Twenty minutes later, we pulled off the road onto what looked like a very long driveway with trees lining either side. I still couldn't see the house because it was set so far back from the road. All of a sudden, a palatial mansion came into view. It was huge! I knew my eyes had gone wide and my mouth was opened in shock. We pulled up into the circle in front of the house. I was still in shock so I just sat there and stared at the house in front of me. Henry came around and opened my door and pulled my arm to get me to get out of the car. He took my hand in his and leaned down to whisper in my ear.
"It's okay. I'm here with you. They are going to love you."
He pulled me up the steps and opened the front door. We stepped into the front foyer that was bigger than the first floor of my mom's house. I looked up and saw a crystal chandelier at the top of a vaulted ceiling. In front of me, there was a winding staircase that led to the second floor. To the left, there was a room that looked like a very formal living room complete with white couches and a piano. To the right of the staircase, there was a long hallway. Henry led me through there to a large kitchen and tv room. There were French doors that led out to the back yard. We heard lots of voices coming from outside.
As soon as we stepped outside, a woman with the same color eyes and hair as Henry ran up and hugged him. She looked like she was a few years older than us so I assumed she was Henry's sister Anne.
"Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence. I thought you were a lost cause little brother."
"Nope, just needed a good reason to come back. You know I would never miss Grandmom's birthday."
He turned to me and put his hand on the small of my back to bring me forward since I was sort of hiding behind him.
"Anne this is my girlfriend Emily. Be nice."
"Emily! It's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you. You must be a saint to put up with my baby brother."
I giggled and knew instantly that Anne and I would get along great. I took a look around to see that there were about ten people hanging out around the pool. Someone was manning the grill and it smelled like they were cooking burgers. The pool was maybe three times bigger than Jess'. On one side there was a waterfall with a grotto behind it. It was beautiful. Henry walked me around and introduced me to everyone. It turned out to be mainly his cousins and a few family friends. I was never going to remember everyone's name.
Henry pulled me back inside the house. We walked down the hallway and up the steps to the second floor. He turned right at the top and walked all the way to end. He opened a door on the left and flicked the light on. The room was painted a dark grey with a king size bed in the middle. On the wall in front of the bed, there was a large tv and a window on either side. In one corner there was a leather recliner and a bookcase in the other corner filled with books. Our bags were sitting on the bed.
"So this is my room." Henry grabbed my hand and pulled me into the space.
"How did our bags get up here?"
"Probably George. He's kind of the butler."
"Butler? Are you serious right now?"
"Unfortunately I am. My dad's a pretentious fuck. But George is great. I'll introduce you to him later."
I plopped down on the bed feeling a little overwhelmed with everything. My boyfriend has a butler. What kind of alternate universe am I in? Henry placed our bags on his floor and sat down next to me. Suddenly, a fit of giggles came over me. Henry was looking at me like I had three heads. The giggles turned into full-on belly laughs. I laid back on the bed and covered my face with my hands while laughing hysterically. I felt Henry lay down next to me. When I opened my eyes, he had one arm propped up and his head was leaning on his hand. He still was looking at me like I was crazy.
"Em, are you okay?"
I wiped the tears away from my eyes and calmed myself down to try to answer him.
"I think so. This is just so unbelievable. I mean, you have a butler. How the hell did I not know this about you?"
A smirk appeared on his face and he placed his free hand on my stomach where my shirt had ridden up and my skin was exposed.
"He's not my butler. He's my dad's butler. It is pretty ridiculous I guess."
He started tracing shapes on my stomach and it distracted me from what I was laughing at. I reached up and placed a hand on his face and felt the almost beard he had growing. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on my nose. It's not what I was expecting him to do.
"If I start kissing you, I won't be able to stop. There's too many people here right now."
I dropped my hand and let out a frustrated sigh. I guess I got used to being able to do whatever we wanted over the past week. He got up off the bed and grabbed my wrist to pull me up. He pushed a piece of my hair behind my ear and placed a chaste kiss on my mouth.
"I know this is a lot of new information to process. If it's too much, we can just chill up here tonight."
"No, of course not! We came today so you could spend some time with your brother and sister. I think I'm okay now. I just have to stop thinking about the whole butler thing or I'll lose it again. Where is your brother anyway?"
"I guess he's still at the office with my dad. He's being groomed to take over eventually when my dad retires. Anne's in law school and will work in the legal department when she finishes school and passes the bar. And that makes me the black sheep."
"I can't see you doing anything other than music. I can tell how much you love it when you perform. And your writing is beautiful. It would be a tragedy not to pursue it."
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in for a proper kiss. I didn't hesitate to return his affections. When he pulled away, he leaned his forehead against mine.
"You're perfect. You know that right?"
I didn't know how to respond so I just pulled him closer to me and rested my head on his chest. He may not have the support of his family when it came to chasing his dreams but he definitely had mine.
I needed to use the bathroom after such a long drive so I asked Henry where it was. He led me over to one of two doors on the far side of the room. I opened it and in front of me was the bathroom of my dreams. There was a stand up shower with one of those waterfall shower heads and enough room for a small party. There was also a soaking tub with bubble jets that I absolutely planned on taking advantage of. Behind the tub was a window with a view of the setting sun. It made the whole room glow. I went to the bathroom and took the opportunity to fix my hair and makeup. I felt completely out of place but I was going to get through the next 2 days for Henry's sake.