Summer to Winter

Chapter Nineteen

Henry couldn't believe his ears. I don't have a boyfriend kept ringing in his head. How is that even possible? Embarrassing? Who was this joker that left her alone? "Oh, I thought Brian said you were dating someone. I must have misheard him."

Sy chewed for a minute with a quizzical look on her face. She swallowed, "He did? Huh... Well, if he was talking about my ball and chain, it's Adam. I was more like his mother than wife. Still feels like it a little bit."

He laughed, "I think that may actually be what he said..." His heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest. He finished his plate and watched as she slowly made her way through hers. "I need to learn how to eat slower, apparently. I couldn't stop though, it was delicious."

She blushed, "It started as a survival tactic as a kid. First one to finish had to start the dishes. If I ate slow enough, the only dish I had to clean was my own. Now, I just love savoring the flavors." She finished her plate an stood up, "Speaking of which... hand me yours and we can get the movie started."

He stood up as well, "I'll help you, it will go faster that way."

They worked well as a team, she put away the leftovers as he rinsed the dishes and placed them in the dishwasher. Henry stoked the fire and added another couple of logs as Sy settled back in on the floor under the blanket. When he tucked himself under the blanket as well, he got a shiver from the cold that seemed to emanate from her. "You haven't warmed up yet? Bring it in." He laid down with his arms open. "I'm a human furnace, I'll warm you up in no time flat." Wow, Cavill... you are an epic idiot. To his surprise, she turned on the movie and snuggled right in.

They were only about a third of the way through the movie when he felt her breathing get heavier. He looked down at his chest and saw her peacefully sleeping, her hand resting gently on his stomach. Well, if she gets to sleep so am I. He sunk down a little lower and closed his eyes, feeling satisfied for the first time in very long time.

Henry woke up a few hours later with Syden softly breathing in the crook of his neck. At some point while asleep, they had gotten tangled up in each other. They were lying chest to chest, her face in his neck, their arms and legs wrapped around each other. He could feel that she wasn't wearing a bra and her breasts teased him through the tee against his chest every time she breathed. Combine that with her light breath on his neck, his body began to revolt against his brain. He couldn't take it. He needed to feel her lips against his, feel her softness and taste her skin. He held her tighter and fought the urge to ravage her right there on the floor. She deserved better than that, she wasn't just another girl for him to fight his loneliness with. He closed his eyes and savored the moment, unsure of the next time she would be this close to him again.

The sun started to shine through the windows and slowly began wake the trio. Sy had moved to the little spoon position and had a grip on Henry's arm. She was hugging it close to her chest, which made him impossibly close to her back. He was nuzzling the back of her neck and breathing the smell of her hair and skin. He felt her start to stir and stretch, when her hips slowly moved back and rubbed her backside against his growing erection. He was hoping that she wasn't fully awake to feel it and moved back quickly so she wouldn't. Kal let out a loud yawn from above them, while stretching in the downward dog position. This sound fully woke her up, which is when she released her grip on Henry's arm.

"Oh man... I fell asleep in the middle of the movie, didn't I?" Even in the morning, after sleeping on the floor all night, he couldn't believe how beautiful she was. "Ugh... and before I put your clothes in the dryer... I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it... really, it's okay." He stayed sitting up, suddenly very aware that he was only wearing a thin pair of sweatpants without underwear. He put his knees to his chest, deciding not to frighten her with little Henry. "I don't have any plans today other than the gym. What are you doing today?"

"I have to meet Amy at her fitting today at eleven-thirty, then probably another hike." She got up to let Kal out to the back yard. "We didn't feed the poor boy last night! I'm the worst..."

"I always have food in my car for him in case I'm at work longer than expected. I fed him while you were in the shower." He smiled at her. "Thanks for thinking about him though." He liked how concerned she was about Kal, others have not been as thoughtful as she was.

"I could make us breakfast while your clothes dry, unless you want to just take Eric's clothes home and get them back to me later?" She walked into the laundry room and yelled out "Your clothes will be dry in a half hour."

"Kal and I could stay for breakfast..." He stood up and started folding the blankets, "we could also drive you to the studio to meet Amy. We'll go to the gym while you ladies chat and wouldn't mind another hike if you aren't tired of the two of us yet." Somewhere between watching her dancing when she thought no one was looking, singing Disney songs at the top of her lungs, hiking, swimming, cooking dinner and falling asleep with her in his arms, he stopped caring about the consequences.

"Really? Are you sure you two aren't going to be the ones getting sick of me?" She twisted her long hair into a bun on top of her head and started grabbing items out of the fridge. "But as long as you're offering company, I'll take it. It gets a little lonesome in this big house without Eric annoying me."

Henry watched her chopping vegetables as he finished putting the family room back to normal, in awe of how easy she made it all look. "You are really good at this, where did you learn to cook?"

"My grandmother lived with us until she died, and I learned a lot about Filipino cooking from watching her." She started sautéing the veggies. "As I got older, I learned a lot of American cooking from Eric's mom, since I spent a lot of time at their house when we were kids." He had no idea what she was concocting, but it smelled delicious. "What about you... are you a good cook?"

"My mum tried to teach us boys a little, but then we all went off to boarding school and the lessons stopped." He walked over to her and stole a piece of veggie from the pan, "But as an adult, I've picked up a few things here and there. It seems like a dying art unless you go to culinary school though." He popped the piece of food in his mouth, "Oh wow. What is that?!"

In a silly high-pitched Julia Child voice, she replied, "My liege, your breakfast today is an egg white omelet with broccoli, onion, a sprinkle of yellow pepper for color, with a side of garlic roasted sunchokes." In her normal voice, "I didn't want your trainer to hate me for serving you toast or potatoes, so you get sunchoke instead... they have less carbs." She placed his plate on the island, "Bon appetite!"

He was belly laughing at her show and tell, "Dave will appreciate that for sure." How is this woman single? "If this tastes half as good as it looks, I'm a very happy man."

Sy walked over to the back door. "Kal looks like he's still wandering around the yard, do you want me to go and get his food from the car?" She was standing in the sunshine, smiling as she watched the bear slowly sniffing his way around.

"Don't you dare, you just made me this amazing breakfast. I'll feed him when we're done." He sat down on a barstool at the island and patted the seat next to him, "Come and enjoy this with me."