I do not own Everwood or these characters, they belong to Berlanti, this is strictly for entertainment purposes, yadda yadda.
Bright stood in Nina's kitchen, his fingers dancing a nervous rhythm on the countertop. Jake stood across from him, doing something complicated with his shiny espresso machine.
"So, um, what do you think they're doing up there?" It was the second time he'd asked, but he'd already forgotten. Amy had picked Hannah up at the airport. Trying to bully her out of it, she and Hannah just laughed and both had refused to give up Hannah's flight information, so he'd settled for seeing Hannah for the first time in months here, at Nina's. They told him when to arrive and he dutifully obeyed. Now, the sounds of Amy and Hannah giggling and Nina's gentle laughter drifted down the stairs.
Jake grinned over at Bright and said, "I think you're at the mercy of a secret female ritual. It's better not to fight it, just let it roll over you."
Nina breezed into the kitchen and landed next to Jake, who handed her a coffee cup. She winked at Bright and said, "They're coming down now."
He turned toward the stairs and felt as though the floor fell away beneath him. Nina and Jake exchanged knowing looks as a large grin washed over Bright's face.
Her hair was a little shorter than before and she was wearing it loose, instead of pinned back in the barrette she normally wore. Her square-necked sundress of thin yellow cotton only added to the transluscent glow of her skin. Embroidered daisies followed the scalloped edge near her throat and the spaghetti straps tied into little bows brushing the delicate curve of her shoulders. The flared skirt ended just below her knees and her feet were clad in delicately strapped sandals. In her hand she held a floppy sun hat.
She smiled uncertainly and pushed her glasses up with a hand that trembled slightly. "Hello, Bright."
In two long steps he was across the room and she was in his arms. The feel of her skin, her smell, the warmth of her light body all awakened his senses. His head rested in that natural place on the crown of her head as her face burrowed into his chest and she melted into his strong body. They had both been so worried about awkwardness after such a long separation, but now they both knew that this was where they were meant to be. In that moment, nothing existed but the sound of Bright's heart and the feel of Hannah's skin beneath the thin fabric of her dress. After an eternity, Bright stepped back and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Taking her hand he led her to the door.
At the threshold, Hannah remembered to turn and gave a shaky, "Bye" to the other people in the kitchen. Then Bright whisked her away.
Amy smiled at Nina and Jake, "Well, I think that went well, don't you?"
Nina laughed, as Jake put his arm around her. "They're going to have a great time. It's great to see them so happy."
Amy nodded in cheerful agreement. "Well, on that note, I'll see you guys later, Mom and Dad are expecting me at home." Amy closed the door behind her.
"Young love is sweet, isn't it?" Jake commented.
Nina leaned into Jake. "You know, Sam's over playing with Delia."
Jake's smile grew wider.
"Race you."
Hannah looked over at Bright, marveling at the fact that he could both steer and shift gears one handed, while clasping her hand in the other.
She felt as though she had been transported back in time. The butterflies in her stomach reminded her of that horrible blind date. Thank god she didn't have to go to the bathroom. 'This is the same Bright that drove you nuts on prom night," she told herself, "The same guy you've had arguments with and who didn't care if you had bird poop on you. Calm yourself.'
"So, where are you taking me?" she asked, trying to distract herself from her anxiety over grossing him out with her slightly damp palm.
"Well, since you and Amy had your little secret, Nina helped me with mine. You're going to have to wait until we get there."
They pulled off the blacktop onto a dirt and gravel road that graded upward. Near the top, they parked and Bright helped her out of the truck.
"Bright, um these really aren't practical shoes…"
He hushed her with a quick peck on the lips and a mischievous grin. "Don't worry, it's not far. I'll carry you if I have to."
She smiled and let him lead her on.
They moved through some bushes that he gallantly pushed aside for her and she walked out into a sunlit meadow filled with the last wildflowers of the year. About 30 feet away, a maple tree spread its branches, dappling sunlight on the grass and flowers and picnic blanket beneath. Not too far away, a small brook gurgled by.
"Brighton, oh…."She waved her hands in front of her face and turned away from him.
He frowned, concerned. "Hannah, what's wrong?"
"I'm--I'm just so happy. This is so beautiful, I can't believe you did this…for me."
"Oh, thank god, I thought you were allergic to bees or had hayfever or something."
He left her sitting on the blanket and went to the brook to pull out an icebucket that had been chilling there.
He placed it on the ground in front of her and sat down beside her.
"Here, I have champagne. And, because I wasn't sure how you'd feel about drinking, here I have sparkling cider."
She laughed and pointed to the cider. His face fell a little, but he shrugged and opened the bottle, pouring the contents into champagne flutes Hannah handed him out of the picnic basket.
"So, I see plates and napkins and things, but where's the food?."
"Oh, yeah, I put it behind the tree, cause, you know a cooler isn't that romantic."
Laughing together, he began to hand her items and she set up their meal as they chatted comfortably about her trip and her family. She avoided talking about her father, trying to keep the mood light, and he avoided asking.
Opening the last container, she squealed, "Ooh! Chocolate covered strawberries!" She held up a plump berry to show him.
Her innocent smile faltered as he leaned forward and took the strawberry between his teeth and bit down. Hannah blushed deeply and looked at him through her lashes.
"Here, you've got a little bit of chocolate." As she moved to wipe the corner of his mouth, he caught her hand and held it to his face. Kissing her palm, the fingers of his other hand slid down her wrist to the curve of her elbow.
"Brighton…"she whispered. He put his finger under her chin and she looked him in the eyes, feeling completely naked and undone.
He slowly let go of her hand and as she took a sip from her glass, Hannah knew she was in trouble.
After lunch they took a short walk along the brook, holding hands in a companionable silence. Every now and then Bright would bend over to pick a flower and she would add it to the small bouquet in her hand, or he would break off the stem and slide it between the curly tresses of her hair. As they turned and headed back toward their picnic tree, Hannah slipped her sandals off and waded out into the sea of flowers. The hem of her dress swirled around the heavy flower heads. She looked back at Bright and giggled, throwing her arms wide and allowed the flowers to swallow her up as she sank back into their fragrant embrace.
It wasn't long before Bright settled in beside her and together they found pictures in the clouds and whispered like children.
"That's definitely a goldfish," she said, pointing.
"No way, it's totally the Statue of Liberty. Now, that looks like a submarine."
"I think I'm getting a sunburn but I'm too comfortable to move." She was lying with her head cradled on his shoulder.
His hand teased the bow at her shoulder, and she playfully swatted his hand away.
He kissed her shoulder and said, "You know, they call freckles angel's kisses."
She wrinkled her nose and said, "Well, the angels must love me, then."
He rolled over and looked down at her, one hand buried in the back of her hair. He reached up and carefully removed her glasses. Hannah's heart began to thump in her chest and she gasped a little when he kissed her, a slow, soft kiss that she barely felt at first. "I think they're beautiful," he whispered against her lips. "I think you're beautiful."
For a moment time stood still and all that existed was the beating of her heart and the feel of his lips moving against hers. She felt a thrill move along her spine and began to sink deeper into Bright's kiss when a feeling of panic began to well up inside her and she broke away. Pushing him off of her, she got up and ran back to the picnic tree, leaning against it. Moments later, he was standing beside her. He reached out a hand to touch her, then pulled it back. He didn't say anything, just stood there, looking at her, a blank expression on his face.
She wanted to look at him, wanted to turn around and be in his arms again, but she had so much to tell him and didn't know how. She was afraid. Afraid of her reaction to him, afraid of his reaction when she told him, that it would change everything. In her mind, she could see them driving back to Nina's, her scrunched up against the passenger door, afraid to look at him, a cold silence like ice between them.
"Bright, I—I've never felt like this before. I never knew I could feel like this. It's like terror, and excitement and joy all at once."
He pulled her back to his chest and circled his arms around her, his hands linked loosely with hers. He didn't say anything, letting her talk.
"We talked about everything in the world this summer. Your emails and your phone calls got me through everything—the stuff going on with my family, being away from you—but we never talked about what this—thing—is between us, what you want and expect from me. What I can give you…" She stopped for a moment, unsure how to go on.
"Do you have any idea how many nights I sat awake, thinking about you kissing me, how it felt? I agonized over whether that kiss made me your girlfriend or if I was jumping to conclusions. I don't have a lot of experience in this area. I'm unfamiliar with the nuances."
"Hannah—"
"No, don't say anything, not yet. You have to know before this goes any further. Bright, I really care about you. I mean, you have been such a good friend to me. I never would have gotten the Huntington's test if it hadn't been for you. I'd still be sitting in my room, writing furiously in my diary but afraid to live, afraid of what the future would bring. You listened to me and you were honest with me and you never let me down. You pushed me. You taught me how to seize the moment, to embrace it and I'll always be grateful to you for that."
She took his arms from around her and turned around.
"That's why I'll understand if you don't want to be with me when…"she took a deep breath and continued. "When I tell you that I can't sleep with you. That I'm waiting, that I'm saving that part of myself for marriage."
He looked at her for a moment. "Amy told me, back at the beginning of summer. But I'll be honest, I was hoping you'd change your mind about that," he admitted. "It's like every time I'm with you I'm just, like, really awake. Like if I walk into a room, the first thing that I notice is where you are and if you move, I know it, it's there following you around. Hannah, I want you. I want to be with you, in every way. And I gotta tell you, that dress you're wearing is really doing it for me."
Hannah looked away, blushing, a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.
"But you and me, we aren't just about sex. Hannah, when we talk, you listen to me, in a way that nobody else ever has. God, you're so smart, and I'm not. No, don't say anything, it's my turn to talk."
He gave her one of his lopsided grins and her heart flip-flopped.
"Hannah, you talk to me about the deep stuff, stuff I don't talk about with anybody else, and you care what I have to say. That night at Ephram's party, the moment before you told me your test results, I panicked. I didn't know what I'd do if you tested positive and that moment that I thought I might lose you was the worst I've felt since Colin died, if you can believe that. Hannah, you are my girl, you were from the minute I kissed you in front of Nina's house. I don't care what happens, how long I have to wait. I'm not leaving you until you tell me to."
"Oh my god, " she breathed. "Bright, please don't take this the wrong way, but you have to take me home. Right. Now. Because everything I just said? It's about to go right out the window."
Laughing, he pulled her close and she felt the world slip away.