Hannah's Story

Chapter 38 - The Guys

Hope you enjoy.  The next chapter will be more suspenseful.  Thanks for continuing to read, even though I'm so slow with updates.  I'm going to try to post Jesse's beach dream this weekend, too.  I have it written.  I just want to make a cover for the extra chapters. 

Above:  Rachel in her prom dress. 

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GABE

I kissed her one last time.  "I asked you if you wanted me to tell Hannah to stay home, but you said it was fine," I said, zipping up my pants.

"It is fine," she said.  "I'm not sure what it is, but she doesn't seem interested in you at all anymore."

"I think she may have feelings for someone else," I said, not wanting to give away too much. 

After all, maybe I've misread the way she lights up every time Jesse Malick is around. At first I thought it was Ethan, but now I had other ideas.

I didn't really care.  I just hoped she waited to make any moves until after graduation.  I figured Jesse was eighteen by now, but he was still in high school.  It could hurt her reputation, regardless of the fact that they'd been friends their whole lives. She was pretty down to Earth, so I doubted she would jeopardize her career over it. I could also be wrong. I am not that intuitive.

I stood by her bedroom door as I said, "See you later."

"Just find me later and save me a dance," she said.

"Definitely," I said.  "How could I not?"

"Bye," she said, smiling.

"Bye," I answered.

I couldn't get over how I felt about this woman. We had run into each other at the school's unofficial happy hour one Friday and had gotten to talking. She had driven me home after since I had drunk a little too much to drive. 

The next morning when I woke up, she was sleeping on my sofa. She fixed me a light breakfast to go with my hangover, and stayed until she knew I'd be okay on my own.  Even though I hadn't felt a physical attraction, I wanted to repay her kindness, so I asked her out to dinner that next Friday. 

During dinner, we had a really nice conversation.  We had so much in common that I thought I should go for it.  I asked her back to my house after going to see a movie, and one thing led to another.  She wasn't as prudish as Hannah, and that was definitely a turn on for me. 

After that night, I just couldn't get enough of her, emotionally or physically.  I was actually thinking about asking her to move in with me when her lease expired this summer.  It was a step I hadn't taken since college.  I didn't know if she was Ms. Right, but she was much more than just Ms. Right Now. 

JESSE

I didn't know why Rachel had acted so weird the other day in yearbook.  She kept asking me if I knew her favorite dessert, and she was asking me what the cutest thing I'd ever done for her was.  This wasn't really like Rachel.  She was confident and sure of herself, and didn't need me reassuring her every few minutes. 

I would have, had she been the type of girl who needed that, but I could tell something was off with her. 

"What's wrong?" I asked her after enduring the weird questions for about thirty minutes.