Everything came flashing back.
Cody slid from the bed and crashed to his knees, throwing his arms around Hannah’s waist. “I’m so sorry. Hannah, I never meant to hurt him.”
She shoved him off with disgust. “Are you drunk?”
“I . . . yes,” he admitted shamefully.
He couldn’t lie to her. Not after what he’d done. He looked up at her and could see hate simmering in her blue eyes. His heart cracked wide open. He knew it wouldn’t matter what he said to Hannah. She’d given up on him, just like everyone else. And he couldn’t even blame her.
“Why were you at my house, Cody?”
“I wanted to talk . . . and apologize for this morning.”
“So you thought breaking in and letting my dog loose was the best plan?”
“No. He—”
“He’s going to be fine, by the way. Thanks for asking.”
“He is?” Cody stood up clinging to a glimmer of hope.
“He has a few broken bones but there’s no internal bleeding so the vet said he should be fine.”
“That’s such good news.”
“Yes, Custard will be fine, but we’re not.” Hannah pulled the skeleton key Cody had given her from her purse and placed it on the bedside table. “We’re done, Cody.”
“But what about the party?”
“I’ll be going with Harrison. He gave me my own key. I don’t need yours. I don’t need anything from you anymore.”
“He gave you a key?”
“Yes. So you don’t have to pretend to be my boyfriend any longer.”
“Hannah, don’t go to that party with him. You can’t trust him.”
“Funny. He said the same thing about you.”
“Hannah—”
“Look, I just came here to return your key and tell you I’m done with our arrangement. Please leave me alone, Cody.” Hannah stormed out of Cody’s room, leaving her fragrance behind to eat a hole through his heart.
What did he expect? He was a fuck up and everyone knew it. And now, so did Hannah.
Cody sat on the edge of his bed before sliding to the floor. His hand sought out the bottle of Jack. It was almost empty. A problem he planned to remedy. He knew there’d be no solution at the bottom of it. But it seemed the lesser of all the evils he could think of at the moment.
30
Hannah deferred her dinner plans with Harrison. Truthfully, she’d lost her taste for her twisted game. After what happened to her dog, she wasn’t sure she cared about conquering the Goldens. She didn’t want to involve herself any further in their messed up world.
She and her father brought Custard home from the vet Monday morning. Hannah stayed home from school to help care for him, convincing her father that with only a few days of school left, she wasn’t missing anything important.
Harrison was surprisingly sweet through the whole ordeal. He brought over flowers and a huge, fluffy pet bed for Custard. He even offered to cook dinner for her and her father rather than taking her out. Hannah graciously declined and promised to go out to dinner with him later when things calmed down. Her father had been near hysterics after hearing about the events that led to Custard’s accident. He wasn’t too keen on having Harrison around.
When Hannah inevitably returned to Stanton on Tuesday, the campus seemed like an alien planet. Harrison greeted her in the parking lot with something hot, delicious and caffeinated from Starbucks. He put his arm around her and walked her to class. Savannah and her minions gave her hugs between classes and feigned concern of her ‘poor, sweet’ dog—whom they’d never met. They made sure Hannah knew they were there for her and that they weren’t shocked Cody was to blame.
At lunch, Harrison was waiting to whisk Hannah up to the Golden Gate, where more people she didn’t know suffocated her with fake concern. She couldn’t believe she’d ever envied the Goldens. Yes they swam in the beautiful gene pool and had limitless trust funds, but now that she was on the inside she could see how hollow they were. The only one who seemed to have any substance was Harrison. He was actually really sweet. He made a point to walk her to and from class, he bought her lunch and rescued her from conversations that turned to Cody bashing—which was often. Luckily Cody hadn’t been at school all week, so Hannah was spared from avoiding him.
On Thursday her luck ran out.
Cody walked under the Golden Gate, his hands stuffed in his pockets, head down. But Savannah and the rest of the Goldens weren’t going to let him go by unscathed.
“The dog slayer lives,” Savannah called loudly. “See, Hannah. I told you not to worry. You can’t kill a cockroach.”
Cody stopped walking and slowly turned around.
Keep walking, Hannah willed. She didn’t think she could stomach a full on Golden assault. And from the looks of Cody, neither could he. He was unshaven and dark circles clung under his eyes.
Cody glared up at them, his pained eyes stinging Hannah. “You’re not one of them, Hannah. You never will be.”
“And neither are you,” Blakely scathed.
“Don’t try to drag Hannah down just because you fucked up your life and now you’re nothing,” Savannah hissed.
“Let’s leave Hannah out of this,” Harrison said, possessively pulling her closer to him.
Cody bristled at the intimate gesture before shaking his head. “You’re better than them, Hannah,” he called before skulking away from the jeering crowd.
Finally the school day was over. Seeing Cody looking so disheveled turned Hannah’s stomach sour and she’d been counting the minutes until she could flee campus. She just wanted to go home to snuggle Custard and shut the world out. She hated that she had a hand in causing Cody more pain. He was already suffering. She knew deep down he hadn’t meant to hurt Custard. She’d seen the way Cody was with him, playing and roughhousing—it was love at first sight with them. And if she was honest, seeing Cody babble baby talk to her dog had unglued something in her heart. It also made her doubt Harrison’s story of Cody’s violent past.
Hannah knew she’d been too harsh with Cody. She’d been caught up in the trauma of the accident and then her days were filled with his ex-friends, more than happy to stoke her resentment. But it wasn’t an excuse. She needed to apologize. Hannah massaged her temples as she walked to her car. Cody was right. He warned her that she couldn’t get too close to the Goldens without being poisoned by them.
She was just getting to her car when Harrison called her name. She turned to see him jogging toward her. His face was glowing with a smarmy smile that her gut refused to trust. Suddenly she wanted out. This game had been a terrible idea.
“Hey, beautiful. You weren’t leaving without saying goodbye, were you?” he asked displaying his best pout. “I thought we could finally have our date tonight?”
“Oh, I don’t think I’m up for it tonight.”
Harrison looked genuinely crestfallen. “I’m sorry about today . . . with Cody.”
Hannah was momentarily stunned by his perception. But she was tired of the dread that had been following her around the last few days. She needed to end this. Cut ties and put her life back to normal. Plain, boring—vanilla.
“Harrison, I really appreciate how kind you’ve been, but I don’t think this is going to work out.”
“What? Why not?
“We’re from two different worlds.”
“Different worlds?”
“Come on. You can’t tell me you don’t see it. You live in another stratosphere.”
“I get it,” he sneered, “You think I live a charmed life, just like everyone else.”
“I didn’t say that—”
“Well let me tell you, Hannah. It’s not all been a fairytale. I’m just a guy and I thought we had a connection. I thought I’d finally found someone who didn’t see me as a trophy or a prick. But I guess I was wrong.”
“No, Harrison. It’s not like that. I just . . .”
“You just what?” he growled.
“I
have a hard time believing someone like you could actually like someone like me.”
Harrison’s face softened and he took Hannah’s hands. “I don’t know how I never saw you until now, but I can’t let you go.”
His blue eyes bore into Hannah’s and she wavered.
“Listen, you’ve been under a lot of stress. You deserve a break. We both do. Let’s get away from all of this and see if there’s really something between us. Without tennis and vets and Stanton. Let me take you to dinner.”
“Just dinner?”
“Yes. Just dinner.”
Hannah’s heart fought her gut. She looked at the ground to hide her internal struggle.
Harrison gently tugged her chin so he could see her face. “Look, I don’t know what this is, but I’m willing to explore if you are. Worse case you get a nice dinner.” His perfect teeth blazed a practiced smile. “I promise to take you somewhere great.”
He was handsome and charming and he was directing all of it at her. Hannah’s inner goddess was doing backflips and promised to kill her if she denied herself a dinner date with a real life prince charming. “Fine.”
“Great! I’ll pick you up at six.”
31
At six o’clock sharp Harrison pulled up outside Hannah’s house in a white Mercedes G-class. At least it wasn’t the limo, Hannah thought gratefully as she kissed her father’s cheek and ran out the door before he could badger her with more questions. It’d been hard enough to convince him to let her go to dinner with Harrison. But it appeared he even started to win her father over after all the kindness Harrison showed them after Custard’s accident.
Harrison opened the car door for Hannah and she hopped in.
“How many cars do you have?” she asked studying the roomy interior enviously as he pulled away.
He laughed. “They’re sort of my father’s obsession. We’ve got quite a collection if you’d like to see it some time?”
“Maybe. We’ll see how tonight goes.”
He gave her another dazzling smile. “I think you’ll be impressed.”
“Someone’s feeling confident.”
“Well, I did pull out all the stops.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’ll see.”
“We are going to dinner, right? I haven’t eaten since lunch and I’m starving.”
Harrison laughed. “Good. You’re probably better off on an empty stomach. It can be a bit of a bumpy ride.”
“What?”
As Hannah asked the question, they turned off the road and approached a gate with a call box. Harrison rolled down the window and punched in a code and the gate began to open. They rumbled up the drive to the top of a hill covered in lights and industrial looking sheds. It was a private airport!
“We’re having dinner in Boston, right?” Hannah asked trying to conceal her mild panic.
“Yes. Sort of. Come on.”
Harrison parked and led Hannah around one of the large white buildings. A tiny white helicopter glowed under a pool of light and Harrison waved to the two men standing beside it.
“Oh my god! Is that how we’re getting to dinner?”
“You’re the one who said I live in a different stratosphere.” He winked. “Just keeping the fairytale alive.”
The ride to dinner was amazing. Seeing Boston at sunset from the sky was one of the most beautiful sights Hannah had ever experienced. As promised, it’d been a bumpy ride and she clung to Harrison unable to contain her squeals when her stomach dropped with the turbulence. He’d surprised her by laughing and hollering right along with her, squeezing her hand and pointing out some of his favorite landmarks.
The helicopter ride reminded Hannah of the terrifying rides at the fair. The ones she could never bring herself to brave as she sat enviously watching couples cling to each other with an equal balance of fear and love as their world spun out of control. She was finally seeing that’s what relationships were—finding someone to hold onto in the chaos and hoping they wouldn’t let go.
Their awe-inspiring flight ended with Hannah and Harrison landing safely on a giant yacht. Hannah recognized it instantly. It was a fixture at Boston Harbor, dwarfing all the other vessels. At 126 meters it was hard to miss. Hannah shaded her eyes reading the vessel’s name. Coalescence. She’d grown up seeing it at the harbor; always assuming it was some sort of ritzy tourist cruise line.
“We’re having dinner here?” she asked bewildered as Harrison took her hand and helped her out of the helicopter.
“Yes. And don’t worry, we’re still technically in Boston. We won’t leave the harbor.”
He led her to the empty cream and gray lounge. A cozy table for two had been set up next to the massive windows, giving them a gorgeous view of the glowing lights of the harbor. A loud blast from the ship’s horn startled Hannah and she noticed the lights of the city began to move as they drifted away.
She gazed around at the empty lounge. “Are we going out by ourselves?”
“The crew’s on board. But yes, no other passengers.” Harrison took note of her shock. “Unless you’re uncomfortable being alone with me.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just . . . you didn’t have to rent out the whole boat just for us.”
He smirked and looked down, cheeks reddening. “I didn’t rent it. It’s my father’s yacht.”
“Oh. Coalescence! I get it now. I guess I should have put that together.”
Harrison grinned and signaled for the waiter who appeared out of nowhere. He poured them both mineral water and brought menus.
Hannah was at a loss for words. She knew the Cohl’s were wealthy, but this was beyond comprehension. They were having dinner on their own floating city. How could she have anything in common with someone who could arrange this on a whim?
“This was too much wasn’t it?” Harrison asked after ordering for them both.
“No. I . . .” she didn’t know what to say. Dinner on a private yacht wasn’t something Hannah was prepared for.
“Shit. He was right.”
“Who?”
“Don’t get mad.”
“About what?”
“I asked Cody about you.”
“What?”
“He and I aren’t exactly friends but I wanted to make sure you guys were over before I asked you out. He assured me there was nothing between you.”
A pang of hurt pierced Hannah’s heart. Nothing, that’s what she was to Cody.
“I asked for dinner tips and he said to play it cool, that you wouldn’t like anything fancy.”
“What does Cody know? I can be fancy!” she blurted out.
Harrison held up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up. It’s just I don’t want to start out on the wrong foot, keeping things from you.”
Guilt dried Hannah’s throat and she took a gulp of her Chardonnay. It didn’t help. The oaky flavor tasted like tree bark sliding down her throat. “What else did Cody have to say about me?”
“Nothing. Honestly, let’s leave Cody out of this. I think we’re doing pretty well on our own.”
They made small talk through dinner, but Hannah’s mind kept snapping back to Cody. She was impressed he hadn’t told Harrison about her ulterior motives. But she would have to talk to Cody and swear him to secrecy, because she was starting to actually like Harrison. And she didn’t want Cody to ruin things. Plus, a tiny part of Hannah hated that Cody had been discussing her, like an old coat he was passing off. Calling her ordinary, not something to dress up and take out.
After dinner Harrison took Hannah on a tour of the yacht. She was amazed at the extravagance of it all.
“A movie theater? Seriously? Who needs a movie theater when you have views of the ocean?” she asked as they toured the private theater room.
“And you haven’t even seen the best view! Come on,” Harrison took Hannah by the hand and pulled her excitedly behind him. He was like a kid at Christmas on the yacht. It was obvious th
at he was passionate about the water as he spouted off nautical words that meant nothing to Hannah, and filled her head with stories of the exotic places he’d sailed to.
Perhaps it was the intoxicating luxury of the yacht or maybe the wine, but Hannah couldn’t help herself, she let her imagination run wild and she trotted after Harrison. Why couldn’t this fantasy world be true? Maybe he really did want to spend time with her. Maybe they’d even sail to adventurous places together.
They burst into a two-story room and Hannah gasped at its unfathomable beauty. Floor to ceiling windows framed the posh white bedroom. A plush king sized bed rested in the center of the clear second floor balcony. Harrison pulled Hannah up the clear spiral staircase and plopped down on the bed.
He patted the spot next to him. “This is where you get the best views.”
Hannah sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed taking in the rainbow of city lights reflecting off the water. “It’s gorgeous.”
Harrison flopped onto his back and looked up at Hannah. “You’re gorgeous.”
She blushed as he reached up to stroke a tendril of her blonde hair.
“You surprise me, Hannah. Not many girls do.”
“I can say the same about you.”
Harrison rose to his elbows. Their faces invaded each other’s space. Hannah could feel the warmth of his breath on her lips. Their eyes met for a moment, just before their lips did. Hannah let Harrison take control, allowing herself to be lost in a momentary flurry of passion. Lips, tongues, hands—all fumbling in a hungry desire for each other. Waves of heat radiated through her as Harrison tore off his shirt and pulled hers away too. He kissed her again, pressing her into the bed, his body firm against hers. He tugged down her bra straps. The intimacy made her freeze. She wasn’t ready. It was all going too fast.
“Wait,” she begged, breathlessly.
“What’s wrong,” Harrison panted.
“Don’t you want to talk more?”
“I like it better when we don’t talk,” he purred trailing kisses down her neck to her breasts.
The Practice Boyfriend (The Boyfriend Series Book 1) Page 10