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Hannah
She was supposed to be back in Chicago already, but instead, she was still in Valley Falls wasting away her days.
It wasn’t that she was avoiding Chicago altogether, it was more like she was avoiding the conversion her dad kept wanting to have with her. He’d heard about her suspension from work and he wanted to know what she was thinking, getting caught up with a client. She had no idea who had told her dad, but she could guess.
He still had many friends in high places and a lot of the old guard still kept in contact with him. She was positive one of them snitched. Even before his call, she’d been having an internal struggle with her relationship with him. He wasn’t a bad person, it was just the opposite. He was a great dad and wanted nothing but the best for his kids. That was the problem. When he gave his opinion, Hannah had a hard time going against it. She’d done a lot of things all because they’d been things he’d wanted her to do.
She was starting to rethink her entire life.
Would all of her decisions have been different if he’d never voiced an opinion?
She’d never know. But until she figured a few things out on her own, she couldn’t talk to him. That didn’t stop him from calling or texting and even siccing her mom on her. Luckily, she was able to tell her mom that she was working through some things and her mom understood. If only her dad were so easy.
The only thing that made her days better were her calls and texts with Edwin. He texted each morning like clockwork before he hit the weight room with Dallas and then again several times throughout the day. At night, when he was alone in his room and she was alone in Zara’s guest room, they FaceTimed. It wasn’t the same as seeing him in person but it was better than nothing.
And the phone sex was pretty spectacular.
Although she missed his touch something fierce.
“If you’re going to sit here and stew all day, you might as well go back to Chicago.” Zara was standing in the doorway of her bedroom, arms crossed, looking annoyed.
“I’m not stewing.”
“Maybe stewing is the wrong word. It’s more like pouting that someone took your favorite toy away.”
Hannah picked up the pillow from her lap and threw it at her friend. “Low blow.”
Zara came into the room, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I get it, you miss him, but isn’t this exactly what you didn’t want to happen? You being all wrapped up in Edwin when you have your own life to live.”
She had a point. “It’s not him I’m stewing over. I won’t deny I miss him but we’re making it work. It’s my dad. What do I do, Zar?”
“You get your ass up and come to dinner with me and Allana and Mae. We’ll help you figure it out and if we don’t,” she shrugged, “at least it’ll get you out of the house.”
“Fine, but you’re buying.” She quickly got dressed, sent Edwin a text that she’d be gone and she’d call him when she got back, and then she and Zara headed off to meet Allana and Mae at the bar that apparently Shane and Allana owned.
She’d heard the story about Shane buying the bar for Allana but had assumed it was blown out of proportion. She’d have to remember to ask Allana for the real story.
The place was pretty busy if the parking lot was any indication and when they walked inside, it was equally as busy.
“Over here,” Mae stood up and shouted from a table in the back.
“It’s about time you got here,” Allana said as they sat down at the table.
“I had to basically drag this one out of the house.” Zara pointed her thumb at Hannah.
“Not true. I came willingly. Sort of.”
They all laughed.
“I’m going to go ahead and assume your extended stay in Valley Falls is due to a certain good-looking soccer star?” Allana raised an eyebrow at her.
While she and Edwin had decided to keep their relationship under wraps, she knew that Dallas, Shane, and Cooper knew. That meant their partners also knew. “Not really. He’s not even here.”
Before anyone could say anything else, a waitress stopped by to take her and Zara’s drink orders. When she was gone, Mae didn’t waste any time. “Cooper says he talks about you nonstop.”
That made her smile. “Things are good. Really good. I mean, sure, I miss him but this is how it’s going to be if we’re together. He has a job and so do I.”
“So if it’s not Edwin that has you holed up in Zara's house,” Allana said. “What is it?”
She sighed. “My dad. I’m dealing with some stuff that I never really realized until now.”
“What sort of stuff?” Mae asked.
“Hannah’s dad is great,” Zara interrupted before she could speak. “He just has a very dominating personality.”
“I never realized that if he suggested something, I ended up doing it his way even if I was thinking of something else.”
“I can understand that,” Allana said. “It’s easy to get caught up in what someone else wants when you don't really know what you want for yourself.”
Hannah nodded. “I think that was the problem. I was always going back and forth and never able to make a decision and so when my dad said something, I just did that.”
“Do you think he would have been mad if you went in another direction?” Mae asked.
She shrugged. “That’s just it. I have no clue. So I’m avoiding him.” The waitress dropped off their drinks and she took a long sip of her beer to calm her nerves.
“I know your dad,” Zara said, “and I don’t think he’ll care. Look at Heath and all he’s done. He rarely took your dad’s advice and they are ridiculously close. Your dad just wants what’s best for you and right now, you’re keeping him in the dark. Something you’ve never done before.”
“I guess you’re right,” she said, not really thinking of it like that before. “I guess all that’s left now is for me to decide what I want.”
“You’ll figure it out,” Allana said. “When I met Shane, he flipped everything upside down and then just kept doing it over and over again.” She laughed. “I wasn’t looking for him and it scared me to want someone who was so prominent and wealthy.”
“Speaking of you and Shane,” Hannah said, completely ready to talk about anything besides herself, “are the rumors about how you own this place true?”
Mae choked on a peanut she’d been eating and Zara gasped.
“What?” Hannah said. “Is it a state secret?”
Allana laughed. “No state secret. Mae just thinks the story is hysterical and, Zara, I’m assuming you’d also like to know if the rumors are true and are just shocked Hannah asked?”
Zara looked around the table and then nodded slowly.
“I’ve worked really hard to get the image of what you two did here out of my head,” Mae said. “And yet, somehow, it’s always brought back up.”
“So it’s true?” Hannah asked.
“Yes, it’s true, Shane and I met here, although, technically, we already knew each other. The part you probably heard was that we, shall we say, got together in the back hallway. The part you probably never heard was that I came here looking for someone to help me with a problem I had. Luckily for me, Shane was who I found.”
“What sort of problem?” Zara asked, eyes completely wide and very interested in what Allana was about to say.
“I’d never had or given oral sex.” She said it so nonchalantly that Hannah wondered how often she told this story.
“Shut up!” Zara whisper-shouted. “How is that possible? Oral sex is my jam.”
“Yes, yes,” Hannah said sarcastically, “we all know how much you love oral sex.” It was literally all she talked about for their junior year in college.
“I don’t.” Mae put up a hand. “Exactly how much oral sex are you having and with who?”
“None, currently,” she sighed wistfully. “I’ve been on an oral sex slump. The last two guys I’ve gone out with were duds in that department and it sort of turned me off from even trying.”
“Those are the worst,” Mae said. “Thank god I don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
“Same,” Allana said. “What about you, Hannah? How’s the oral with Edwin?”
She was pretty sure her cheeks went bright red. Talking about it as a whole was one thing but actually discussing her sex life with Edwin was something else entirely. “It’s fine.”
“Fine?” Zara said. “I doubt that’s true. The way you look after you have phone sex tells me the man knows what he’s doing with words alone. And if he’s that good over the phone, he has to be even better in person.”
“Um...” She wasn’t sure what to say.
“You don’t get to be shy about this,” Allana said. “I just told you that Shane and I had oral sex right here in this bar.”
Hannah couldn't stop laughing. “Okay, okay. It’s good. Really fucking good.” She pursed her lips wondering how much more to say. “You’re right that he’s good with his mouth.” She looked at Zara. “He made me come just by playing with my breasts.”
Zara’s eyes widened. “Damn, that’s impressive.”
“Been there, done that,” Allana said.
“What haven’t you done,” Mae asked. “You know what, I don’t want to know. And please stop telling me all the places you and Shane have sex. Some things should remain a mystery.”
That was pretty much how the rest of the dinner went. Before it was time to leave, Hannah used the restroom and Allana went with her.
“You know, Mae and I are headed down to Florida for the weekend to see the guys. You should join us.”
That had her stopping mid-step. “What, I can’t do that.”
“Why not? You don’t have anything to do, right? Don’t you want to see Edwin?”
Oh boy, did she want to see him. But she couldn’t just pick up and fly down there.
Could she?
“Listen, I won’t push this but I’ll text you the info and if you want to come, you should come.”
“How would I explain being there to people who saw me?”
“Who needs to see you? We’ll take a car from the airport and we can have it drop you at a back entrance to the hotel so no one sees you. I highly doubt you and Edwin would leave the room much, so you should be good.”
She made it sound so simple.
“Think about it and let me know. The plane leaves at ten-thirty tomorrow morning.”
Hannah stood inside the bathroom for longer than necessary and never even ended up actually going to the bathroom. All she could think about was seeing Edwin. How cool would it be to surprise him? Would he be happy to see her? What if he wasn't happy to see her, what then?
She couldn't risk it.
It might sound awesome but it had the potential to be a disaster. What she should do is go home and talk to her dad. All this secret keeping was eating her up inside. If she was ever going to make a decision on what to do about her job and about Edwin, she needed to start by talking to her dad.
So when they got back to Zara’s, instead of calling Edwin, like she promised him she’d do, she called her dad.
“It’s about time you stopped avoiding me,” he said in lue of a greeting.
“I know and I’m sorry about that.”
“You’d think I was an ogre who was going to lock you in your room forever the way you were acting. Christ, kid, you’re a grown woman. All I wanted to do was to see what the hell was going on and make sure you were okay.”
His words had tears streaming down her face. “I don’t know what to do, Dad.” That was the honest truth.
He sighed. “I wish you were here so we could talk in person, but this will have to do. Why don’t you start at the beginning.”
If only she knew where that was. Instead, she went with her heart. “I’m in love and I’m not sure it can work.”
There was a beat of silence before he said. “With Edwin Boyle?”
She nodded, then remembered he couldn't see her. “Yeah.”
“I figured it was going to be something like this. You would have never jeopardized your career by kissing him if it wasn’t love.”
That had her remembering that he knew about her suspension. “Who told you?”
“It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you didn’t come to me or your mom and talk to us. Being in love for the first time is a big deal.”
“How do you know this is the first time?”
“I know you, kid, If you’d been in love before now, I would have known.”
He was probably right. “I was scared. I think I’ve loved him for a long time but I just finally let myself see it and then he dropped me as his agent and as his friend and I just became a disaster.”
“What do you mean he dropped you as his agent?” His voice was sterner than before.
“It’s okay, Dad, you don’t have to go beat him up for me.” She laughed and it felt good. “He was dealing with his feelings for me too.” She knew he liked her. A lot. But she had no clue what that meant. Was he in love with her?
That was part of the reason she was hedging in making any job decisions. If she chose him over her job and he didn’t love her, what then?
“Okay,” her dad said, “I guess that makes sense. I did some stupid things when I fell in love with your mom too.”
“Did he ever,” she heard her mom say in the background, making her laugh again.
“If you love him and he loves you, what’s the hold up? Screw Top Athlete and that stupid contract clause.”
Her heart steadied in her chest. “Do you mean that, Dad?”
“Of course I do. I want you happy and speaking from personal experience, love made me happier than baseball ever did. And you know how much I love baseball.”
“But you didn’t give up baseball for Mom.”
“Is that what this is about? You think you’re giving something up for him?”
“Aren’t I? If I quit, then what?”
“You go work with Zara, or if not that, you start your own agency. Or you do something else. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as it makes you happy.” There was a long pause. “Have you ever been happy at TA?”
That was the real question. “I’m not sure how to answer that. I thought I liked it but when I look back, I only really liked the times I was working or helping Edwin. I hate the politics of it and the stress to bring in new clients is through the roof.” It felt good to tell him the truth. “I didn't want to let you down, though, and you loved that place.”
“Dammit,” he swore. “Just because I love something doesn’t ever mean you have to. And think about it, kid, I loved it because of agents like you who catered to my every need. Being an agent there and being a client are two different things.”
“I told you,” she heard her mom say in the background.
“What did Mom tell you?” Hannah asked.
Her dad sighed. “All those years ago after college when you were deciding what to do, your mom told me I should keep my opinions to myself. Turns out she was right.” She could practically hear his eyes roll over the phone.
“I’m always right.” Now her mom’s voice was right in her ear. “Baby girl, you never have to do anything to gain our approval. We love you no matter what.”
‘’I love you too, Mom.”
“When you’re finished with your father, I want to hear all about this guy you love. Although I'm pretty sure I already know a good amount. You talked about him through the years.”
She hadn’t realized she’d ever brought him up other than if they were talking about work but it didn’t surprise her now that she knew she’d had these feelings all this time. “You’ve got a deal.”
“So what’s the plan?” her dad asked.
She took a deep breath and tried to calm her mind. “I still have no idea.”
“Maybe you should talk to your boy and see what he thinks.”
“He’s not a boy, Dad.” Edwin was all man. Her man.
“He’s younger than me, so that makes him a boy.”
Laughter bubbled out. “Talking to him is probably a pretty good idea.”
“I guess that means I won’t be seeing you for a few more days.”
“Looks like it.” Seems like she was about to take Allana up on her offer. “I love you, Dad. Thank you for always believing in me.”
“Kid, you know I’d do anything for you. Bring this guy home to meet your mom. You know how she is.”
Her mom’s voice came over the line again. “I’m pretty sure you’re the one who wants to give him the third degree.”
“I love you guys,” she said before hanging up. When she looked down at her screen, she saw she had several missed texts from Edwin.
Edwin:
Call me when you get home. No matter what time it is.
Edwin:
I hope you had a good time.
Edwin:
God, it’s ridiculous how much I miss just talking to you.
Edwin:
Although my dick really misses you.
Edwin:
But I’m not touching him until you call me.
She was laughing as she found his number on her phone and hit the button to FaceTime him.
“Hello, gorgeous,” he said when his face came into view.
It was amazing how just seeing his face and hearing his voice cheered her up. She felt herself blush at his compliment. “Hi.” He was lounging back against his pillow, his eyes heavy. “You didn’t have to stay awake for me.” It was just after ten but she knew how tired he was after his long days of training.
“I wouldn’t dream of feeling asleep before talking to you. How was your night with the girls?”
“It was fun and much needed.” She got more comfortable on the bed. “What would you think of me coming to visit you tomorrow?”
His eyes widened and he sat up straight. “What? How? Wait, no, I don’t care how. Yes, come, please.” The excitement in his voice was evident and she let herself relax a little.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to be in the way, but Allana said she and Mae are going down for the weekend and invited me.”
“You could never be in the way. We’re finished by two tomorrow and we only have a short workout Saturday morning. Sunday is an off day. That gives us so much time together.”
She bit down on her lip, stopping herself from shouting her love for him from the rooftops. He might not have said the words, but he was showing her in so many ways that he loved her. “Okay. I’ll be there.”
He fell back against the pillows. “You don’t know how happy this makes me. I was close to asking Shane if I could fly home after Saturday's training and then fly back late Sunday night.”
“You were going to do that?” It should surprise her but with Edwin, it really didn’t.
“I’d do anything for you, Hannah.” His words weren’t meant to be seductive, but that’s how they sounded to her ears.
“In that case, maybe you should tell me all the things you're going to do to me when I get there?”
It didn’t matter that she’d be seeing him in less than a day. She’d take all the time with him that she could get.