Hannah's Story

Chapter 24 - The Guys

Hi! Sorry again for the lag in updating. I'm hoping to update more quickly, but no promises. I'd rather surprise than disappoint. I know where I'm going with this story, so that should make it easier to update. I have the most trouble with the filler chapters that get the story from point A to point B. This chapter is a little short, but the next chapter should make up for that. I hope you enjoy it!

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JESSE

I couldn't believe that in less than a month, I would be a high school graduate. All my life, I had struggled to keep up with my siblings. I was always the baby, always in last place. Graduating from high school would almost level the playing field. The only thing left to do would be to go to college or trade school. Up until this point, my parents thought I'd be going to college. I had been accepted to Ethan's alma mater, and everyone just assumed that's where I would be going. My guidance counselor at school knew that I hadn't yet decided, and was on me to make a decision. He said that they wouldn't hold my place forever. I knew that my parents really thought that I should further my academic education and go to school for something that I felt I would enjoy doing for the rest of my life. The trouble was, I just wanted to be a carpenter. I love working with my hands. Wood shop was always my favorite class in school. My woodshop teacher even gave me a great letter of recommendation to give to any schools where I might apply.

I was going to tell my parents on vacation that I wanted to cancel my admission to college and go to the local trade school instead. I'd gone over and talked with admissions at the trade school, and they'd pretty much told me that I would be accepted. I just hoped my parents weren't upset. I thought they'd understand, considering my dad is an electrician. I was just nervous that they would surprise me and be disappointed with my choice.

The only people I had really discussed my decision with were Ethan, Hannah, and Rachel. Ethan and Hannah both found my decision to be a good one; however, Rachel had her doubts. She wanted me to do what felt right, but she expressed her worry that I might not ever land a good enough job to make a career out of my craft.

"What are you thinking about?" Rachel asked, holding my hand above her as her head lay in my lap. She was twisting my hand all different directions, and appeared to be studying it. She moved her gaze from my hand to my eyes when she spoke.

"The future," I said, not wanting to get into it at the moment. We had just eaten dinner with her parents, and they had politely excused themselves and gone upstairs.

"I hope your future plans include me. At least for the next year or so," she said.

I leaned down and kissed her. "Of course they do," I said.

We had decided, as so many other high school kids do, that prom night would be the night we slept together. We had attempted it a few other times, but had been interrupted each time. I had a room rented for that night. It was at the hotel where Rachel's mom worked, but I put it in Ethan's name. I didn't want to be stopped again. I would have chosen a different location, but since our prom was being held in one of the banquet rooms of the same hotel, I only felt it made sense. I just hoped her mom didn't crash our party.

I wasn't sure how it felt to be in love, but I was pretty close to loving this girl. She was sweet, kind, and beautiful. She acted just the way I'd imagined she would act in a relationship when I was contemplating asking her out. I couldn't have asked for anyone better. The only thing that bothered me was how she reacted when Hannah was around. I rarely talked to her about it anymore since it was an area of contention. I just pretended everything was fine unless she brought it up. I didn't see what the big deal was.  We were friends. We always had been and always would be.