NYLON ~ 44 ~ WE WERE IN LOVE
Hanna sat across from Andrew at a table on the patio of a small café. He silently perused her pages without giving any indication of his impression. She nervously sipped her tea waiting for him to look up and give his approval. Finally he closed the last page and smiled at her.
"This was impressive," he told her.
"Really?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied. "No offense, but you never came off as a wordsmith in high school, but this…this is pretty incredible for a first draft."
"Thanks…I guess," she laughed.
"I didn't mean it maliciously," he replied. "I was just surprised."
"I don't hurt easy," she laughed it off.
"I'm glad you've grown some tough skin," he smiled at her. "You'll need that in this business."
Andrew began explaining business tactics to Hanna but a vision across the street distracted her and she zoned out of Andrew's conversation. Outside the bank on the other side of the street she saw that blond bimbo Olivia holding hands with Caleb. Just before they turned the corner she saw them kiss. The sight made her heart hurt and she clutched her cloth napkin tightly.
"Am I boring you?" Andrew asked.
"Oh," she paused. "I'm sorry. I just…"
"Is everything okay?" he noticed her pained expression.
"I just saw…" she paused. She didn't know how to continue. "He was kissing…"
"Who was kissing?" he asked.
"Caleb," Hanna said finally. She stared daggers at the spot where they had been minutes earlier. "He was kissing another woman."
"Are you okay?" Andrew asked her. "We can go and…"
"It's okay," Hanna sighed. "We're not together anymore. I just didn't expect to see him move on so quickly…"
"You broke up?" Andrew asked confused. "When? You talk about how in love you are in the book."
"We were in love," she replied, "and I still love him but we just can't live together."
"I'm sorry," Andrew told her. "I mean, I guess it's not my business. Is there anything I can do?"
"It's fine," Hanna replied, "and in a weird way it certainly is your business since you're editing my life's story."
"It is kind of weird," he laughed, "us working like this after so many years. You barely even acknowledged me in school and now we see each other every week."
"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I never meant to ignore you. I just felt kind of intimidated by you. I mean, Spencer's my friend so I know how to talk to her, but you...you were a little too smart for high school Hanna."
"I'm not offended," he shook his head. You were a little too pretty and popular. I probably would have gotten tongue-tied talking to you at Rosewood."
"You? Tongue-tied?" she teased. "You're the most eloquent person I have ever met."
"Eloquent?" he smiled. "That's a big word for Hanna Marin."
"Okay, enough," she said. "I think we've spent enough time reliving high school. If we're going to keep talking about this, I need a drink."
"I'd love to, really," he glanced at his watch, "but I do need to get back to the office. Can I take you home?"
"It's only a few blocks," she replied. "I can walk from here."
"I insist," Andrew said. "My mom would kill me if I didn't."
"In that case," Hanna picked up her bag, "I'll oblige this one time."
Andrew swung his keys around and led her to his car parked on the street. He opened the door for her and then got in on the other side to take her to her penthouse. It was only a few blocks but traffic took a long time. Hanna thought she may have gotten home faster if she had walked instead but once they arrived, he finally they arrived and Andrew pulled up in front and glanced at Hanna.
"Look, I know it's not my business," he began, "but I'm sorry about you and Caleb. You're an amazing person and you deserve all the happiness in the world."
"Thank you," she smiled. "That means a lot and I appreciate the ride but I have to check on JT."
"Right, of course," he replied watching her walk away into the building.
Hanna took the elevator to the top floor and stepped inside to see her mother reading a magazine as she relaxed on the couch.
"Hey," Hanna said sitting next to her. "How was JT?"
"Great," Ashley replied. "He was an angel, as always."
"He loves when you watch him," Hanna said.
"I love it too," Ashley replied.
"And I'm thinking I might need your help a little more since Caleb and I..." Hanna couldn't even finish.
"I know, sweetie," Ashley held her tight. "Us Marin girls have to stick together."
The doorbell rang and Hanna looked up abruptly.
"Who's that?" Ashley asked.
"Oh no," Hanna pressed her hands to her face. "It's Caleb. He's taking JT to the park."
"Honey," Ashley gave a compassionate smile as Hanna headed for the door. She opened it to find Caleb standing in the doorway looking sexier than she remembered him ever being.
"Hey," Hanna smiled weakly. "JT's still sleeping."
"Oh okay," Caleb replied. "I can just come back..."
"No it's fine," Hanna led him inside noticing her mother had disappeared to give them some privacy. "Can I get you anything?"
"I'm good for now," he replied. Hanna sat down next to him.
"He should be up in a few minutes. He never sleeps past three," then she changed the subject. "So, how's work?"
"Same as always," he replied. "I've got a huge client that we're working with so I'll probably be working long hours for a while."
"Huge client?" Hanna asked. "Is it that Olivia girl?"
"She's hardly a huge client," Caleb replied. "Turns out she just needed an alarm system and we took care of that pretty quickly."
"So she's no longer a client?" Hanna asked.
"Hanna," Caleb gave her a look, "what are you getting at?"
She took a deep breath and finally spilled everything.
"I saw you two kissing," she said finally. "I was at that Swedish cafe and I saw you guys across the street."
"Oh," Caleb breathed. "I hope you're not..."
"It's not my business," Hanna replied. "If we're not together, obviously you can date whoever you want. I was just surprised. That's all."
"This is so weird," he sighed. "I didn't want to tell anyone unless it was serious. If it bothers you though..."
"No," she replied. "It's just something to get used to."
Her words echoed through the giant house and the two sat in a moment of silence reflecting on the decisions that led them to this moment.
New Sunday chapter as promised! As always, thanks for the reviews. You guys are awesome! I hope you like it and stay tuned for Wednesday's chapter which features some drama and the return of Wren...
