“Thanks, Nick. You’re a lifesaver.” She waves a piece of paper in my face and grabs her purse. Kellan walks into my room, oblivious to my confusion. Hannah strolls by me, checking over her shoulder to make sure Kellan isn’t paying attention. “You’re still hard, aren’t you?” She bites her lip and giggles.
I adjust myself. “You have no idea.”
“Hi, Kellan. Bye, Kellan,” she says over her shoulder. “Call me later,” she whispers for only me to hear, and then she’s gone.
I close the door and turn on Kellan. “What are you doing here?”
“Didn’t know I needed an invite to come over.” He scowls, twirling in my computer chair.
“I just have a lot of homework to do.” I grab my backpack and start unloading my books. “There’s a lot of catching up to do after my little hiatus at the beginning of the year.”
“How’s that going?” He grabs a pen and chucks it at me. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” I zing the pen back at him, hitting him in the chest. “I just have a lot of things to catch up on.”
“I’ll give your ass a free pass, but you totally lost your shit with Beckett the other day at practice. You’ve been acting weird as hell.” Kellan stands and walks to the door. “I have to go get Nicole anyway, since you’re too busy to hang with us. This isn’t over.”
“There’s nothing to be over!” I yell as he leaves.
After an hour of homework, catching up on reading and chemistry, my mom brings me a plate full of chips, a pickle, and a turkey sandwich.
“Just how you like it.” She sets it on my bedside table.
“Okay, so this is happening. You’re sitting down,” I say as she sits down.
“Caught Hannah sneaking out of here like she stole something,” she says, earning a groan from me. I fall backwards onto my pillow. “Chill out, Nick. I just think that maybe we should talk.”
“Where’s Dad? Shouldn’t this be his department?” I take a large bite of the sandwich, not even close to prepared for where this conversation is going.
“He won’t be back from his business trip until tomorrow, so until then, it’s me. Let’s get this over with. It’s just as painful for me as it is you, sweetheart.”
“I highly doubt that, Mom.” I roll my eyes. This is seriously happening. “And by the way, you never gave me the talk with Mia. I’m pretty sure I know the logistics. Wear a condom. Treat her like a queen. No means no.”
“Very funny.” She nudges my side when I scoot beside her. “And I didn’t say anything when I knew you and Mia were...”
“Having sex, Mom. When we were having sex.” I pick up where she leaves off, hoping to hurry this up.
“You and Mia were sweet. Your relationship was so innocent, and I knew, when you decided to have sex, it would be well thought out because you’d never push Mia into anything she wasn’t ready for.”
“I’d never pressure Hannah, either, Mom.” Where is she going with this?
“Of course, you wouldn’t, sweetie, but, Nicholas, I see the way you look at Hannah.” Her cheeks puff full of air, and she releases it in one long breath. She doesn’t want to be here anymore than I do. “You’re getting older, and the emotions behind sex can be complicated and different.”
Did my mom just say she sees how hot I am for Hannah? If a plane could fly through the top half of our house right now and take me out, I’d greatly appreciate it.
“I know what you’re trying to say, Mom, and you’re right. It’s a lot different with Hannah and me, but I’d really appreciate it if this conversation could end,” I beg.
She stands and pats my cheek. “If you get that girl pregnant, I’ll kill you. Do you understand me?”
“I know what condoms are.” I force a flat smile. “Can you leave now?”
“Do you have to call Hannah?” My mom grins like a damn serial killer who’s just found her next victim. “Do you need privacy?”
“MOM!” I point at the door. “Get out.”
“I don’t know what’s going on with you two, but I’m glad to have you back, Nick.” She winks and leaves me alone.
I fall back onto my pillow and replay the conversation I was forced to have with my mother. She’s right. What’s happening is a whole different game. Hell, we’re in a completely different ball park, Hannah and me. I’ve never wanted anyone more.
“Shit!” I murmur, grabbing my phone from the bedside table. She has to be home by now. It rings three times, and when she answers, I can’t hold back my smile.
“How long did it take you to get rid of Kellan?” she says as she answers.
“Is what’s happening between us purely based off of sex?” I let slip, hating myself for even saying anything about it. My mom’s words keep rolling through my head like a wave.
“What are you talking about?” She manages a choking laugh. A rustling sound hits my ears. I imagine she’s laying down in her bed.
“What are you wearing?” I blurt. Did I seriously just ask her that?
“Within one minute of this phone call, you’ve asked me if what’s happening is only about sex, and then followed it up with curiosities of what I’m wearing. You’ll give me whiplash at this rate,” she sighs. “And to answer your question, for me, it’s not about sex. Although, it’s a hell of a perk, and I’m wearing pajama shorts and a tank top.”
“My mom said something, and it just got me thinking. Also, are we talking like basketball short length or Daisy Duke short?”
“What did your mom say? And there’s definitely a lot of thigh showing, Nick,” she says.
My phone beeps, and I check the screen. Hannah’s switching our phone call to video chat. I click accept, and the same bare, creamy thighs I had my head between earlier greet me.
“A little further up, Hannah.” The camera moves. “Just a bit more.” Hannah’s amused chuckle makes everything inside of my chest soften. She does as I ask, stopping the camera right at the apex of her thighs. “My new favorite place.”
“What were you saying about this not being all about sex?” The camera moves, and Hannah’s eyebrows are perked up, looking cute as hell.
“Would ‘I can’t help myself because you’re so damn sexy’ get me out of the trouble I feel like I’m in right now?”
“It wouldn’t, so explain yourself.” She rolls onto her side, propping the phone on a pillow, so she can be hands-free.
I can think of a few things she could do with those hands. Jesus! Maybe my mom has a point!
“My mom tried to have the sex talk with me.” I do the same with my phone, laying down, making it feel like we are within touching distance.
“She knows you aren’t a virgin, right?” Hannah laughs at my misery.
“Can I say something without you judging me?” Why does this girl make me feel so damn compelled to bare even the darkest things?
“Nick, my dead best friend’s boyfriend went down on me tonight. I’m pretty sure we’re past that point.”
I bite the inside of my cheek, remembering her on my mattress, exposed and eager as hell. Reaching down, I adjust myself. I’m going to need a cold shower after this, and a whole lot of TLC.
“Stop thinking about it,” Hannah scolds. The smile shining at me tells me she doesn’t mind it at all.
“I’ll never stop thinking about it, but that’s sort of what I’m getting at. I don’t know how much Mia told you about our relationship, that part of us, but we weren’t...”
“Too hot and heavy?” Hannah whispers. She looks away from the phone. “I mean, she told me how sweet you were with her, and that it couldn’t have been more perfect.”
“But it was never like it was with you tonight,” I clarify. “I hate saying shit like that, Han. It makes me feel like I’m lessening what Mia and I shared, but I can’t ignore it or help comparing it.”
“When I’m around, is what’s under my clothes all you think about, Nick?” She licks her lips, and I moan. “Do you want to know more about me? Like wha
t’s my favorite music and color? What makes me truly happy, or maybe what my childhood was like?” I nod my head through everything she says. The answer to those things is yes. “Because as much as I love seeing your body, feeling you, I really would like to know what you have going on up top, too.”
So, this isn’t just us scratching an itch then. There really was no reason to ask, because the moment our lips touched that first time, I knew I’d do just about anything to get closer to her. She has this warmth about her personality that makes her easy to be around.
“I’d really like to take you out on a date.” As her eyes widen, I grab the phone and sit up in my bed. “If that’s okay.”
“You’re asking me out on a date?” An infectious smile spreads across her face.
“How about Friday?” I take off my shirt, resting back onto my pillows.
“Did you strip down to convince me to go?” She circles her finger in front of the camera.
“Well, it worked, didn’t it?” I hold the phone above me.
“I never said I’d go out on a date with you,” she says, matter-of-fact.
“Oh, you’re going out on a date with me.” There is nothing I want more than to take her outside the walls of our houses and treat her like I would any other girl.
Except she isn’t any girl. Not anymore, at least.
Hannah worries her bottom lip. “Nick...”
“What’s wrong?” She doesn’t answer, but she doesn’t need to. “No one needs to know yet, Hannah, but I won’t keep us hidden for too long. Everyone will either learn to understand, or not look at us, because I have every intention of holding your hand in the hallway and kissing you between classes.”
“We both know it isn’t that simple.” A pained expression pinches her face.
She’s right. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.
“Are you saying you want to keep us quiet? That I can’t come up to you and wrap my arms around your waist? Or pull you close at lunch?” I stick out my bottom lip, hoping she’ll reconsider.
“You think you’re ready for the tornado that will be unleashed if you do?” She shakes her head, angrily. “I don’t like it as much as you do, but no one will understand. I’m Mia’s best friend. We were practically sisters, Nick. They won’t forgive me for this.”
“What about me? You think they’ll forgive me?” I ask.
“No, they probably won’t,” she says somberly. “And then what?”
“So, the alternative is we stay hidden away like we’re ashamed of whatever this is.” I roll my eyes, frustrated I can’t even talk to her for too long before someone starts gossiping. “That isn’t going to work for me, Hannah.”
“You think this is any easier on me? I’m stuck between following my heart, and being so scared I should run in the opposite direction of you.”
“Why haven’t you run, Hannah?” I ask, genuinely curious. “What’s making you stick around, huh? If you know it’s best to turn your back, why aren’t you?”
Her silence forces a lump into my throat. This could be it. One thing said out of insecurity and anger could force her to leave, and then what? We’d be done before anything happened, before we have a chance to see if what is between us is something worth risking everything for.
“That night in your truck when you touched my leg, held my feet, I felt this weird pull between us. It was like putting two magnets up to each other. We’d connect, stick together as long as the thing controlling us would let us.” Watching her eyes water as she speaks, I sit up, ready to drive over to her place. “I don’t know when it happened, but everything’s changed. Whatever force that kept us apart, loosened its grip, and there was no denying the way you made me feel.” She wipes at her eyes, and a crushing sensation rests on my chest. “That’s why I haven’t run, because I’m not sure I’ll ever feel this way again.”
“Haannnaah,” I draw out her name, and she shakes her head.
“Don’t, okay?” she pleads. “It would come as no surprise to me if my feelings for you ran a lot deeper than yours do for me, and I’m okay with that. You had her, after all.”
“Hannah, it’s not like that.”
Her eyes cast down. “Goodnight, Nick.”
The screen goes black, and I toss my phone across the room. It hits the foot of my dresser with a loud crack. Too frustrated to care, I don’t budge to see the damage right away.
How did we go from one extreme to another in a matter of a few hours? Hannah allows herself the chance to let loose with me, zero trepidations, and then like a storm, as things settle, she can see the destruction, and everything becomes clearer to her.
We aren’t supposed to want each other. It’s as simple as that, and still, as I lie here, all I can think about is how I don’t care about any of that.
I jump from the bed, grab my phone off the floor, and send a text. It says everything I should have said when she was right in front of me. Why didn’t I say it when I felt it?
Probably because, once again, I’m an idiot. I never should have let Hannah this close to me. There was no way to know she’d slither past every defense I have.
She did though.
Not expecting a text back, I set my phone back down and stare at the ceiling.
I have no chance in hell of staying away from her, and the best part is, I don’t want to.
*****
“Where’s your head at, Kovac?” Coach Barnes yells from inside his classroom.
It’s no surprise he’s calling me out. I’ve been pacing back and forth for the last ten minutes. I’ve actually arrived at school on time. Hell, I’m early. It’s no wonder Coach noticed my ass out here.
I poke my head into his room, looking around the empty class. “Did Hannah happen to ride with you to school today?”
“Kovac, get your ass in here and shut the door.” He drops a pile of papers and pushes out of his chair.
I do as he says and sit in one of the empty seats. “What’s up, Coach?”
“You’re looking for my daughter.” He leans against the desk, crossing his legs in front of him. He looks relaxed, but his hands are in tight fists like he’ll kill me if I say the wrong thing.
“Umm, Sir, I’m looking for Hannah.”
“That shit you pulled in her bedroom that night, we never spoke about it.”
“I was really hoping we would never talk about it.”
“Don’t let that shit ever happen again. When you’re with my daughter, you treat her like you would want someone to treat your mother.” Coach pushes off the desk.
Well, that’s not going to happen, since I was between your daughter’s legs last night, licking her like a melting popsicle. Instead of saying that, I nod, letting him know I understand.
“And here I thought you were going to let me off the hook.” I stand and walk to the door, but turn around. “If it’s okay, I’d like to take your daughter out on a date. I sort of messed up. We’re kind of a mess.”
“You’ve already asked her out. Don’t you think asking permission is kind of pointless now? And not that I’m encouraging you, Kovac, but if you want to date my daughter, and your feelings aren’t based off some bullshit like most boys your age”— he glares at me like I’ve stolen something from him— “then you have my permission.”
“I do like her, a lot, just so you know.”
He shoos me away, sitting back down behind his desk, continuing with whatever I’d interrupted.
So, Hannah’s told her old man I’ve asked her out. That’s a good sign. At least she’s not trying to completely keep me a secret.
I walk to my locker, put my bags inside, and grab my books for first period. It’s quiet. There’s never been a time I’ve been here before anyone else. As students trickle in, they eye me, coming to the same realization I have. I shouldn’t be here this early.
Hannah walks down the hallway. Her earbuds are in, and her attention is on the floor. Every few steps, she glances up to make sure she doesn’t collide into anyone,
otherwise she’s oblivious to the audience of one she’s garnered. Her locker is before mine, so she stops in front of it, dropping her things inside. With swaying hips and shoulders, she dances like no one is watching. The perfect curve of her lips moves as she sings to whatever song has her in a good mood.
She may not have texted me back last night, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to pretend like what happened yesterday didn’t go down between us. We’ve crossed over into a territory I am more than happy to stay in.
I walk up, snatch one of the earbuds, and put it to my ear. A fast rhythm plays, and I grin at Hannah when the lyrics work their way through my slow brain. Something else isn’t as delayed to react to her. The smirk on Hannah’s face has the blood in my body rushing straight to my dick. She’s played me and won.
I hand her the earbud and push off the lockers, pinning my chest to her back. A quick inspection proves we’re practically alone. “When’s your birthday, anyway? Because I love to eat”— hearing the intake of her breath, I bite my tongue— “birthday cake.”
Two can play this game.
“We both know it isn’t birthday cake you’re after.” She turns almost right into my arms. She looks down the hallway like I did before to make sure the coast is clear. Her warm fingers dance over my abs. “You aren’t playing fair, Nick. We’re supposed to be playing it cool when we’re at school.”
“Is that why you didn’t text me back last night? Because you’re playing it cool?” I grab her wrist, hating to stop the desirable assault. Even over my clothes, it feels unreal to have her hands on me. Her eyes widen as they skim down to where my fingers are wrapped around her wrist. “I have to say I don’t like it.”
“Sometimes, when you’re around, I need a minute.” She frees herself. “That was me needing a minute to remind myself to breathe.” At her soft words, I check the hallway to make sure we’re still alone.
A sexy-as-hell shiver runs through her body when I brush her hair to the side, exposing that perfect part of her neck.
“And where would the fun be in that, huh?” I lean down and graze my lips against her fair skin. She hisses, straightening her body. “Hope you’re ready for our date on Friday.”
Under a Different Sky Page 15