Courtney & The Case of 2 Lovers

16. Fourteen Rounds

I left Henry's hotel room fifteen minutes before I was supposed to meet Ethan for brunch. Thankfully, he had left his wallet at the bar, so we decided to meet there. I felt numb the whole drive, I felt out of my body as I entered the shabby joint. Ethan was sitting at the bar, facing the door.

When I entered he turned and smiled at me, "Hey beautiful."

I took in a deep breath, stopping in the middle of the room. His eyes flickered over my outfit, the same one I was wearing the day before. His eyebrow pinched a little. "Honest." I said before he could ask any questions.

Not that he needed to. When his eyes met mine, I knew he already knew, "You cheated."

I licked my lips, part of me screaming to open my mouth and explain but... But, there was nothing I could say because no, we didn't sleep together. But what happened ran deeper than sex. I ran to where I felt safest. I ran to who I needed the most. And it wasn't Ethan. My heart broke because it wasn't Ethan.

So I just nodded.

I braced myself, not for any yelling or eruption of violence, but more so for him to close off to me. For him to be a stranger again. I was delighted, but not shocked, when he stood from his stool and slipped his hands in his jeans pockets.

From across the room, he looked directly into my eyes and it was just me and him. "I love you." He said.

One side of my mouth pulled into a smile, "I love you."

And then I left the bar because there was nothing left to say.

{+}

Henry and I were feasting like pigs, something we hadn't done since this business trip to Denmark several years back. So there we sat in his hotel room with take out from all my favorite places in the city around us.

I was shoveling loads of padThai in my mouth with chopsticks, listening to Henry recount how Izzy convinced him to install an aquarium in her room, when my phone rang with an incoming FaceTime. It was on the charger near Henry, so I asked who it was.

"Booty licker?"

I snorted, "I should probably change that, it's Nae."

Henry's eyes lit up and the next thing I knew, he answered. "Jenae!" He exclaimed, smiling like a kid who spotted Santa.

I continued eating.

Nae was quiet.

"Nae, can you hear me?" He asked, glancing at me with a raised brow. "Hello?"

Finally, she sucked in a breath, "Uh, is this a bad time?"

"Nah, we're just eating," He said, flipping the camera and showing the spread before putting it on me. I waved with my chopsticks.

I couldn't see her face but I'm sure she was incredibly confused, "No offense Henry, but shouldn't you be fucking Ethan's brains out, Court?"

My heart squeezed, I shoved more padThai in my mouth.

Henry held the phone out to me, clearly knowing this was not a conversation for him. Once I took my phone, he stood off the couch, making my feet fall of his lap. "Ima go get some wine," He let me know, grabbing his wallet. "Have fun, see yah, Nae!"

"Bye!" Nae said cheerfully despite her face being one of absolute confusion.

We waited in silence until Henry left the room, and then she was dragging me.

"What in the ever loving hell is going on, Court? Weren't you just telling Nana and pop, essentially, how in love you were? Was that all a ploy? What is going on?" She exclaimed, moving around so much that the picture was blurry.