Page 22 of True Sight (Nat. 20, #4)

HENRY

O n Saturday morning, my eyes shoot open faster than a high-speed train out of London.

All night I had tossed and turned, imagining what my morning with him would entail.

While it isn’t explicitly a date—since I still don’t know which team he’s part of—it sure feels like one.

Part of me had grown concerned when he suddenly stopped replying to my messages last week.

But since I saw him on Tuesday, he hasn’t ignored a single text I’ve sent him.

Not that there were many of them, because there weren’t.

But he did reply when I sent him my address and again when I confirmed our plans last night, so I took that as a win.

I jump out of bed and head for the shower to get ready for the day.

Alex is teaching our Saturday morning classes today which is why I asked him to meet me this morning.

I have the whole day to myself and I intend on using it well.

Glancing at the clock, I note that I have about a little under two hours to get ready before he’ll be here to pick me up.

Plenty of time to shower, shave, do my morning skincare, and make breakfast. We have classes almost every day of the week now, so it’s a rarity that I have this much time to myself in the morning.

Usually by now I’d have two classes under my belt and be prepping for a third.

I mosey through my shower, taking a few extra minutes to enjoy the hot water and then turn on my favorite YouTuber as I shave and apply all the moisturizers and serums to my face.

As someone who’s on camera and online for a living, I take my skincare very seriously.

True to form, I mosey a little too much and before I know it, I only have fifteen minutes before Conrad is supposed to pick me up and I’m not even dressed yet.

“Boggart. Hurry up, you ninny, he’s going to be here soon and you haven’t even eaten,” I hiss to myself, hurrying to my closet in only my trunks.

Halfway between the bathroom and my closet, there is a knock on the door.

I turn slowly and look at the door for a brief second before turning back to look in the direction of my closet, frozen in where to go next.

Another knock comes at the door followed by a voice.

“Henry? You there, dude? It’s me, Conrad.

” His voice warms me in a way that should be criminalized—even if it’s cut with a hint of irritation because I’m making him wait.

I should be the one who’s irritated with him since he’s early.

Not wanting to be rude, I skip over to the door and swing it open with a smile.

When Conrad sees me, every muscle in his face goes flat and his eyes go wide.

“Hello, good morning.” I laugh uncomfortably, trying to downplay the fact that I’ve just opened the door wearing nothing but a pair of briefs. Conrad’s eyes scan my body and pause for half a second longer on my lower half before shooting his eyes back to mine.

“Why don’t you have any clothes on?” he gawks, his voice completely stunned.

His eyes are suddenly glued to the ceiling as if I’m standing before him wearing nothing at all.

Annie, who has been patiently sitting next to him, can’t resist saying hello any longer and is trying to jump into my arms. I bend over to say hello to her before moving away from the door so my neighbors don’t join in on my unplanned show.

“Because you got here early and I haven’t had time to dress yet,” I call back to him as I hurry towards my closet.

“You said to pick you up at eight,” I hear him bark out before hearing the noticeable sound of the door closing.

“And it’s not eight yet, last I checked,” I call back. I quickly throw on a black pair of joggers, a long sleeved T-shirt, and I’m reaching for my favorite jumper when Annie is suddenly in the closet with me.

“Hello, pretty girl,” I coo to her, warranting a butt shake from her in thanks.

When I have my jumper and trainers in hand, I carry both out to the living room with Annie in tow.

When I reach the living room, I find Conrad standing with his arms crossed next to the front door as if he is too afraid to come any further inside.

He has a scowl on his face as he studies my flat for the first time.

“Well, what do you think?” I ask, letting out a short breath and dropping my shoes to the floor.

“I think you should be more punctual. And not open your door naked, someone could have seen you,” he sneers.

“Okay, first, I wasn’t naked. I was wearing nothing less than I would wear to a beach or the pool. And two.” I wait for him to look at me and smile confidently before I continue. “What if I wanted someone to see me?” I pump my brows at him and can swear I see his cheeks flush the faintest bit.

“Well now we’re late,” he mumbles to himself and I have to bite back my laugh.

“I haven’t eaten anything yet this morning. Do you mind stopping at the coffee shop so I can grab some food? I was going to make myself breakfast but clearly fell behind. I feel awful making us late. I can see how important timeliness is to you.”

With a heavy sigh, he drops his arms and gives me a contemptuous look. “Fine. We can stop for food. Are you ready to go?”

I give him my biggest smile and I can see him fighting his own. “Yep, I’m ready.”

“Thank god, let’s go. Annie, come.” She comes running and sits politely at his feet while he latches her leash to her harness.

We both step out into my hallway and he waits for me to lock my door.

As we head for the lift, I glance over at him.

Our eyes meet for a second before he looks away and pretends as if he is looking at the floor.

“Are you always this grouchy in the morning or is it just because I was late?” I ask, trying to break the tension. He takes a deep breath before replying.

“You weren’t late, I was early,” he admits, his voice softening. “But to answer your question, I tend to be grouchy in the morning. Bad sleep, you know.”

I nod my head and choose to leave the conversation there at the indirect mention of his nightmares. I’d been wanting to check on him to see how he was but I also know how sensitive he is about them. I never want to pry no matter how much I want to make sure he’s okay.

“Well,” I start as the lift doors close us into the small space, “let’s see if a good morning walk will change that.”

And he groans the entire way down.

We’ve been on the park trail for half an hour in pure silence.

I don’t know why he is so grumpy; I promised him no running and no dancing, and what we are doing is neither.

We are walking, not even fast walking, and the only people who seem to be enjoying themselves are Annie and I.

Conrad is following behind us since we had taken the lead while I was hanging onto Annie who wanted nothing more than to be let off leash.

When I suggested we let her loose, he nearly bit my head off.

Something about proper dog etiquette. Knowing this route since I’ve been here before, I know we still have another hour to go before we’ll reach the car.

Not wanting to walk another few kilometers in pure silence, I try to see if I can get him to soften up.

“Annie looks like she’s enjoying herself,” I start, knowing that he won’t ignore a chance to talk about her.

“She would do this four times a day if you let her,” he gripes, swiping the back of his hand across his forehead before using the same hand to push his hair out of his eyes. The things I would do to be able to run my fingers through his hair.

“Then why don’t you?” I question with a hint of humor in my voice so he knows I’m teasing.

“I take her on at least three walks a day around my neighborhood, sometimes four if I have time. What she needs is someone to run her.”

“I can do that,” I offer without skipping a beat.

“You what?” he scoffs, raising a skeptical brow at me. I slow Annie down so we are walking next to him.

“I can run her. I can come over a few times a week and take her for a run. I can tell you don’t run?—”

“Gee, thanks,” he gruffs before looking down at himself.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” I stammer. “That wasn’t a comment on your body. You have a great body, I mean…” My words get caught in my throat and I look at him awkwardly .

“You think I have a great body?” He smirks at me with a hint of arrogance in his voice.

“Oh, stop.” I wave a hand at him which earns me a chuckle. I can feel the heat in my cheeks and rub the back of my neck. “I just meant that I remembered how you told me before how you don’t run or dance. Remember?”

He nods his head and grins at the ground, leaving me to wonder what he’s grinning about. “Yeah, yeah, I remember.”

We walk a few more paces in silence and I try to shake off the bone-deep embarrassment I feel about my slip up.

“You can come by a few times a week if you want,” he offers, glancing up at me, still grinning.

“I can?” I ask hopefully.

“To run Annie, obviously.”

“Obviously, yeah. Right, sure.” I match the nod he’s giving me and try not to let the bubbling excitement in my belly get out of control.

We continue down the path and enjoy the cool mid-October evening.

The summer humidity is finally calming down and with the breeze floating off the river, I’m loosely reminded of home.

I can’t help but smile as I look around the marshland and fall foliage that’s starting to come in.

Casting my eyes over Annie and Conrad, I feel like I’m living in a dream.

“What’s that look for?” he asks. When I look over at him, he’s looking back at me expectantly and I want to reach over and dot the few freckles that are scattered across the bridge of his nose.

“It’s nothing. I’m just enjoying the great outdoors.” I extend my arms outward with gusto, causing Annie to get excited and attempt to leap into my arms.