Closer (Completed) Dark Romance

Chapter 9

This seemed surreal. It felt like a fantasy that only happened in books and movies. My right hand pinched my thigh just to make sure it wasn't a dream.

No, it was definitely reality.

The moonlight glistened brightly on Lake Michigan, creating the perfect romantic atmosphere. There was nothing more I could ask for.

We had walked on this same trail a couple weeks ago and I remembered the first time his hand wrapped around mine — how foreign it was. Now, as we walk hand in hand, it seemed like we have done this countless times before. His hand tightened on mine as he turned to walk backward, his front facing me. He watched me with a suspicious smirk and I began to feel a little self-conscious.

"What?" I raised my brows. "Is there something on my face?"

He lightly shook his head as he continued looking at me with those charming emerald eyes.

"Then why are you looking at me like that?"

Henry shrugged nonchalantly as he pressed his lips together as to conceal a secret.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I have a question for you," he answered shyly.

"Yes?"

"When did you start to like me?"

I widened my eyes in slight astonishment and smiled. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm curious," he replied with a crooked smile. "When?"

"Okay, let me think." As I replayed our encounters through my mind, one moment stood out. "When you helped me take Alexis and Eason to their soccer tournament. How you were with them that day. That's when I think."

Henry let go of my hand and stopped walking, and I did the same.

"You think?" he teased. "Why that moment?"

I replayed that day in my head, thinking back to how Henry was with my niece and nephew. How he was supportive and encouraging, especially toward Alexis. How he cheered her on with a genuine smile and instilled a confidence even her parents could never do. I wanted someone with those qualities — someone who can make the biggest difference by doing the smallest things. Henry, no doubt, was that someone.

"Because it was the first time I saw you so happy," I confidently said. He looked into my eyes with a surprised expression. Was he moved by my words? "My turn now. When did you start to like me?"

"The banquet," he replied with no hesitance. It seemed as if he had prepared an answer for a long time now. "I realized then I wouldn't want anyone else by my side other than you. And when you left me, it only reinforced how much I want you."

My breath hitched in my throat as I considered Henry's radical words — how much he wanted me.

"I'm sorry about that," I said, ignoring the last part. "There was a lot of things going on in my head that night."

"I should be the one to apologize. I should have known how uncomfortable you would have been in such an environment. But the past is the past. Let's forget about it and start afresh, hmm?"

I nodded my head in agreement.

We gazed into each other's eyes for a short moment before Henry slowly pulled me into his chest. One of his hands pressed gently on my hair while the other wounded around my shoulders. I snaked my hands around his waist and clasped my fingers together at his back, gently tightening my arms around him. He was warm in contrast to the cool winds, and his scent was intoxicating as ever. I sighed happily as I closed my eyes and leaned into his chest.