Sure.
Great. I’ll text you when I get home.
Apparently that meant dinner at his place. Well, after being seen while out on a date, she couldn’t blame him for being nervous about being seen in public together.
When she got to his house about an hour later, she knocked on the door and let herself in. He came out of the kitchen dressed in a T-shirt that clung to the defined muscles of his chest and shoulders and faded jeans, his bare toes peeking out from the hem. This was her favorite look on him.
She stood by the door, fiddling with the keys still in her hand, unsure what to say or do. He walked right up to her, pulled her into his arms, and buried his face in her hair. “I’m sorry for last night, Hannah. Sandra surprised me, and I didn’t handle it well, and I fucked up the rest of our night.”
Lifting his head, he met her eyes, his own filled with remorse and anxiety. “Are you mad at me?”
She took in the mixture of pain and hope on his face, his blue eyes pleading, and shook her head. “No. I’m not mad. But when you pull away like that, I don’t like it. I don’t know what you’re thinking. You’re too good at hiding your thoughts. I don’t know where I stand with you, and I get hurt and confused.”
He grimaced. “I’m sorry. I am. I never want to hurt you. I’ll try not to do that again.”
She nodded, and he kissed her, a brief press of his lips to hers. Restrained. Chaste. Not at all like he normally kissed her. But being in his arms made her feel better, more settled, even if they hadn’t quite found their equilibrium again.
“How did work go today? Did Sandra give you a hard time?” His hand rubbed up and down her back, like he couldn’t bring himself to give up touching her yet. Like he needed the reassurance as much as she did.
“No.” Sighing, she rested her head on his shoulder. “She acted the same as always, like nothing was different.”
“Good.” He paused for a moment, then shook his head and let out a long breath, his chest deflating. “Okay. Good. Do you think she’ll say anything to anyone?”
“No. Sandra’s not a gossip.” She lifted her head to meet his eyes. “I told her that we’ve known each other for years and that you’re not taking advantage of me or anything. She warned me to be careful, but that’s all.”
When she finished talking, his eyes roamed over her face, searching, and he nodded once. “Okay. She’s right, and I’m glad she’s not treating you differently. If anyone else finds out, I don’t want any of this to blow back on you.” His fingers caressed her cheek, and she turned her face into his hand, taking comfort in the gesture.
He seemed to relax after that, and Hannah relaxed as well. No mention was made of them taking a break or breaking up altogether, which was a relief. But the easy togetherness they’d had before had vanished, and even though they both pretended everything was back to normal, Hannah was more careful of her words and actions both with him and at work, and she felt like he was doing the same thing. Every evening he would ask her if Sandra acted differently. And every evening she assured him that no, everything was fine. Sandra wasn’t going to out them.
By Saturday things had calmed down enough that Matt greeted her with a passionate kiss when she came over for Abby’s birthday party. She’d gotten there a little early to help Megan get everything ready.
“Get a room, you two.” Megan’s voice cut into the haze of desire that always swamped her when Matt had her wrapped up in him, his tongue in her mouth, his arms holding her tight against his body, one hand in her hair, the other on her ass.
He pulled back with a smile, placing another soft kiss on her mouth. “If you insist.” Both hands went to Hannah’s ass and lifted, and she let out a yelp of surprise before wrapping her legs around his waist, her hands clinging to his shoulders. He turned and started carrying her to his bedroom.
“Wait! No!” Megan protested, jumping in the way to block their path. “Hannah’s here to help me, not for you to screw her brains out! You’ll have to wait until later.”
Matt stopped, his grin still in place. “Aw. That’s too bad.” Loosening his grip, he let her slide down his front. Hannah reluctantly let go with her legs, placing her feet on the floor again. Going into his room sounded like a great idea to her, especially with that kind of greeting after a stressful week of walking on eggshells around each other. After hearing Chris and Megan going at it while trying to watch a movie with Matt in the living room, she’d gotten over her fear of being heard. She figured if they weren’t shy, she shouldn’t be either. Matt agreed, encouraging her to vocalize as much as she wanted, his dirty words spurring the same from her when she could manage more than moans.
He kissed her again before letting her go, smacking her ass as she turned to walk toward the kitchen. She cast a glare at him over her shoulder. “I’ll pay you back for that later.”
His smirk was irrepressible. “Looking forward to it.”
Megan put Hannah in charge of finishing dinner while Megan mixed the ingredients for the cake, popping it in the oven just as Abby and Lance arrived. Matt brought Hannah out to introduce her to another tall, hot guy, this one with dark hair, and a petite, strawberry blonde. When Matt called Hannah his girlfriend, both Abby and Lance looked her up and down before exchanging a look and smiling. Abby gave her a hug. “I’m so
