Page 19 of Soothe Me, Daddy
“Why not?”
“Not sure.”
What he was sure about was that his two-word answers were grating on Isaac because Isaac’s tone became more clipped with each exchange, and Henley felt an obscene amount of pleasure from it.
Once the van was loaded, Isaac slid into the driver’s seat and Henley the passenger seat, pouting some more when he had to do it himself, without the assistance Isaac had provided Saturday night. They got on the road quickly, speeding towards a new store that would be opening in three weeks.
“Right. Now that we are away from prying eyes and ears, what’s the matter? And don’t say nothing because you have been sulking all morning.”
Henley didn’t say anything for the moment. He didn’t know what to say.
Isaac sighed. “When we were talking on Saturday, you said you understood that I needed you to always tell the truth. Did you lie to me?”
“No!” Henley swung his gaze around to Isaac. “I wouldn’t do that.”
“Then why are you hiding behind silence today?”
Henley shifted in his seat, pushing his hands under his thighs as he thought about his answer. “I’m…annoyed,” he muttered.
“That’s a start. What are you annoyed about?”
Henley heaved a breath. “Because I wanted more on Saturday. And you left me standing there with nothing but a small kiss! I wanted…” Henley paused, brow furrowing. “That’s why. Because I wasn’t ready. I need to start thinking about both of us, not just me.” He glanced across at Isaac, seeing a small smile playing on his lips. “You didn’t want to rush us into anything. You wanted to go slow.”
“Correct.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that?”
“I did.”
“When?”
“Think about our conversation, Henley. I’ll wait.”
Henley gazed out of the window, not seeing anything as he played back their date. There were lots of talking about trust, and then he remembered specific words:“Everything I do for or to you is for your benefit.”
“I have to trust that you know me better than I know myself when it comes to certain things.”
“Well done, Henley. I’m proud of you for figuring it out.”
Henley closed his eyes and grinned, sitting taller in his seat with the praise.
“I wanted to be with you,” Henley said.
“I know. And I wanted to be with you, too. But we need to make sure we’re happy with our decisions before we cross that line, okay?”
“Okay.” Henley waited a few seconds. “When will we know that we are happy with our decisions? Because I feel happy about it.”
Isaac chuckled. “I’m sure you do.”
“When can we go out again?” Henley asked.
“We’re going out with the execs this weekend, remember.”
“I know. I mean you and me. Maybe we could go to the cinema or bowling or something? I’ve not been to the cinema for a while. Not sure what’s on either, I’d have to check. Do you like the cinema? Or would you prefer dinner again? I’m easy, rea—”
“Henley? Relax.”
Henley inhaled and exhaled shakily, resting his head back and rolling it towards Isaac. “Sorry.”
