chapter 7: The occasion

     Just as Nicole was trying avoid waking Henry up, she unknowingly nudged him a little bit waking him up. Twisting and turning, Henry woke up. His eyes struggling to remain steady as he tried holding them open,

     “Good morning,” Nicole uttered quietly, “I did not mean to wake you up,” she added, feeling quite remorseful for breaking his beauty sleep.

     “Oh please, it is fine. Moreover I seem to have overslept a bit,” he replied to Nicole. “Anyway, I hope you had a good night sleep?” he inquired.

     “Of course dear, staying by your side always keeps me at peace,” she said to him, “You look handsome when you sleep,” she commented.

     “really? You are even more attractive regardless of the situation,” he replied, “Wait a minute!” Henry exclaimed as he began turning his head around like he was in search of something.

     “what is it?” Nicole asked Henry, she was confused with the sudden mood change.

     “Do you know what the time is?” he asked, “I think I am already late for an occasion, it’s a family thing,” he explained to Nicole.

     “I had no idea, I would have pulled you up from your slumber,” she said, “but you did not tell me, you never do,” Nicole continued, she sounded upset because Henry never liked talking about his personal life with her.

     “It is not like that dear, I will try my best to let you know everything about me as time goes on. Trust me there are some things that would be too far fetched if I told you, I just feel like as we develop stronger emotions for each other, we will get to learn all we need to know.” Henry explained to her.

Henry did not think that Nicole was ready to know the secrets he had about what he truly was. Most people that found out the truth about his family never saw them the same, moreover he was not ready to lose her.

     “Perhaps you are right, I am sorry for attacking you?” she apologized.

     “you should not apologize dear, I’m also wrong. I should be more free around you,” he said with a sigh, “so…would you like to tag along for the occasion?” Henry asked her.

     “How do you expect me to go? You literally just mentioned that it was a family thing,” she narrated.

     “I know I said that, last I checked you are family,” Henry uttered with a flirty smile drawn upon his face.

     “awwnn,” she blushed, “but it would be weird if I come for an occasion dressed like this,” Nicole told him.

     “There is nothing to worry about dear, just leave that aspect to me,” Henry replied, “just wait for me here and by the time I am back, we would get you ready.” He assured her, as he took his leave. She was nervous about the whole thing, Nicole was about to meet Henry's family members in an occasion probably as a normal friend.

     Meeting a lover’s family for the first time is always quite a weird experience, it could go wrong pretty easily and give them a bad impression about whoever. So Nicole knew that she had to be on her best behavior, the first impression is always the most lasting.

     In about half an hour, Henry returned with a couple of dresses. They were definitely expensive and beautiful,

     “I got what I could find, do you testing the cloths. I want you to look splendid,” Henry uttered to her, as he tossed the dresses on the bed surface.

     “wow! These look amazing. Where in the world did you see these things?” Nicole was a bit curious about the cloths, “You definitely did not go shopping in just a few minutes,” she added.

     “Come on…, what matters is that I got you what you needed,” Henry said, “we would talk about that later dear, as for now I need to go get myself ready too.” He uttered just trying to escape the conversation.

~~~

She had no make-up on, but she was as beautiful as the day he met her.

Her long hair fell in waves down her back and over her shoulders as if it were a silky waterfall that flowed into a pool of blue silk. Her eyes were deep, sapphire pools that captured your whole soul until you could never get enough of them. There was something about her. He found himself walking towards her, his legs seemingly moving by themselves as they carried him to where she stood.

She smiled softly, her head tilting at an angle that allowed  a lock of hair to drape over her face and hide it from his view as she held out her arms for him. The smile widened even further when she noticed his expression had become one of surprise and confusion; however, it was clear to see how much his reaction delighted her. He took hold of her hands slowly, letting the warmth of her skin linger on his cold fingers before their lips touched in a sweet kiss.

"you look beautiful." he thought to himself, smiling to himself as he stared down at the woman in front of him. She beamed up at him before pulling herself closer to his height, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I feel like I don't deserve you." she whispered against his chest causing him to chuckle lightly under his breath, placing his hand on her lower back to keep her close.

"You're more than enough." he said gently.

"I hope so... I love you." she sighed against him before looking up at him with hopeful eyes. He leaned down and placed another soft kiss upon her forehead before whispering in her ear;

"I love you too..."

He pulled away, watching as the corners of her mouth lifted into a smile. The way he made her happy. His heart soared at the sight before him. This is why he loved being with her; everything else faded away in comparison to the beauty that she brought to him.

"let's get going, we are already late,"  he spoke softly. She nodded and let go of him, allowing him to take her hand again, intertwining their fingers together. They started walking through the crowded forest of trees, taking slow steps that matched one another perfectly.

"how do we intend on getting to the occasion?" Nicole asked . He stopped, his hand tightening its grip around hers as he looked up at her.

"there's a hidden path just behind that tree right there; I've been traveling this forest since I was young so I know all the shortcuts. Once we get to my family's estate, we can drive through the woods until we reach it."