Chapter 38
Hannah spent the rest of the week trying to hide how upset she was about Alex’s date with Aimee the following weekend.
Thankfully, luck was on her side as he was away on his lifeguard course during the day so she didn’t have to bump into him at the café as usual. And when he returned, Hannah made sure that she had already eaten dinner and made out that she was going to have an early night in her room.
But she couldn’t fool everyone, it seemed. Especially when she made herself scarce before Alex went out on his date.
That Saturday night, Lily came into her bedroom and held up her phone so that she could continue her group call with Beth and Ella.
‘I was having a quiet night,’ moaned Hannah, who was sitting in her bed in her pyjamas.
‘So?’ said Beth. ‘Lily’s worried about you so we wanted to make sure that you’re OK.’
‘Why are you worried about me?’ asked Hannah, looking at Lily as she sat down next to her on top of the covers.
‘Because you’ve been extra quiet this week,’ replied Lily. ‘And I’m worried that this café business is too much stress for you.’
‘It’s fine,’ said Hannah, quickly. ‘Anyway, everyone keeps telling me that it’ll get better as soon as the water sports centre opens in a week’s time. Hopefully they’re right.’
‘Of course we’re right,’ said Ella.
‘So what else is the matter if it’s not the café?’ asked Beth, looking concerned.
Hannah sighed. ‘It’s nothing,’ she told them.
‘I think I know,’ said Lily, in a triumphant tone.
‘What?’ chorused Beth and Ella together.
‘She missed Alex this week,’ announced Lily with a flourish.
Hannah looked at her friend with her mouth open in shock. How did she know?
‘Alex?’ repeated Ella, goggle-eyed.
‘What’s wrong with Alex?’ asked Beth, looking confused.
‘Nothing, actually. He’s one of the good guys and believe me they’re few and far between,’ said Ella.
‘Of course he is,’ said Lily. ‘He’s a great guy.’
‘Exactly,’ said Beth, nodding. ‘He’s decent, you know? Trustworthy.’
And so sexy. The thought popped into Hannah’s head before she could stop it.
Lily leant her head to one side as she studied her friend. ‘Why are you blushing?’ she asked.
‘I’m not,’ protested Hannah.
‘Liar. You’ve got the most colour that I’ve seen you have all week,’ said Lily.
‘I know! I reckon it’s because she likes Alex,’ said Beth, looking delighted.
Ella frowned. ‘Everyone likes Alex. You can’t not. It would be like hating Tiny.’
‘No, Beth means that Hannah really likes Alex,’ said Lily, with a gleam in her eyes.
They all stared at Hannah whilst she shuffled in the bed, feeling awkward under their gaze. In the end though, they were her best friends. She couldn’t hide the truth from them any longer.
So she gave them a small nod in response, hoping her silence would encourage her friends to change topics. But her prayers weren’t answered.
‘Well, I don’t know how I feel about this considering it’s come out of the blue,’ said Ella. ‘Let’s check the list.’
‘OK. We like him,’ began Lily, counting on her fingers.
‘He’s got bigger shoulders than we have,’ added Beth.
‘Ben trusts him and says he’s a good guy,’ said Lily.
‘Ben’s also known him for a long time so no scary secrets to be discovered,’ said Ella.
‘And the man sure looks good in swimming shorts,’ said Beth with a cheeky grin.
Hannah nodded, thinking back to the previous week when she had watched him come out of the water, the droplets dripping down his bare chest. She gulped and remembered that she had almost dropped the tea pot.
She blinked back to life and found her friends watching her, all of them wearing a smile.
‘What?’ she snapped.
‘You’re not disagreeing that the man sure looks mighty fine,’ said Lily.
‘I’m not blind,’ said Hannah, throwing off the duvet and getting up to go over to the dressing table to brush her hair.
‘The question is how much does he like Hannah in return?’ asked Beth.
‘Oh, I know the answer to that one,’ announced Lily. ‘My radar is always right.’
Hannah spun around to look down at her friend in shock.
‘Go on,’ urged Beth.
‘He’s been giving Hannah some serious side-eye pretty much since I met him last year,’ she said, with a grin.
‘Excellent,’ said Beth, clapping her hands.
‘No, it’s not,’ muttered Hannah. ‘It’s all nonsense. I mean, look at him! He would never be interested in someone like me.’
‘First off, you’re mad,’ said Lily.
‘Because you’re gorgeous,’ added Beth.
‘Exactly,’ said Ella. ‘You’re kind, and beautiful and generous.’
‘And I think he feels the same way about you,’ said Lily, with a knowing smile.
‘Does Ben know?’ asked Beth.
Lily shook her head. ‘Men do tend to be clueless about this sort of thing, let’s be honest. And I wanted to make sure what was best for Hannah first before I let him in on the little secret. It’s best us women take charge, I reckon.’
Hannah shook her head, not able to believe any of her friends’ words.
‘Yes, but you’re forgetting one thing, aren’t you?’ she said, putting her hands on her hips. ‘If he likes me that much, why is he out on a date with Aimee tonight?’
‘On a date?’ stammered Beth.
‘Tonight?’ asked Ella.
‘With Aimee?’ said Lily, looking aghast. ‘How? When?’
‘She asked him the other day,’ said Hannah, coming back to the bed to sit down and slump against the pillows. ‘So I guess your radar is way off, for once.’
Her friends were silent for a moment after hearing her shaky voice and she could feel Beth and Ella’s sympathy even through the phone screen.
Lily, though, immediately drew her into a hug and Hannah couldn’t help but let a stray tear fall as she finally admitted to herself how upset she really was over Alex.
How long had she been lying to herself that her feelings for him were purely friendly? How long had she been harbouring a secret crush on him?
She had tried so hard not to give in to her feelings. And yet it seemed as if they were stronger than ever.
But with Alex out on a date with someone else, she had no choice but to just remain friends.