Hannah's Story

Chapter 5 - Hannah

Hope you like it.

Pic is Rhyon Nicole Brown as Rachel.

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HANNAH

I was waiting in my living room at six fifty for Gabe to pick me up. I had chosen to wear my green sleeveless A-line dress with my black flats. I didn't own any heels, because I always felt too tall even without them. Although Gabe was taller than me, I didn't want to look any taller than needed.

My brother was out with friends, and my dad had dragged my mom from the house to meet their bowling league. She had wanted to stay and meet Gabe, but my dad had told her that she should give me a chance to decide if he was worth meeting. My dad knew me so well.

I heard the horn beep and looked out the door. Sure enough, Gabe was out there in his black Chevy Malibu. Well, he could have come up to the door to ring the bell, but this was two thousand fifteen, so I guess I could forgive him. Stupid womens' lib ruined some of the potential excitement for girls these days.

I closed my front door and walked down the stairs to the end of the driveway. He leaned over and opened the door, and I slid into the passenger seat. Gabe smiled at me as I sat down next to him. He handed me a half dozen roses. I smiled at him, happy that he was chivalrous enough to bring me flowers, even if I wasn't fond of them.

First off, I thought roses were overrated. Secondly, I'd rather have flowers that could be planted, which weren't the flowers typically given on dates. I didn't want to hurt his feelings though, since he had gone through the trouble of buying them for me.

"They're beautiful," I said.

I wasn't lying. They were very beautiful at the moment. Unfortunately, they wouldn't look as pretty two days from now. Plus, I was already in the car. Ugh. Pretty men weren't necessarily smart men.

"Oh, I guess you should take those in the house. Sorry, I should have brought them to your door," he said, looking apologetic.

"That's okay," I said. "I'll just run them in the house really quickly."

I got out and tried not to look as irritated as I felt. I wasn't mad at him, but I was not impressed with his foresight, to say the least. I got a vase from the China cabinet, filled it with water from the kitchen tap, then placed the flowers inside. I set them on the windowsill for the time being. I would take them to my bedroom later.

After leaving my house and getting into his car for the second time that night, I unconsciously let out a sigh.

"You're agitated with me, aren't you?" he asked, his eyes downcast.

"Nah," I lied. "I just had trouble with the front door lock, it sticks sometimes."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I was inconsiderate."

At least he could acknowledge his faults. I could let the mishap go. It really wasn't anything serious.

"Listen, it's no big deal. Don't let it interfere with the rest of the night," I said.

He smiled and reached his hand out to cover mine on the armrest. The contact felt warm and inviting. I could get used to having a guy in my life again. I just hoped this one was a little more assertive than Ethan.

He pulled up to a quaint little coffee shop that I had passed by dozens of times. It was a place where I had always wanted to go, but never ended up doing so. I was happy that I would get to see it with Gabe.

When we walked in, I noticed that the shop seemed to be divided into two sections. The section closest to the door was brighter, with about eight or so tables filling the space. The back half of the establishment was more dimly lit, with leather sofas and big chairs occupying that space. There was even a heater that looked like a fireplace in the center of the back section. Separating the sections were shelves lined with the store's products for sale. The counter stood to the right, with a large chalkboard on the wall behind it displaying the wide variety of menu options available.