A couple of days later, on Sunday, Hanna and Caleb were at the mall. She had told him she needed a new pair of shoes and he had offered himself to come with her, even though now he was slightly regretting his choice. Two hours, and she was still deciding which pair was prettier.
"Uhm... What do you think?" she asked him, looking at her reflection in the mirror as she wore two different shoes.
Caleb sighed, rubbing his hand over his sweaty forehead. It was awfully hot in that freaking mall and, as if it wasn't bad enough, he was also carrying two shopping bags since Hanna had already bought a skirt and a pair of boots.
"I don't know, Han. They both look good, I guess." he muttered then.
Hanna sighed and kept looking at the mirror, studying both shoes. Then, her mobile started ringing from her purse —which was carried by Caleb as well— and she snorted.
"Is that my phone?" she asked.
"Well, I wouldn't put Taylor Swift as my ringtone."
She giggled, shaking her head as she reached out and pulled her phone out of her purse, not recognizing the number on the display.
"Hello?" she picked up, turning back around to look at the mirror once again.
"Uhm... Hi, I'm looking for Lydia Brown. Is that you?" a male voice replied through the speaker.
Hanna froze for a moment before quickly turning around to widen her eyes at Caleb. Lydia Brown was the name they had used to write the email to Wren about the fake casino. Caleb looked at her quizzically and a little worried, then she decided she had to do something.
"Yeah, yeah, that's me. Who am I talking to?" she asked on the phone.
"Hi, I'm Wren Kingston. You sent me an email a little while ago about the opening of a new casino." Wren replied.
"Oh, sure. I remember. I'm glad you contacted me. My team and I would love to have you here for the opening ceremony. You know, we often visit online forums of players and you're like a star around there. We tried to contact just a few of you guys, you know, the best in the milieu." Hanna replied.
That's when Caleb understood that it was Wren. He came closer to Hanna in order to hear more of the phone conversation.
"Well, thank you. Actually, it would be nice for me to be there too. However, I used to visit your town sometimes, and... Let's say that I may have a few enemies around there, so... Is the casino opening right there?" Wren asked then.
Hanna exchanged a quick look with Caleb, who just nodded at her, so she replied with no more hesitation.
"Yes, mr Kingston. It's right here. But I'm sure you're not gonna have any problems, I mean, this kind of events is just for a few people. Are your 'enemies' players or—"
"No, they're not. Maybe you're right, I shouldn't be worried. So... When are you gonna open?" Wren cut her off, now seeming convinced.
A grin escaped from Hanna's lips when she realized their plan was actually working. Caleb, then, mouthed her something which she immediately repeated through the speaker.
"Next Saturday, at eight in the evening."
"Where, exactly?" Wren asked.
"Oh, near the dock. The place will have a nice view on the ocean. I'll make sure to send you the address and any other detail by email." Hanna replied spontaneously before glancing up at Caleb, looking for his approvation.
He quickly nodded, then Wren replied.
"Alright... I'll just call you in a few days to confirm, okay?"
"Excellent." Hanna grinned.
After that, Wren hung up and so did Hanna. She looked up at Caleb and smiled.
"We got the man." she added.
"You got the man. You did a great job."
She laughed slightly.
"I can't wait until this thing is over... Then we can finally take our trip." he continued, smiling.
"And you can move back to your house."
"Whatever, the boat is not that bad."
Then, Hanna sighed and Caleb could immediately sense her sudden change of mood.
"What's wrong?" he asked, cupping one of her cheeks.
"Is it really gonna work? Will Wren come around and accept to take care of his daughter?"
"Well... I really hope so. But if it doesn't, I promise I won't leave you. This is all I can do for Melissa, it's even more than I should have done in the first place. Look... I'm telling you, if Wren actually walks away, I'll just give Melissa some money and find her a place far from here where she can start a life with her daughter. I'll make sure she'll be fine, but far from me. Not before divorcing from her, though, of course. So don't worry about that, okay? It's all coming to an end. I already lost you once for this mess, and whatever happens, I won't let it happen ever again. I promise on my life."
Hanna relaxed into a soft smile and wrapped her arms lightly around Caleb's neck as he lowered his head and pressed a delicate kiss on her lips, looping his arms around the back of her waist.
"Now take both of those pair of shoes. My treat." he whispered then, pushing the tip of his nose up against hers.
Hanna's eyes grew bigger and lit up at that.
"Really?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Really. Don't even tell me how much they cost. Today's a good day." he grinned before giving her another kiss.
"Now that I think, it's actually nice to be with a rich man..." she teased then.
He chuckled and kissed her one last night before letting her escape from his grasp, then he lightly slapped her ass when she bent down to unhook her shoes. And when she turned around to raise an eyebrow at him, he smirked.
"You're lucky that I love you." he added, winking at her.
After the mall, the rest of the afternoon was spent in Caleb's boat.
Caleb was straddling an half-naked Hanna lying on her stomach to work the knots on her back with one of his amazing back rubs. She had asked him to take the 'post shopping session stress' away from her. When he suddenly decided he could use the help of some balm, so he opened the drawer of his nightstand to take it, he noticed something.
"Shit, I'm out of condoms." he muttered as he pulled the balm out of the drawer.
"You don't need to buy them again." Hanna mumbled from her position as he closed the drawer shut.
"What?" he asked casually as he rubbed some balm over the palms of his own hands.
"Don't waste money on that. I had a talk with my doctor, I made him prescribe me some pill. We'll be fine, no needs to worry from now on."
He stopped whatever he was doing and bit his lip.
"Have we ever...got worried?" he asked hesitantly, not sure about what she meant.
"Caleb, I'm finally on the pill. You should just be happy."
He stayed silent and rubbed her back for another minute, but he could tell he was missing something, so he stopped and sighed.
"Hanna... Is there something you're not telling me?" he breathed out then.
She snorted and turned her neck slightly to look at him, knowing he wasn't going to stop asking.
"It's nothing, just..." she began, but then stopped.
Caleb rolled off her back and went to lie by her side, looking earnestly into her eyes.
"Just... What?" he asked.
Hanna took a deep breath and stared down at her fingers as she tried to explain.
"You know, there were a few times when we did the whole thing without any protection. Like when we were at the studio, or at my place, or... Well, I guess you remember. And, yeah, I let you...finish inside because I knew I was in my...safe days, you know? I mean, I keep my period things and stuff under control, I swear."
Caleb quirked an eyebrow but nodded, now thinking he had probably been a little irresponsible those few times, knowing she wasn't on any contraceptive. Then, Hanna continued.
"And it was fine. But then, well... Last week I realized I was a few days late. And I just... I started freaking out like crazy. Because safe days don't exist, actually. I was an idiot."
Her cheeks had turned into a darker shade of pink, and her gaze was still low. She was clearly embarassed to talk to him about that, but he knew he was involved as much as she was in something like that, if not more. He cupped her cheek and lifted her head in order to make her look at him, then nodded again.
"Don't be embarassed. I was the idiot who didn't think about what he was actually doing." he whispered.
She nodded briefly before continuing.
"Anyway, I did get my period, even if four days later than due. But it scared me, so I decided it was safer to start the pill. I don't want a baby... At least not now."
"Of course you don't." he smiled softly, rubbing her cheek softly.
She sighed, maybe still feeling uncomfortable about the whole thing, so Caleb decided to speak again.
"Look, just because I'm over thirty and my ex-wife is having a baby, it doesn't mean that I want one as well. I mean, like you said, not now. In the future, I probably will, but not now. Hanna, I wasn't trying to get you pregnant. I hope that you know that."
"I know." she replied with decision, looking back up at him.
He nodded slowly, still stroking her cheek in a soothing way, then asked her something.
"Why didn't you tell me you were late?"
"Well... Last week we weren't exactly in a really good place." she muttered, raising her eyebrows slightly.
"Oh... Right."
"Yeah." she murmured awkwardly.
Caleb sighed, looking at how fragile she looked in that moment.
"Look... I know you feel embarassed talking about this stuff, but... I mean, this is about both of us. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You know, maybe I actually do. Anyway... You can talk to me about anything, okay? And... I'm sorry. I mean, you were freaking out over something like that, and who knows what I was doing in the meanwhile. You needed me and I wasn't there for you. I'm really sorry." he whispered then.
She smiled a little, reaching out for his free hand and grabbing it.
"It's okay. It was nothing, in the end." she replied then.
"Yeah, in the end. But it could've actually been something. I should have been more careful."
"We should have been more careful. But, well, what is done is done, and thank God we were lucky. And now, we don't have to worry about that anymore, so... Let's just get over that, okay?"
"Yeah, right, but I'm older and I'm the man, I should have—" Caleb began again, but Hanna cut her off.
"Caleb, hey, hey, hey... Stop. I didn't tell you to make you feel guilty. Look... I'm on the pill, we're safe to have sex whenever and wherever we want. And, to be honest, my scare wasn't the only reason why I eventually decided to start the pill."
"What do you mean?" he asked with a small smirk plastered on his face.
"Well..." she began, rolling over so that she was lying on top of him. "I might have liked those times when I...actually felt you."
He pulled his lower lip into his mouth with his teeth as he fought back another grin.
"You know... Maybe I liked them too." he whispered then.
She laughed before slanting her mouth over his, kissing him hard. However, much to his dismay, she pulled away soon.
"Thanks for the shoes." she whispered out of the blue.
"I can't believe you're actually thinking about those stupid shoes now!" he muttered shocked.
She slapped his chest.
"They're not stupid, Caleb!" she laughed then, before lifting herself off him and standing up, stroking Charlie's head when she noticed he was lying right at the feet of the bed.
"Where are you going now?" Caleb whined from the bed.
"To call the Chinese. They do home delivery. We're eating take-away here and then you're driving me back to my place." she replied as she walked to where her purse was, picking one of Caleb's shirts from the couch on her way and slipping in it.
He groaned and lifted himself off bed too.
"Do you really need to go back home? Can't you stay here?" he asked as he approached her.
"Nope, I have to study. Like, a lot."
"Well, can't you do that here?"
She turned to him and gave him a knowing look as she put her phone near her ear, calling the restaurant. As she talked into the speaker, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed the top of her head. When she hung up, they were still like that, and Hanna simply leaned back into him.
"I'm gonna finish my exams so I can graduate, we're gonna make Wren reason, you're gonna divorce, Melissa's gonna leave... Everything's gonna go to its own place." she sighed then.
"And then I'm gonna give you the best holiday ever. It will all be worth it, I promise."
"I can't wait." she smiled as he placed another kiss on her cheek.
"Yeah, tell me about it. I foresee lots of sex..." he whispered into her ear then, slightly nibbling at her earlobe, and she slapped his arm, distangling herself from his grasp.
After eating their Chinese take-away, Caleb drove Hanna home as promised. During the ride, they talked about what they would say to Wren the following Saturday. She seemed intrigued to finally be a part of what sounded like some secret mission, and he was simply happy that they were getting closer to their goal. He had had enough of that whole thing.
They didn't see each other for a few days after then, since Hanna wanted to focus on her exam and Caleb was clearly a distraction to her. Yeah, a nice one —the best one, actually—, but still a distraction. He understood, clearly not wanting to hinder her graduation, so he just called her every night before going to bed, until Thursday, which was the day of Hanna's exam. That day, he showed up in front of her college with Charlie, waiting for her to get out. He leaned by his car and waited almost half an hour before she finally exited the building, and a huge grin appeared on her lips as soon as she saw him. Before he knew it, she had ran to him and her arms were wrapped around his neck.
"Hi!" she squeaked as she hold on to him.
"Hey, you... So, how did it go?" he asked, pulling away slightly to look into her eyes.
"I passed it!" she said happily before quickly kissing his lips.
"Yeah?"
"Yup. It was the hardest exam of the whole course, but I made it. Now I just need to pass two exams and then I'll finally graduate... I can't believe it." she smiled brightly.
"You're amazing, I knew you would made it." he grinned.
She smiled again before raising an eyebrow at him.
"What are you doing here, though?" she asked.
"I just wanted to see you. Do you mind if I show up without telling you?"
"No, not at all. I like surprises." she smiled.
"Well, then I'll make sure to surprise you more often."
She laughed slightly before kissing him again, this time longer.
"I missed you these days..." she mumbled then, drowning into his hug.
"You did?" he chuckled as he ran his hand down her back.
"Yeah."
"Well... I missed you too. That's why I think we should spend some time together now... This exam stole too much time to us, didn't it?"
Hanna laughed and pulled away to smile widely at him.
"What's the first stop?" she asked.
"Well... Where would you like to go? You deserve an award for your exam, so... Choose."
A huge grin appeared on Hanna's face. He was the best.
"As long as we don't go to the mall once again." he teased then, slightly rolling his eyes.
She just laughed at that. She was starting to absolutely love their days together, especially now that they didn't have to hide anymore. She knew he would have taken her to the mall anyways if she had really wanted to, but she didn't really. Instead, she eventually decided for a simple walk through the park, happy just to walk hand in hand with him, without worrying about Saturday.
Actually, she couldn't wait for Saturday.
A/N: Hi :) So, this was pretty much just a filler to introduce the big things that are coming up next. Yes, next chapter Wren will finally come back in town and Caleb will talk to him about Melissa and everything ;) Anyway, even if this was just a filler, I wanted to get into Hanna and Caleb's relationship a little deeper. I also kinda needed them to have that serious talk, and I bet you weren't expecting Hanna's pregnancy scare because I never mentioned it... And I didn't mean to, so you would be just as surprised as Caleb was :P I hope you enjoyed it as well as the rest of the chapter. I apologize for being late, but I had some serious writer block last week that I just couldn't write anything. Anyways, we're getting closer to the end of this story too, but don't worry, I have everything planned for a —hopefully— good end, and I also have some other ideas for new Haleb stories in store for you. To be honest, I'm pretty happy about the way this one story came out, because it was born as an experiment but the way you reacted to it with all of your positive feedback made it so much more, and it became also a true pleasure for me to write it, while I was unsure myself at first. But, hey, it's not over yet :) Oh, I'm also glad you seemed to appreciate the Caleb/Sean showdown from last chapter :D Thank you as always for reading and reviewing, each one of your words really means a lot to me. Get ready for Wren's return next chapter... How will he react when he realizes Caleb was behind all of this? How will Melissa react? Also, who can't wait for Haleb's trip when all of this stuff is finally over? Haha :P I hope you'll have a nice weekend :) Love you! xx -Atramea.
