You Saw Me

92

Henry held me close for a while, before we went out to the party. We stayed behind in the screening room to have some peace and quiet. 

"I love you, Ellie", he whispered between kisses. "My life changed the day I met you." 

I nodded and kissed him with more intensity. His tongue found mine and the fireworks exploded in my stomach. The intense feeling of being loved and wanted was ecstatic, a high I didn't want to come down from. I needed him, but there was no way I was letting him miss out on the party that was being held in his honor, so I knew better than to instigate anything. I broke the kiss and caressed his cheek. "I love you, H and I'm so incredibly proud of you. Thank you for my love letter". I smiled at him and gestured towards the door. "Should we?" 

"I'd rather just be with you," he said, looking at me in a way experience told me meant we would end up sweating and panting in each other's arms. I would lie if I said, I wouldn't prefer that too. It would be heaven to go back home and lie naked in bed with him. But if I let him go home now, it would seem like I was the boring wife, who dragged him away from his own party. 

"I know, baby. Me too," I said. "But I think we need to stay for a bit, so all these people can get to tell you how brilliant, you are." I put my hands on his chest and looked him in the eyes. "I think a lot of people would be disappointed if I dragged you home already". 

"Ellie, you're 6 months pregnant. I think most people would understand if you're tired and your husband wants to take you home", he smiled at me. 

"You are making it very difficult for me to resist that offer", I chuckled. "But don't you think we should stay for just a little while longer?" 

He shrugged. "I think you and I should do what we feel like."

"That could get messy", I winked at him and dragged him out to join the party.

***

Gayle was ready to entertain me again when we came out to the party. Henry was not keen on leaving my side, he wanted to stay where I was. I locked eyes with Jeff, who read the situation easily. "Hey buddy, there are some people I want you to meet over here", he said and nudged Henry's arm. He reluctantly agreed to go and say hello. He leaned in and kissed me before trotting off with Jeff.

"What's going on there?" Gayle asked, gesturing towards Henry. "Is he upset?" 

"No no, not at all. He just wants to take me home, I think he might be a little partied out or something". I smiled at Gayle. 

"He just spilled his love for you all over this crowd. That guy feels a lot, I think he needs to be close to you, it's an outlet for his feelings. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. On the contrary I think it's perfectly natural that he wants to be physically connected to you after opening his heart like he did". Gayle said, squeezing my arm. She really understood him and I appreciated that she was so good with him. 

I nodded and felt kind of bad for making him go somewhere else, if he needed to be close to me. I looked around to see if I could see him anywhere. He was standing at the opposite side of the room, talking to a couple of people, Jeff was introducing him to. He looked up and we locked eyes. I smiled at him, not breaking eye contact. He smiled back holding my gaze. His attention was diverted from me by a third person, who came to say hello. 

"Oh no", Glenne said coming up beside me. "That's his ex-girlfriend". 

She was a tall, modelesque woman, with the tiniest waist I had ever seen. Her legs were long and slim, and she had an amazing thigh gap. Something I couldn't boast of. Her hair was long and dirty-blonde. 

"They were together for a year. It wasn't easy for any of them. It didn't end well, I think she broke his heart quite badly. He wasn't in a good place for a while. Weird that she's here", Glenne looked at me and put an arm around me. "Don't worry about it. He'll be polite and then he'll walk away". 

I wasn't worried. Or was I? There was this gnawing feeling that I couldn't quite put a finger on. He smiled and answered her questions, it seemed. The music in the room was loud and they had to lean in close to hear each other. 

"I think I'm jealous", I said out loud. Gayle and Glenne looked at each other and then started the pep-talk. I listened to what they said, but my eyes were drawn to the two of them talking, heads closer than I liked, apparently. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and showed her something and she nodded and gave him the thumbs up. Were they checking if he still had her number? My feelings were all over the place. I looked at Gayle, feeling a little unwell, like I was having a head rush. Gayle grabbed my arm and started walking away with me. She was saying calming things, telling me to breathe and stay with her. 

"I think you're having a panic attack, hon", she said, grabbing a bottle of water from the bar and walking me outside on the balcony. She guided me to a chair and asked me to sit down. She squatted down in front of me and opened the water bottle. "Take a good sip here, El", she handed me the water bottle and I drank a bit. My heart was racing in my chest and I felt lightheaded. "Everything is going to be fine. I promise." Gayle looked into my eyes, trying to guide my breathing. My phone was vibrating in my bag, but we ignored it, focusing on my breathing. Gayle's phone started vibrating as soon as mine stopped. I knew it was Henry, and he was probably really worried. But Gayle didn't flinch. She kept close contact with me, helping me breathe.