Page 51 of Watching Henry

“It was private!”

“It was a public place,” reasoned Hadley. “And you ran on out of there like your butt was on fire.”

It was so quiet that Hadley could hear Florence swallow. “It was private,” she said again.

Hadley moved, one step, then two, edging closer until a meter or so separated them. She was still mad. Her blood was pounding, her heart was throbbing. She was angry and, and something else. Heat was rising in her, pulsing between her legs.

“You left so fast because what you saw made you uncomfortable,” Hadley said. “You left so fast because you were jealous, weren't you?”

Florence turned so that Hadley saw only her profile. “No.”

“Bullshit.” Florence hadn't even tried to sound convincing. “You were jealous because you thought that I was kissing Eleanor.”

There was a long silence and Hadley crept in a little closer. She wasn't doing it intentionally. It was as though she was being drawn into Florence, an attraction she was helpless to prevent.

“Maybe,” Florence said after a while, voice gruff.

Hadley shook her head. “You don't get to have it both ways, Florence. You don't get to tell me you don't want me and then be angry or hurt if I choose someone else. That's not how this works.”

“I thought there was nothing going on?”

“There wasn't,” Hadley said reasonably, taking another half-step forward. “But you were upset anyway. You're as confused as I am about what's happening here, aren't you?”

Florence was looking at the floor, light from the window glancing off her hair. Hadley inched further forward until Florence looked up and even in the darkness Hadley could see that her eyes were burning.

“How could someone like you like someone like me?” she burst out.

Finally, Hadley was able to take a step back. “What?”

“You heard me.” Florence was suddenly furious, her breath panting and her eyes wild. “What is this? Some kind of challenge for yourself? Some kind of summer game? Flirt with the weird girl?”

Hadley held up both hands. “What are you talking about?”

Florence laughed bitterly. “I'm talking about you. You're beautiful, you're sexy, you're rich and smart. Oh, don't look like that, you know you are. So why are you so interested in someone like me, huh?”

“I, uh, I...” stammered Hadley.

“Exactly.”

Florence tried to move, tried to edge her way past Hadley and for the second time, Hadley's instincts took over. Her hand shot out and caught Florence's wrist. As soon as the connection was made she felt that burning heat again and her insides quivered with it.

“No, you're not walking away this time,” she said, voice husky. “You will stay here and you will communicate with me, and you will listen to me.”

“Let me go!”

Hadley dropped her wrist, but was close enough that Florence couldn't get past her. “I don't know what you've been told, I don't know what you think, but you're beautiful, Florence.” Her voice softened as she looked into Florence's eyes. “You're beautiful and I'm interested. Not because it's a game, not to tease you. I swear.”

“Why then?” Florence said, words still hard and sharp.

Hadley shook her head. “I have no idea why. Because you make me want to pull the stars down from the sky. Because you make me want to tear my hair out and bang my head against a wall. Because you make me want to hold you in my arms all night so that I can be sure that you're the first thing that I see in the morning.”

They were so close now, so close that Hadley could see Florence's eyelashes. Could see the down of light hairs on her cheeks. She reached up and removed Florence's glasses, then she reached behind and pulled the band from Florence's hair.

“No,” Florence said. “This isn't some movie, I'm not some boring librarian that suddenly gets beautiful when you take off her glasses and undo her hair.”

Hadley laughed, a full, true laugh and put her hand on Florence's cheek. “Don't you get it yet?”

“Get what?”