Hannah's Story

Chapter 32 - The Guys

There is no excuse for five months of waiting. It's not worth that long of a wait, but I hope you like it.  Don't get too excited about the pic. 

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ETHAN

I spent the afternoon with Jesse and Jonah. Part of me wished I could spend the time with Hannah, while another part of me was thankful for the brainless activities. At one point, Jesse said something about checking to see if the girls were going swimming and left to find out. Jonah and I stood at the edge of the water holding our beach bought boogie boards, staring out over the waves we'd soon be riding.

"Do you think he spends too much time around my sister?" Jonah asked.

"Sometimes I start to wonder, but then I remember this is my little brother we're talking about. The kid didn't realize boys and girls were different until he started dating Rachel," I explained.

"You don't think Jesse and Hannah have some underlying vibe between them?" he asked.

"Really? How much time do you spend with them? They haven't really been around each other this week. Why all the questions?" I asked.

"No reason. Someone just mentioned it to me and asked me to check it out," he replied.

I'm not going to say that I hadn't been jealous of Jesse for spending time with Hannah now and then, but I wasn't going to sell him out to Jonah the narc, regardless of whom might have enlisted him as a spy.

"They definitely have a vibe," I said, "but it's not a romantic one. Their minds are in sync when they play games, but they don't make out afterward or anything."

"I guess you're right," he said, shrugging. 

Then, he repositioned his board from the front to the side of his body and was suddenly poised to run. 

"Last one in is a rotten egg," he yelled, taking off toward the waves.

Like I did when we were younger, I chased after him into the water.

After spending some time in the water, we decided to head back toward the sand to rest awhile. When we got back to our towels, Jesse was sitting on his towel, attempting to look at his phone.

"The beach is no place to be checking your phone," I said, laughing at my brother.

He changed its position again, hoping to get a view that the sun didn't ruin. He sighed and shoved his phone in his backpack.

"I know," he said, zippering his bag up, "but I got a text and was trying to see who it was from. I think it might have been Rachel."

Suddenly, Jonah was rummaging through his bag. It looked like he was planning on checking his phone, too. He pulled it out, and looked at it under his towel. Then he put it back in his bag. I guess he hadn't received any messages.

"Expecting a text from a hot girl?" I asked him.

I noticed Jesse sort of glaring at him from his seat on his towel.

"Nah, just a friend," he said, looking away quickly.

"Really?" Jesse asked. "Which friend? I might know them."

Jonah shrugged. "Just someone from the hotel, that's all."

Jesse raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. He turned toward me.

"The girls went to the boardwalk to buy souvenirs. They said they'll be back by dinner," Jesse explained.

"Okay," I replied.