The morning after, Caleb wakes up and finds Hanna still asleep, cuddling with Chocolate, of course.
He takes a moment and watches her. She is still hugging Chocolate, lying on her stomach and her face buried in between the dog's neck and the mattress. She has kicked the sheets off during the night so her body is uncovered. Her long legs sprawled and her sweatshorts barely covering her rounded ass. Caleb can't believe how it's possible that she can look so hot yet so cute at the same time. He has to force himself off the bed.
He takes some clothes from his bag and sneaks out of the bedroom, being careful enough not to wake them up, and after getting dressed in the bathroom, he goes buy something for breakfast in order to thank Hanna for letting him stay the night at her house.
When he gets back, Hanna is already in the kitchen, and about to make her breakfast.
Caleb "Hey!"
Hanna turns around. "Hey! Do you always sneak out like that after spending the night with a girl?" she jokes.
Caleb laughs. "I usually don't even stay all night long with anyone, and much less, go out to get them something for breakfast" he says, placing two takeaway coffee cups on the kitchen island and a box of donuts, then he has seat.
Hanna "Hey, you didn't have to"
Caleb "Yes, I did, you saved me last night" he smiles.
Hanna smiles back and goes put the milk that she was about to use to make her breakfast back in the fridge. Then she goes sit next to him at the kitchen island and grabs a donut.
Hanna "Toby called me. Spencer isn't feeling so good and he doesn't want to leave her alone, but he has to go work, so I'm coming over to stay with her while he's gone. You can stay here as long as you need. Don't worry about my mom, she went right to the Ridley from Ted's and she's not coming back till evening, I'll talk to her when she gets home and let her know that you are staying here" she says and takes a bite of her donut.
Caleb "Thank you, Han. But I'm not staying here anymore. I'm really grateful to you but one thing is staying one night and another thing would be if I stayed longer. I can't"
Hanna "Why not? You will be able to be with Chocolate… and I promise I won't get in your bed again… I won't disturb your sleep again"
Caleb laughs and although many jokes and some other dirty things to answer to that come to his mind, he just pushes them back and goes for a serious response instead. "You didn't disturb me at all. And don't worry, I'll figure something out, I'll just find a motel for tonight and I think I can go back home tomorrow, it can't take so long, I already called a plumber and he's coming in a couple hours"
Hanna "Okay, but let me know anything"
Caleb nods and takes a sip of coffee. "Are you better, though?"
Hanna "Yes" she simply answers.
Caleb "You seemed pretty upset last night…"
Hanna "I'm okay" she says and drinks some coffee too.
Caleb remains silent. He doesn't keep asking because he knows because of her short answers that Hanna doesn't want to talk about that subject and he is no one to give love advice to anyone since all his relationships have failed badly and also considering that the only reason why he hasn't made a move on Hanna is because she is about to marry someone. Although, having her in his bed last night almost makes him fall into temptation.
Hanna "You can take Chocolate with you if you want, I won't be here anyway, so it's the same"
Caleb "Really?"
Hanna nods. "Yeah, but you have to bring him back here in the evening because there's no way I'm sleeping without him… and if your house gets flooded again and he gets wet, you will have to wash him"
Caleb chuckles. "Deal"
/
That evening. Caleb parks his car at Hanna's and goes ring the doorbell, followed by Chocolate. But it's Ashley who answers the door instead of Hanna.
Ashley "Hey, Caleb!" she greets him with a smile.
Caleb "Hi, Mrs. Marin. Is Hanna here?"
Chocolate gets into the house, making Ashley move to the side.
Ashley "She's out with Aria, but she texted me she would be here soon. Please, come on in"
Caleb "No, it's okay. I just came to drop Chocolate off… and we know what "soon" means coming from Hanna" he says, knowing about Hanna's unpunctuality now.
Ashley smiles amused. "She will be soon this time, I'm sure. Besides she let me know you would stay for dinner"
Caleb "What?" he asks confused.
Ashley "I don't get it, didn't she invite you? I thought you guys had agreed on that" she says confused as well.
Caleb shakes his head no.
Ashley "Well…" she says awkwardly and making a mental note to kill Hanna later. "Do you have plans? I've already started cooking dinner, and Hanna…" she looks past Caleb and spots Hanna's car pulling into the driveway "There she is"
Caleb turns around and they see Hanna get out of the car and approach them, carrying some shopping bags.
Hanna "Hey" she says, smiley, and places a kiss on Caleb's cheek when she passes by his side on her way into the house where she drops the bags on the floor and yells "Hey! Where's my baby?" calling for Chocolate who shows up just in seconds to greet her.
Ashley "Didn't you forget about something?"
Hanna "Oh, hi, mom" she smiles at her mom while stroking the dog who is still greeting her.
Ashley "No, I mean, Caleb didn't even know he was supposed to have dinner with us"
Hanna chuckles. "I didn't forget anything, I just thought I would make it back here before he came, I was gonna tell him to stay then" she approaches Caleb. "Why are you still standing there?" she takes his hand "Come in" she says while pulling from his hand.
Caleb "What if I had already made plans?" he says while going into the house.
Ashley closes the front door.
Hanna "Please, your house is empty and wet after the flood, your fridge has nothing inside and you don't know anyone else in this town except for Toby and Spencer who are in their own cheesy bubble with all this thing about the baby, of course you don't have anything else to do" she lets go of his hand to pick her shopping bags up from the floor.
Ashley "Did your house get flooded, Caleb?"
Caleb "Yeah, last night… it wasn't big deal though, it was empty anyway, because I'm making renovations in the entire house, so it wasn't so bad… a plumber fixed all the water connections today and I already got in contact with a contractor, they are replacing all the floors so I have to go buy all the materials tomorrow morning"
Hanna "So, you won't be able to go back home for some days, will you?"
Caleb shakes his head no.
Hanna "Well, you are staying here then"
Caleb "No. I'm getting a motel room"
Hanna "Of course not" She turns her gaze from Caleb to Ashley. "Mom, would you please tell him to stay?"
Caleb "I'm staying just for dinner, Han. They are too many days to stay here, I'll get a room somewhere. You can recommend me a place if you want to help and-"
Ashley cuts him off. "You are staying at the Radley, Caleb. I owe you one, after all. You really saved us the other day"
Caleb "No, it was just a little favor, it's okay, you don't have to-"
Ashley interrupts him once again. "Please, let me return you the favor then, I just need to make a phone call and that's all. I won't take no for an answer"
Caleb gives up, he just realized he will never be able to win a discussion with Hanna and her mom on the same side. "Okay, thank you"
/
Ashley gets Caleb a room at the Radley Hotel after a very short call, so after dinner, Hanna offers to accompany him in order to talk to the person with whom Ashley talked on the phone and make it easier for him. They go to the Radley in separate cars, so Hanna can get back home later.
When they get to the Radley, Hanna talks to the man at the front desk and then with another man who shows them to Caleb's room. After the man opens the door for them and they step inside, Caleb takes a look around and finds out that it's a very luxurious room and much larger than he expected.
The man hands Hanna the key to the room and leaves.
Caleb "I can't take this, Han… this is too much"
Hanna "Oh, please, this is nothing compared to what you did for them the other day, you have no idea how much money they would have lost if you hadn't fixed their security system. Just chill out and enjoy" she gives him a smile. Then she places the key card to the room on the coffee table. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow"
Caleb "Wait, let me invite you a drink at least"
Hanna hesitates for a moment.
Caleb "Come on, you don't have to get up early tomorrow, your dog must be asleep by now and your boyfriend is not even in town, you have nothing better to do" he tries to convince her just the way she did to him before, when she made him stay for dinner at her house.
Hanna chuckles. "You are an idiot. I was gonna say yes anyway"
Caleb "And that's how I get my daily insult from you" he smiles amused and grabs the key card from the coffee table. "Let's go"
/
Hanna and Caleb are at the lounge of the hotel, sitting on a couch. One drink turned into some more drinks and they have been talking about nothing and everything for like two hours now, and laughing a lot too.
Hanna "So, tell me, where are you really from? You always say that you are from many places, but there must be at least one place that you feel like your home… where does the rest of your family live?" she asks, trying to know a little more about her new friend, with whom she feels like they have been friends since forever sometimes, but then she remembers that although she feels really comfortable around him, there are a lot of basic things that she doesn't even know about his life.
Caleb "It's complicated…"
Hanna "Well, we have all night long, you said it yourself, I don't have anything to do tomorrow" she smiles.
Caleb smiles back, but it is a slight smile. "Well… first of all… I have no other family, well, I have no family at all" he starts telling.
Hanna sits up straight. She wasn't expecting such an answer.
Caleb "My mom gave me in adoption when I was born, so I never knew her. A woman adopted me shortly after that, but she died when I was only four years old, so I really don't remember much about her, although I have some pictures. After that, I spent the rest of my life in foster care, going here and there, from one foster home to another until I was sixteen and I was able to save some money that I earned by fixing cell phones or computers and that way I rented my own place to stay, it was a really tiny studio apartment, and the building was practically a dump, but it was mine"
Hanna takes his hand. "Shit, Caleb, I'm so sorry. You don't have to tell me this, I'm sorry that I pushed you, I-"
Caleb "Hey, it's okay" he squeezes her hand. "I wouldn't tell you this if I didn't want to"
Hanna nods and remains silent, waiting for him to go on with his story.
Caleb "Well, so that's basically why I say that I am from many places… I guess I never found somewhere to call my home… but I'm okay" he shrugs.
Hanna "What about your grandfather?"
Caleb "He didn't even know about me until my biological mother got sick and told him about me before she died… sounds like a shitty TV drama, doesn't it? But that's the truth. Anyway, my grandmother, who knew about me too, had passed away some years before, so my grandpa was alone and decided to look for me. He hired a private investigator to find me, and that was three years ago"
Hanna's eyes are watery now, but Caleb is calm and just telling her his story, so she keeps asking. "So you only got to spend a couple of years with him" she says, considering that it's been a year since the man passed away.
Caleb shakes his head no. "I took a few months after the investigator contacted me before I decided to give my grandpa a chance and meet him… he had nothing to do with what happened to me after all. He was really happy to have found me, and he was so… kind, so nice to me, like those grandfathers that you see in the movies. He felt sorry about how things had turned out for me, he didn't stop telling me that if he had known about me, things wouldn't have been the way they were. That he would have looked for me before… so I never told him how shitty my childhood actually was, I didn't have the guts to tell him the truth, so I made up a story instead… I told him that a good family had adopted me and that they lived across the country, thinking that that way he wouldn't want to go all the way there to meet them, but of course it didn't work… I got so entangled in my own fake story that every time I came visit him, I ended up making up a new story to tell him… Do you see this scar on my forehead?" he asks Hanna while pointing it and she nods. "Well, I told him I had gotten it one Christmas morning when I fell down the stairs because I was too much excited and in a rush to go open my presents… the truth is that I got into a fight with the biological child of one of my crappy foster families after he called me a dirty piece of shit when I accidentally broke the wheel of one of his toy cars". Then he lifts up the short sleeve of his t-shirt, uncovering another scar on his shoulder "And this one here, I told my grandpa that I got it one time I fell off my bike as a child… truth is that I've never had a bike, I just got the scar one night when I was fourteen and I was sleeping on a bench at the bus station and a drunk man smashed his bottle against the wall right next to me and a piece of glass cut me. Anyway, I made up so many stories that he started to ask me to introduce him this amazing family that had adopted me, so, I started to come to visit him less frequently, besides, I was living in London back then and I was doing really great at work, so I didn't see him so much… and when I finally decided that I didn't want to lose any more time by avoiding him and that I would tell him the truth, the whole truth, I found out that he had passed away"
He finishes his story and swallows the lump in his throat, refusing to get emotional but when he looks at Hanna, she's a mess of tears.
Caleb "Hey, don't cry" he reaches out and grabs her arm, pulling her closer to him. "It's okay"
Hanna "It's not okay" she says between sobs and pulls him into a hug. Thinking about a four-year-old little Caleb being put in foster care just breaks her heart, even more considering that his biological mother had given him in adoption right after he was born. And when he finally found a person who cared about him, his grandfather, he lost him again. And that's when Chocolate comes up to her mind. Getting her dog back with her also means that Caleb loses someone he loves again, and that breaks her heart harder.
Caleb "Han… please, don't cry. I didn't mean to get you so sad" he says into her hair, hugging her tighter. "Shit, I've never told anyone before, and I shouldn't have told you either. I'm sorry"
Hanna "You never told anyone?" she pulls just a little away to look at him, but she stays in the embrace.
Caleb shakes his head no and takes one of his hands to her face to cup one of her cheeks and he wipes some of her tears off her face.
Hanna "Thank you for telling me, really… but, why me, though?"
Caleb "Because you asked me, and you are my friend"
Hanna "Yeah, but you have other friends… like the one you mentioned the other day"
Caleb "No… I've always called my friends people who I hang out with, although they were not real friends to me"
Hanna "And I am a real friend to you?" she smiles slightly although her tears keep rolling down.
Caleb "I've only known you for some days, but no one in my entire life has done so many things for me like you did these last days"
Hanna buries her face into the crook of his neck and remains there as she calms down.
Caleb "Thank god I'm good at comforting you, huh?" he says, trying to lighten up the situation and he feels Hanna smile against his skin.
Hanna stays silent while Caleb strokes her hair. And they remain like that for minutes until Hanna finally raises her head up and wipes her tears off. She's much calmer.
Caleb "How's it possible that you cry your eyes out and you still look just as beautiful as always?" he says without thinking twice, but he is relieved when he sees that he just caused her to smile again, which he loves.
Hanna "I think I need another drink" she lets go of him and sits up straight.
They order another round of drinks and keep chatting.
Caleb "Now you tell me something about you"
Hanna "What do you want to know?"
Caleb shrugs. "Whatever you feel like telling me"
Hanna "My life is boring… I've got a degree in fashion design but I don't have a job at the moment… You already know that I'm from here… My parents are divorced, but I think it's better that way and my mom is happy with Ted, so I'm happy for her… and… I don't know… I feel like I'm in pause right now, you know? My life is in pause, like I'm waiting for things to settle…"
Caleb "How's that?"
Hanna "Nothing, never mind"
The waiter brings them their drinks so Caleb takes his glass and makes himself comfortable against the backrest of the couch. Hanna grabs her glass as well, but she leans on Caleb's side.
Caleb smiles and wraps his free arm around her waist. "Thought we were friends, talk to me"
Hanna sighs. "Nothing, I'm in pause because I don't have a job because I can't get a job until I stay in one place and stop going here and there with Jordan, I have to find a new dog-friendly apartment to move in, but I have to wait for Jordan to do it together, because he is such a fussy pain in the ass when it comes to those things and even my wedding is in pause, and that's no longer only because of his father's freaking presidential candidacy but also because we are not okay and we can't get married this way… and I also wanted to be a young mother because I love babies but it seems like that's not possible anymore because I can't bring a child to this world until Jordan and I are in a good place… I guess I'll have to settle for babysitting Spencer's baby once in a while"
Caleb laughs. "You are only twenty-four, you have plenty of time for that"
Hanna "What are you planning to do with your life?"
Caleb "For now, I'll just finish with that damn house that is taking more work than I thought… and then… I really don't know"
Hanna "You will stay here" she gives him a smile.
Caleb "I don't know"
Hanna "Come on, I already gave you many reasons to stay… the guys, Chocolate, and my mom also offered you a job…"
Caleb "I'll think about it" he only says, although what he would really like to tell her it's that he doesn't need all those reasons that she gave him to stay, he only needs one. She. She would be a really good reason for him to stay in Rosewood.
Minutes pass by, and between drinks, their serious talk turns into a more hilarious, funny and non-sense talk.
Hanna "No! If I were a guy, I would never pee in a urinal. That's so disgusting, and you have no privacy" she says while laughing hard.
Caleb "Well, If I were a girl, I would never use a tampon" he fires back.
Hanna "Oh, please, yes, you would, they are life-savers"
Caleb "No, I wouldn't, ever"
Hanna "Shit, I think I'm drunk already" she says amused.
Caleb "What's the problem? You have nothing to do tomorrow"
Hanna "Yeah, you are right, let's go for another round" she says and waves her hand to the waiter.
The waiter takes their order but also lets them know that they will be the last drinks since they are closing the bar, so Caleb asks him to charge the drinks to his room bill, but when the guy asks him for his room number and Caleb says it to him, he lets Caleb know that everything is on the house and that no charges will be added to his bill.
When the waiter walks away, Caleb stares at Hanna.
Caleb "You knew so, didn't you?"
Hanna laughs. "Of course I knew, did you think I was going to let you pay for all the drinks?"
Caleb rolls his eyes but before he can say something, Hanna gets closer to him and places a soft kiss on his cheek, then she pulls away giggling.
Caleb "You surely are drunk" he says amused.
Hanna "Yeah…" she brings her hand before her face and waves her fingers while staring at them "I feel like a tickling sensation on my fingertips when I'm drunk"
Caleb laughs and grabs her hand in his.
Hanna smiles at him "Why aren't you drunk too, you had more drinks than me"
Caleb "I think I have a better resistance" he says. "But I'm a little drunk too" he confesses then, smiling back at her and starting to stroke the fingers of her hand that he is still holding.
At that moment, someone sits down on the couch next to theirs.
Sean "Hanna Marin" he says, bringing Hanna's and Caleb's attention to him.
Hanna "Sean…" she says surprised and stares at him.
Sean "That would be me" he says half laughing and Caleb notices that he is drunk too.
Hanna "What are you doing here?"
Sean "Visiting my family…" he casually says.
Hanna "I mean, at the Radley…"
Sean "Oh, right" he chuckles. "My old room is now my mom's gym, so I'm staying here at the hotel" he explains while checking Hanna out from head to toe, paying special attention to her cleavage and her barely-covered-by-her-dress thighs, then he turns his gaze to Hanna's and Caleb's joined hands. "Am I interrupting your date?" he suddenly asks, but in a mockingly way.
Hanna "Yeah, you actually are"
Sean laughs. "Always so charming" he says and stands up. "Well, I'll leave you two alone… see you around, Han" he says and winks at her.
Hanna rolls her eyes. "Bye, Sean"
Sean walks away and the waiter brings them their last drinks.
Caleb "So… since when this is a date?" he asks amused.
Hanna "Sorry that I didn't set him straight about us… he's my ex, he's an idiot" she explains while letting go of his hand and she grabs her drink from the coffee table in front of them.
Caleb "Trying to make him jealous?"
Hanna "What? No" she smiles. "The guy is just a pain in the ass, we broke up like five years ago and he keeps texting me every so often… I just took advantage of him thinking that I was with you, maybe that way he stops bothering me… besides, I'm not into him, I couldn't even think of being with him when I have Jordan… besides, Sean just wants to fuck me again, that's all"
Caleb "Well, I won't argue that, he totally checked you out" he says, being serious now and grabs his drink as well to take a sip.
Hanna "Anyway, I'm sorry"
Caleb "It's okay" he shrugs. "I don't mind"
Hanna smiles at him.
When they finish their drinks, Hanna stands up from the couch.
Hanna "Wow, you never realize how much drunk you actually are until you stand up"
Caleb laughs and stands up as well.
Hanna "Can you take me home? I'm too drunk to drive" she says and wraps her arm around his.
Caleb "I can't drive like this either, Han… I'm drunk too"
Hanna nods. "Okay… I'll just take a cab then" she says while they start to walk away, with their arms still intertwined.
Caleb "It's too late for you to leave on your own, and drunk… stay…"
Hanna "Yeah… I guess I can sleep on the couch in my mom's office…"
Caleb "What? No, you are staying with me… the room is pretty large"
Hanna "You don't mind?"
Caleb smiles at her as he leads her to the elevator. "Han, you let me stay at your house last night, and if I have this suite, it's only thanks to you and your mom, so of course I don't mind, in fact, I'd like that you stayed"
Hanna "Okay, I'm staying with you" she smiles back.
/
Once they get in the room, Caleb goes straight to the bathroom and when he comes out, he finds Hanna lying on the couch, wrapped in a blanket.
Caleb "What are you doing there?" he chuckles and sits down on the edge of the couch, at the height of her waist, and looks at her.
Hanna "I'm going to sleep"
Caleb "Yeah, but the bed is over there" he says and nods toward the bed.
Hanna "I'd rather sleep here"
Caleb "Come on… the bed is quite large, Han, even larger than the bed in the guest room at your house, there's enough room for both of us"
Hanna "It's okay… I'm fine on the couch…" she says quietly.
Caleb "It's okay if you don't feel comfortable sharing the bed with me, I get it, but you go to the bed and I'll crash on the couch" he says kindly.
Hanna smiles at him. "It's not that… It's just that… I still feel kind of guilty about getting in your bed last night… even if it was just a friendly thing and Chocolate was there between us, it's not okay, it's not fair to Jordan. But it has nothing to do with you" she gives him another smile. "I feel really comfortable around you"
Caleb "Okay" he smiles back. "But really, let me take the couch and you go to the bed"
Hanna shakes her head. "There's no way I'm moving… besides, have you seen this couch? It's more comfortable than many beds. I'm okay. Just go to sleep, please"
Caleb "I won't make you change your mind, will I?" he gives up.
Hanna shakes her head again, smiling.
Caleb "Do you want some clothes? I can lend you a t-shirt or something…"
Hanna "I'm good in my dress, thanks"
Caleb "Let me know anything, okay?... Good night, babe" he leans in and presses a kiss against her forehead. Then he stands up and goes to the bed, leaving Hanna feeling just the way he made her feel the night before when he wished her good night and called her beautiful.
/
An hour and a half later, Caleb is sound asleep. But not Hanna. She has been tossing and turning on the couch, not able to get to sleep, and not because the couch wasn't comfortable enough, but because her thoughts are haunting her and being drunk is not helping at all. Jordan, their constant fights, the fact that he hasn't even texted her during all the day long, her life being in pause, Chocolate, having to move to a new place, and even what Caleb told her about his childhood are some of the things that are keeping her awake. At some point, she gets sick of her overwhelming thoughts and stands up from the couch. She's still drunk but being barefoot is really helpful to keep steady. She takes her cigarettes from her purse but before she goes out to the balcony, she spots the minibar and goes get a little bottle of something that she is not even sure what it is, but looks strong enough to blur her thoughts.
/
Hanna is smoking her third cigarette, sitting on the floor, and she has drunk more than a half of the little bottle when Caleb shows up over the balcony. He is shirtless, only wearing sweatpants. Luckily for him, it's a warm summer night.
Caleb "Han… what are you doing out here?" he asks, half asleep.
Hanna "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you…"
Caleb "You didn't… I just had to pee" he says and goes sit down next to her. "Why are you smoking? You are too pretty to ruin yourself by smoking"
Hanna shrugs. "It helps me to chill the fuck out"
Caleb "Hey, you okay?" he asks after her rough answer.
Hanna "Yeah…" she only says.
Caleb "It doesn't seem so" he says and picks up the half empty bottle from the floor.
Hanna "Don't worry, the minibar is on the house too"
Caleb "I don't care about that… what's wrong?"
Hanna "Nothing is wrong, would you please leave me alone?"
Caleb "Stop smoking that shit"
Hanna "Shit, you are being so annoying again. I should have just taken a damn cab… just go back to sleep, Caleb" she says and snatches the bottle from his hand to take another sip.
But Caleb doesn't say a word this time. He just remains there, sitting in silence.
A couple minutes later, when he looks at Hanna, she's about to finish her cigarette when a single tear rolls down on her cheek.
Caleb reaches out and grabs the cigarette from her hand, and taking the risk of being cussed out again, he puts it out. But to his surprise, Hanna doesn't react badly this time.
Hanna "I'm sorry… I treated you like shit again" she says, her gaze lost.
Caleb "Don't worry, I'm kind of used to it now" he jokes and wraps his arm around her, he pulls her closer, hugging her from the side. And he's really happy to see the slight half smile that he causes on her face by saying that.
Hanna rests her cheek on his shoulder and wraps both her arms around his bare torso. "Mmm… you are strong…" she says, feeling his arm holding her tight. "And hot"
Caleb laughs. "And you are drunk as fuck"
Hanna "Uh huh" she says and falls silent.
Caleb "Wanna talk?" he asks after a few minutes.
Hanna "No…"
Caleb "Okay"
Hanna "Let's go to sleep" she says and tries to stand up but she stumbles.
Caleb "Hey, easy there" he says and stands up too, helping her up at the same time.
He wraps an arm around her waist and they go back into the room.
Hanna "I'll just go use the bathroom"
Caleb nods and unwraps his arm from her waist. "Be careful"
Hanna "Uh huh"
And when Hanna comes out from the bathroom, this time it's Caleb the one lying on the couch.
Hanna "Hey! That's my place"
Caleb "No, that's yours" he says, pointing to the bed.
Hanna "Get off"
Caleb shakes his head.
Hanna "Fine" she says, but instead of going to the bed, she lies down next to him on the couch.
Caleb chuckles. "You are gonna fall off" he says, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her closer.
Hanna "Then let's both go to the bed"
Caleb "No, you go. You don't care about it now because you are even more drunk than before, but I don't want you to wake up tomorrow and feel guilty for sharing a bed with me again"
Hanna "Well, it would be the same as waking up and find out that I'm cuddling with you on the couch"
Caleb sighs.
Hanna "I'm being serious, I'm not moving from here unless we both go to the bed"
Caleb "Why do I always end up doing whatever the hell you want?" he says while sitting up on the couch.
Hanna chuckles. "Because I'm your friend"
They get off the couch and go to the bed. They lie down leaving some space between them. Caleb lies on his back and Hanna on her side, facing him. Only a few minutes later, Caleb is fast asleep when Hanna squeezes his nose with her index finger and her thumb, pinching him to wake him up.
Hanna "You can't sleep until I get to sleep too" she says when he opens his eyes and then she rests her head back on her pillow.
Caleb smiles. "Can't sleep?" he asks, still half asleep.
Hanna "I can't stop thinking… I can't shut my mind off"
Many ideas about how to help Hanna to chill out and make her go to sleep cross Caleb's mind, but none of them is possible, or even proper. So, he goes just for a simple answer.
Caleb "Hey… I don't know what's tormenting you…" he starts to say as he turns to lie on his side too so he can face her. "But I'm pretty sure it has a solution… just try to think of something else and chill" he says, knowing that there would be no point in asking her what's going on since he has learnt by now that Hanna doesn't like talking about her things so much and then again, he's not good at giving advice anyway.
Hanna "I'm sorry… you went through a lot of things yourself, big stuff… and I'm just bothering you with silly things… you must think that I am an unbearable whiner"
Caleb "Not at all…" he reaches out and takes her hand. "I mean... you have a lot of people who cares about you, your friends are great, so is your mom… so I'm just saying that whatever your problem is, you will be okay, you have their support" he says as he strokes her palm with his thumb. "And well… you have Jordan too… I don't know him, but he must be really good if he has gotten to be with such an amazing girl like you" he says, although he is not so sure about that last phrase. He does think that there has to be something special in that guy that makes Hanna want to marry him, but he also knows that Jordan has this beautiful girl completely in love with him and all he does is fight on the phone with her and make her cry, and although he doesn't know what they are fighting over so much, he is pretty sure that if he were in Jordan's shoes, he would have driven all the way back to Rosewood the first time he heard her crying through the phone.
Hanna "Well… I'm not so sure about Jordan anymore" those words escape from Hanna's lips before she can even think, but she quickly changes the subject. "You forgot about Chocolate, by the way. I have him too" she smiles slightly. "I need him right now… I would be already asleep if he was here…"
Caleb "I can take you home if you want, Han… I mean, I can't drive you, but we can take a cab together and drop you off at your house, and-"
Hanna cuts him off. "I'm okay here. I want to stay with you" she squeezes his hand.
Caleb nods. "Since when do you smoke?" he suddenly asks.
Hanna "Not so long… like a year ago… after Chocolate went missing I would say… I guess I just needed a way to deal with it…"
Caleb "So, I guess it's my fault then" he says, feeling really guilty again for taking the dog away from her.
Hanna notices that. "Hey! What about our pact? You can't feel guilty, it's in the past… besides, you can't blame yourself for a habit that I picked up myself, that's ridiculous. It's no big deal, I just smoke when I get upset, and it definitely was not only because of Chocolate all the times, it's been days since he's back with me and I still take a puff every so often. Anyway, I'll quit it, so don't worry"
Caleb nods.
Hanna's phone buzzes on the bedside table and she quickly reaches out to grab it, thinking that maybe it is a text from Jordan, which she has been waiting for during all day long, but it's not. It's a text from Sean.
"Hey, Hanna banana! Just in case you get bored of your date, my room number is 505 ;)"
Hanna smiles amused and shows her phone to Caleb. "See? I told you so… he just wants sex from me"
Caleb "What a needy" he says amused after reading the text.
Hanna places the phone back on the bedside table. "Yeah"
Caleb "Why people call you Hanna banana, anyway? Spencer called you that the other day"
Hanna chuckles. "Sean used to call me that in high school, and Spencer was just teasing me the other day" she says and yawns.
Caleb "Seems like you are sleepy now"
Hanna nods and gets a little closer to him. Still leaving some space between their bodies, she takes his arm and wraps both of her arms around it, bringing it closer to her and hugging it against her chest. She also rests her cheek on that arm of him and lowers one of her hands and takes his hand, interlacing their fingers.
Hanna "Good night" she says sweetly, looking forward to hear what he is going to call her this time when he says it back, but he answers with a joke instead.
Caleb "So, am I allowed to go to sleep now, or I'll be awoken by a kick on my back or something like that as soon as I fall asleep?"
Hanna smiles with her eyes already closed. "I'll let you sleep, I promise… I know I never meet my promises, just this morning I told you I wouldn't get in your bed again and here I am now… but I'll let you sleep, really"
Caleb smiles amused. "Good night, Han" he says before closing his eyes.
And Hanna is surprised to know that even by simply saying her name, he gets to cause that electricity through her entire body again.