He raises a brow at me. “Do you want to play the Xbox?”
I absolutely do not look at his chest, his abs, the curve of his arms. “Yes.” I hand him the controller.
He huffs and falls onto the couch beside me, and we start the game. I’m half distracted the entire time, but Henry must be too because I win easily.
“Satisfied now?” Henry says, setting his controller on the coffee table.
“You let me win.” I set my controller down too.
Henry leans over until his face is a breath away from mine. “Come on,” he murmurs, before standing up and disappearing into his bedroom.
Apart from that first kiss in the pool, I’ve avoided initiating anything. Henry thinks I’m playing coy or being shy. In actuality, I’m too scared to reveal how much I like him.
I follow as he falls back onto the bed, head supported by a mountain of pillows. “You should take off your uniform,” he says. “Don’t want it to wrinkle.”
“I never knew you cared so much about school uniforms.” I undo a shirt button.
“I don’t.”
“Are you trying to seduce me?” I tease.
“Are you trying to be a cock tease?” Henry raises a brow. His jaw tightens when he sees how long I’m taking. “For god’s sake,” he says a moment later, grabbing my arm and pulling me onto the bed before I’ve taken my shorts off.
He runs a hand over my bare back. Kisses the corner of my mouth.
All my hesitation disappears, and I kiss him and watch his pupils dilate. I rub my hands up and down his side.
“Noah,” Henry groans, before wrapping his arms around me, and rolling over so he’s on top of me, kissing my mouth hard. My mouth parts, allowing his tongue to enter. His thighs push against mine, and my body goes hot with lust.
When we first began, we were clumsy as hell. I suppose all teenagers are, but I didn’t know what to do with Henry. He’s my best friend. It’s not like I could tell him he’s beautiful because that’s too romantic.
Now, I think we’re more graceful and soon we take our shorts off. I slide a hand between us, down to the waistband on his boxers.
“Please, Noah. Please.”
I know that after we finish, I’m going to think about how this is about getting off for Henry, whereas for me it’s something different. Something special. Something scary. But now, I don’t worry about that. All I want to do is make Henry happy.
Time passes. Our kissing has slowed down, and now we’re laying on the bed in each other’s arms. Soon, Henry will stand up and fuss over making the bed neat as if we never touched it. He’s pedantic like that.
“I love your hair.” Henry’s fingers run through it.
Excitement and pleasure shoots through me. “You do?” My voice is raspy.
“Of course. You’re so fucking hot.”
My cheeks turn pink and I press the side of my head against Henry’s chest to hide my blush.
“And humble. You should add that to the list.”
I want to ask, ‘you think I’m humble?’ But I can’t question every quality Henry says I have. That would be pathetic.
“So are you, Henry,” I say, running a hand across his stomach.
He chuckles.
Five minutes pass. Across from the bed, the window is shaded by a white blind. Beyond it, I make out the outline of the pool and the endless lawn.
Henry’s voice breaks the peaceful quiet. “Guess what?”
