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I don’t think that’s a great idea.
Yes, you do.
No, this isn’t going to be a thing. Yesterday was a mistake.
Yesterday was fantastic, up until the drowning and your brother showing up.
Good night.
Breakfast tomorrow?
No.
Lunch?
No.
Okay, dinner. My treat. I’ll take you to my favorite restaurant.
No. Good night.
I’ll see you tomorrow.
No response, which he took as a good sign. Hannah was the good girl, the apple of her father’s eye, and she wouldn’t cross her brother. But she had stood up to Parker a little when he tried to forbid her from seeing him, and he’d felt how much she wanted him yesterday. She couldn’t deny it.
*
After picking upa dozen specialty donuts and chugging his own double espresso, Conner pulled up at the community center, where he spotted Hannah’s truck. Walking through the old glass doors, he heard several voices and assumed the volunteers who ran the community center were already here this morning. There were only a few people on staff, paid for by the city, and the rest were local volunteers like Hannah. She’d mentioned that a lot of students in various social work college programs also helped run the center.
As he walked through the large “family room” where the kids spent most of their time when they visited the community center, he found Hannah surrounded by several young people, cleaning. One of the students spotted him and nudged the girl next to her. Soon all the heads were turning toward him like a row of dominos.
He had to admit his dress uniform made him stick out like a sore thumb: crisp navy blue slacks, bright white dress shirt, chevrons stitched to the sleeves, his badge and gun on his right hip. Or maybe it was just the box of donuts he was holding. He waited for Hannah to look up when the kids all grew quiet.
“Holy smokes, you shaved?” was her first response, right before she slapped her hand over her mouth.
He could tell she liked the look of him by the blush in her cheeks.
“Good morning. I brought you and your team a treat.”
“Yah, you did,” one of the students with bright pink hair said, and plucked the box of donuts from him.
Hannah dropped the broom in her hand, grabbed his arm, and led him down the hall to the empty art room.
“What are you doing here?” she said.
“I wanted to see you, and I couldn’t wait until tomorrow. I told you I’d take you to breakfast, but then I remembered you’d be here so I figured I’d bring you breakfast.”
“No, Conner. What are you doing suddenly paying so much attention to me?”
“I told you. I’m attracted to you. I’m interested in you. I’d like to see where this could go.”
“Nowhere. This can’t go anywhere because we are…” she trailed off.
“We are what? The Montagues and the Capulets? The Sharks and the Jets? That sounds so childish, and I don’t hate your family. We’re not sworn enemies. Your brother is just being a baby about a misunderstanding I intend to clear up as soon as possible.”
Her forehead was scrunched as she took a big breath and stomped her booted foot. He moved closer, and she didn’t back away. Her resolve to keep her distance was crumbling. Looping his hand around her waist, he leaned in to enjoy her sweet scent and let his freshly shaved skin rub against her soft cheek.
“Do you like it?”
