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Hannah levels me with tear-filled blue eyes. “I’m not going to argue silly hypotheticals with you, when the reality is you lied to me to get something you wanted. It’s that simple.”
“In my defense, you never told me specifically not to hack UCLA to get Maddy admitted—which, I repeat, I didn’t wind up doing. You only told me not to ask Reed to—”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” she bellows, going from zero to sixty in a heartbeat. “Please, tell me you’re not serious right now.”
My heart is lodged in my throat. I don’t think Hannah has ever screamed at me before. It’s jarring. “I was joking.” I attempt a smile. “Unless, of course, my logic is persuasive to you?”
“There’s nothing funny about this. What if UCLA figured out you’d broken into their system?” She’s shouting again, which prompts me to look around nervously. She adds, “You could have gotten Maddy’s offer rescinded, Henn!”
“Not a chance in hell. And, please, lower your voice.”
“You could have ruined my sister’s life.”
“Absolutely impossible. The odds of me getting found out on a simple hack like that are the same as the world’s best downhill skier having a catastrophic, career-ending injury on a bunny slope.”
“And why would that be? Because you’re a professional hacker?”
“Correct. I’m one of the world’s best.”
“Well, gosh, that’s news to me, since you’ve only ever told me you’re in cybersecurity.”
“That’s what I said in the beginning, yes, because that’s what I always say, and I’ve never once told the truth to anyone I’ve dated before. But you know full well I’ve slowly let you in on a whole lot more than that. Really early on, I told you about what I did for Sarah in Vegas. You knew back then I’d hacked into a global crime syndicate and stolen all their money and data and turned it over to the feds. You knew that, Hannah.”
“Yes, I knew you’d performed one specific hack. But not because you’re a hacker.”
I pull a face of confusion. “I don’t understand the distinction.”
“You told me it was a one-off, remember? And that you’re in cybersecurity. I thought in Vegas you did a one-time hacking-type thing as a favor to a good friend for a good cause.”
I furrow my brow. “I never said the Vegas thing was a one-off. It was the first time I’d worked with the feds, but the work itself was right up my alley.”
Hannah looks deeply confused. “When we went outside the karaoke bar, you literally promised me it was a one-off.”
“Oooh. I meant it was a one-off that everyone except you would know about something I’d done.”
“Well, if that was your promise, then you’ve broken it, repeatedly, as I’ve learned tonight. Apparently, you’re perfectly comfortable with everyone but me knowing about all your various hacking activities, but when it comes to me, you actively hold back details and tell me a litany of half-truths. The only question is: Why? Why do you actively keep things from me, Henn? Is it because you’re scared if I knew the truth, I’d leave you?”
“Back up. What did you learn tonight? What are we talking about here?”
“You told me you went looking for Ryan’s flight attendant, but you didn’t bother to mention you hacked into nine fucking airlines to do that. Or that you performed some kind of hack to help Keane out of a stripper jam. You told me you found Sarah for Jonas, but you made it sound like internet research. You certainly didn’t mention you’d hacked into U Dub to find her. Could it be you didn’t want me knowing about your hack of U Dub because you didn’t want me connecting the dots from that particular university to another one, hmm?”
“I didn’t get Maddy in.”
“So you say.”
I wipe my sweaty palm against the front of my pants, and it brushes against the ring box in my pocket. “Can we go to the room to finish this conversation? I’ll tell you whatever you want to know about all that stuff, but I don’t want to do it out here.”
Hannah wordlessly turns on her heel and tramps down the pathway toward our bungalow, so I follow her in thick silence. I can’t believe the night I thought was going to be the best of my life could turn out to be the worst.
When we reach our room, I open the door for Hannah, and she marches swiftly inside.
Quickly, I decide the best defense is a good offense. “Maybe I should have been more forthcoming with actual words,” I say, before Hannah says whatever is on the tip of her tongue, “but I certainly showed you who I am. I let you sit right next to me while hacking that dude for Josh’s proposal, didn’t I? I thought you understood.”
“I thought you were a cybersecurity guy doing a favor for a friend. I didn’t realize that’s what you do. What about Your Nerd for Hire? Your website lists cybersecurity and IT services.”
