“I swear this isn’t the way I usually am.” She took a deep breath, trying to smile in spite of all the tears that just kept fighting to come out.
Henri dropped his paintbrush. He took her face in his hands staring deeply into her eyes. Not uttering a sound just watching her emotions seep out in front of him. His thumbs dragging under her eyes taking care of every tear that escaped.
Maven squeezed his arm. “Thanks.”
Henri shook his head. “Don’t thank me. That guy is an idiot. Anyone who treats a girl like you badly is an idiot. And he doesn’t deserve your tears, so just turn them off and we’ll paint. But I’m not letting you go until all the tears are gone.”
Maven’s eyes fluttered, she took a deep cleansing breath. There were several girls from her school off in the distance watching Henri and her. Henri gained her attention again. “Forget about everyone. They don’t matter. Who cares if you cried, so what? Everyone cries. Just close your eyes.”
Maven did as he asked. “Okay.”
Henri looked over at the girls giving Maven dirty looks. It was amusing to all these people to see Maven’s unhappiness play out in public. He lifted her chin, placing a kiss on her lips. The world suddenly didn’t matter as he kissed her. Maven didn’t feel panicked any longer. She opened her eyes.
“Henri, you didn’t have to do that.” She touched his face. “I’m okay now.”
“I didn’t have to. I just wanted to.” He pushed her hair behind her ear for her. “They are not going to ruin your day.”
Maven nodded. It was hard to accept that anyone other than her family was willing to stand up for her, willing to be part of the gossip that seemed to always swirl around her.
“You ready to paint?” Henri said, kissing her cheek. He grinned, ignoring the shocked stares. Ignoring the whispers and every other detail, none of it mattered to him.
“Yes.” For once she didn’t drop her gaze to the ground. She looked the girls straight in the eye. She wasn’t going to back down. They quickly dropped their stares, turning back to their projects, leaving Maven and Henri to enjoy the day without judgment for once.
FEELINGS
MAVEN AND HENRI, as well as the rest of the volunteers, packed it up and called it a night. Every decoration was now wearing a fresh coat of black, turquoise, or white paint—the colors of the Hop this year.
Colors that were beautiful to Maven, even before it was all set up. Miss. Lisa even admitted that this year she was hoping to string lights from the willows.
“Tired?” Henri asked Maven. He smiled at the soft shake of her head. She had worked harder than anyone else, doing each and every thing anyone asked of her.
“What about you?”
Henri considered being honest. Truthfully he was worn out from standing all day, painting huge backdrops. His entire body hurt, more than usual even. But instead he just said, “Just fine, nothing sleep won’t cure.”
Maven slipped her fingers in between his. “Thanks again for today. You saved me.”
Henri shrugged, humble like usual. “Don’t exaggerate.”
“I’m not. That was a really nice thing you did for me.” She brushed some messy hair behind her ear. Her fingers flecked with teal paint. “It was sweet.”
Henri looked away. It was hard to know what to say next. She wasn’t letting him off the hook for doing such a kind deed, but the deed was nothing more than who he was. It didn’t feel like anything other than that. He didn’t like to see anyone hurt. It hurt more to watch someone miserable when you knew you could make them feel better. Maybe one day that would be his one true flaw, he thought to himself. He always regretted it later because a lot of the time people didn’t appreciate it. But Maven was different, he knew she did.
Henri looked at her. “Do you want me to walk you home?” The night was over, people were settling into their homes for the night. The stars were bright overhead guiding them down the cobblestones. Tiny bugs buzzing and whirring around.
Maven ignored his question, taking off across the stones and quickly she was disappearing down the hill, the last bit of her dress vanishing. Henri laughed, it seemed like the girl never wanted to go home.
He let out a ragged breath of air, tired from the jog. She was sitting on the dock, her shoes besides her. The moonlight reflecting off the water as she stared at it, her feet skimming the surface as she watched rings spilling outward from where her toes touched.
“I take it you don’t want to go home.” Henri sat down beside her. He too was barefoot, his shoes behind them a few feet. He was more aggressive with the water, kicking it off into the distance time and time again.
“No, I don’t.” She gripped the dock with her hands, watching their feet gliding through the water together.
“Why’s that?” Henri asked, slowing his movement, enjoying the cool feel against his skin.
“Because I enjoy your company.” Maven grinned, leaning into him. She scooted closer, her eyes glistening in the moonlight.
Henri searched her eyes. “Is that so?”
“It is.” She leaned in, snagging the back of his head with her hand, their foreheads meeting up. Henri lifted his head, catching her lips that were so eagerly heading for his. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her lips. The gentle way she slipped her fingertips through his hair.
Maven moved closer, wanting more from their encounter, but too afraid to take it herself. She wanted Henri to make the next move. She pulled away.
“I always have a nice time when I’m with you.” She sliced through the water with her foot waiting for Henri to get the hint that she liked him. She stared at the water waiting patiently.
Henri pursed his lips. “It’s the only thing I look forward to with such excitement. It’s almost like nothing else compares.”
Maven completely agreed. “What do you think that means? You said you never get to know many people.” Maven knew she was waiting to hear the words every girl wanted to hear—that the guy that stayed on her mind was totally smitten by her.
“I don’t know…” Henri said, trailing off until there was a soft silence all around them. They both stared at the water.
Henri liked Maven a lot. But he wasn’t so brave that he could admit it. He was afraid to admit that he liked her—more afraid of that than most things in his life.
Hours rolled on. And they sat under the stars sharing the important things in their lives, being open and honest like no other time before. Maven could tell Henri anything. And he loved the way she laughed when he told her stories about his life back home—the good parts. Her laugh was remarkable and always produced a smile on his face.
She loved the way he stroked her arm and listened without judgment about her feelings toward Jake after he hurt her so badly. He loved her honesty and how she wasn’t afraid to admit that she felt crushed.
He wanted to make her happy. He knew she needed to be, she was such a beautiful human being and Henri saw that in her every moment they shared.
She rested her head on his chest counting the stars in the sky. Listening to his voice echo in her ears as he told her old stories that he remembered from when he was little, stories about fantasy worlds and things that only someone with a lot of hope could ever believe.
“Do you really believe in the afterlife?” Maven asked at the end of Henri’s story. She lifted her head from his chest. He closed his eyes.
“I believe it.” And he did. “There’s got to be more to life than just this.”
“I think so too.” Maven rested her head and smiled. She liked that Henri believed in the afterlife it almost made her feel better for a moment.
“If not, then what a cruel joke,” Henri said more to himself, he opened his eyes again, counting each luminous star that he saw in the sky. Maven’s giggling returning as they started talking about less serious subjects—like the night he toilet-papered his own house on Halloween in Tennessee.