“Just down. I only need to brush it,” Hannah insisted, eying the torture devices in her hand. She had suffered at the hands of the curling iron before. She still had the burn mark on her neck to prove it.
Coco pursed her lips in thought. “I think it would look better up. You’ll see.”
It was pointless to argue. Hannah could only sit there as her mother pulled and prodded at her brown hair. Veronica emerged from the closet with a few outfits flung over her arm.
“Where did he say he was taking you?” She asked.
“He didn’t, it’s a surprise.”
“That doesn’t help to know what the dress code is,” Veronica pouted. “Smart or casual? Did he give you any hints?”
“None that would help. I was just going to wear my jeans and a top.”
Coco and Veronica exchanged a glance, one that screamed she was clueless. “You can’t wear jeans to your first official date. How about this dress? It can be worn dressed up or down.” Veronica held up a baby blue dress she hadn’t seen in ages. Her mother had bought it for her in an attempt to get her to be more girly.
Her immediate reaction was to say no, but Hannah stopped herself. Perhaps Harry would like her in it? She always only wore shorts around the shelter; maybe it would be good to be a little bit girly. The thought surprised her as much as the others.
“I think that dress would be perfect,” she said. “But I think I need to wear my hair in just a simple ponytail. Nothing fancy, Mom, I’m not going to the prom.”
“You got it, Honey,” Coco replied. She proceeded to follow orders, something she very rarely did. When she had tamed the hair into an elastic, they both waited for her to change.
The Hannah that emerged from the bathroom was not the Hannah they knew. The blue dress fit her perfectly, showing off her curves in all the right places. Curves neither of them knew even existed.
“Well? What do you think?” Hannah asked nervously, twirling in place so they could get the full three-sixty view.
“You look beautiful,” they both gushed in unison. They insisted on taking photos before she was allowed to wait downstairs for her beau.
Hannah couldn’t sit still. She paced in the hallway, waiting for the doorbell to ring. If he didn’t come soon, she was going to wear herself out just with the nerves.
Finally, the bell sounded. She swung open the door, beating Coco and Veronica to it. Harry was standing on the porch, a bunch of daisy flowers clutched in his hands. He held them out. “These are for you.”
She took them, her stomach sick with butterflies. “Thank you.”
“Are you ready?”
“Yep.” She handed the flowers to her mother. “See you later.”
“Don’t be later than eleven o’clock.”
“Don’t be good,” Veronica added.
Hannah ignored them both and left the safety of her home to step out into the unknown. They reached the end of the path. She wasn’t entirely sure what she had been expecting, but it wasn’t Harry’s bicycle.
“Should I get my bike?” She asked, starting to wonder if the dress was such a good idea after all.
“Absolutely not,” Harry replied as if appalled by the very idea. He climbed onto the seat and patted the handlebars. “You’re arriving in style tonight.”
Hannah laughed. “Is that really safe?”
He held out his hand expectantly, waiting for her to let him help her on. “I won’t let anything hurt you. I promise to deliver you home in one piece.”
She didn’t need anything else to convince her. She accepted the hand and pulled herself onto the handlebars of his bike. He pulled her back, letting her rest on his chest. She had to admit, it did feel pretty safe there.
Racing through the streets, Hannah felt the wind in her hair like she was flying. The air was warm and the moon sat high in the crystal clear sky. They couldn’t have got better weather if they tried.
“Where are we going?” She asked.
“So impatient. You’ll see for yourself in a minute,” Harry replied, still refusing to give away any details.
Hannah took the hint and kept all her questions to herself. She tried to relax and just let it all happen. There was no point in stressing about the date, she was with Harry and everything would be fine.
They approached a steep track and Hannah finally got a hint about where they were headed. She gripped onto the handlebars, not wanting to go over them accidently. She knew the track headed down towards Shelly Beach.
So they were headed to the beach, but there was nothing else down there. Hadn’t he mentioned eating dinner? It only helped to confuse her even more.
Harry applied the brakes and they glided down to stop at the beachfront. They climbed off the bike and he led her onto the sand. They didn’t stop until they reached the harder sand nearer the water.
“This is the perfect spot,” Harry declared. “Wait here for a second and I’ll be right back.”
Hannah watched him hurry away. Standing alone on the beach she couldn’t work out what on earth he was doing. The only light was emanating from the moon so it wasn’t long before she lost sight of him completely. For just a moment, she wondered if he would leave her there. Some people might find it funny, but surely not Harry. He liked her, right?
She stressed the entire time until he re-emerged with a wide grin on his face. In his hands was a basket, God only knows where he got it from.
“What’s that?” Hannah asked, feeling a little guilty for doubting him.
“Dinner...” With that said, Harry proceeded to pull a blanket from the basket. He placed it on the sand with a flurry, settling it evenly. Kneeling down, he then pulled out two containers of food, cutlery, and a bottle of soda. “…is served.”
He completed the arrangement with a battery operated lantern, settling it on the blanket so they could see what they were doing without having to squint. Hannah sat, amazed at the spread he had put on.
“Harry, this is amazing,” she gushed without thinking. “Did you seriously go to all this effort by yourself?”
“Of course I did, I told you our first official date would be epic.”
“This is epic.”
“I know,” he smiled, the lantern reflecting in his eyes and making them sparkle. “Now, eat.”
He dished out the food – chicken and salad – before they started to eat. The only sound that filtered through to them were the crashing waves. That evening it was like nothing else existed in the world except them, the water, and the stars. It was perfectly magical, a night Hannah could never have dreamed would actually happen to her.
“That star up there,” Harry said as they were finishing their meal. He pointed to the sky at a particularly bright star. “It’s called the Venetian Star because it sparkles like the sun hitting glass.”
“That’s a lie,” Hannah giggled. Her and her father used to always go star gazing when she was little. She could name each of the constellations like they were a shopping list.
“Okay, it’s a lie, I have no idea. But it’s still pretty, right?”
“Very much so.”
“You look really pretty tonight,” Harry said, still keeping his gaze skywards. “I forgot to say that when I picked you up, sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize.” Hannah looked everywhere else but at him too. She didn’t want him to see her face red with blushing.
“I thought it, but I was too nervous to say it.”
Hannah couldn’t keep the smile from her face; it was possibly the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. “You look really nice tonight too. I thought it and didn’t say it either.”
“I’m really glad you’re here.”
“I’m glad you’re here too.” The butterflies were beginning to start in her stomach again. Was he going to kiss her? Would he make his move? She didn’t know what he would do and the thought made her head swirl with anticipation in the best way possible. She continued to look at the stars, keeping watch on him from
the corner of her eye.
Heavy panting interrupted the moment. It definitely wasn’t Harry. A Labrador dog raced through them, digging at the blanket.
“Hey boy,” Harry exclaimed as he patted him. “What are you doing here?”
Hannah looked around and saw his owner racing down the beach with an empty leash. “I think he’s an escape artist.” She pointed at the owner as he made his way across the sand. She giggled as the dog’s wagging tail hit her on the leg repeatedly.
“Sorry, he got away from me,” the man quickly apologized as he reached them. “Come on, Barney, back on the lead.”
The dog went away happily with his owner, his tail wagging well into the distance. “He reminded me of Basil,” Harry commented. “I wonder how he’s doing?”
“He’s probably much happier with his family than he ever was at the shelter.”
“No doubt. He was the most stubborn dog I’ve ever met.”
Hannah nodded in agreement, smiling at the memory. “That’s true, but at least he was cute. I hope we can reunite more dogs with their owners, I can’t help but worry about all those missing dog reports.”
“I know. I can’t help but think there might be more to it.”
“How so?” Hannah asked, hearing the seriousness in his tone. Something was obviously bothering him about it.
“Five dogs just this week, that’s a lot of dogs. What if something else is going on? Like someone’s taking them or something?”
Hannah didn’t even want to consider the idea. Someone taking people’s pets? It was appalling. “Could someone really do that?”
“People can do anything.”
“That would take an evil person to do-” She didn’t get to finish her sentence as suddenly a huge wave reached them. It took no time in completely saturating them and all of the picnic gear.
Both Harry and Hannah quickly jumped up, trying to keep a hold of anything they could before it was washed out to sea. They managed to rescue most things but they were drenched with the cold water.
They exchanged a look, both of them seeing how suddenly disheveled and sodden the other was. It took them only two seconds before they burst out laughing.
“The water’s in my shoes,” Harry commented. “It squishes when I walk.”
Hannah was going to give him no sympathy. “Try wearing a dress. My underwear is completely soaked.”
“Okay, you win.”
They erupted into another round of giggles. Hannah tried to catch her breath as they put everything back into the wet picnic basket. She figured she probably looked terrible considering her clothes were now sticking to her and her hair was completely ruined and stringy. At least she wasn’t alone.
“I think the universe is telling us to go home,” Harry said. “What do you think?”
“I think it was pretty clear,” Hannah agreed. She followed him back to his bicycle, the squelching of his shoes the only sound apart from the lapping waves.
He positioned the basket on the back of the bike and climbed onto the seat. He waited, guiding Hannah onto the handlebars. They dripped a trail of water the entire way home.
When they pulled up outside Hannah’s house, the butterflies in her stomach started again. She couldn’t help wonder if Harry was going to kiss her before he left. Did she want him to? Or was she completely freaked out by the prospect? She dithered, the knot only getting tighter.
Chapter 3
“I’ll walk you to the door,” Harry offered as he jumped off the bicycle. Hannah considered running inside and closing the door before he could get there. It would take away the whole kiss dilemma. But, then again, half the fun was in the kiss dilemma. She stuck by his side until they reached the porch.
“Thank you for tonight,” Hannah started, smiling because she still couldn’t stop. “I think it was fantastic for our first official date.”
“Me too. Besides the getting soaked part.”
“Even the getting soaked part.” She looked up at him, seeing the cheeky sparkle in Harry’s eyes. He looked adorable, even with his matted hair as it clung to the side of his face. She really wanted to be brave enough to brush it back but she wasn’t – yet. She let the hair cling there.
An awkward silence lingered between them. Hannah’s heart was beating so fast she wondered if it was going to break a rib or two. Or several. It hammered in her chest, unrelenting.
Hannah couldn’t take it any longer. “I guess I should go inside. Are you working at the shelter tomorrow?”
“Yeah, tomorrow morning. You?”
“Yeah, in the morning.” She watched as he nodded slowly, his mind clearly elsewhere. She took a step towards the door, her hand reaching for the handle. Obviously her question was answered – they wouldn’t kiss. “Thanks again.”
“No, wait,” Harry stopped her, placing his own hand over hers so she wouldn’t turn the door handle. He leaned in quickly, like he would change his mind if he moved too slowly.
Their lips collided. It wasn’t exactly the most passionate of kisses, but it was sweet… and perfect. Hannah closed her eyes and tried to turn off her mind. But there it was, stressing out about if she was kissing correctly. Was her breath okay? What should she do with her free hand? Should she be the first one to pull away? The questions wouldn’t stop for the entire duration of the kiss.
Finally, Harry let her go. “See you tomorrow.”
She leaned against the door and watched him leave. With a simple wave, he disappeared down the street and out of her sight. Her heart was even worse as she opened the door and went inside.
“You’re back early,” Coco called from the living room. She turned around and got a look at Hannah for the first time. “What happened to you?”
“A wave happened.”
Coco just shrugged, no further explanation was needed. “Did you have a good time?”
Hannah considered brushing her mother off with a simple, one syllable answer, but she couldn’t. She was too wired to just go to bed, she wanted to talk. “I had the best time ever. He had a picnic waiting for us on the beach. We ate by moonlight and it was so perfect. I feel like I’m so lucky to be treated that way by a guy, I can hardly believe it.”
Coco rushed over, giving her all her attention. “I am so glad to hear that. You deserve someone that treats you like a queen. Anything less and you shouldn’t be with them.”
“I just can’t get over why he likes me so much,” Hannah confessed. She had been over it so many times in her head. Why did Harry choose to be with her when he could get any girl he wanted? She didn’t see there was anything special about her. Quite the opposite, in fact, she was boring and plain.
“Why he likes you so much? Because he knows quality when he sees it.” Coco took her daughter’s hands in her own, looking directly into her eyes to get the message across. “You are a wonderful, beautiful, smart, young woman. Any guy would be lucky to know you. Don’t ever think you’re not good enough for someone. It’s more likely that they aren’t good enough for you.”
“You’re just saying that because you have to. You’re my mom.”
“No, I’m not. I’m saying it because it’s true. The sooner you realize that, the better you’ll be.”
Hannah still wasn’t sure if she believed it or not. But she wasn’t going to argue with her mother – there was no use. Instead of fighting, she just gave her mom a tight hug. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome, my baby girl. Now go and change before you catch a cold or something.”
She let her go and Hannah went upstairs, keen on a shower and some sleep. She couldn’t get their date out of her mind, all the good bits kept replaying over and over again. It was perfect in every way – just like Harry. She couldn’t wait to tell Veronica all about it.
By mid-morning the next day, Hannah was still smiling about their date. She tried to hide it from Harry, but he caught her on several occasions grinning to herself and looking off into space.
“We’ve got another missing
dog,” Cory said as she came into the washing area. “That makes two today. What’s going on with all the owners lately? It’s not that hard to keep an eye on your pet.”
Hannah rinsed off the Golden Retriever she was washing. He was actually enjoying the bath, unlike most of the other dogs. “How many dogs normally go missing?” She asked, worried.
“Maybe one or two a month,” Cory replied, waving the missing animal reports around as she spoke. “We usually have the pets here too or they’re found pretty quickly. There’s normally only a handful that never get found. If this keeps up, I’m going to go crazy.”
She stomped off to her office and slammed the door behind her, making both Hannah and the Golden Retriever jump.
“She’s not grumpy with us,” Hannah soothed, speaking baby talk to the dog before pulling the plug on the water. “She’s just grumpy. Now shake.”
Right on cue, the dog shook all the water everywhere. Only some of it found its way onto Hannah. She was smarter now; she always held a towel in front of herself before she pulled the plug. She wasn’t going to get herself drenched again.
Harry brought in the next dog and she started washing the little mixed breed that was fluffy and white – and cunning. Hannah knew this particular dog liked to jump out of the tub at every opportunity she got.
As she scrubbed her with a soapy sponge, Hannah couldn’t get her mind off all the missing dogs. It was so sad that the animals weren’t safely with their family. They would be fending for themselves, out in the world without their home or loved ones. It broke her heart to think about it.
“Hey, Harry,” she started, getting his attention away from the kitten he held in his arms. “I think we need to do something about the missing dogs. Someone needs to do something about it and it may as well be us.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Harry agreed, absentmindedly stroking the little cat. She purred under his touch.
“I’m beginning to believe you might have been on the right track last night when you said someone might be taking them.”
He nodded sadly. “It looks that way. There’s too many for it to be a coincidence.”
Hairy Tail Collection Page 5