Hannah's Story

Chapter 26 - The Guy(s)

Hi!  I wanted to add Ethan's POV to this chapter, but it won't fit into the story at the moment.  I need to get to Hannah's POV ASAP.  Ethan's should be the first POV in the next "The Guys" chapter.  I hope you enjoy it! 

********

JESSE

Wow.  I wasn't sure what had hit me back at the diner, but I was feeling a little lightheaded.  I had grabbed Hannah's hand to put on a show for our waitresses, but something went wrong.  Feeling Hannah's fingers in mine had triggered a reaction in me.  It was like I'd been shocked, but not really. 

When I saw her staring at her hand once she'd gotten into the car, I thought she might have felt it too.  I guess she'd just felt a hangnail.  Oh well.  I always did have an active imagination.  I think all of the speculating Agnes had been doing might have messed with my head. 

We didn't talk much after first leaving the diner.  We let the songs on the radio provide the much needed noise inside our car.  I sneaked a look at her shortly into our resumed trip, but I didn't feel anything other than what I'd always felt around Hannah:  safe.  Ever since I'd been a kid, she'd instilled this sense of safety in me.  It was similar to how kids feel if they're with a trusted parent, but it had never gone away.  Kids grow up and realize their parents are only human, taking away that feeling of security.  I was eighteen and still felt that way about the woman sitting beside me.  I didn't know what it was, but I enjoyed it. 

It had been quiet for far too long.  I looked at the dashboard clock.  It was close to ten.  Only a little less than four hours to go, according to what the GPS had predicted when we left the diner.  I yawned. I hadn't realized how dark it had gotten.

"Are you tired?" Hannah asked, the sound of her voice making me jump a little. 

"Kind of," I answered.

"I can drive the rest of the way if you want to take a nap or something," she said. 

"Aren't you tired, too?" I asked.

"I don't feel nearly as tired as you look," she replied.

"I guess, if you don't mind.  If you want to trade back before we get there, I will," I said.  Normally, I wouldn't have taken her up on her offer, but I didn't want what happened to me back there to happen while I was driving. 

She laughed.  "If you're not asleep by then," she stated. 

I knew I wouldn't be.  I was the kind of tired that left me exhausted yet uneasy.  I'd gotten up early to take that final and hadn't stopped since.  Hannah had to be pretty tired, too.  She'd had that interview this morning. 

"Did you get any rest today?" I asked.  "You've been up as long as I have.  You were probably more nervous than I was, too."

As I pulled the car into a safe spot on the side of the road, she answered, "I managed to squeeze a little cat nap in after my interview."

I sure hoped she wasn't lying.  "And I'm not lying," she said, reading my mind.

"If you say so," I said, smiling.

We got out and walked around the back of the Tucson.  On the way, I couldn't help but purposely bump shoulders with her.  Nope, that spark from our hands touching earlier wasn't there.  Maybe I'd imagined it.