He wore dark jeans with distressing that looked like the real thing rather than store bought. His dark blue t-shirt brought out the brightness of his eyes and the gold of his hair. It also showed just a hint of the muscled definition beneath it. He was dressed more casually than I was, but he carried himself with such confidence he could have been wearing a suit or a crown.
“Hi,” I greeted him, again unsure as to what to do. We’d kissed once, so was that now the default greeting?
“Hi,” he replied, leaning forward and kissing me on the cheek. He had saved me once again with what to do. “You look amazing.”
I couldn’t help the heat that flashed across my cheeks and chest. “Thanks. I hope it’s the right thing to wear to a rugby game.”
“A rugby match,” he corrected gently, opening the cab door. “And it’s perfect.”
I grinned at him as I slid across the leather seats. It was a ride-share car, but it was definitely one of the nicer ones. I wondered if Henry had paid extra to impress me. As if he had to do anything more than smile to do that.
Henry slid in behind me, our legs touching from knee to hip despite having extra room as he pulled off his hat.
“There is one small hiccup that I wanted to warn you about,” Henry said as the driver pulled away from my apartment.
I raised my eyebrows. “Hiccup?”
“Andre and Valentina will be joining us,” he said, his voice sounding about as enthusiastic about it as I felt. Which was not at all. “I’m sorry. It was a condition of getting the tickets.”
I tried to keep the disappointment off my face. I wanted this time with Henry all to myself. I didn’t want to share him with his friend. I had this terrible vision of Henry spending the entire game talking to Andre and leaving me to figure out what was happening on my own. I felt a little betrayed.
“Their seats aren’t next to ours,” he assured me, putting his hand on my knee. “They’re behind us. Andre promised that we wouldn’t even know they are there. I just wanted to tell you ahead of time. I didn’t want you to see him there and think the worst.”
I had two ways to react. I could be upset or I could roll with it. Rolling made for a more pleasant evening, so, I was going to make the best of things. He didn’t have to tell me about Andre, but he did.
“I appreciate you telling me.” I put my hand on top of his and smiled. “And we’re going to have a good time. Even if they are crashing our date.”
Henry’s worried look vanished and he smiled again. “Thank you,” he replied. “I promise, you won’t even know they’re there.”
The car drove up to RFK Stadium. There were more people about than I expected, considering that rugby wasn’t a terribly popular sport in the US. I was surprised we were even at a stadium this big. Henry hopped out first and offered me his hand to help me out. I took it, more to hold his hand than from actual need of assistance. He then pulled on a nondescript light blue cap, hiding his hair. I wondered if he would take it off once the sun set, but I didn’t mind. He was one of those rare individuals that actually looked good in a baseball cap.
“Who’s playing?” I asked, looking around. “There’s a lot of people here.”
“It’s a rather big game,” Henry explained. “New Zealand All Blacks vs Ireland. It’s a big match. Both are considered very good.”
“The All Blacks?” I asked, wondering about the name. It seemed like a strange choice.
“Yes,” Henry nodded. “Their uniforms are all black. Back in the early days, the teams were called for their colors. The English team was known as The Colours for awhile since they wore red, white, and blue hoops on their uniforms.”
I could hear the British sounding U in the way he said colours and it made me smile. His accent was amazing.
“Oh, that is a much simpler answer than I was expecting. When were the early days?” I asked, thinking he probably meant the 1930s.
“Late 1800s,” Henry replied. He laughed when my eyes went big. “The sport’s been around for a long time. These international games have been happening for well over one hundred years.”