“Uh, good things I hope.” Hannah glanced at Megan, who just gave her an impish smile and a shrug.
“Abby’s my best friend. We talk. And another girl spending lots of time in my house merits discussion.”
Abby pulled back from the hug, looking Hannah in the eyes and smiling. “Don’t worry, it’s good. At least the stuff about you is. The stuff about Matt, on the other hand …”
“Hey!” Matt sounded affronted. “What lies are you spreading about me, Megan?”
Megan just laughed. “What makes you think they’re lies? You do enough stupid stuff all on your own. I don’t need to embellish it.”
Abby reached over and patted his arm, getting him to turn his glare on her. “Aw, don’t worry, Matty. She tells me about the sweet stuff you do, too. Like all your Valentine’s Day plans.”
Matt’s glare morphed, and his face tightened. The smile fell away from Hannah’s face too. Both Abby and Megan looked surprised at the change. Abby looked from Matt to Hannah to Megan, confusion written on her face. “What—”
“I hate when you guys call me Matty. My name’s Matt.” His voice came out gruff, almost angry.
Megan’s chuckle dissipated the sudden tension, and she hooked her arm through his, laying her head against his bicep. “I know, Matty. That’s why we do it.”
“I know.” The words came out on a put upon sigh. With a rueful smile on his face, he patted Megan’s head, effectively dissolving the sudden tension. Hannah let out the breath she didn’t even realize she’d been holding.
They moved into the living room while Megan finished getting dinner ready. Hannah tried to help again, but Megan shooed her back into the living room. “Relax. Hang out. Get to know everyone. You can help more next time.”
Abby looked up and scooted closer to Lance to make room for Hannah on the couch, but Matt grabbed her hips and pulled her onto his lap, her back against the arm of the couch, her legs across his so she faced Lance and Abby on their end of the couch. The conversation around her stopped as Lance and Abby gave her appraising looks again.
“So, Hannah, tell us about yourself.” Lance’s dark eyes traveled over her face, then further down, taking in her favorite green sweater and skinny jeans, lingering on Matt’s arm across her legs and his other hand gripping her waist before meeting her gaze again, his eyebrows lifted in question.
Abby, who reclined against his muscular chest, reached back and smacked him lightly. Apparently Matt didn’t have any small or homely friends. “Be nice, Lance. This isn’t an interview. She’s Matt’s girlfriend, and she has Chris and Megan’s approval.” He smiled down at her, his dark brown hair falling over his forehead, before they turned their attention back to Hannah. “We’re glad you’re here,” Abby went on. “Matt’s been the third wheel for a while now, and even though he never complained, it had to be awkward for him.”
Hannah shrugged. “It’s okay. What do you want to know?”
“What do you see in this big doofus?” Chris’s voice came from behind Hannah, where he sat on the recliner.
She turned and glanced at him over her shoulder before looking back at Matt. He stared up into her face, a smile on his mouth, but his eyes questioning, like he wanted to hear her answer as much as the others. She almost said something flippant and sarcastic, but the look in Matt’s eyes made her pause and think about the question. “The way we are together. It’s fun and easy, like we can talk about anything and nothing for hours. Or we can not talk and that’s okay too, just as long as we’re together, everything’s okay.”
“Yeah, I hear a lot of the not talking you guys do together.” Chris snickered, and Lance and Abby chuckled too, not even trying to hide it.
Heat rushed to Hannah’s face, and she kept her head down so her hair would hide her flaming cheeks. The happy look on Matt’s face changed as he glared at Chris behind her back. “Yeah, like you and Megan have any room to talk. I’ve had to listen to you guys go at it for months, and dude, you two are loud.” He drew out the last word and turned his gaze on Lance. “And you guys weren’t much better. I’ve been wearing earplugs at night for the last six months.”
Everyone broke out in laughter at that, including Hannah. She could see Abby blushing too. At least she wasn’t the only one who did that when conversation took a turn for the dirty.
The rest of the evening passed with food, drink, and laughter. Abby loved the presents from her friends and endured the good-natured teasing about not wanting to go to a bar for her twenty-first birthday, giving as good as she got with the sarcastic comments. They included and welcomed Hannah, made her feel like part of their group of friends, the newness of her presence with them wearing off quickly. She felt relaxed and comfortable, not just because of Matt or the wine Megan had served with dinner, but like she fit with them. After the stressful week she’d had with Matt, it was a relief to have the easiness back in their relationship.
With things between them back on even footing, Hannah fell into a routine of class in the morning, her internship in the afternoon, and evenings spent with Matt. She stayed over on weekends, but insisted on going home during the week since she had morning classes every day. The weekend after Abby’s birthday party, Chris left for several days to compete in the NFL Regional Combines, so Matt didn’t work out quite as hard. They all went out to dinner after Chris got back to celebrate. He’d been invited to the Superregionals in March, the last thing between him and the draft at the end of April.
Megan had nearly finished all the
