The very next morning, I make it my mission to get Henry and James to meet since Henry hinted again this morning that he wanted to meet him while we were still tangled together. It's the damn air conditioning's fault. I would switch it off before I sleep tonight for sure. Henry is dressed in brown shorts and a maroon t-shirt that fits very, very well. He takes my hand before we even get into the lift as we go downstairs for breakfast. I am wearing a cute floral summer dress.

As expected the main couple is surrounded by many people who try to grab their attention. They are just a little ahead of us as we walk into the room. Henry didn't seem to mind when I pulled him towards the food instead of them. While I am interested in seeing Henry and James interact, for purely entertainment purposes, that didn't mean I wanted to meet them on an empty stomach.

Henry makes me tea, while I fill a bowl with fresh fruit and a plate with random pastries for us to share. I pile on the food without a care for what anyone would think since the last thing we need is for us to run out of food after sitting down. Henry holds our cups of tea in his hands, while I hold the plate and bowl when we find a nice empty clean table. There is cutlery on the table, wrapped in tissue and napkins too. I am about to sit across from Henry, when Ava shouts across the room, "Save us a seat, Evelyn."

I switch to sit next to Henry straight away. The last thing I want is to accidentally be stuck next to James while sharing food with Henry. I hope they take their time so I can enjoy some of my breakfast in peace. Ava and James join us with their own breakfasts after all I manage to do was take a sip of my tea.

How unfortunate.

"Thanks for saving us a seat," Ava says while sitting down across from Henry, next to James. She is dressed in a white-off shoulder dress and white high-waisted shorts to match the whole vibe of being a bride. We start eating our breakfast in silence. Henry and I are hungry, I have no excuse for Ava and James' silence. Usually, she would be taking our ear off by now.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" James asks, breaking his silence after a sip of his coffee. He is also wearing a white polo shirt to match the bride. He is not completely in white though. This is the first time we are interacting with James directly. James has always had an extremely busy schedule which was one of the contributing factors to why we broke up. He is a doctor so his shifts are not the same, but it was not his career that lead to the distance growing between us.

"Oh right, Henry, this is James Kotze. James, this is Henry Ford," I introduce rather formally. I think I've done friendly, less stiff, introductions at work before than this.

"Henry Ford like the car?" James asks, with a hint of mocking. I am ready to jump down his throat. There is never a good reason to make fun of someone's name. There is a difference between asking out of curiosity and whatever the fuck James did. I don't need to since Henry is capable of defending himself.

"Yes, my father is fond of cars so here I am. Are your parents passionate about the name James?" Henry puts his left arm around the back of my chair leaning back. His hand plays with the ends of my hair. I can feel his arm muscles are a little tense.

"Nope."

"How sad," Henry concludes, turning the tables on James. Henry takes a sip of tea. I look around, suddenly very glad that James' parents are nowhere to be seen right now.

"I think it's very cute, don't you agree Evelyn?" Ava adds trying to save the conversation that is already dead. I think I would prefer to eat in silence where all we can hear is the sound of cutlery.

"Sure, I know nothing about cars away so it doesn't bother me." I think back to the first time that Henry introduced himself to me. He made some sort of car joke that flew straight over me. I only laughed when he explained himself to me. I smile fondly at the memory.

"So how did you meet our dear Evelyn?" James interrogates while glaring at Henry. I don't manage to hold back my frown. Since when was I 'our Evelyn'? I would understand if Ava made the comment but James doesn't get to say that.

"We live in the same building and kept running into each other. You could say the rest is history," I reply on behalf of Henry. It's better to keep it all nice and simple and vaguely truthful. It's the best way to not get caught up in a lie. The more details added, the more likely we could trip up.

"You can do better than him Evelyn," James declares. He might away outright declare war. He doesn't like Henry. I know Henry isn't fond of him either, considering all I've ever told Henry about him. Henry doesn't know the best side of James, and I doubt I would ever go over that side again considering he's not mine. No point in going down memory lane in rose-tinted glasses.

"She already upgraded from her ex, so I think she is doing pretty great," Henry jabs at him in return. I don't even stop him since there is truth in that. He continues to twirl the ends of my hair in his hand. I am ready to jump in if James tries to say anything else.

"I see," James removes his glare and looks at me. I don't know what answers he is searching for. He wants to say something but shuts his mouth. Maybe his common sense is kicking in.

"What are you guys doing today?" I take it as my chance to change the topic and steer the conversation in a less hostile environment. This conversation was not entertaining as I thought it would be. Instead, it's a massive mess. I have never seen James behave this way in all the time I dated him and the same with Ava dating him. I want to write it off as wedding stress since that's the easiest excuse right? There is no point in searching for unnecessary answers.

"We are going out for lunch at the Waterfront. You guys should join us," Ava invites. I know they don't follow the plans that Ava has organised for everyone since they have their own things to do for the wedding.

"We should go," Henry agrees before I have a chance to decline. He looks at me with a reassuring smile. That smile does nothing for me since I have no idea what's going on in his mind.

"I don't know if that's the best idea," I comment. Is everyone going to pretend the last five minutes didn't happen with James pretty much glaring at Henry half the time?

"We should get to all know each other better," James agrees too.

"So, it's settled. Let's meet up later. I will message you the details," Ava says. I don't get a chance to outright decline since some of Ava's cousins interrupt us to have a quick conversation about the items on the itinerary. I didn't even look that far into today, however, looks like we had new plans anyway.

A double date with Ava and James.

Everything can go wrong.

~*~ 

Who is looking forward to the double date? 

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