Page 4 of Spiral
Oh god, shaking hands? Is this a business meeting? You’re embarrassing yourself, Georgia!
He raises an eyebrow and chuckles, but doesn’t hesitate to reach a rugged, muscular hand out to shake mine. His hands are huge, especially compared to mine, and easily engulf my palm and fingers in his grasp. Henry holds my hand briefly as he shakes it, allowing the scent of his cologne to fill my senses for a brief moment. He smells of sage and something sweet, like lavender.
The scent suits him.
Danny clears his throat comically and I instantly drop Henry’s hand, my cheeks flushing red from embarrassment. I turn quickly towards my apartment door and pray I won’t be met with Patrick’s angry eyes staring back at me. Luckily, the door remains closed.
“Georgia is moving in next door to us,” Danny says, breaking the silence.
“Really?” Henry shoots me a quizzical look, a charming smirk on his lips. “Lucky us.”
In most instances, I would have been creeped out by this comment from a virtual stranger. But there's something about the boyish look on Henry’s face that makes it clear he means his words with complete innocence.
I stare at him with one eyebrow raised and, to my internal horror, let out a small snort. “Yeah, lucky you.”
Good job, Georgia. Very smooth. That almost sounded cool.
He smiles at me again, a magnetic grin that I can tell he’s probably used on hundreds of women in the past. I understand why Danny would want to live with someone like this – someone so positive, so confident.
“Well, I’ve got to get going…” I gesture weakly towards my apartment door. “Thanks for the offer to help, Danny, but I think we’ve got it from here.”
“Whatever you say, Georgie,” Danny replies, sighing with playful sarcasm. “We’ll see you at the apartment tomorrow, though?”
“We?” I ask, again. Apparently, I’m having trouble grasping the concept of multiples.
“Yeah. Henry’s my roommate, remember?”
I look up towards Henry’s chiseled and tanned features, which are beaming with pride. In this moment, I swear the glint in his eyes somehow manages to sparkle even more than before.
“I’m sure we’ll be seeing her,” Henry remarks as they turn to walk back towards their truck.
He makes it only a few steps before turning back towards me with a slight smile on his face – a smile that I can’t quite decipher.
3 | Henry
IT’S BEEN LESS than 12 hours since I met her and, for some reason, the image of her won’t leave my mind.
Georgia was so tiny, at least compared to me, that I worried I’d break her hand if I held it with any sort of pressure. The scent of pure vanilla practically engulfed me when I had touched her, and I can’t help but think about how different she is from all the drunk jersey chasers I’m used to being around.
She couldn’t be a jersey chaser, could she? I’ve never seen her at one of our parties, and every jersey chaser has gone to at least one…
The image of Georgia’s deeply green eyes invades my thoughts; how they glistened in the afternoon sun and complimented the golden brown shade of her curls. Her hair had been styled neatly, framing her face, in a way that reminded me so much of the 90’s romantic comedies my sister, Sarah, forced me to watch when we were kids.
God, why am I thinking this way about some chick I barely know?
“Hurry up, jackass! The hell are you doing up there?”
I groan. It’s Jonah, screaming up at me from the bottom of the staircase. It’s 4 AM and we’re supposed to be on the field in 20 minutes – and, like the admirable team captain I am, I’m running late… again.
“I’ll be down in two seconds!” I shout, quickly running my fingers through my hair and grabbing my muddy duffle bag.
“One… two…” he counts impatiently from the bottom of the stairs. “I’m about to leave your ass here, Henry!”
“Leave my ass here? You don’t have a car!” I brush past Jonah’s shoulder, flicking the baseball cap planted on his head onto the floor behind him.
“Fuck off, Anderson. You know Coach wanted you there early to go over drills.”
“Shit.”