Chapter Ten
Jeremy
The kiss replays in my mind on a loop. Hannah’s abrupt departure does, too. I was under the impression she hadn’t drank much; I could have sworn she only had a few drinks at dinner and then stopped completely towards the end of the event. If I had known she was drunk, I wouldn’t have kissed her.
I hardly see Hannah at the office again today and Hirim has been buying coffee alone the past two mornings, which makes me think Hannah is avoiding me. Hirim remains silent about it, and I don’t feel comfortable asking him about how Hannah feels regarding the incident.
As I place my coffee cup on my desk and log on, I catch a whiff of Hannah’s sweet perfume. I look up and see her approaching my desk, her wine-red hair shining like a beacon.
She comes closer and awkwardly greets me with a “Hey.”
“Hey,” I reply.
She hesitates before admitting she needs help with her computer, causing my heart to sink.
“Sure,” I reply, closing my laptop and getting up to go with her. As we walk, her long, wine-red locks sway, brushing against the curve of her hips in a tight, black pencil skirt - reminding me of that unforgettable moment when she stood before me in a bikini after our first surf lesson. I would do anything to see that much of her again.
“So, uhh…” she starts as we reach her desk. “I don’t know what happened but when I tried to log in this morning, my screen was flipped upside down. I tried searching on Google to fix it, but with everything being upside down it’s too hard to figure out.”
She attempted to fix it by googling before realizing she needed my help and having to confront me.
In a daze, I find myself saying “Yeah, I can fix that” as I bend down to examine her laptop. The screen is flipped the wrong way, but correcting it is a simple setting. “I need you to enter your password so I can access the computer settings and fix it for you.”
As she reaches for the laptop to enter her password, she bends towards me and our hands brush. I avert my gaze to avoid seeing her password, but more importantly, I need a moment to control my expression.
Is she aware of how badly I want to grasp her hand and interlock our fingers?
“There you go,” she says, straightening and resting against the desk. Clearing my throat, I immediately start working, adjusting the laptop settings from “landscape flipped” to “landscape”, despite the difficulty of everything being upside down.
“All done,” I say, stepping back from her laptop and adjusting my posture.
“Thanks,” she says and we stand there awkwardly. I need to talk to her about the other night, but I realize this isn’t the right moment or location .
“Umm, I had a question I wanted to ask you as well.” She quickly glances around to ensure none of her nearby teammates are listening. “It’s more of a favor, and you can definitely say no.”
“Sure, anything,” I say. I have no idea what favor she is going to ask for, but her next words catch me off guard.
“Is your offer to continue attending your surf lessons, like, a genuine offer?” Her gaze finally meets mine as she asks.
I’m momentarily caught off guard. “Uhh, yeah, it’s a legitimate offer.”
“If I want to continue coming to your surf lessons, are you okay with that?”
“Yeah,” I say, my heart filling with excitement. “That’s totally cool with me.”
“Thanks,” she says. “I know I’m not any good - I’m terrible at sports - but I didn’t mind your surf lesson last week. To my surprise, it’s actually quite fun.”
I can’t help but smile at her words. “You’re not actually bad at sports, Hannah. Your only issue is low confidence.”
With a teasing tone, she says, “Gee thanks,” making it seem as though the kiss never happened.
“I’m not joking. Just give me a couple of weeks and you’ll see what I’m talking about. If you stop doubting yourself, you’ll realize you’re actually pretty good at it.”
“Is it the same time as before?” she asks, disregarding my critique.
“Yeah, 9:00 a.m. is probably the best class for you to attend. The kids’ age doesn’t matter, but they are one of my more advanced classes, so they are quite independent compared to my other classes. This allows me more time to focus on the groundwork with you while you learn. ”
“Okay, I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” she says warmly, a soft smile playing on her lips.
Her smile is so contagious that I can’t resist smiling back.