"You did this on purpose," I said slowly, dazedly.
"Did what?" he asked, faking innocence as he pulled the t-shirt over his head.
I thought it had been a lot to behold before, but watching him adjust the fitted t-shirt—it was just too much. I felt overheated, flushed. I had to turn away, glancing at the wall, glancing anywhere but at the perfect body in front of me.
"What do you want to do?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Do you mean go somewhere?" he asked. "Because we could just watch TV or something here."
"That would be amazing," I said. "It's a busy time of the term for me, and I did homework on the flight. I'm tired from that and from traveling, and I'd love to relax. I was going to ask if we could hang out here, but I didn't want to come across as too forward."
"What would be forward about that?" he asked, coming to stand next to me with his larger-than-life presence.
I felt weak in the knees. Stiffly, I stared at him.
"I thought it would be forward of me to invite myself over to your house," I said, trying not to sound as breathless as I felt.
"No, it's not forward," he said. "I'm the one who came out here without a shirt."
I smiled and shrugged confidently. "I know, thank goodness you put that back on. You were making me feel like all bets were off."
Chapter 11
"All bets really are off," Henry said, confidently, staring me from close proximity, crowding my space.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"You're the one who said it," he said.
I grinned at him and giggled a little when I realized he was right. "I don't know what I mean by it. All bets are off. You know, like the phrase. I've just always wanted to say it. It sounds good, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, it's fine, but surely you meant something," he said. His voice was deep, and I could hardly take in what he was saying because he was mesmerizing.
"I don't know what it means. I've just always wanted to say it."
"Okay, never mind."
My stomach flipped when he said that. "Never mind what?" I said.
"I thought you were giving me some kind of permission," he said, shaking his head and looking away.
His living room was inviting, and I leaned against the built-in bookshelf that lined one wall. "Permission for what?" I asked innocently.
Henry shrugged and shook his head, still looking away. We were both flirting even though we were being vague. "I justthought that all bets are off meant you were okay with mistakes being made," he said.
I squinted at him when he said that.
"What's that face for?" he asked.
"Because I wouldn't consider what I'm thinking to be a mistake."
He took a step closer to me, looking at me with an appraising stare. "Are we talking about the same thing?" he asked in a low tone.
I was nervous, but I gave him a casual shrug. "I don't know," I said. "You just said it would be a mistake for anything to happen with us."
"I didn't mean that," he said. "How about a movie?" he added with a little gesture toward the couch.
"I thought you'd never ask," I said, smiling and trying not to seem disappointed that we were changing the subject.What was I hoping for? That he would kiss me?Of course, that was what I thought was going to happen.How could he so casually ask if I wanted to watch a movie?I pretended that it was completely normal for us to watch a movie at that moment instead of kissing passionately.
