“He doesn’t even remember who I am,” Hanna grumbled. “I don’t think that’s likely to happen.”
“Even so. You guys both liked each other before. Unless he’s morphed into a disgusting hairy guy who doesn’t bathe regularly, you still find him attractive. And you’ve only gotten hotter in the last few years. I’ve seen the outfits you wear to work. Your tastes haven’t changed much over the last few years. I doubt his have either.”
Hannah couldn’t help laughing at Elena’s assessment of the situation. “Okay, fine. But if you know my tastes then why did you set me up with Josh? He’s not even close to my usual type.”
“I figured it was worth a try. Most of the guys I know are in long-term serious relationships or they’re freshmen. The choices are limited.”
“Alright. I’m here, so I gotta go.”
“Stay away from hot surfer dudes at work, and start psyching yourself up for Friday.”
Hannah rolled her eyes again and shook her head. “Right. I’ll remind myself of all the reasons you’re my best friend so I don’t want to kill you when we’re at a club getting groped by random old guys.”
Elena clicked her tongue. “There’s no pleasing you, is there? They’re either too young or too old. Quit being Goldilocks. We’re not trying to get you hitched, just have some fun and enjoy being young, me entiende?”
“Sí, pues. Alright, I really have to go or I’m going to be late.”
“Fine. Later.”
Hannah got out of the car, locking it behind her and stuffing her hands in her pockets, chuckling to herself as she walked into the building. Elena did have a good point about avoiding Matt, though. Memories from their summer together had been playing in her head since yesterday. If she didn’t want to go there again, and with the way it ended she didn’t think she did, then she needed to be sure to stay away from him as much as possible.
Chapter Three
Matt watched Hannah walk into the building from the third-floor window overlooking the parking lot. Seeing her again had all the memories of their summer together rushing back—her innocent blushes paired with occasional bursts of confidence, watching her run through the waves, her skin chilled from the icy waters of the Pacific, how he’d warm her up after. He shook his head to dispel the memories of her skin under his hands and mouth, the way she shivered when he touched her, the look on her face when she came. Those memories had been haunting him since yesterday. He still hadn’t come to any conclusions about how he wanted to handle the situation. She hadn’t given any indication that she’d recognized him, so maybe he should let it go.
Despite telling himself that he shouldn’t seek her out, he decided that a good manager would check on his new interns to make sure they’re settling in okay. He made his way to the various departments—IT, engineering, accounting, sales, and finally, marketing. He put off visiting marketing—visiting Hannah—until last. He’d wanted to go there first, but forced himself not to, hoping that checking in with everyone else would give him some time to get a grip on the feelings that rioted inside him whenever he thought of her—a mix of shame, hope, and lust. In any case, those feelings couldn’t lead anywhere good. He needed to learn to ignore them, lock them away behind a neutral face, and do his damn job.
The receptionist in the marketing department directed him to the cubicle in the back corner where Hannah had a desk. He tapped on the soft sided wall to alert her to his presence, looking down at her with one arm resting on top. “How’s it going?”
She glanced up, her blonde brows wrinkled in confusion, then relaxing as recognition and something else took over. “Oh, hi. Good. Thanks.” Her answers were stilted. Did the look on her face mean she recognized him from yesterday or from before? He wanted to ask, but couldn’t bring himself to. Instead he contented himself with taking her in as she was now—short blonde hair loose today, no clip holding it back. As he watched, she pushed some of it behind her ear, and he had a visceral memory of how soft her hair had felt running between his fingers. Did it still feel as soft he remembered?
“Did you need anything else?”
Her words brought him back to the present. He cleared his throat. “Um, no. I was just going around and checking on all of the interns, making sure you’re settling in okay and that they’re treating you right around here.”
She smiled, a polite smile that didn’t reach her green eyes. Her eyes were wary. “That’s nice of you. Yeah, I’m good. Everyone’s been helpful. They have me familiarizing myself with the social media pages and looking through our strategy. I’m going to be helping with those—scheduling posts, monitoring and responding to comments, tracking what’s working and what’s not, how our targeted ads are performing, stuff like that.”
Matt grunted in response, enjoying the way her eyes lit up when she spoke about what she was working on more than the wariness that had been there at first. “Good. Sounds like you’re happy to be interning here, then.”
“Definitely. I think it’s going to be a great semester. I’m already learning a lot, and it’s only day two.”
He smiled, a genuine smile that worked its way past his neutral business-face mask. “Good. Glad to hear it. Let me know if you need any help or if you run into any problems here, okay?”
The wariness crept back into her expression. “Sure.”
“I mean it, Hannah. My job here is to make sure the interns are getting an educational experience and not just being a gopher for the department. If you need help, come find
