Inevitable

One Big Happy Family

I finally recovered myself and rolled off of Henry. I jumped out of bed and finished getting ready. Henry dropped me off at my class on my way home so I wouldn't be late. It was the least he could do since it was his fault I was running late.
      The rest of the week flew by. Henry and I managed to find time to be together everyday even though we were both so busy. I had never been so happy. Even Jess was making an effort with Henry. They could now speak to each other without it turning into a huge fight. Baby steps. Liam had texted me a few times just to see how I was doing. I really hoped that we could move past all the drama and just get back to being really good friends. But I had a feeling he wasn't going to give up on us being together. Henry was not happy that Liam had gotten into my head but I assured him that it didn't matter.
I was looking forward to the weekend so much. Henry's band was only playing on Sunday night at a bar so that meant we could spend the whole weekend together. Some friends of his were having a house party on Friday night and he invited all of us. The plan was for Henry to drive Nick, Bill, and Chris over to the dorms and then we would all meet up and walk to the party. It was a short walk off campus. I was really hoping we could all hang out without there being any trouble.
Around 9:30, Henry texted me that he was downstairs. Jane and I finished getting ourselves ready and made our way downstairs. When I saw Henry, I almost stopped in my tracks. He was wearing the black button down shirt that he wore on our first date. He looked super hot! I was so used to seeing him in tshirts that it was a pleasant surprise to see him dress up a little. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. I gave him a quick kiss but he put his hands on my hips and leaned down to give me a proper hello kiss. I was surprised he was willing to be so affectionate with me in front of his friends. When he ended the kiss, he leaned down and whispered in my ear, "You look so fucking sexy in this dress. I can't wait to take it off of you later."
I knew I was blushing and hoped no one noticed in the dark. I had decided to wear a sun dress since it was a warm night and now I was glad that I did. Henry was looking at me with that hungry look in his eyes that I couldn't resist. I almost wanted to drag him back up to my room and let him do whatever he wanted to me. The sound of Jess's voice pulled me out of my dirty thoughts.
I turned to see Jess walking towards our group with Melissa, a guy I didn't recognize, and Liam. What the hell was he doing here? I looked up at Henry's face and could see the anger in his eyes. I didn't want anything to ruin this night but now I needed to worry about my boyfriend getting into a fight with one of my best friends.
Jess ran up to me with a panicked look on her face. She pulled me to the side and in a hushed voice, tried to explain.

"I'm so sorry Em! Apparently the guy that Melissa is hooking up with is one of Liam's frat brothers. She invited both of them tonight. I don't know why she didn't tell me. She's been really shady all week. I feel like she's up to something."

"It's fine. I just hope he doesn't try to cause any trouble tonight. Henry already doesn't trust him. I just need to keep them away from each other."

We walked back over to the group. Melissa was introducing her new guy to everyone in the group.

"Em, this is Kevin. He's in Liam's frat. I thought it would be fun if we all hung out together. Just like old times!"

"Yeah, so much fun! Nice to meet you Kevin."

Liam walked over to me and pulled me in for a hug. This night was going to be a disaster.

"Hey Em! I missed you this week."

I pulled out of Liam's arms and backed away from him. He knew exactly what he was doing. He also knew I wouldn't make a scene. I couldn't say the same for Henry. I felt him walk up behind me and put his arm around my waist.

"Liam you remember my boyfriend, Henry."

"How could I forget? Hey man, let's just forget what happened last time we met and start over. We both care about Em so for her sake let's be civil."

Fuck. What game was he playing? Was he trying to bait Henry into a fight? Liam held out his hand for Henry to shake. At first, Henry didn't make a move but then he surprisingly held out his hand and shook Liam's.

"Yeah sure. Let's be civil."

His tone of voice was off. There was an edge to it. I wondered if Liam picked up on it. I was scared of what Henry would do if Liam tried anything else tonight. I would have to have a talk with him. If we were going to be hanging out, he needed to respect my relationship.
We all started walking to the party. Henry was staring straight ahead and not saying anything. I wanted to have a good time tonight so I needed to change his mood. I grabbed his hand and wrapped his arm over my shoulders. He finally looked down at me and his face softened. I mouthed the words "I love you" and he kissed my forehead.
After a short walk, we arrived at the house party. The house looked packed already. Henry led us inside and introduced us to his friends.

"Guys, this is my girlfriend, Emily."

"Girlfriend! Since when do you have a girlfriend dude. Last time we hung out, you were banging that hot redhead."

I couldn't help the dark shadow that came over me at the mention of Henry's old ways. I felt a little sick to my stomach. Henry looked pissed.

"Fuck you Joe. That was over a month ago. Try not to be such a dick all the time."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me away from his group of friends and towards the back of the house. We walked into a room that turned out to be the kitchen. On the floor, there were two giant coolers filled with a red liquid. Henry grabbed two red cups and filled them. He handed one to me and I took a big gulp. It was fruit punch and what I guessed to be vodka. It tasted strong. I took another big gulp. The night had just started and I was already stressed out. I felt the alcohol go straight to my head and I felt more relaxed.