Hannah's Story

Chapter 27 - Hannah

I wish I could update more quickly, but here is the next chapter.  I hope you like it! That's the type of furniture on which Jesse and Hannah fell asleep.

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The first thing I saw when I woke up was the porch railing of the beach house. The first thing I felt was utter contentment. I had to pee pretty badly, but I knew moving would disrupt the feeling. I slowly realized that I was on the porch lounge and that I was spooning with Jesse. I was pretty sure he was still sleeping, because I could feel a part of him against me that under normal circumstances would be nowhere near me. He would be horrified if he knew how close our baby making parts were to each other at the moment. A shiver passed through me at the thought, and it was hard to tell whether it was caused by awkwardness or excitement. I knew Jesse was too young for me and that he had a girlfriend, but he felt so good wrapped around me.

Just for having that thought, I should jump up and pretend to be surprised at how we ended up. Last night, I'd been a little tripped out after Agnes mistook us for a couple. After the hand holding and a few comments Jesse had made during the ride here, I had felt a little off. Was I attracted to Jesse romantically? Nah. I couldn't be. He was my friend. He was like a little brother to me. He was so young. Nope. I was just ready to scout the beach for potential dates, and my radar had turned on too soon. I had to admit, though, there were definitely worse ways to wake up.

I was feigning sleep when I heard, "Is there something you two haven't been telling us?"

I jumped, Jesse's arm still protectively around me, and opened my eyes.  It was Rhia.  I opened my mouth to say something, but Jesse was quicker.  "Aw, Mom, we were just out here deescalating from our drive last night.  We sat here to get the best view when the fireworks started, but we must have fallen asleep."

"Apparently," Rhia said, a sly grin appearing on her face. 

"Mom!" Jesse said, "We're not together!"

"You look pretty together from where I'm standing," Rhia said.  "Neither one of you has even attempted to separate yourself from the other since we've been talking, and you are both clearly awake."

Wow.  She was right.  Even though she'd awakened us a few minutes prior, Jesse's arm was still draped over me, and I was still comfortably nestled in the curve of his body.  I began to move slowly toward the end of the lounge and away from Jesse.  For a second, it felt like his arm tightened around me, but I had probably been mistaken.

Soon we were both sitting side by side. I couldn't help notice that our pinkies were still touching as our hands rested on the edge of the lounge.  I don't want to think about why, but the realization made me smile. 

"We really aren't messing around, Rhia," I said.  "It just looks bad."

Rhia sighed.  She lowered her voice to a stage whisper, "If there ever comes a time where you two find yourselves wanting to confirm my accusations, just let me know.  I'll deal with Jesse's dad and his cockamamie rule.  He fails to realize that if his dad would have had that rule, he wouldn't have been allowed to date me.  And why should both my sons be unhappy?  I love him dearly, but sometimes the man makes very little sense.  I have ways of getting him to change his mind when the need arises."

She patted us both on the shoulders simultaneously and walked back toward the house before we could respond.

Jesse looked at me, his pupils almost the size of his irises.  "I'm so happy she found us and Ethan didn't.  He would have drowned me in the ocean," he said, seriousness in his voice.