Drifting Deception

Chapter Thirty

SYDNEY

A whole month had passed since Maurice delivered the amazing news to Henry, and everyone was still riding the high. We had deceived the world...as every single person, other than the two of us, thought we were in a relationship. I had no idea how we'd done it so easily, as it didn't feel like I had to put in effort to make this work. Maybe that was the reason why. We just got each other.

Fuck.

I stood on the balcony of our hotel in Singapore. The sun was setting, while Henry was pouring a glass of champagne behind me.

"You shouldn't be drinking, you know you're going to get in big trouble if Maurice finds out," I sighed.

Henry smiled as he waltzed over to me with two glasses. He held out mine, which was only filled with the smallest splash of the bubbles, and I took it, lifting it in the air to say my thanks.

"It's only one glass," Henry began. "Plus, we're celebrating my qualifying result."

I laughed. It was absolutely fair enough that he wanted to celebrate his pole position. This was a real chance for him to start at the front of the grid this year—considering he didn't complete the formation lap in Monaco. Tomorrow, he had a good chance of doubling his stats.

I shook my head before taking a sip. "I swear you find any excuse to celebrate."

His cheeks tinted red. "I like celebrating with you."

I smiled as we found ourselves staring at each other for too long. Henry looked at my lips before I broke our moment and took a sip. We had done a lot together over this past month, but I had a feeling both of us were struggling to hold back. There had been so many moments where we'd almost had sex, and I had a feeling it was only a matter of time before neither of us had enough self-control to honour our word.

"I've really enjoyed celebrating with you too," I said. "I've enjoyed doing a lot with you."

Henry's smirk grew, and I knew he was thinking about our X-rated encounters.

"Well, y-yes that," I stuttered. "But also...I just enjoy hanging out with you." 

His smile matched mine as he sat his body closer. We were on the outside couch, watching the city go by thirty floors below us. It was surprisingly tranquil despite our setting.

"Is this the part where you say thanks for everything but it's over?" he whispered.

I looked at him; his eyes carried a pain of some sort.

"No," I said softly. "Not at all. I-I don't want this to be over yet. If you don't want it to be?"

Henry smiled. "I don't either." He looked uneasy as he sipped from his glass.

"There's something on your mind?"

He sighed, failing to maintain eye contact as he stared at the high-rises in the distance. He let out another long, deep breath.

"Has Jeremy contacted you recently?" he asked after a beat. Part of me felt as if this was a cover-up question. An attempt to change the subject so he didn't have to reveal his true thoughts. I could've been delusional, however.

"Um, no he hasn't," I said before it became awkward.

Henry nodded.

"I'm sorry, I know I'm probably stringing this whole thing along because you've already got what you wanted but—"

"Don't say things like that, ma chérie. You know that's not true." His eyes were sad. "You're not stringing me along."

I smiled, feeling my eyes becoming heavy. "I, uh. I sometimes feel as if I want this to continue because I'm afraid to go back home."