56: Chapter 56

Chapter 56

"… it's normal to split the bill," Kate said as she tried to defend herself.0

"Split the bill?" Henry frowned. "What kind of man lets his woman split the bill?"

"…" Kate zipped her mouth after that. She didn't know whether it was Henry or her that had no common sense. 

But then she realized maybe both of them had zero common sense.

Kate remembered that Matt had always forced her to pay for everything on all of their dates. He would try to avoid being shamed and criticized by forcing Kate to give her wallet to him under the table, so he could take out her credit card before he called the server.

Thus, he 'paid the bill' with 'his' credit card.

He said it was a matter of a man's dignity, and Kate shouldn't embarrass her man, so she stayed silent even though she paid for everything every single damn time. 

Now she realized how much of an idiot she was back then. 

"Anyway, let's just go now. I don't want to be late," Henry said.

Kate gave in and followed Henry as he took her hand and led her to leave the restaurant. As they passed the manager and servers smiled and said some pleasantries to them.

Kate stopped in her tracks and smiled back at the manager, "Thank you for having us tonight. The food was fantastic."

The manager was pleasantly surprised by Kate. He shook his head and bowed politely, "Not at all, Miss. We're happy to serve you and Mr. Grant, you're the first one to appreciate our food—."

The manager zipped his mouth when Henry glared at him as he stood behind Kate. The manager's face paled instantly, and he quickly excused himself, "P—Please excuse me, Miss. We still have other guests to serve."

"Oh, sure, you can go now," Kate said. She felt Henry's warm palm wrapped around her wrist, and she got pulled out of the restaurant. 

Henry glanced away and though he tried his best to hide his annoyance, it wasn't that hard to notice. 

Kate chuckled. Of course, she knew why Henry was mad. That manager indirectly told Kate she wasn't the first woman Henry brought to this restaurant.

"Hey, it's fine if you've brought your other dates here. It's not like we're an exclusive thing," Kate assured. She knew that Henry was young and adventurous, so it was normal for him to have a lot of flings.

"We are exclusive," Henry insisted as he opened the car door for Kate. "You are the last woman I will bring to this restaurant, I promise."

"Careful, Mr. Grant, don't make a promise you can't keep," Kate joked, but the joke didn't translate well to Henry.

Henry got even more annoyed but decided not to show it as it might dampen the mood. He just fell into silence as he drove to their next destination. 

Kate sighed. She didn't know why Henry tried to deny the fact that he was a young and adventurous man. He should've worn that like a badge and been proud of it.

After all, it was a privilege to have fun in your youth without anything holding you back.

Kate didn't have that kind of privilege when she was Henry's age. She was busy with university and the many part-time jobs she had to take because Matt always ran out of money and borrowed from her.

But it seemed that Henry didn't like to be seen as frivolous and adventurous, though it was the most prominent quality he had been showing in front of Kate so far. 

Henry stopped the car in front of a pier that faced the sea. 

"We're here," Henry said. He exited the car and opened the car door for Kate as well.

"What is this place?" Kate asked as she left the car. 

"This is Pier 14," Henry held Kate's hand and intertwined their fingers so they wouldn't lose each other. "It's a popular tourist spot in San Francisco. I like the night view of the city from the end of the pier. Just follow me, but don't look back."

"Don't look back?"

"Yes, just trust me, and don't look back."

Kate followed Henry as he led the way by holding Kate's hand. They walked through the pier until the end, where they were facing the dark sea. Henry turned around to face Kate. He smiled and said, "You can turn around now."

Kate followed his instruction and then turned around. She was stunned when she saw the beautiful view before her.

She could see the glimmer of all of San Francisco's lights from this spot. The street was decorated by vivid yellow lamps that created a golden belt, and all buildings were brightly lit with mostly yellow and white color.

The sky was full of stars, making the already perfect scenery even better.

It was perfect, almost like a painting of a dream city. 

Henry was relieved that Kate seemed to enjoy the view so much. He wrapped his arms around her waist and then leaned on the railing, relaxing while they watched the city from the end of the pier. 

It took Kate a while to register that Henry was embracing her right now. She was a little embarrassed and said, "T—There are a few people coming this way, they will see us."

"So what?" Henry asked boldly. "So what if they see us?"

Kate was speechless but then realized that Henry was right.

So what if someone saw them like this? It was supposed to be a popular tourist and date spot anyway. 

"Just enjoy the view, Kate, and let me embrace you," Henry said. "I don't want you to catch a cold."

"I'm still wearing my blazer right now, but you're only wearing a shirt. You'll be the one who might catch a cold instead," Kate said. 

Henry laughed as something warm engulfed his heart, "I won't catch a cold when I'm with you. You're the warmth I've been looking for a long time."

Kate's body stiffened, her face heated up, but she quickly elbowed Henry on the stomach, "Shut up, Casanova. Your charm won't work on me."

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