An unlikely romance sprouts from a chance encounter between Cliff and Hannah after she spurns his good deed. ----------
Cliff tries doing a good deed for financially distressed Hannah by paying for her expensive car repairs. He expects nothing in...
Cliff hoped Hannah wasn't reading his thoughts. He had been ogling her, unable to help himself. It was a huge turn on for him, watching her lick an ice cream cone. So erotic!
She caught him looking and smiled. Maybe she really could read his thoughts.
"How's yours?" She asked.
"Huh?"
"Your ice cream."
"Um, good, and yours?"
She took another swipe with her tongue. "Mmm, delicious."
He had to look away. She was driving him crazy.
They were sitting at an outside table under an umbrella at a creamery in downtown Hershey. Cliff knew about the place because it was one of Izzy's favorites. She had often bugged him to take her there before she got her driver's license.
Cliff spoke to fill the silence. "After today I think it's safe to say you now know a lot more about me than I know about you."
Hannah finished eating the top of her ice cream and was crunching into the sugar cone. After swallowing, she said, "True, that."
"So...tell me more about yourself."
"Like what? What do you want to know?"
"For starters, are you having a good time with me?"
"You haven't blown it yet, if that's what you mean."
Cliff chuffed. "That's not exactly a ringing endorsement."
She shot him a shy smile. "Would it make you feel better if I told you how special you make me feel being the center of your attention? How for these few hours I've been able to let go of all the crap happening in my life and just enjoy living in the moment? How I'm so happy you bought me this ice cream cone?"
Cliff felt exhilarated by her words. "Yeah, that's the ringing endorsement I've been hoping for."
Hannah shoved the bottom of the cone into her mouth and crunched it. While she did so, Cliff took his shot. "I want to see you again. Will you go out with me again?"
It took her a few moments to finish chewing and to swallow. She held up a finger signaling wait, while she took a drink from her water bottle to wash it all down. She wiped her mouth with a paper napkin. Smiling, she reached across the table and wiped a spot of smeared ice cream from Cliff's chin.
She sat back in her chair and went silent.
Cliff was dying inside. Why was she leaving him hanging? Why wouldn't she answer his question?
Hannah cleared her throat. "Okay, here it is. Yes, I'll go out with you. I'd really like that, but..."
"But?" Cliff asked. She just expressed how much she had enjoyed herself with him, so what was her reason behind the hesitation?
"I mentioned during our breakfast date how I recently went through a bad breakup. It happened only three months ago."
"You don't have to go into the details if it makes you uncomfortable."
She waved him off. "James and I dated for a long time, years."
Cliff could see she was struggling. "Hey, you don't need to explain."
She cleared her throat. "Yeah, I do. You need to know that I'm still raw." She looked him in the eye. "I like you, Cliff, but I hope you'll understand that I need to take things slow. I don't want to get caught up in a new relationship too soon. What I'm trying to say is any thoughts you may be entertaining about getting physical. Well, that's off limits for now." She sighed and looked at the tabletop. "You need to understand how that's my condition for dating you before we find ourselves in an awkward situation."
Whoever James was, Cliff wanted to punch him for hurting her so badly. Then again, that loser's loss was his gain. "Of course, I understand. We can go slow. We won't do anything you don't want to do."
"It's not just because of James," she added. "My head isn't in the right place because of financial difficulties. I'm worried."
"I assumed as much from our encounter at the dealership."
"My dad is about to lose his job." She told him about the plant closing.
Cliff felt bad for her. "Do you think your father can transfer to one of Hershey's other chocolate factories in the area?"
She shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm sure he'll try."
"I know you're touchy about what I'm about to say, and I mean no disrespect, but please let me know if there's anything I can do to help."
She nodded but said nothing.
"Do you always have off on Sundays?" He asked.
"Yeah, mostly, unless someone calls in sick and I have to cover."
"Can I see you again next Sunday?" It was a whole week away. Too long.
She took a moment before answering. "I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to have anything more to do with me."
Given all she had recently experienced, Cliff realized Hannah was filled with a lot of self-doubt. He took it as a good sign she trusted him enough to expose her vulnerabilities. He yearned to make her happy and hoped she'd allow him to do so. "When's the last time you've been to Hershey Park?"
Cliff could tell from her expression she had to think about it.
"Not since high school."
"It's been a long time for me too. Funny, isn't it? People come from all over the country to tour our chocolate factories and visit the amusement park. Those of us who live here rarely bother to go. I want to take you next Sunday."
Hannah didn't say yes or no. Instead, she asked, "What's your favorite ride?"
Being with her, it would be the Kissing Tower, but she had made it clear that would be a non-starter. "The water rides. What's yours?"
She grinned. "It's a kid's ride, but I love the bumper cars. Get me in one of those and I transform into beast mode."
Cliff smiled knowing her response meant she had answered yes to the date. "Challenge accepted!"
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