Sandra sat down with her and showed her the company’s social media pages. “Look around at what we’re doing. Tomorrow I’ll take you through our strategy, and feel free to let me know if you have any ideas after looking through everything here. This is going to be your baby for the next couple of months.” After that Hannah found herself on her own since Sandra had a big project to get out the door that day.
At the end of the day, she caught a glimpse of Matt climbing into a green pickup when she came out to the parking lot, a newer model than the one she remembered him driving. She stood watching him until he started his truck. The wind picked up, making her shiver, and she scampered to get to her car, cranking the heat so she wouldn’t freeze to death. Blowing on her hands and rubbing them together, she couldn’t help her thoughts turning to Matt some more. Would he ever figure out who she was? Would it be worse if he did or if he didn’t?
* * *
Hannah Glover.
Matt sat on the couch, beer in hand, repeating the name to himself, shaking his head, still shocked that it had been her today starting the spring internship. He’d seen her name on the paperwork, but assumed it must be some other Hannah Glover.
But nope.
It wasn’t.
She looked the same, but different. Older, shorter hair, less blushing, more clothes than he remembered. Of course, it was January. Everyone wore more clothes in January than they did in July.
The TV blared Big Bang Theory in the background, the laugh track distracting him from his thoughts. He had the volume up louder than normal, hoping to cover the sounds coming from Chris and Megan’s bedroom. You’d think those two were trying to set a record. They were at it more than Lance and Abby had been when they’d first started dating, and that was saying something.
He still hadn’t gotten used to their constant loud sex, even after living with it for the last four months or so. Since Thanksgiving when they’d worked out whatever problems had come up, they’d been going at it non-stop. He didn’t know how Chris found the energy between going to class full time, working out, and practicing every spare moment to get ready for the Regional Combines next month.
He was happy for them and all, but fuck. Sometimes Matt just wanted to relax in the living room without crazy monkey sex as the soundtrack to his life. Especially since he wasn’t the one having it.
A loud moan coming through the wall had him downing the last of his beer and heading to his own room. Exhibit A to why he couldn’t wait for this summer and the end of their lease. He could get his own place and not have to listen to his roommates fucking at all hours of the day and night. The worst part was that he couldn’t help getting turned on by the sounds he couldn’t block out.
With a resigned sigh, he stripped off his shirt in his bedroom, grabbing a clean towel and heading to the bathroom. As he waited for the water to warm up, Hannah’s face floated into his mind again. Chin length blonde hair the same color as the wheat fields in the summer, held back by a clip on one side. Green eyes. A cute little nose that turned up at the end. Her hair had been longer before, usually in a ponytail. He’d wrapped it around his hands a few times. God, that summer had been the best.
Now on the opposite side of the house in his bathroom with the water pounding down around him, he couldn’t hear anything from Chris and Megan anymore, and he could let his mind replay his memories of their summer together without interruption. He soaped up more out of habit than necessity, palming his cock, the slippery suds in his hand giving just the right amount of slip. He felt less like a creep jacking it while thinking about an old fling than over the sounds his roommates made in the sack.
He worked himself faster, squeezing harder. “Oh, god.” He couldn’t stop himself from groaning under his breath, imagining Hannah’s hands on him. Still as pretty and sweet as he remembered, she had high, full breasts, a trim waist, and an ass that begged to be spanked. Imagining she was stroking him, dropping to her knees to take him between her lush, red lips, more memories of that summer rose up in his mind. Her kneeling on his bed over his reclining form getting ready to wrap those same lush lips around the head of his cock.
His legs trembled and his hips jerked as he came to the memory of Hannah Glover giving him her first blow job the summer he was nineteen. The sweet little virgin who had rocked his world. Not that she was still a virgin by the end of the summer. And man, she’d learned fast.
He’d been captivated by her from the first time he saw her on the beach with her friend while he taught surf lessons at Westhaven State Park. Summer wasn’t the greatest time for surfing in Westport, but after he’d left home to go to Marycliff, he couldn’t go any other time.
Hannah had watched him teach the lesson on the beach with rapt attention, too far away to hear his instructions, but he was aware of her eyes eating up every movement of his wetsuit-clad body, the longing on her face almost painful to see. Her friend, whose name he couldn’t remember now, was less interested, spending more time reading the book she’d brought with her than anything.
He’d passed by the girls when he led his students into the water, and Hannah had caught his eye, holding it until he passed by and she returned to laughing and splashing and playing in the waves. It had been a warm day for June, warm enough to brave the frigid waters of the northern Pacific to cool off after spending time in the sun. After stashing his surfboard and peeling down the top of his wetsuit to expose his upper body to the sun, Hannah had approached him before he could figure out what to say to her, asking if he taught private surf lessons. He’d invited her to a party that night, and, to his delight, she’d shown up.
By the time he’d found out that she still had a year left of high school and was only a week away from turning eighteen, it was too late, he was already hooked on her. He couldn’t let her go for such a silly reason if he’d tried.
They spent the next two months together until he had to go back to school and she had to go home to finish high school. She’d emailed him after that. He’d responded a few times, but between the distractions of football and school, and the fact that he didn’t know what to say, he put off responding until he realized he hadn’t heard from her in weeks. He’d tried. But everything he wrote sounded stilted and stupid, and with practice and classes, he couldn’t talk on the phone much, and he never knew what to say then either. He did better at face to face communication, especially with relationships. Long distance wasn’t his thing. And it wasn’t like they’d talked much when they were together, anyway. Sure, yes, some, but he much preferred communicating by touch. He still did, truth be told. Too much time spent talking exhausted him. Touch, movement, physical presence were the things he handled best.
He’d convinced himself that she’d stopped reaching out because she was busy too. And she’d be better off if he just let it go so she could focus on her senior year and all the important things that happen like homecoming, and prom, and graduation. Ghosting his way out of her life was kind of a dick move, but he didn’t know how to explain himself to Hannah. And the way his teammates were giving shit to one of the other guys about still dating his high school girlfriend from back home didn’t give him any incentive to keep up a relationship with a girl still in high school herself. After she stopped trying to get in touch with him, with the busyness of classes, football, and other girls to catch his attention, Hannah became a distant memory.
Until now.
CHAPTER TWO
Hannah had her books spread around her as she divided her attention between the next day’s homework and the TV when her roommate Elena walked through the door. “Hey, chica. How’d the first day go at the internship?”
Hannah pulled her head out of her textbook, her eyes slowly coming to focus on Elena. “Hmm? Oh, it was fine.”
“Fine? That’s all?” Elena arched one dark eyebrow at her before she tossed her keys on the end table by the door, dropped her backpack on the floor, and took off her coat, tossing it on top of her backpack. She came all the way into the
living room and flopped down in the chair, taking the pencil out of her black hair that held it in a bun and shaking it out over her shoulders. Putting her feet up on the end table, she leveled a look at Hannah. “You’ve been talking about this nonstop since classes started up again. Actually, you started talking about it around Thanksgiving when you found out you got it. And now all you have to say about your first day is ‘fine’?”
Resigning herself to a potentially unpleasant conversation, Hannah closed her book so she could give Elena her attention. She’d been hung up on Matt for way too long, and Elena had listened to more than her share of Hannah’s constant need to discuss why he didn’t keep in touch. So bringing him up would make Elena … stabby. That’s what she’d said at the end of their freshman year and Hannah still hadn’t bumped into Matt on campus, that Hannah talked about Matt too much and it made her stabby.
But Hannah had been gushing bout this internship at every opportunity since Thanksgiving. Just like she’d obsessively talked about seeing Matt again for far too long before eventually giving up on that idea. Ha. If only she’d known. Closing her eyes, she forced out the words, already cringing as she expected her best friend’s deserved response. “I saw Matt.”
But Elena didn’t seem to pick up on who she meant right away. Her brows pulled together, wrinkles forming in the golden brown skin of her forehead. “Matt? Matt who?”
Opening her eyes, Hanna gave her friend a pointed look, waiting for realization to dawn.
Elena’s expression cleared, her eyes going wide. “Matt Matt? Your Matt? From that summer? Are you fucking kidding me?”
With a harsh exhale, Hannah nodded. “Yes. Matt. From that summer. And no, I’m not fucking kidding you.”
A smirk crossed Elena’s face. “Did you finally grow a pair and look him up or something? I thought you’d decided to move on and forget about him. How did this happen?”
“No, I didn’t look him up. I moved on a long time ago.” Hannah threw her hands in the air. “It’s not like I’ve been sitting around here pining after some guy I met three years ago.” Not really. Maybe a little. Not pining exactly. More like … sometimes recalling that summer with fondness. And sort of wondering what ever happened to him. And thinking that none of the guys she’d dated since really measured up.
“Fine, okay,” Elena conceded, but in a tone of voice that said she didn’t really agree. “But didn’t you break up with everyone you’ve been with since then pretty much because they weren’t Matt?”
“No.” Yes. Well, that wasn’t always the reason. Or not the whole reason, at least. “I broke up with Derek because he was too controlling.” She waved a hand. “And the guys before that, well, whatever. It had nothing to do with Matt.” It definitely did, but she wouldn’t admit it. “Things just don’t work out sometimes.” Because none of those guys made her feel a fraction of what she felt that summer with Matt. “It’s not like I’m looking to get married already or something.” Yeah. That was it. And she wasn’t holding out hope for Matt exactly. Just the way he’d made her feel. Cherished. Beautiful. Sexy. Amazing.
“Mhmm.” Elena’s face told Hannah she didn’t buy it. She held up one manicured finger. “The first guy you dated after Matt got his ass dumped for not being Matt.” That finger pointed at Hannah’s face. “Don’t argue, you know it’s true. After that, you’re right, you did give the guys a fair chance. And I’m not saying you should be married to any of them. God knows Derek wasn’t my favorite person either, I didn’t like how he weaseled his way into everything you did and then tried to tell you how to do it, whether he knew a damn thing or not.” She waved a hand in dismissal. “But that’s not the point. The point is, Matt set the standard for you, and no one else has measured up.”
“Whatever.” Hannah huffed out a breath, ready to move on from this conversation. For someone who didn’t want to hear about Matt anymore, Elena sure was hanging onto this. Yes, Hannah was fully aware that she’d been hung up on Matt her senior year, hurt by the way he’d just stopped talking to her. And was it wrong to want to find the same spark, the same chemistry with someone else? But no matter how she looked, she still hadn’t managed to find that again. She’d dated plenty, tried to have fun regardless, spent time with guys she liked, but she never felt the same electricity that had been there with Matt from the first time they’d locked eyes. “Anyway,” she dragged the conversation back around to her internship, since that’s what they were supposed to be talking about, “he’s in charge of the interns at Eco Utilities. He gave the orientation for us today. So I’m probably going to be seeing him quite a bit.”
“Holy shit,” Elena breathed.
“Yup.” There wasn’t much else to say, after all.
Elena stared at her for a moment, her eyes still wide. “What are you going to do?”
“Nothing.” Hannah spread her hands. “Go and do the job I’m there to do. I’m not even sure he recognized me.” She’d gone back and forth a million times since she got home. Had he recognized her? He hadn’t acted like it. But really? After all the time they spent together, for him to not recognize her … her stomach dropped, her heart aching like her senior year all over again. The wildly swinging emotions caused by the internal debate had made it hard to focus on her homework. But she’d decided that if he really hadn’t recognized her, she wouldn’t clue him in, even though it hurt her to think he could just forget about her like that. It was better this way. Less awkward for everyone.
Elena’s mouth dropped open. “No fucking way! What a jackass.”
Hannah shrugged, trying to pretend it didn’t bother her. “It’s been more than three years. My hair’s shorter, I’m wearing clothes, for God’s sake, and it’s at his new job. He gave me a couple funny looks like he was trying to place me, but who would expect the girl they hooked up with years ago on their summer break to show up in their office? And at the time, I was planning on going to UW, so why would he think I’d end up here?”
“Still, though,” Elena looked disgusted, and it made the ache in Hannah’s chest a little better to know her friend was incensed on her behalf. “You spent the entire summer with that guy. He didn’t even recognize your name?”
Hannah shook her head. “It didn’t seem like it.” She got up and went into the kitchen, not wanting to talk about this anymore. Elena had already heard enough about the Matt and Hannah saga. And there wasn’t even anything between them anymore. That summer was ancient history. He’d already forgotten about it, after all.
Making a big deal out of it would be stupid. She’d gotten over the guy a long time ago, and he’d clearly gotten over her. She didn’t need to dredge up stuff from a million years ago. That wouldn’t help her at this internship. And she’d worked her ass off to get it, not even applying for any others. She only wanted to work for Eco Utilities. Their company philosophy lined up almost exactly with her own. Her parents had made it clear that she needed to find “a real job.” Her environmental activism was a nice hobby, but working for a non-profit wouldn’t pay the bills. Working for a company like Eco Utilities, who combined smart business with caring about the environment, made for the ideal situation. These kinds of companies didn’t exist in very many places. She wasn’t going to fuck it up trying to see if some jackass who’d dropped out of her life remembered her name or not.
After grabbing a soda from the fridge she went back to the living room where Elena still sat with her feet on the coffee table. “It’s not that big of a deal, really,” Hannah said, and she sounded like she was trying to convince herself, even to her own ears. Probably because she was. “Since he doesn’t remember me, I’m not going to bother reminding him about me. If he figures it out and approaches me, I’ll deal with it. But I’m there to intern with the marketing department and learn everything I can, and hopefully they’ll like me enough to offer me a full-time position after I graduate. I don’t have time for bullshit with some ex. Especially with Derek still bothering me like he didn’t get the message last month t
hat we’re through. Hell, maybe I’ll even let you set me up like you’ve been begging to do.”
Elena’s eyes brightened at that, and she sat up straighter. “Really? Because you know there’s this guy—”
Hannah held up a hand, cutting her off. “I said maybe. It’s only Monday, and I already have a ton of homework, plus I have that thing with the Environmental Club on Saturday.”
Elena’s brows scrunched together again. “I thought you weren’t going to do that this semester. You know, with a full class load plus the internship, you said you’d be too busy.”
“I know.” Hannah flopped back on the couch. “But Derek started telling people that I was quitting because of him. There was this whole drama, and Courtney had me on the phone for an hour one night during Christmas Break begging me to stay involved. I couldn’t tell her no.”
Elena gave Hannah a look like she might start lecturing her about standing up for herself, but Hannah held up a finger. “Don’t start.”
Rolling her eyes, Elena sighed. “Fine. What about coffee tomorrow?”
Hannah looked down at her books. “Um, I have a lot going on tomorrow.”
“I thought Tuesdays and Thursdays were your light days. Don’t you just have one class in the morning those days and your internship in the afternoon? And you’re only there for like two hours a day. So, you should have time either after your class or after you get back from the internship.”
Blowing out a breath, Hannah conceded Elena’s point. “Fine. You’re right. Tomorrow is pretty light. But I do need time to do my homework for Wednesday. Wednesdays are a lot busier.”
Players of Marycliff University Box Set, Books 1–3 Page 47