Summertime Haze
1.13 - Forbidden Kiss
Ellen slammed another book shut and stormed across the library to shove it back onto the shelf. She’d been at this for years now. The book she’d found initially had hinted towards an opportunity for her, but since then? Nothing. She knew the book had to be here, too, it was the oldest library in Willow Creek. And the original book had pretty explicitly stated that this whole thing had been tied to Willow Creek for millennia now.
Jaxon had asked her on numerous occasions why she cared so much and frankly, while she’d never tell him, she had no idea. But at this point, she’d already invested so much time that she wasn’t going to give up now.
She’d spent so much time at the library that the head librarian had asked her one day if she wanted to volunteer there. Ellen had thought why not? She already spent most days there. What she told herself now was that there were only so many books in that library. She was sure to find the one she needed eventually. And as a volunteer, she had unlimited access to everything in that library. It was only a matter of time.
“This here, is our new greenhouse,” Bennett said, gesturing broadly to show off a newly renovated part of the Reardon home. “This room used to be full of junk, sort of like our honorary attic, which I thought was just dumb. So, I got rid of it all and mom had the great idea to turn it into a greenhouse!”
“That’s awesome, Bennett,” Henry smiled. “What are you guys planning on growing? Fruits? Strawberries?”
“That’s up to Regan,” Bennett shrugged. “Mom thought it might help her develop as a person if she has to be responsible for the plants. Which is practically a death sentence for those poor plants, but at least Mom’s trying. Either way, I’m not going to see it.”
‘Why’s that?” Jordan asked, curiosity piqued.
“I’m moving out!” Bennett said proudly.
“It’s about time,” Henry grinned. “Hey Jordan, you’re looking for a place of your own right now too, right?”
Jordan nodded. “I can’t live with Hope for another month. Love her! But I can’t stand being pitied. I’ve gotta get out of there.”
“You’d almost think you two planned it…” Henry said jokingly.
Bennett snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous, Henry.”
Henry thought for a moment. “Hey. Joking aside, would you two like to live together? Like, with me? My house is so giant, so empty… and I can barely afford the mortgage payments, so I would love to have roommates.”
Jordan and Bennett shared a look.
“You know what? I think I’d really like that,” Bennett said.
“And it’s going to be just great to stop the house search,” Jordan laughed. “You have no idea how stressful it is, Bennett. You’ll see a nice house, then the realtor will hit you with the price and it’s like a bullet wound to the chest.”
Henry nodded. “Yeah, I only got my place so cheap cause the previous owner had died inside and the realtor wanted to sell it quick to avoid dealing with the property for any longer. Don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t been able to take advantage of that.”
“Man… I’m so glad I get to avoid that. I’ve definitely never been the best at being an adult, so this is a huge break for me. Thanks, Henry.”
“Yeah, thank you Henry!” Jordan added quickly.
“No thanks needed,” Henry said. “You two are helping me out too.”
Within a couple of weeks, Bennett and Jordan had moved into Henry’s house. They hadn’t quite finished unpacking yet, but Jordan had started decorating Henry’s spare room for herself and Bennett had claimed a smaller room Henry had been using as a storage closet. Henry rarely entered either, so he didn’t mind. He didn’t spend much time on the second floor in general, almost everything he needed was downstairs. That day, the three of them planned to throw a party to celebrate their move.
As Henry left his bedroom that morning, he ran into Bennett, who was leaving his storage closet.
“Hey, Bennett,” Henry frowned. “You sure you’re okay with sleeping in there? We could always set up two beds in my room or Jordan’s if you wanted…”
“No, no,” Bennett said, shaking his head. “This room is fine. It’s just going to take some getting used to, that’s all.”
“Okay, Bennett. Just let me know if you ever get uncomfortable, alright?”
Bennett nodded, then passed Henry to get to the bathroom.
Henry went downstairs, where Jordan was enjoying her morning coffee.
“Good morning, Henry,” she smiled. “You excited for the party tonight?”
Henry nodded, and poured himself a cup of coffee. After mixing in some cream, he took a sip, and was pleasantly surprised at how great it tasted. Not too bitter, but not too creamy either. There was also the most pleasant aftertaste, though he couldn’t quite place his finger on what it was.
“Jordan! This is good!” he exclaimed.
“Like it?” Jordan grinned. “I bought some new coffee beans yesterday, a brand I’ve used when I had to work as barista. You have a chef in this house now Henry, it’s going to be good eating from here on out.”
Henry smiled to himself. She was right. He rarely had anyone cook for him, the only exception being family dinners at the Baxter’s. And Henry was hardly a good chef, he could barely afford his mortgage so of course he hadn’t been going out to restaurants. Other than Hayley, he didn’t think anyone had cooked for him since his mom back when he was at home.
Having Jordan and Bennett in that house with him was going to be better than he could have ever imagined.
As the sun started to set, everyone they’d invited was there. It wasn’t a big party, just their main group plus Hayley, they didn’t need anyone else.
“So, Bennett,” Hope said, looking him dead in the eye. “I know why Jordan wanted out, but why the sudden change of heart in your case?”
“Yeah… didn’t you say you wanted to stay there for Regan?” Paolo asked quietly.
“She graduated from high school and is like, a full adult now! So I thought to myself what am I doing here babysitting a full grown adult? She never appreciated me anyway, and now that my mom and dad have retired, they’re there full time to keep an eye on her.”
“Well, cheers to that!” Toby smiled. “You got out of a situation you no longer wanted to be in, I’m sure we all can admire that.”
Hayley turned to Toby. “Didn’t Paolo..?”
Toby nodded. “Paolo, why don’t you tell your story, since we’re talking about moving and everything.”
“Well… back in Windenburg, I lived with a bunch of party animals. I was already an adult, with a job,, and they were a bunch of young, college aged kids. I needed their help paying the rent so much that… I wasn’t even acting like myself anymore. So, I left the house to them and came out here.”
“You should have told us earlier!” Jordan exclaimed. “Bennett and I could have taken notes!”
“Hang on a minute,” Henry cut in. “Hope, you were totally implying something else right there, weren’t you?”
Hope smiled. “You got it. Bennett, you’ve gotta admit it, you just moved in here to be with Jordan. I can’t blame you, she’s beautiful, but come on.”
Jordan gasped and punched Hope’s shoulder.
“Yeah, Bennett,” Toby teased. “We’ve all seen how you always wait for Jordan and Hope to show up every meeting.”
“We’re just friends!” Bennett declared.
“You said he waits for Hope to, maybe she’s the one he’s got his eye on,” Hayley said.
“Why am I the subject of all this abuse when Henry’s been single for even longer?” Bennett said, pointing.
Henry glared at him.
“Well…” Hope muttered. “Toby’s married, and I don’t think Henry is really Paolo’s type…”
Paolo nodded quickly.
“So that’d just leave you as a potential option, Bennett!” Hope said.
Bennett shook his head, not even having a response to that.
“Actually,” Henry smiled. “I kissed Bennett once cause I was so desperate for affection. He wasn’t into it though.”
“You did WHAT?” Jordan exclaimed.
“Henry! Bennett! How come you never told us this!” Toby said.
Hayley sighed.
“I was dumb back then,” Henry said simply. “Now it’s obvious to even me that Bennett and I would never work. I mean, to start, he’s straight.”
“Hey, Henry?” Toby interrupted. “Could I use your phone charger? Mine’s almost dead.”
“Sure,” Henry nodded. “It’s upstairs.”
Toby followed Henry up the stairs and into his bedroom, the sounds of everyone laughing downstairs growing fainter and more muffled.
“I almost didn’t clean my room before the party,” Henry chuckled. “That sure would’ve been a mistake.”
He unplugged his charger from the outlet beside his dresser, and held it up. Toby wasn’t paying attention, instead focused on the window. A steamboat was sailing down the river, all lit up.
“The view up here is incredible,” Toby said, shaking his head. He pushed open the door and walked out onto Henry’s balcony. “I can’t believe you got this place for cheap.”
“Apparently no one wants to buy a house someone’s died in,” Henry said, joining him on the balcony. “But you’re right. The whole first year in this house, I’d step out on this balcony every night to watch the River Queen sail past. I guess it was relaxing to me, or something.”
“Henry, I…”
“You what, Toby?”
Toby gave Henry a panicked look. Then, he surprised Henry with a kiss.