Chasing Hannah

by Melissa Ellen

  “You didn’t even eat yet,” Wes spoke through a mouth full of food.

  Tucker’s body jerked slightly. Wes grunted, grabbing at his leg under the table. “What the—” He glared across the table at his younger brother.

  I refrained from releasing a rising chuckle, glad I wasn’t the only one getting abused by a sibling tonight. Or maybe I was just glad it was Wes on the receiving end.

  “That’s true, and I’d hate to let this good food go to waste. Lottie, do you mind if we pack some up to go?” I asked.

  “Not at all!” she piped up quickly. “I’ll do it for you.” She was rushing inside before I could object.

  I stood from my seat, extending my hand to help Hannah to her feet.

  She hesitated, her eyes darting from my hand to the others and then back to me. “Where are we going?”

  “I thought you’d learn by now there’s no use in you asking that question, blondie.”

  Honestly, I had no fucking clue. I just knew I didn’t want to be here. I wanted to be alone with Hannah.

  She held my gaze for another minute, her fingers fiddling once again with her ring. Her head shook softly, and my stomach plummeted when I thought she was telling me no. Then she took my hand, a smile wavering on her lips as she stood.

  I smiled, throwing my arm around her shoulders as Lottie came flying back outside with a couple of Tupperware containers. She and Leighton threw a variety of food in the two dishes before sealing them off and handing them to me.

  The women exchanged hugs as they spoke in hushed voices. I shook the guys’ hands, getting a thatta boy slap on the back from Aaron, then waited near the back gate for Hannah to finish saying her goodbyes.

  As we drove away, I looked across the cab at her. She was curled against the door, her hands resting in her lap, her eyes staring out the window. I knew just because she’d decided to come with me didn’t mean things were better between us. But I’d spend the rest of the hours I had doing what I could to fix things. There was no way I was letting her leave town again not knowing how I felt about her.

  I tapped my thumb on the steering wheel as I turned off the main road leading to my property. It was the first place I’d thought to go. I parked us not far from the river, where we’d been on our first date. I shut off the ignition, leaving the key turned to “accessory” so the music continued to play and fill the painful silence.

  Hannah’s hand went for the door. Before I had a chance to say anything, she’d flung it open and slammed it closed. With every angry step she took toward the river, the deeper the hole I knew I was in.

  Roughing my hand over my head, I flung my door open to follow after her. She stopped near the edge of the river, her arms crossed over her stomach. A breeze swept through, and she shivered slightly. I wanted so badly to wrap her up in my arms and hold her tight.

  I slowed my approach, stopping just at her back. “Han?”

  She continued to stare at the slow-moving river, the crickets chirping somewhere in the dark.

  My head fell back; staring up at the moon, I let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m trying my best here, Hannah.”

  She turned to face me, her stance still protective, her shoulders falling slightly as she let a little of her guard down. “Just be honest with me, Billy. That’s all I want.”

  “You want honest?”

  She nodded, her eyes glistening in the moonlight with unshed tears.

  “Okay. How’s this for honest? I don’t know how to fucking feel right now, Hannah. I’m so damn confused… I want to be happy for you. Shit. I am happy for you, babe. I’m so damn happy you got an interview. But at the same damn time I’m fucking miserable for us. I’m frustrated that you have to leave in the morning. I’m angry that there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m scared shitless that this is the end, and I’ll never see you again.”

  “Billy—”

  “I can’t fucking sleep, or eat, or even think about anything but you. Is that honest enough for you?”

  Her hands darted out, dragging my lips down to hers as she pushed her damn sweet tongue inside my mouth. I groaned, my hands gripping her hips, then sliding to her ass so I could lift her into my arms. With a small jump, she wrapped her legs tight around me.

  “I’m sorry, Billy. I’m so sorry,” she apologized between covering me in kisses.

  I had no idea what she was apologizing for and at the moment, the last thing I wanted to do was talk more.

  I dropped to my knees, taking her with me. I pressed her gently back into the soft, overgrown grass. Gliding my hand up her leg below the skirt of her dress, I hooked my fingers into the top of her panties. She moaned with my touch, her hands clinging desperately to me, her lips all over me—my mouth, my jaw, my throat.

  “Billy.” She lifted her hips with her plea.

  I sat back on my knees, sliding the lace down her legs as I went. I hesitated when they made it to her calves, a moment of sanity fighting its way into my head. As if she could read my mind, she lifted her hand, her fingers caressing my arm, a tenderness in her eyes.

  “I don’t need a bed of roses, Billy. All I need is you.”

  “Doesn’t mean you don’t deserve it, Han, or that I don’t want to give it to you.”

  She lifted to her elbows before picking up her foot and slipping it out of the tiny piece of fabric, followed by the other foot. She kicked them through the air as she did.

  I swallowed back the emotion I felt forcing its way through. “You might have a hard time finding those later.”

  She shrugged carelessly. “Maybe I’ll just leave them, that way when you find them one day, you can remember me.”

  I crawled back over her, forcing her back to the ground. I plucked a long blade of grass from her hair as I stared down at the beautiful woman below me. “I could never forget you, Hannah Montgomery.”

  Slanting my mouth over hers, I whispered the most honest words I could in that moment, “I’ve fallen for you.”

  Her eyes watered as I stripped her out of her dress and shed my clothes. I kissed her tears away as I pushed inside the warmth of her body. It was reckless and dangerous, but I didn’t care. For just that moment, I wanted to be stupid. I wanted to feel her, because it was the only thing that made sense. It was the only thing that felt right.

  With LANCO’s Born to Love You playing softly in the background through the speakers of my truck, the moon and stars shining down on us, the river flowing feet away, I laid claim to her for what I was afraid would be the last time.

  I cocooned Hannah with my body as she sat between my legs on the tailgate of my truck, her small figure draped in nothing but my shirt. Her mouth opened with a half-yawn, half-sigh. We had only a few hours left before the sun would start to rise, and a few hours after that she’d be on a plane back to Seattle.

  “You aren’t falling asleep on me, are you?” I rocked her body back and forth teasingly. We’d made a pact that we’d stay awake for the rest of the night, making the most of our last few hours together.

  She sighed with a smile, rolling her head that was resting on my shoulder to the side to look up at me. “It’s not my fault. It’s the wine’s. And because we aren’t moving. And because of you.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes.” She snuggled farther into my arms, and I squeezed her tighter. “You’re too comfortable.”

  I kissed the top of her head. “All right. I have an idea.”

  “Hmm?” she asked sleepily.

  Part of me wanted to just let her fall asleep in my arms. I’d be just as happy to watch her sleep.

  “How do you feel about playing a little baseball?”

  “It sounds horrible.”

  My chest shook with my chuckle, jarring her a little as it did. “Come on, it’ll be fun,” I said, nudging her forward as I slid out from behind her.

  I jumped down from the tailgate and opened the back door of the extended cab, pulling out the bucket of baseballs, my bat, and the portable pitching machine I kept in
there. I grabbed one of my caps, turning it backwards on my head. I dug through my backseat for another. Finding one on the floorboard, I picked it up, dusting it off.

  I walked around to the back of the truck again, finding Hannah curled up in a ball on her side, laying on the end of the tailgate, her eyes closed. I lowered the equipment to the ground before brushing aside a piece of hair that was blocking the view of her beautiful face.

  Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at me. “I’m awake,” she mumbled.

  My throat grew thick as I wet my dry mouth. She had no idea how much she had this small-town boy wrapped around her finger. “We can sleep if you want, Han.”

  “No!” She sat up abruptly. “No, I’m awake. Promise.” She glanced down at the equipment sitting on the ground at my feet. “Let’s play ball!” she yelled, pumping a fist in the air.

  I shook my head with a laugh, grabbing her hands to pull her off the truck. “All right, blondie. Let’s see what kind of swing you’ve got.”

  With her hand wrapped up in mine, I guided her through the field, making sure to get us as far away from my truck as possible. It may have been a work truck, but it was the only one I had, and I didn’t need any extra dents or a cracked windshield.

  I found as level of a spot as possible, setting the pitching machine down before loading it up with baseballs and slowing down the speed of the pitch to make sure it was set for a beginner.

  “So how does this work?” Hannah asked.

  I glanced up at where she stood opposite me with nothing on but that damn shirt and her sandals, her body leaning to the side as she supported herself with her hand on the bat. Her hair was a wild mess from our roll in the grass. Her eyes beamed with her smile. It was the sexiest damn thing I’d ever seen.

  My cock throbbed, restrained by only my jeans. I pushed the dirty thoughts running through my head to the background, so I didn’t end up taking her fast and hard in the grass again. I picked up the extra baseball hat and strode toward her, the sun slowly starting to peek over the horizon in the distance.

  “First,” I said, stopping in front of her as she straightened to her full height, “every baseball player needs a hat.”

  I brushed her hair behind her shoulders before pulling the hat snug over her head. Those big eyes stared up at me, and I couldn’t help but drop a quick kiss on her lips.

  “Now what?” she breathed, her chest heaving a little faster.

  Damn.

  This was going to be tougher than I thought. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I knew a ball was about to come flying our way, I might have given in and let my dick win.

  I stepped around to her backside, positioning her so her ass was tucked into my crotch. She wiggled it a little, no doubt feeling my hard-on, and I nipped at her ear for her little stunt. She laughed, using her shoulder to help shield her ear from my attack.

  “Behave,” I warned with a hint of humor.

  Starting at her shoulders, I slid my hands down the smooth skin of her arms, feeling it bristle with goosebumps as I went. A cocky grin twitched on my lips as I lifted her arms with the bat in her hands. Leaning forward, I pressed into her back to help get her into a batting position.

  Her breathing increased with my racing heart as I held her close, bringing the bat up higher and behind us, preparing for our first swing.

  “I’ve never played before.”

  “Don’t worry. Just relax, sweetheart, and breathe. I’ll guide you on the first few swings until you get the feel for it.”

  She nodded her head as she nibbled on her bottom lip.

  I waited for the wind up of the machine’s arm, letting me know it was getting ready to throw. A split second later the ball released. With years of practice and instinct, my body acted on reflex with a perfectly timed swing, connecting the bat with the ball. A loud crack echoed through the air as it cut through the sky and into the distance.

  Hannah squealed, releasing the bat and jumping into my arms. “I hit it! I hit it!”

  With the bat still in one hand, I laughed, holding her with my other arm around her waist as she dotted kisses all over my face.

  “Oh my gosh, that was so much fun!” She was still bouncing on her toes as she grabbed the bat from my hands. “I want to do it again.”

  “Good, because we only have a few more seconds before another one comes flying at us.”

  I settled behind her again, giving her little tips and advice as we got back into position. She nodded her head along with all my instructions, fully focused on hitting another ball. We hit a few more balls together before she had the confidence to try one on her own.

  I reloaded the machine before jogging back over to her, inspecting her stance. I prowled around her, running my hand up her bare thighs and under her shirt, giving her firm ass a little squeeze and a slap. “Looking good, batter.”

  “Stop,” she demanded, glaring playfully at me. “You’re distracting me.”

  I chuckled at the serious expression that instantly overtook her face as she readied herself again. I stepped off to the side, hoping she remembered to hold onto the bat. The ball came spiraling through the air and she swung, completely missing it.

  “Damn,” she muttered.

  “Don’t let it get to you, blondie. Just stay focused and keep your eye on the ball. It may take a few times before you get the timing right.”

  She nodded, lifting the bat over her shoulder again and bending her knees, that bare ass peeking out from under the hem of my shirt.

  Hell. I adjusted myself discreetly behind her. I needed to take my own damn advice and just keep my eye on the ball.

  The second pitch she just barely missed. The third chipped off the bat, popping off to the right—a foul ball, had it been a real game.

  “Damn it!” she hit the tip of the bat to the ground in frustration.

  I bit back a chuckle, not wanting her to think I was laughing at her, but shit, the way she was getting into this was so damn hot. “There you go, baby.” I clapped my hands a few times, cheering her on. “Almost had it that time. Take a deep breath and try again.”

  She nodded, taking a deep inhale and letting it out. As she prepared for the next pitch, her knees bouncing a little as she anticipated the ball, I could feel it. I knew this would be the one.

  I watched in awe as she swung the bat level and perfect, hitting the ball dead on, sending it flying through the air toward the warm, vibrant sunrise. It took her a minute to realize she did it, but as soon as it sunk in, she was screaming and jumping up and down, tangling me up in her crazy excitement.

  She dropped the bat, flying into my arms as I lifted and spun her around, kissing her like tomorrow may never come—maybe wishing it wouldn’t.

  Unfortunately for us, it was already here.

  15

  HANNAH

  I stood on the curb outside of Billy’s truck at the airport, waiting for him to unload my suitcase from his backseat. He set it down near my feet, then rubbed the back of his neck. I reached for his hand, squeezing it in mine, drawing his attention.

  He lifted his head with a weak smile, clearing his throat. “So…”

  “So…”

  “Good luck on your interview. I know you’ll nail it.” He bumped my chin with his one free fist, a goofy grin on his face as he tried to lighten the mood, pretending neither of our hearts were being torn in two.

  My smile was forced as I responded, “Yeah. Thank you.”

  The silence stretched between us as I stared down at our linked hands. “Billy, I—”

  His hand caressed my cheek, and I leaned into its warmth. “It’s okay, Han. It’s not your fault. We knew this day would come. And I don’t regret any of it. Not a single damn second.”

  I gave him another small smile. He knew me well enough to know what I was about to apologize for. I’d told him I was sorry last night, but he never gave me a chance to explain what for. I hadn’t meant to break his heart. Hadn’t thought about what jumping into all thi
s would do to him. I’d only known what it would do to me.

  He wiped a tear from my cheek, laying a kiss in its place. I sniffed, swiping the rest of them from my eyes.

  “Hey”—he lifted my chin—“before I forget…” He jogged back to the truck, opening the back door, grabbing something resting on the back seat. He strolled back to me, a giant smile on his face, tossing a baseball up in the air as he did. He lifted my hand, placing it in my palm.

  “Here you go, slugger. Your first home-run hit.”

  I snorted a laugh through my runny nose and eyes, staring down at the ball. “This the one?”

  “Yep. At least, I’m pretty sure it is.”

  I rolled it over in my hand, seeing his black signature across the white leather, my heart clenching at the discovery.

  “In another life, that would’ve been worth something.” He nodded toward the signature.

  I choked back a sob. “It is worth something, Billy. It’s worth so much to me.”

  He shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets, his back bowing as his shoulders shrugged forward. “Figured it’d at least give you something to remember our last night together.”

  “You got another one of these?” I asked, giving the ball a little toss in the air.

  He nodded, jogging back to his truck, returning with another baseball. I dug through my purse for a pen. Biting the cap off with my teeth, I scrolled my signature across it. I dropped the pen back into my bag, pulling out my favorite red lipstick. I reapplied a little before pressing my lips to the ball.

  He smiled as I handed it back to him. “Now you have one, too.”

  “I already have your panties that I’ll be hunting through the field for as soon as I leave here.”

  I laughed, shaking my head as he flashed that wicked grin at me. As my laughter faded and the aching silence resumed, I took a deep breath, knowing I couldn’t drag this out any longer. It wouldn’t hurt any less.