeezed my thigh under the table. 

Gayle, Ana and Sarah were having the time of their lives with Henry's friends. There was a lot of banter and joking, which made the overall athmosphere light and friendly. It felt really easy to be in their company even though they were quite a bit younger than us. 

I chatted with Jeff, who I found out was Henry's manager. He was closer to my age and married. Henry had actually officiated the wedding, which I found so wonderful. They were more like best friends than artist and manager. There was a sense of brotherhood between them. Jeff pointed out that that was what happened when you travelled all over the world together and managed a career like Henry's. 

Henry was charming and funny. He made my friends laugh, not just a little but that awesome, uncontrollable belly-laughter. His eyes were gleaming as he laughed. He was great with people and he seemed comfortable and natural in a group. 

I laughed along with them, but I was aware that I was more shy and introverted than my friends. I sought his eyes often and smiled at him to show him that I wasn't distant or uninterested. It had just always been so difficult for me to be the center of attention. 

"Are you okay?" he whispered in my ear finding my hand under the table. 

"Yeah, of course." I whispered back squeezing his hand. 

He kissed my cheek and whispered: "You're so pretty", which made my cheeks flush red. He noticed and smirked at me. "You're cute when you're shy", he teased me. 

"Cheeky", I whispered and pinched his thigh. I caught his eyes and maintained eye contact longer than what I was usually comfortable with. It was so intense to me that I felt the tingling feeling in my core, just like I had earlier with his tongue between my legs. What was he doing to me? I had never felt as lustful as I did in his company. He really brought something up in me, I had never known was there.

"Careful", he mouthed at me looking down where my hand was resting on his thigh. I was dangerously close to his crotch and just a little brush of my finger would mean I touched him. 

I giggled and teasingly wiggled my little finger. His reaction made me burst out laughing. He made a face, popping his eyes and opening his mouth and then covered his crotch with both hands. I laughed and leaned on his shoulder, feeling so comfortable and happy. 

***

After dinner we continued on to a bar by the beach. There were quite a lot of people and so Jeff started out by walking a round taking in the other guests. At first I didn't understand why, but Lloyd explained that they kind of had to assess the room before Henry entered to make sure that he wasn't mobbed by fans. Generally they also checked the clientele to see if he would be at risk of being photographed or filmed. Of course they couldn't guard him 100% but they had little observation points that gave away if there were any risks. 

Jeff came back and nodded and so we entered and found a table in a corner for our group. Drinks were ordered and Ana and I danced for a while. Ana was so funny, doing all the moves her son had taught her from TikTok. I laughed more than I danced. Ana had always had that effect on me.

After a while we went to the ladies room.

"How are you, El?" she asked as we checked our makeup and hair in the mirror. I smiled at her in the mirror and immediately felt the heat in my cheeks. 

"I'm good. Very happy, actually", I answered sincerely. 

"Aw, I'm so happy for you!" she exclaimed and hugged me from the side. "You deserve to have some fun. It's been a rough year, hon". 

It really had been a tough year for me. I'd been on an emotional rollercoaster. It meant the world to me that my friends had been with me through good and bad. 

We went back out to the bar. I looked around for Henry, but he was nowhere to be seen. I started making my way back to our table when I noticed a group of young girls blocking my path. They must have been somewhere between 18-22 years old. Beautiful, young girls with long, tanned legs, flat stomachs and firm skin. They were laughing and seemed to be engaged in conversation. There was hair-flipping and pursed lips, obvious flirty body language. I smiled to myself thinking about how I was like them more than twenty years ago. I inched past them, but stopped when I heard a familiar laugh. In the middle of the group of attractive, young girls stood Henry smiling and charming the crowd.