A/N: Thank you for everyone who is reading FF! Especially for the people who have voted for nearly every chapter!! I was kind of gob-smacked to be honest haha. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter! Comment on what you like about it and what you don't? It'd be much appreciated :D By the way, I found the song on the side ('Please be careful with my heart' by Christian Bautista and Sarah Geronimo) and thought it matched Henry and Lainie somewhat :) And I love that song! Hope you like it too! xoxo
I situated myself in front of his face on the carpet and studied him. Why had he been drinking? Actually, what had he been thinking?!
I suddenly had the urge to push the little strand of hair out of his face, so I reached forward and did so. I felt him stir so I quickly retracted my hand. It would be so embarrassing if Henry woke up to find my hand caressing his gorgeous face …
“Peter?”
I blinked and realised what he had just called me. “Do I look like Peter?” I snapped, feeling just a teeny bit offended.
“Oh … Lainie.”
“Henry,” I started with a sigh. “Why did you drink? You were passed out! You looked like you came from a beach party in Miami!”
Henry’s eyes then snapped open fully. “I was asleep you idiot! I didn’t pass out! Plus, I'll have you know that Miami is very fun..."
I raised my eyebrow. Like I believed him! He had been known for getting drunk at parties in LA before, so I wasn't going to let his gorgeous persuasive voice change my mind. “And I’m the President of the United States.”
Henry rolled his eyes. “Not funny.”
“How do you explain the vodka bottle if you weren’t drinking then?” I asked, pointing to the empty glass bottle beside me.
Henry pushed himself up from the couch and rolled his eyes once more. “I only took a sip. Peter was here for while to discuss things about the movie. He drank most of it,” he explained.
“So … Peter’s drunk?” I asked, unable to imagine him walking tipsily around and shouting strings of profanities to random people passing by. Ha! That would be quite funny actually ...
Henry nodded. “He drank more than just one bottle,” he added with a wrinkle of his nose. I bit my lip to hold back my smile, because he looked adorable doing that. “He’s probably passed out in his hotel room right now. When he started getting drowsy, I kicked him out of here.”
“You really kicked him huh?” I knew he hadn’t meant it literally, but I couldn’t help but ask. I suddenly imagined Henry literally kicking Peter out of this very hotel suite (which looked rather ridiculous), even if it wasn’t the appropriate time to think like that.
Henry looked at me like I fell from Mars. “And lose my part of Cade Lionel? No thanks.”
It was silent then because I didn’t know what to say, and I was surprised Henry was watching me intently, instead of adding some other witty remark to make me angry. I then remembered the real reason of why I was mad with Henry, which got me all riled up. It was all about anger tonight. But instead of yelling, I stated calmly, “Henry, I am so pissed at you.”
He blinked from confusion of what I just said and finally realised what I was talking about. “I’m not very happy with you either, Lainie.” His jaw shifted, which looked pretty attractive but I mentally waved off that thought because I was supposed to be angry with him, not smitten.
I glared at him. “Because I’m hanging out with Keith? Why the hell does he bother you?!”
Henry ran a hand through his hair and wouldn’t look me in the eye. “Look, I’m not in the mood for this. Just … don’t hang out with him so much."
He stood up and started to walk away, but I quickly hopped up and blocked him from going further. His eyes narrowed at me, so I did the same.
“Oh you’re not going anywhere!” I exclaimed. How dare he try and walk out of this! Coward.
“Get out of my way Lainie,” Henry warned.
I crossed my arms and changed to a cocky stance, just to annoy him more. “I think I’m good here, thanks. Now tell me why you hate Keith!”
Henry stayed silent, so I decided to make some random guesses, hoping I would guess right, get a reaction out of Henry and make it admit it.
“Is he an undercover spy out to get you? Is that why you don’t approve of him?” Even though it sounded stupid, it could be a possibility, although I couldn’t imagine Keith as someone wearing all black and snooping around. However, I needed to rile Henry up as much as possible. It was the only way to make him talk.
“No,” Henry answered curtly.
“Your half-brother?”
“No.”
“Your brother?”
“No!”
“April’s ex?!”
“NO!”
“Your ex?!” I was really at loss.
“I’M NOT GAY!”
“Your-”
“HE’S TAKING YOU AWAY FROM ME!” Henry roared.
I jumped. What? What had he just said?! I met his eyes, bewildered. He looked shocked too, as though those words had accidentally slipped from his mouth. I could feel the tension in the air and it somehow excited me.
“He’s taking me away from you?” I whispered, praying to God at the same time that what he had just said was indeed the truth. My heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was going to burst from my chest.
Henry meanwhile, was breathing heavily and seemed at loss for words. He finally then looked up at me and laughed. It wasn’t a laugh of happiness though, it was a hollow laugh.
“Have you ever thought that maybe I feel more than friendship towards you?”
I blinked and had no idea how to respond. It was impossible, impossible for Hollywood star Henry to like me. I was Lainie, the plain, annoying little girl who had agreed to become his fake fiancée for money. He could never like me. If he did, it would be a miracle. Hell, just Henry thinking I was an alright person was a miracle. I ended up replying with something stupid.
“I actually think you see me less than a friend.”
Henry let out a sigh and hung his head. “I’m sorry you thought of it that way. At first, I didn’t see anything in you. I just thought you were kind of pretty. Then, we went to visit my mom and things changed. I ended up telling you one of my biggest secrets, Lainie, and that has to mean something. Didn’t you ask yourself that?”
I bit my lip. I had thought of that. I had been astonished he had told me his secret out of all people.
“I don’t know … I just had the feeling that you’d understand,” Henry continued. “And when we came to Curacao on the plane, all I wanted was to be near you. I thought I was going crazy. I then realised on that plane, that I ... fancied you.”
No wonder he had been all moody and weird when we had arrived in Curacao. I had been pissed at him for that, I remember. Now, I felt like taking it all back. He had been confused. I knew what that felt like.
“I didn’t want you liking me back because I knew I was no good for you. I reflected back on what kind of man I had been before I had met you. I had let my father manipulate and abuse me, I had slept with girls here and there, attended parties and gotten so wasted until I couldn't even recognise myself in the mirror … and I realised that I shouldn’t be spending my life like that.”
I looked up at him and he was staring directly at me. It was … unnerving.
“I felt like – no, I still feel like I’m not good enough for you. Back to the point, I felt the need to distance myself from you in case you ended up liking me. That’s why I decided to make you hate me, so I acted like you were nothing. I wanted – I still want someone better for you. Someone who isn’t a jerk like me.”
I was glad that I knew why Henry had been a big, fat jerk to me while we were in Curacao most of the time. But the main thing running through my head was: He likes me!
With all the courage I had, I asked, “So … you still like me?”
A horrible silence ensued and I realised I had made a huge mistake by asking if he liked me. His feelings must have faded obviously. Lord, I was so stupid. I felt my heart sinking all the way down to the floor with a loud ‘plonk.’ I shouldn’t have asked him. Now he was probably thinking I was self-centred for even thinking that.
“Yes,” Henry said softly, looking away.
My head shot up faster than a bullet. “Yes?” I clarified. It never hurt to ask again right?
Henry ran a hand through his hair and his eyes were still averted. He looked nervous and it seemed kind of cute.
“To be honest, I think I’m falling for you.”
“What happened to distancing yourself away from me?” I asked, a little confused.
Henry looked up at me and sighed. “I don’t know. I just can’t keep myself away from you. I don’t want to be a jerk to you again. You don’t know how guilty I felt for doing that.”
Holy moly. “Am I dreaming?” I checked. “You just admitted that you were falling for me and you just admitted you were a jerk to me. Don’t you have a huge ass ego?”
His serious expression disappeared and an amused smile now replaced it. “No you are not dreaming, pancake. I’m here, you’re here and I’m falling in love with you.”
The heart which had landed on the floor with a ‘plonk’ had picked itself up and burst into rays of sunshine. It felt like I was flying, flying in Heaven to be exact.
Henry liked me out of the billions of people on Earth! Me, Lainie Watson!
To happy to say anything, I threw myself at him (shocker I know) and wrapped my arms around his neck. He staggered back a bit, startled, but then I felt his strong arms wind themselves around my petite waist. I rested my head in the crook of his neck and sighed contentedly. This was better than I imagined.
I couldn’t believe I was really here, in his arms, inhaling his intoxicating scent. It filled my lungs and made me complete.
“So does this mean you’re returning my undying love for you?” Henry whispered, his hot breath swirling in my ear. To be honest, it was ticklish, but I liked it very much. Very, very much.
Lifting my head to meet his eyes, I found that he was smiling crookedly. It was a really beautiful smile because it was a smile of what looked like true happiness. His eyes crinkled at the corners and the gold flecks in his light brown eyes were sparkling. It was so breathtaking that I nearly forgot what he had asked.
“Maybe,” I answered slyly.
Henry frowned at my cheeky expression. “Well that’s no fair.”
But then, a gleam appeared in his eyes, which I didn’t like. It looked like he was planning something. Suddenly, his hands started to tickle my sides and I instantly tried to squirm out of his tight grip.
“Henry! Stop it!”
He laughed and finally stopped as I tried to regain my breath. I whacked him on the chest as revenge and he just shook his head sadly at my weak attempt.
“Sorry that I don’t have the muscles to lock you in place so I can torture you,” I said, poking my tongue out.
“So you admit I have muscles?” Henry asked, smirking as he ran a hand down his smooth biceps.
I rolled my eyes. “Is that all you caught out of that?”
He nodded, but then his face became serious, which scared me. “You’re forgetting something Lainie,” he prompted carefully.
I frowned and racked my brains to remember what I had forgotten. I had forgotten to tell him my feelings. Oops. I could feel a small blush crawling its way up to my cheeks from my throat and in one breath, “Did I ever mention that your feelings for me are reciprocated?” rushed out of my mouth.
Ok, why did I just use a big word? Reciprocate? Really, Lainie?
Henry took a stop towards me and clasped my hands in his. “You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to hear that,” he murmured with his eyes closed and his forehead rested against mine.
“Really?” I asked, caught off guard. “What else have you been waiting for?”
I watched as Henry opened his eyes and thought. After a second or two, he gave me an answer. “Well … I have been dreaming about kissing you.”
I gasped and smacked his chest, making his laugh. I fought back a smile when I realised that Henry’s tanned cheeks were lightly tinged with pink. He was blushing!
“But really, may I kiss you Lainie?”
I swear my heart was beating faster than a hummingbird’s wings. He really did want to kiss me? And he was asking? Since when did he ask for permission?!
“Why didn’t you just force a kiss on me?” I asked, curious as to what he would say. “Isn’t that what you do? Spontaneously kiss people?”
“Well … after stealing your first kiss, which I admit made me kind of happy at the time and guilty, I wouldn’t want to make you upset again,” Henry explained. His eyes then lost the sparkle it had about a minute ago. “You know … I am sorry for that. I was such a jerk and I …”
In a second, I made my decision and bit my lip. “Just kiss me, silly.”
Henry grinned with victory and before I knew it, he had crushed me to his chest and captured my lips with his. I gasped at the sensation. The touch had been electric and it felt like my lips were on fire. Actually, my whole body was burning – burning for Henry.
His lips had always looked firm but in fact, were amazingly soft. Although it sounds corny, it felt like we were made for each other really. Now I understood those sappy romance movies and novels. I had used to scoff at those things but now, I was feeling it for myself. And I must say, it felt rather ... blissful.
Our kiss was slow and moist and wonderfully incredible and … well, it was better than all the greatest adjectives put together to describe a kiss.
Henry pulled away sooner than I would’ve liked though. We were both a bit breathless and as we looked into each other’s eyes, it was official for me. I was falling in love with him.