“Brett, what’s Austin up to today?” Chelsea asked.
“I have no clue. You want me to give him a message?”
“No, I’ll call him.”
“I’m glad you two are working out,” Brett said.
“I wish I could say the same for you and my friend.”
Brett heard the frustration in Chelsea’s voice. As soon as he began walking away, he heard Jasmine call his name. When he turned around, she was running up to him.
“You should say something to Hannah. We’re tired of her moping around.”
“She looked pretty happy when I walked up here, and I can’t if she isn’t around.”
Jasmine tilted her head and shifted her hip to the side.
“Real funny, Brett. You know what I mean. Anytime will do.”
“It’s not that simple, Jasmine. I have to get back to work.”
“It is to that simple. I know you like each other, so what’s the hold up?”
“I’m sure Hannah filled you in on that.”
“No, she hasn’t. That’s why I’m talking to you. Hannah usually tells us everything, but she’s too hurt to talk about you. Quite frankly, it’s pissing us off, so will you fix it already?”
Brett felt physically ill after Jasmine told him Hannah was hurting that much. “Fine. Will you ask her to come see me when she gets a chance?”
“Of course.” Jasmine gave him a big grin, flipped her shades down and walked back to her chair.
Brett went back to working. He couldn’t come up with anything to say to Hannah to make things better. He’d hoped being away from her would lessen his feelings, but the time had made him miss her more.
College girls equal drama. I don’t do drama.
***
Hannah approached Jasmine. “I saw you speaking to Brett. What did you say to him?”
“I just told him he needed to say hi to you.”
“I don’t want his pity, Jasmine.”
“It was very obvious from talking to him that it wouldn’t be out of pity.”
“Why? What did he say?”
“He seemed sad. I can tell he misses you, and he said for you to come talk to him.”
“He did?” Hannah began chewing on her thumbnail.
“Yes, so go, chick,” Jasmine ordered.
Hannah paced barefoot on the concrete around the pool.
Nick looked at his friend in the pool. “J.T., did you hang out with Morgan while I was gone?”
“Yes, and it awesome,” J.T. said, grinning.
“Did she mention anything happening with Hannah?”
“I remember her rambling on about Hannah and some older guy, but I was too busy having my hands on Morgan to remember what she said.”
“You’re a lot of help.”
“Go ask her yourself if you’re so worried about it.”
***
Brett felt the racing of his heart when he saw Hannah walking his way. He thought she was sexy in the t-shirt she was wearing over her bikini. He could see some of her bottoms hanging out and loved the flushed look on her face from the heat.
“Hi, Hannah. How’ve you been?”
“Not good, actually.” She stared nervously at the ground.
“Why? What happened?” he asked protectively.
“You happened, Brett. You. I thought I could do this, but I can’t.” She started to turn away.
Brett groaned loudly.
“Hannah, don’t leave. I’ve wanted to talk to you, but I haven’t known what to say.”
“Are you pushing me away because I’m younger than you?”
“That’s part of it.”
“That’s a ridiculous reason. I’m going.”
Brett yanked his gloves off and took hold of her shoulders. He stared down at her with desperation.
“Hannah, I’m sorry for hurting you. I never meant for all of this to happen.”
“It shouldn’t matter that I’m younger. What should matter is if you care about me and missed me. Did you miss me at all?”
He felt a tightness in his chest. He wanted to show her how much he’d missed every part of her. “Yes, Hannah. I missed you ... every day.” Brett saw the same yearning in her eyes that haunted him for weeks.
“If you truly felt that way, you wouldn’t be able to push me away because of my age. I want someone who wants me just as bad, and I definitely have opportunities to find that. There’s a guy trying to get a chance with me almost daily.”
He couldn’t stand the thought of her with someone else. He cupped both sides of her face and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. When his lips left hers, he saw the most beautiful smile stretch across her face.
Shit. I just gave her exactly what she wanted—again.
He grabbed both sides of his head. “Shit, Hannah. You need to go.” He saw the hope in her eyes turn to fury.
“Oh, we’re back to this again are we? I’m not a pet. You can’t just order me around, especially in my own damn yard!
“How am I so different than older women? Am I not mature enough? If you’d stop acting like a jerk, I could show you some maturity. I bet this has something to do with who my mother is.”
“I’ve never dated anyone younger, Hannah, not even in high school. The younger girls my roommates have messed with were spoiled, immature and brought drama with them. I don’t want to deal with that kind of bullshit.”
“Not every younger woman acts the way you described. I’m not a spoiled bitch. What else? What’s your other reasons, Brett?”
He heard the anger and hurt in her voice and knew he should just shut up, but his brain was doing everything it could to override his heart.
“I don’t want any part of the celebrity scene. I’m a quiet, private person. I don’t deal well with change, and your life is too different from what I’m used to. I could never give you what you’ll expect. I’m never going to be famous or wealthy.” Brett became more frustrated, trying to deny Hannah and his heart what they wanted.
“Look, Hannah, I care for you too much to have sex with you and walk away, and I know you think if I sleep with you, it’ll change my feelings about us dating, but I won’t let that happen. I don’t want a relationship with you, so you need to stay away from me. I’ll just end up hurting you again.” He ran his hands through his tousled hair and back down his face.
“That was really cruel.” Hannah started tearing up.
He went to touch her, but she jerked away.
“Don’t. You don’t get to touch me anymore.” She wiped her tears and stood up straighter. “You need to take a hard look at yourself, Brett. I’ve tried to walk away from you, but you keep stopping me. You’re the one creating the drama. You don’t want me, but you don’t want anyone else to have me, and I’m not putting up with it anymore!” Hannah clenched her fists and stomped her foot.
Brett grabbed her arms and seized her mouth with his. He felt her trying to pull away, but desire screamed from him to escape, controlling his unyielding grip. He released her lips.
“No, I’m not letting you go, Hannah.”
She finally jerked free from his torrid hold as tears streamed down her cheeks. “It’s too late, Brett,” she said before running toward the house.
“Hannah, listen to me. I’m sorry. Please talk to me.”
She quickly spun around.
“What you keep doing to me is more hurtful than anything those guys you were supposedly protecting me from did. Are you just trying to stomp on my heart? You made it very clear that other than your attraction to me, I have no quality you find appealing, so leave me the hell alone!”
“Hannah, I don’t just like you for your looks. I know what I’ve been doing is wrong, but you haven’t made it easy for me to keep my hands and mouth off of you.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t throw my slutty self at your self-righteous ass ever again!” She turned and ran to the pool.
Brett picked up his shovel and threw it. He sat on the bed of his truck, trying to calm do
wn before he went home.
***
Not wanting her friends to see how upset she was, she tried to walk past them.
“Hannah, stop,” Chelsea said as she stood up from her chair. Hannah turned around, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“What the hell did he do to you? We could hear the screaming,” Morgan said.
“He doesn’t want me. All he wants to do is hurt me.”
The next thing she knew, Nick was standing in front of her. “You need to sit down with me, and tell me who the asshole is,” he said, grabbing her hand.
They walked to the patio table and sat under the umbrella. Hannah told Nick about Brett, but left out the intimate details.
“I can’t leave you alone. I hate that I wasn’t here. You need to forget about him, Hannah. He doesn’t deserve you.”
“I’m going to forget about him, and I’m not letting him ruin my day. I’m going to that party with everyone tonight, and I’m determined to have a good time. Let’s go swim,” she said as she wiped the last tears away from her cheeks.
Chapter Thirteen
Brett tore into his house.
“Hey, bro. What’s wrong?” Matt asked.
Brett paced around the room not saying a word.
“It’s Hannah, isn’t it?”
“I feel like I’m losing my mind over that woman. She has this hold over me. She’ll tell me she wants me, so I tell her to leave me alone. But when she tries, I stop her by putting my hands and mouth all over her, and it starts all over again. I pissed her off good today.”
“Then leave her alone. We all have experience with younger girls and can tell you that they’ll go bat-shit crazy on you if you make them think you want a relationship, and then don’t give it to them.
“You can’t keep her away from other guys though. You can’t have it both ways, so no more getting jealous and picking fights when you see her out.”
Brett recalled what his old boss, Lauren, had said a few years before when he was getting ready to leave for Nashville. She told him to take it easy on the girls at college, or he’d break their hearts. That’s exactly what he’d avoided until Hannah came along.
“You’re right. I told her I can’t be with her because of Jay, and then I know I don’t want to be a part of her lifestyle, so I have to somehow forget about her.”
“The solution to that is to get laid. You haven’t had any since Brittney, and that’s way too long, bro. One of Dylan’s buddies invited us to a graduation party. This one should mainly be upperclassman, so you’re going. Take a shower.”
Brett decided to wear jeans with a Vandy t-shirt that fit snug, showing his physique. He convinced himself that if he found a girl who didn’t mind having casual sex, it would cure him of Hannah.
He’d always tried to be a good guy, but he’d reached a point that he wished he didn’t care about her, so he could devour every juicy inch of her perfect body and walk away.
***
Brett had no idea where they were going as Matt drove, and he didn’t care. He’d spent so much time away from the college scene that he thought it might be just what he needed. He was ready to let loose for a while.
Matt parked the car.
“Let’s get trashed and find us each a piece of ass,” Dylan yelled as they walked to the door.
“I see you haven’t changed your ways yet, Dylan,” Brett said wryly.
“Hey, I will when I meet the right girl. Worry about your own damn behavior,” Dylan said.
Brett wondered sometimes how Dylan ever got laid as obnoxious as he could be, but then he remembered he’d witnessed Dylan’s bullshitting abilities first hand.
There were easily a hundred people at the party. The house was older but enormous, and a big part of the party was being held in the backyard off of a large patio. They went outside and grabbed a beer.
He was relieved to see that most everyone appeared to be over twenty-one, but there were plenty of people still there who were younger. Brett became more carefree after he drank a few beers. He and Matt started talking to a couple of women that told them they went to the University of Tennessee.
Brett found one of the brunettes attractive and thought it was perfect that she didn’t go to college with him. Less strings to worry about. He thought she seemed into him, so he and Matt hung out with the girls.
***
Chelsea’s driver drove Hannah and her friend’s to the graduation party they were invited to. Hannah realized when she went inside that it was the biggest party they’d been to. She also felt intimidated by the number of upperclassman present. The kitchen counters were overflowing with bottles of booze.
“Here, Hannah. I made your favorite,” Nick said, handing her a drink.
“Thanks, Nick. I think we’re going outside since it’s so crowded in here.”
“Then I’ll go with you.”
“You should find J.T., and say hi to him, so he knows we’re here,” Hannah said.
“You’re right. I probably should.”
She noticed Nick was paying more attention to her. She wondered if he was trying to watch out for her because of the trouble she’d got herself into while he was gone or if there was more to it.
***
Brett was really starting to feel the alcohol. He’d drank more since meeting Hannah than he had in six months. He and the brunette were sitting on a stone ledge about four feet tall that ran along the side of the patio. The backyard was lit up well from strings of lights hanging everywhere.
The woman’s constant flirting was obvious to him as she hung on his arm. Brett became turned on when she nibbled on his ear, but in his mind it felt wrong. He kept telling himself that it was what he wanted, and he could tell the girl wanted to make out, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
He tried to think of how he could make an escape when a memory hit him like a brick. He recalled some advice he’d given his boss, Lauren, the last day he worked at the garden center. It was the summer before his freshmen year of college when her boyfriend had punched him. One appendage directs us men until we fall in love.
NO, this wasn’t supposed to happen! I’m falling in love with Hannah Ray Mason.
***
Chelsea was in front of Hannah when they walked outside. She came to a stop and turned around.
“It’s so crowded out here, let’s go back inside,” Chelsea said.
“I know that look. What’s wrong, Chelsea?” Hannah asked. As soon as the words came out, she saw Brett sitting with the brunette and saw that the woman had her hand up, playing with his ear.
“She isn’t even old. Could he possibly hurt me any more than this?”
“I’m sorry, Hannah,” Chelsea said.
“I have to go back inside.” Hannah turned around. Jasmine and Morgan followed her back in while Chelsea walked toward Austin.
“There’s Chelsea. I need to warn Brett that Hannah’s here,” Austin said.
“Don’t, man. He told me today he wants to get her out of his system. Seeing Brett with this chick might seal the deal, so leave it,” Matt said.
Austin sighed. “Alright, but I know he cares about her.”
***
“Hi, Chelsea,” Austin said before he kissed her.
Her caramel hair was flowing over her shoulders, and her Parker, V-neck, green dress hugged her curves before stopping mid-thigh.
“Hi, I guess we didn’t realize we were going to the same party when we talked earlier. I’m glad I get to see you, but I can’t say the same about seeing your dick friend over there.” Chelsea pointed to Brett.
“He’s a decent guy. He’s just drunk and upset over Hannah.”
“He was an ass to her today, and it destroyed her to see him out here,” she said.
“Let’s go inside, and I’ll make you a drink.” Austin took hold of Chelsea’s hand.
Brett glanced at his friends and spotted Chelsea. He felt as if his chest caved in, weighing down the air inside his lungs. Panic consumed him
as he scanned the area for Hannah, his eyes finally locking with Chelsea’s.
She gave him a smirk.
“Yeah, sure. I’ve seen what I wanted, so you can make me a drink now.”
Brett knew wherever Chelsea was Hannah would be, but he was hoping she didn’t see him. He knew Chelsea would tell her about the brunette, but he knew it would be worse if she saw for herself. The woman was still hanging on him, but Hannah had taken over his thoughts once more.
***
Hannah searched through the bottles of alcohol on the kitchen counter.
“Are you OK? I can’t believe we keep running into Brett and his friends. Maybe it wasn’t what it looked like. I mean, I know he cares about you,” Jasmine said.
“I just want to have a good time tonight. Screw him. Let’s make another drink,” Hannah said as she chugged the rest that was in her cup. After they made their drinks, she felt a tap on her shoulder. When she turned around, a guy that had been in her English class was standing in front of her.
His name was Jordan, and Hannah had developed a crush on him after the first day of class. He’d flirted with her on and off throughout the semester but never asked her out, so she assumed he wasn’t interested.
“Hi, Hannah, how’s your summer going?”
“Hi, Jordan. Good so far, and you?”
“It’s better now,” he said, giving her a sly grin. She figured he’d been drinking awhile because she’d never seen him that forward. He had dark brown hair, brown eyes and a smile Hannah loved.
She pointed down the hall and smiled. “We’re going to the family room. You can follow us if you want.”
She was thinking to herself that this would be a great way to get back at Brett and maybe even get over him. She stood leaning against a wall in the family room.
Brett and Hannah (Soul Mates 101 Series) Page 6