Chapter Fifteen
Hannah sat at the table in the student center, bored out of her mind. Derek and Chelsea had gone to get some lunch, so she was alone with no one to chastise her for sitting. She had the clipboards neatly arranged in front of her instead of standing and holding one to try to attract the attention of the three other people who wandered in. They were still trying to get enough signatures for their petition. And no one bothered listening to her that instead of wasting time on the weekend to do this, they should be here during the week, and they should get their representatives in the Student’s Association involved. With the SA’s backing, they’d get more people to staff the table, better placement, and more people willing to sign.
Instead they were shoved off into a corner without even basic signage to attract attention. Huge marketing fail. But since she’d stepped out of her leadership role, no one wanted to listen to her anymore. Well, some of them did, but Derek had managed to become club president, and he vetoed every suggestion she made, still pissed at her for breaking up with him. She’d been tempted to quit altogether, but Chelsea and Allison and a few others who’d been with her for the last couple of years had begged her to at least stay in the club. So here she sat, bored on a Saturday, guilted into helping with something that wouldn’t work, even if the goal was worthy. They were trying to get more recycling options in the dorms, not just around the cafeteria and other food service places, as well as start a recycling program for glass. On principle, Hannah approved. In practice, they could go about it all so much better.
She sighed, knowing that voicing any objections or alternative suggestions would be summarily dismissed and ignored. Even Chelsea and Allison, because they were friends with her, couldn’t get Derek to consider anything they suggested. The jackass just assumed their ideas all came from her, like they couldn’t come up with valid ideas on their own. So even if she wanted to put them up to making better suggestions, it wouldn’t work.
She put her head down on the table, tired from how late she’d stayed up the night before with Matt. Every time she shifted, she felt the delicious tenderness between her thighs, and she’d found more than one love bite when she’d taken a shower this morning. He’d protested when she’d left early, needing time to get back to her apartment to shower and change before coming to campus for this exercise in futility.
Matt’s low voice had her head snapping up. “Looks like things are going really well for you here.” He smirked when she rolled her eyes, leaning forward to give her a light kiss. Pulling up a chair next to her, he set a bag on the table.
Hannah sat up straighter. “What are you doing here? Aren’t we doing dinner later?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t want to wait to see you until dinner time, so I brought you lunch. Is that okay?” A tentative note entered his voice, and Hannah melted.
She leaned over to kiss him, letting it linger more than the last one. “Of course it’s okay. Thank you. I’m starving and wasn’t going to get a break until the other two came back.” She rubbed her hands together and smiled. “What’d you bring me?”
Matt chuckled, pulling a couple of burritos out of the bag. “I went to my favorite burrito place. I got you chorizo con huevos. Do you still like that?”
She snatched the burrito out of his hand. “Yes! But it’s so hard to find good chorizo around here. Have you had it?” She ripped the foil back from the burrito, but hesitated, her eyes finding Matt’s.
He chuckled. “Yes. I think it’s good, but I don’t have a best friend whose family is from Mexico. This is a pretty authentic place, though, and the rest of their food is delicious. Let me know.”
She stared at him a moment longer before taking a bite, letting out a groan when the spicy flavors hit her tongue. “Oh my God, Matt. This is so good. You’ll have to tell me where this place is so I can get my fix whenever I need it. Elena’s so busy that she only cooks like this when she has a craving. It’s not often enough for my liking. I’d do it myself, but I’ve never managed to get it right.” She closed her eyes as she took another bite, Matt’s pleased chuckle washing over her. He’d just made this day so much better than it had been five minutes ago.
The sound of a clearing throat had her opening her eyes. Derek’s pissy face stared down at her, ruining her good mood, his twisted mouth marring his otherwise attractive face. She sighed, setting her burrito on the table. God, what had she ever seen in this guy?
Derek glanced pointedly in Matt’s direction. “I didn’t realize we were going to have additional help today.”
“This is Matt. He brought me lunch.”
With a sniff, Derek crossed his arms over the black T-shirt bearing the Environmental Club’s logo that they all wore. “You know it’s unprofessional to eat at the table while we’re collecting signatures. That’s why we alternate taking lunch breaks.”
Hannah couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “Yes, of course. We’re so slammed, I must be making a horrible impression.” She made a show of looking around at the nearly empty space. One guy sat in a chair using his laptop at the far end of the building while two others left through the doors by the cafeteria. None of them spared a glance toward their table.
Derek leaned over the table, his chest puffed up, trying to look intimidating. “That’s not the point, Hannah, and you know it. We have rules in place
