Page 25

25

Hannah

BACK IN TOWN, HANNAH and Danny were parked in the far corner of the empty lot sandwiched between Lou’s Laundry and the muffler shop. Hannah’s playlist came from the speakers, not too loud. They had relocated to the back seat of Danny’s car, and he had his hand under Hannah’s sweatshirt, gingerly caressing her stomach as he slowly worked his way up to the frilly underside of her bra. Hannah nibbled on his ear as he traced the cup, followed under her left breast to the center, and fumbled around for the clasp.

“It’s in the back,” Hannah managed to get out in a fevered breath.

Danny’s hand moved around her in that way all boys did—fast enough to get where it wanted to go, slow enough to make it seem like some kind of accident. Oh, look what I found. While I’m here, do you mind if I …

Get on with it , she thought. She wanted this as much as he did.

Hannah loved the fact that Danny still got nervous and took things slow. She loved how he knew to apply just the right amount of pressure, where, and when. She loved the way he kissed her as he did all of it, not sloppy or all tongue, just right. Just enough.

She loved him .

“You know that, right?” Hannah said quietly, before realizing she’d said the words aloud.

“Know what?”

She tugged the clasp on his belt open, unsnapped his jeans, and pulled down his zipper. “I love you.”

They’d said the words before. That had first happened on milestone date number 43, but this might be the first time Hannah realized she actually meant it. She loved this boy with all her heart.

“And I love you,” he told her, finally getting her bra off and dropping it to the floor between them. “One of these days, I’ll marry you. We’ll get a nice little house down on Colonial with a view of the mountains and have two point four kids.”

They’d had that talk before, too. After college. Troy and Ivy, a boy and a girl. But like using the L -word, this was the first time it felt real. There was something in his voice. He wasn’t just saying it to get what he wanted. He meant it.

Hannah pressed tighter against him, their bodies entwining. The heat had steamed up the windows, and it felt like they were the only two people in the world. “This is way better than Boston,” she breathed, maneuvering her hand down into his jeans.

The two of them rolled over, Danny on top now. He sat up, pulled his shirt off, and tossed it aside, then went still as he looked down at her.

“What?”

A smile spread across his face. “You’re so damn bea—”

The window behind his head exploded, and a small black hole appeared in Danny’s temple, just above his right eye.