Author's Note: Wow, wow, wow! Thanks for all of the love! I'm so glad you're enjoying this! I'm having THE MOST FUN writing it!
Chapter Five-Do You Trust Me?
Jenna changed clothes three times before deciding what to wear for her day with Hank. She settled on a light purple flowy top, white jeans, and casual comfortable shoes. She was very excited to see Hank again. After talking on the phone a couple of times since that day in the bakery, she was so excited about spending the day with him. While she didn't know what he had in store for her, she knew that whatever was on the agenda for the day, she would enjoy it because she was with him.
When her Uber dropped her off at the restaurant, Hank was waiting outside for her.
"Hey," Jenna said, walking up to him.
"Hey beautiful," he said as he gave her a hug. "You look incredible."
"Thank you," she said, as he took her hand, opening the door for her.
When they were seated with coffee and menus, Jenna said, "Ok, since this is your favorite breakfast place, tell me what's good here."
"Do you trust me?" Hank asked, a small smile across his face.
She looked at him over her coffee as she took a sip. "Still deciding, but I think so."
Hank chuckled at her answer. "Ok. I'll order for us, and I guarantee it'll be one of the best meals of your life."
Jenna shrugged her shoulders. "Why not? How bad could it be?"
"Funny," Hank said, reaching across the table and putting his hand on top of hers. He softly ran his thumb back and forth along her hand. She looked down at their hands, a small smile on her face. "Is this ok?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah. It's nice."
They had a wonderful breakfast together. Hank ordered several of his favorite things for them, and Jenna loved them all. They spent the meal getting to know each other better, sharing more stories about their lives and families.
When they were finished, they walked hand in hand to Hank's car. Hank opened the car door for Jenna, closing it behind her. When he sat down in the driver's seat, he took her hand again. "So, how was it?"
"Wonderful, everything. Thank you very much."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Are you ready to go explore?" Hank asked.
"Let's do it!"
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Hank took Jenna all around the city, showing her landmarks, special places, and things only a true Chicagoan would know about. They walked quite a bit, and Jenna loved getting an insider view of the city, while also getting to spend hours with an incredible guy. They ended their excursion late afternoon in Millennium Park.
"Oh, so that's the famous Bean," Jenna said
"It is. It's official name is Cloud Gate, but it looks like a bean, so the name stuck. You have to see it up close."
They walked hand in hand all around the Bean, people-watching as they took in everything Millennium Park had to offer. When they got close, Hank said, "Go stand by the Bean and I'll take your picture."
"No, that's ok."
"Oh come on. Your girls will love it."
Jenna rushed over, and Hank took a few pictures of her. A young couple watching them walked up, and the girl said, "I'd be happy to take a picture of you two together."
"That would be great!" Jenna said.
Hank walked over and stood beside Jenna as they put an arm around each other.
After snapping a few pictures, the girl said, "Ok, now kiss her!"
Jenna blushed a little as she looked up at him.
"Is that ok with you?" Hank asked softly.
"Yeah," she said.
Hank pulled her closer, gently putting his hand on Jenna's cheek as he kissed her softly. When the kiss broke, he kissed her forehead before retrieving the phone from the couple. He thanked them and walked back to Jenna.
"You good?" he asked.
"Yeah. I'm really good," she said, leaning into him and slipping her arm around his waist as he put his arm around her.
"How about some dinner?" he asked.
"Sounds great."
They made their way back to Hank's car. When they got in, Hank turned sideways to face her. "That kiss in the park…were you really ok with it?"
"Were you?" Jenna asked.
He smiled a little. "I'd been thinking about doing that all day, but I wasn't sure if it was too soon. How about you?"
Jenna leaned closer to him, putting her hand on his cheek. "I'd been hoping you would do that all day." She leaned in and kissed him deeply. Hank pulled her closer, stroking her cheek as they kissed. He couldn't believe she beat him to it, and it was better than he imagined it would be.
When they broke away, he softly kissed her forehead. They looked at each other for a few moments. "Let's go eat," she said.
"Yeah. Let's go eat."
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When they finished eating, Hank drove Jenna to her apartment. They walked to her door together, hand in hand. Jenna stopped them when they reached her apartment. "This is me," she said.
She unlocked the door before turning back around to him. "Do you want to come in?"
Hank nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that." He followed her inside, impressed with how nice her apartment looked. "This place is great."
"Thank you. It's nice and surprisingly feels like home. I haven't ever lived alone, so I wasn't sure how I would do, but I like it here."
"It's a nice area of town. You picked well."
"Thanks. Can I get you something to drink? I have water, lemonade, maybe some wine."
"Water would be great. Thanks."
"Have a seat, and I'll bring it over."
Jenna handed Hank a glass of ice water as she sat next to him on the couch. They sipped their water silently for a few moments, both lost in their thoughts.
Finally, Hank sat his water on the coffee table in front of them, and Jenna did the same. He leaned closer to her, putting his arm along the back of the couch as he softly said, "You feel this too, don't you?"
Jenna nodded, tucking her legs underneath her, scooting closer to him, knowing what he was asking, and knowing she felt the same. "Yeah," Jenna whispered, just before their lips met in a soft kiss.
This was unlike any of their kisses earlier. It was a different feeling, as if they both knew the loneliness and sadness of their old lives was coming to an end. There was hope that things were changing for the better.
Hank pulled back to look at her for a moment. He reached over and twirled a piece of her hair in his fingers before softly stroking her face. "I like you. A lot."
"I like you too Hank," Jenna said.
Hank leaned in and kissed her, deeper this time. Jenna took his face in her hands and pulled him even closer as his hands went around her waist. They kissed for awhile, enjoying being close to one another.
When Jenna felt like things should slow down, she pulled back a little, kissing him softly a few times before resting her forehead against his. They stared at each other for a few moments, both trying to catch their breath. "Wow," Hank said softly, his deep voice sending chills through Jenna's body.
"Yeah," she said, giving him another quick kiss.
He put his arm around her as she scooted closer, leaning against his side. His fingers drew soft circles on her arm. They talked for awhile, occasionally sharing gentle kisses. Jenna could already feel herself falling hard. She tried to protect her heart, but it felt so good to be close and be held by someone like Hank.
"What are your plans for tomorrow?" he asked her. "Is the bakery open on Sundays?"
"No, I'm closed. I'll go to church and lunch with my kids tomorrow, and then probably just do housework, unless…"
"Unless?" he asked.
Jenna bit her lip, a little nervous about what she was about to ask. "Unless you wanted to come over and spend the afternoon and evening? I'll cook dinner, and we can continue…figuring out what this is."
Hank smiled at her, and Jenna felt those stinkin' butterflies in her stomach. He leaned in and kissed her softly. "I would love to come and spend tomorrow with you."
"Great, I…" she started. She looked down, trying to figure out how to put what she was feeling into words.
Hank knew what she was thinking, so he filled in the blanks for her. "There's something here Jenna," he said, cupping her face in his hand. "I felt it from the moment I met you, and I think you feel it too."
Jenna nodded, leaning into his hand. "I do. I…it makes me nervous, but in a good way. I don't want to move too fast, but I like you, and I like the way I feel when I'm with you."
"I do too. I agree, we need to take things slow, but I want to spend as much time with you as we can. I work a lot, and I work crazy hours sometimes, but I want to see you and see where this can go."
"I want that too, Hank."
Hank leaned in and kissed Jenna again. He looked down at his watch. "It's really late. I should probably get going. I can't have you showing up sleepy to church tomorrow," he said.
Jenna giggled. "Yeah, I probably should get some sleep."
They got up from the couch and walked to the door hand in hand. Hank pulled Jenna into his arms, and they held each other for a few minutes. He leaned down and kissed her deeply.
"I have had the most incredible day with you," Jenna whispered, looking up at him.
"This is about the best day I've had in a long time, and I know it's because I was with you," Hank said.
"Hank," she said, looking away as she blushed.
He turned her face back to him, making her look at him again, staring into her beautiful blue eyes. "I can't wait to see you again tomorrow." He kissed her again softly. "Goodnight Jenna."
"Goodnight Hank."
He smiled at her, kissing her hand before walking out the door. "Bye," she said softly as he waved at her.
Jenna closed the door and locked it before turning around, leaning against it, and closing her eyes, her mind replaying everything from the moment she stepped out of the car. She couldn't believe she was feeling this way already, but she loved the way she felt around him. He was a good man, and she was enjoying her time with him. She couldn't wait to see where this would go.
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When Hank got home, he found Erin asleep on his couch. He smiled and shook his head, knowing she came over to wait up for him to get details about his day. He covered her up with a blanket, kissing the top of her head before heading upstairs to bed.
As he lay in bed, he couldn't stop thinking about his day with Jenna. Their time together went better than he ever could have imagined it would. He knew it was quick, but he knew that whatever was happening between them was real, and it had the potential to grow into something amazing.
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The next morning, Hank woke up before Erin. He went downstairs and started coffee and breakfast. It had been quite a long time since she slept at his house, and he was happy to have her there, even knowing he'd endure an interrogation when she woke up.
A few minutes later, Erin sleepily walked into the kitchen. "Morning," she said.
"Morning," Hank said, handing her a cup of coffee a small smirk across his face. "Nice surprise to see you asleep on my couch when I got home last night."
"I was waiting to hear about your date, but you stayed out so late that I couldn't help myself. What time did you get in?"
"Little after midnight."
Erin shot him a disappointed look behind his back. "I told you not to sleep with her on the first date."
Hank turned around to glare at her. "For your information, I didn't sleep with her. I was a perfect gentleman."
"But you were out so late."
"Sitting on her couch, talking, getting to know each other."
"Talking?" Erin asked, raising her eyebrow.
A small smile crept across his face as he thought about their evening. "Well, we did a little more than talk, but we kept it pretty PG."
Erin smiled. "So it went well then?"
Hank fixed them both a plate of food and sat down at the table with her. "Erin, she's one of the most amazing women I've ever met. I couldn't have asked for a better day."
"Really?"
"Really. It was incredible."
"Are you seeing her again?" Erin pressed.
"This afternoon. She's going to church and lunch with her kids, and then I'm going over there and spending the rest of the day with her."
"This is great Hank. I'm really happy for you. I can't wait to meet her."
Hank held his hands up. "Whoa. Slow down. That won't be for awhile. We want to keep this...protected, at least until we figure out where it's going."
"So where do you think it's going? And where do you want it to go?"
"I don't know, Erin. It was the first date. I think there's potential there. Obviously we still need to get to know each other a lot better, but I like what I know so far, and the chemistry is there, so we'll see. Hopefully...she's going to be in my life for a long time."
Erin put her hand on his arm. "I'm really happy for you Hank. She sounds incredible, and you look really happy."
"I am. It's really good."
"So…I'll get all the details from today when you get home tonight?"
"Don't wait up for me again. I don't know how late I'll be, and we both have work tomorrow."
"So I'll get a full report first thing in the morning at the office."
He rolled his eyes before softly ruffling her hair. "I'll think about it."
"Good." Erin smiled as she sipped her coffee. She hadn't seen Hank like this since Camille, and she hoped that this new girl was going to be the start of a new, incredible life for him.