“Cuz!” She pushed me in the arm hard enough to move me in the seat. “Why didn’t you say something? Why didn’t he say something? What the hell is going on? And fiancé? What the hell?”
“Okay so I might’ve embellished on the fiancé part. But I can totally see it happening with him. It’s still kind of new, obviously,” I said. “But it’s been going on since that first day he came over to take me out to the diner, I guess. We hit it off, and I wanted to thank him for helping me, and we just kind of… fell into it.”
“Tell me everything,” she said. “Tell me everything right now.”
She was squealing, and I laughed in spite of myself at how excited she was. I felt bad lying to her, but I had to keep the charade up. Besides, the joy on her face and in her voice at that moment was intoxicating. I wanted to feed it and watch it grow.
“Don’t you have to get to work?” I asked. “Won’t Jordan be upset?”
“Oh, he’s going to be fine,” she said. “Especially when I tell him why I am so late.”
I laughed.
“Maybe you should let Matt tell him,” I said. “Once he knows I told you, he won’t keep it a secret for long.”
“Come on,” she said. “This is too much. Tell me, tell me, tell me!”
“What is there to tell? I just told you everything.”
“The hell you did,” she said. “For real, are you guys in love?”
“Can you keep yourself calm?” I asked. “Or will this be one of those scream-and-break-my-eardrums situations?”
“I make no promises, but I have the keys. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Fine,” I said. “You start driving, and I’ll start talking.”
Hannah dutifully turned the key in the ignition and began to pull out of the parking lot.
“It started with him sitting across from me at the bar while I was drunk,” I started. It was a lie, everything I said to her, but in a way all of it was true, too. That was the confusing part. I was embellishing things that really happened, but I was also not entirely true that some of those things didn’t happen. The way he looked at me. The way I felt when I saw he walked into the room or came up to me to talk.
I told her about talking to him outside on the porch, and my mind wandered from embellishment to fantasy. I told her that he kissed me. That I kissed him back. That we shared a passionate moment right there, against the wall, and that’s when we both knew. There was no holding back.
“I didn’t want to move too fast,” I said, trying to bring myself back to reality and at the same time explain some of the inconsistencies of our story. “We both knew that I was still very upset from leaving home and I was vulnerable. He’s such a gentleman, Hannah. He didn’t want to go too far or do anything that would be seen as taking advantage of me.”
“That sounds like the Anderson boys. Hot, successful, and gentlemanly. I might be biased,” she said.
“Me too.” I found myself realizing that didn’t feel like a lie. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, and I smiled. A real, genuine smile.
Shit.
I was either really good at this, or something I didn’t want to admit was happening.
“So, what? Is that why you moved in with us instead of him?”
“Exactly,” I said. “It’s too soon to move in together.”
“I get it. And you really think he’s the one?”
“I do. Hannah, something real is happening here, and it’s happening fast. We wanted to keep it quiet for a little while, but Mom just kind of forced my hand. I’ll tell Matt I told you, and I’m sure he will either tell Jordan or say it’s fine for you to. Just give me a little time to give him a heads-up.”
“Okay,” she said. “But you have to hurry. I can’t keep this secret for long.”
13
Matt
A long night of work without the distraction of Chloe meant I needed something else to occupy my mind when I got home. So, having not spent much time dedicated to vegging out and playing video games in the newly updated apartment, I did just that. I had to admit, I was far more comfortable and didn’t feel as childish when I had real furniture and not makeshift crap. Mounting the TV had been a good plan, too, and I was able to lean way back in the couch while I played, getting super comfortable.
Which was where I found myself at six in the morning.
I had fallen asleep a few hours before, long enough that the video game and the television had gone to sleep mode as well. The room was mostly dark, except for the light above the sink in the kitchen, and I stumbled my way to the bed to crash for a few hours more. I was supposed to go in to work the next day a little early, so I knew I had to get up and get a shower before I headed out, meaning the alarm needed to be set for noon.