“Uh, no. No exhibitionism for me, thanks. Modeling for Megan’s hard enough, and she’s the only one looking at me.”
He grunted at that, still not super thrilled about some other dude posing with her in flesh-toned underwear. But he tamped down that spurt of jealousy, knowing it would piss off Hannah if he let it out, and it wouldn’t change anything anyway. It was his own fault for convincing her to model, so he’d just have to deal with it. Plus, he was friends with Carter. They all were. Carter was a good guy and Matt knew he wouldn’t try anything.
They only had one more session, and then it would be over, and his hands would be the only ones touching her naked skin. That reminder filled him with a sense of satisfaction that had a smug smile coming to his face before he could repress it.
“C’mon.” He tugged her out of her chair by her hand. “Let’s find something to watch and just chill.”
“God, that sounds nice.” Hannah followed behind him, plopping on the couch while he rifled through their movie choices, holding up options for her to choose one. He popped The Fast and the Furious into the DVD player, scooting her around so they could cuddle on the couch, and started the movie. He sat with his back to the arm, Hannah between his legs leaning back against his chest, his arms loosely surrounding her and his chin resting on her head. This felt so comfortable.
He ran a hand up and down her arm. “So are you going to keep volunteering with the Environmental Club after today?”
She let out a big sigh, shaking her head a little. “I don’t know. I mean, I enjoyed the club before, but now Derek’s in charge, and he just acts like an ass every chance he gets, especially where I’m concerned. He’s still pissed I broke up with him, even though it’s been like two months and we didn’t even date that long. So anytime I say anything he shoots it down, just because I said it. It’s not fun anymore, plus I’m crazy busy, and it’s stressing me out. Maybe I should just quit.”
He nodded, making a noncommittal noise, not sure how to respond. He waited to see if she would say more, but she didn’t, so he decided to risk it. “I think you should quit if that’s what you want to do. Don’t let him bully you into doing things that you hate, and don’t let guilt from your friends make you stay somewhere that’s not good for you.”
She tilted her head back to look at him, her brows furrowed. “But the things they do are important to me. I don’t feel good about quitting either.”
“I get that. But you also have to think about what’s most important. If Derek won’t listen to anyone else and does things that don’t work or supports things that don’t matter, then you’re not really abandoning what’s important to you. And staying because of guilt isn’t a good reason either. You’ll just end up resenting your friends.” He paused for a minute, considering how far he could push. “That Derek guy isn’t going to get any better. And I hate to say it, but I doubt my involvement today helped anything in the long term. Plus, if I hear about him treating you like shit again, I’m going to have to go kick his ass, so …” He trailed off, and Hannah chuckled, shaking her head at him. “I’m serious, Hannah. Chris would help me, too. He’d have beaten that guy’s ass today. You should be glad I have more restraint.”
She laughed harder, and he smiled, glad the tension from earlier seemed to be draining away despite their conversation. He waited for her to quiet down before he continued, dropping a kiss just above her collarbone. “Seriously, though. I’m not trying to tell you what to do. If the club’s important to you, keep going. But don’t do it out of some misplaced sense of guilt or duty. It’s not a good way to live. Trust me.”
Twisting around to face him, Hannah’s face bore a combination of concern and curiosity. “What do you mean by that?”
He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “I just mean that you should do what you want to do for you. Not everyone gets the chance to do it, and you ought to live your dreams and not someone else’s. I know we talked before about your chosen major, and you said you like the marketing stuff, and with the way you talk about the internship, I believe you. So that’s good. And I’m glad you found a place like Eco Utilities that hits all the high points for you. Let’s just say there are a lot of things I’d rather be doing than working as an HR manager.”
She sat up straighter, her brows still furrowed. “Like what? And why aren’t you doing it?”
Looking away, he stared at the TV, even though he had no real idea where they were in the movie. Neither of them had been paying attention. He’d seen it a billion times, though, so it didn’t matter to him. His mouth twisted in a grimace. “Surfing. I’d rather be surfing. I miss it more than anything, but I can’t go be a beach bum.” He shook his head. “Surfing doesn’t pay the bills. I know I’m not good enough to go pro, and that’s fine. I never have been. I’m okay with that. But God, I wish I could get on the waves more than a couple times a year. What I’d really love is to tour all the best surf spots in the world. But
