Moments of Reckoning (2 page)

“Calm down little miss crazy… I
would have shared that info—I wonder if there is a shortcut… Anyway, what are the plans for tonight?”

“Jason is going to be picking us up around nine so neither of us have to drive
…and we’re kind of going from there I suppose.”

“Awesome, so I have at least an hour to take a nap before I have to start getting ready! Th
is night keeps getting better by the moment.”

“Why
, yes, you do! I will let you sleep until I finish up one of my short assignments and then it’s time to get your sleepy self-up and at ‘em.”

“Thanks
, Han, now go be the overachiever that you are.” Abby says in her sarcastic tone as she waves me off.

“You know me…
taking on the world, one book at a time!” I acted like Superman flying as turned to walk out of the room. “Before I go Abs…you only live once, don’t let Alex being away get you down. Go with your gut and things will end up how they are meant to. Sleep tight, my dear!” into my room I went before she could even respond.

Chapter 2

Glancing over at the clock I noticed the past hour had flown by and I was finished with, not just one, but two assignments.
Maybe Abby was right about the over achiever in me…

“
Aaaaabbbbbyyyy….AAAAABBBYYYY!”  I started gradually getting louder as I tried to wake her.

“It’s that time already?!”
Abby whined as she flopped around on the couch.

“Yes ma’am, now get your butt up and in gear…”
I smacked her backside and darted out of the room.

Cranking the
MP3 player in the living room with our favorite Theory of a Deadman tunes as we get ready is the usual ritual.
Oh what to wear…
The agony of being a female took over. Picking an outfit for a night out seemed to be the hardest decision to make, simply because I didn’t go “all out” throughout the week for class. I’m more of a simple kind of girl. Jeans and some kind of graphic tee or band tee paired with one of my
many
pairs of Chucks or sandals was the extent of my everyday getup. Except at work, work required the comfort of nurse scrubs. If I could, I would live in those things, it’s like wearing pajamas all the time! I mean who doesn’t love pajamas?!

Abby
on the other hand, was the go-to girl who keeps up with all the fashion trends. She has a little bit of everything in that closet of hers. I won’t even lie; I secretly envy her for that. I have never been good about putting together outfits. I guess you could say I have never been the “girly girl”. So maybe, just maybe, I could talk Abby into putting together an outfit for me to wear out tonight. I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t mind—plus it should get her into her “zone” and out of that funk she’s in.

“Oh
, Abby dear…” I called out to her from my room.

“Yes
, ma’am!?”

“Would you be ever so kind as to m
ake me a real life Barbie doll by finding me something wonderful to wear out tonight? Please!? Oh, Please?!” I responded with a fake twang to my voice.

“
Ummm, of course!!! How many times have I begged you to let me dress you up for a night out?! Operation turn Hannah into sexy Barbie is officially in full swing!”

Abby’s lifelong dream is to be involved in the fashion industry. Some way, somehow, she simply adores it all! I keep telling her to go for her dreams because she doesn’t have parents pushing her
into something she doesn’t adore—like I do. Abby was currently an undecided major at UCSD and I keep telling her to go ahead and transfer to The
Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising San Diego (FIDM). By doing this she wouldn’t be too far from where we were now and we could still be roommates. She seemed to be slowly gaining the confidence to do so and I really hoped that she does. Everybody deserves to do the things in life that they love, even if your parents don’t approve.

“So Hannah… What are you feeling for tonight? Do you want classy, sassy, or
sexy Barbie?!” Abby’s voice carried from her closet as items of clothing came flying out.

“Hmmm... as you know, I am quite
the modest type.” I tapped my index finger against my chin as I decided on which angle to go, “So let’s...ummm…Step out of the box for once.  Just not
too
far out of the box. ”

She looked me over like I was
her new project and stopped mid-step. “I have just the right thing!” Smiling mischievously she headed back into her closet.

“What about this purple lace dress? It would look
amazing
with your weird changing green eyes!” She suggested as she tripped over her now messy as hell room.

T
he horrified look on my face, due to the shortness of it caused her laugh. How the hell did she wear this thing?!

“Is this a shirt?”

“Seriously, Han?! It’s a tunic…I wear it with leggings or skinny jeans and since you look like someone just handed you a bomb, try these on with it.” She threw a pair of black leggings at me.

“I was about to say…”

A few moments later I changed and was checking myself out in her full-length mirror.

“
I actually look half decent in this…” I stared at my reflection, dressed in the purple lace dress with black leggings and some strappy sandals, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“Oh
, stop it! You are beautiful no matter what you wear. I seriously don’t understand what you see when you look in the mirror.” Abby said wholeheartedly.

Knock, Knock, Knock…

“I’ll get it….” I said as I ran out of the room so I didn’t receive the usual heartfelt spill from Abby about all of my
“so-called beauty”
. Don’t get me wrong, I loved her for it, but a girl can only hear it so much. She likes to give people a little boost to their confidence.

O
pening the door I found Jason standing in front of me ready to embrace me in one of his wonderful bear hugs. Is it creepy that I
love
the way he smells? I stepped back and noticed that he was wearing a pair of khaki shorts, a button-down short-sleeve grey and blue plaid shirt left unbuttoned with a lighter shade of grey t-shirt underneath.
Man, he looks nice tonight and smells pretty lovely too.
He truly is a great guy and whoever ended up stealing his heart would be one lucky lady—that’s for sure.

“Well, look at you
! I can’t believe you’re wearing a dress. You really look stunning.” He said as he grabbed my shoulders to check me out at arm’s length.

“Thanks
, Jason…” I blushed at his word as I dropped my head, “I guess you could say I am stepping out of the box for once.” I’m sure the most flustered look was on display across my face. After many years of friendship he still caught me off guard. That was one of the things I adored the most about him—and hated all at the same time.

“Make yourself at home. Abby and I will be a little while longer getting ready; she just now jumped in the shower.”

“Take your time, I’m in no hurry.”

After flash
ing my usual embarrassed smile I left the room to continue with my makeup. Makeup was actually one thing I didn’t mind doing, even though I hardly ever wore it during the week. I would much rather sleep in than get up and put it on. As soon as I started applying my mascara, with the infamous “O” face every girl has, Abby came waltzing in like a model going down the runaway. Instead of an elaborate gown, she wore her bathrobe.

“You never cease to amaze me…” I laugh
ed as she continued to strike different poses.

“
Do you think I could win America’s Next Top Model?!” she spoke in an annoyed preppy voice, “But in all reality, should I wear this white halter top with a skirt or this teal form fitting off-the-shoulder dress?” she pointed to the two outfits laid out across the bed.

“
Oooh, definitely the teal off the shoulder dress; you can pair it with those new sandals you bought the other day.”

Abby is
an absolutely beautiful girl inside and out. She is the most kind and caring person I have ever met. It was a blessing when she became, not only my best friend but sister at heart. Looks-wise, Abby is everything I wish I was. She’s tall, thin, has long dark auburn hair and grey-blue eyes. Did I mention that her eyelashes are naturally longer than any I have ever seen? All the guys around campus drool over her and she hardly even notices.

“I almost forgot Jason was i
n the living room!” Abby shrieked in horror as she started to walk in there to get something to drink from the adjoined kitchen, in her bathrobe. We busted into a fit of laughter as we both fell onto the bed with tears pooling in our eyes.

“How about
I go get us some wine and you go change into your outfit,” I pointed to her dress while I wiped the tears from under eyes.

I walked
into the living room and noticed Jason sitting on the couch flipping through an old photo album. I realized that the photo album was actually a scrapbook I had put together of my favorite memories since eighth grade, I almost gasped in horror.
Shit! There are too many photos of us in there…He’s going to think I’m a creepy ass stalker!

“Find anything interesting?”
my nerves poured from the words I spoke.

“Oh hey,
just reminiscing through your memories. Where is this photo of us from?” he held the scrapbook up so I could see the photo he was talking about.

“
Oh my
, look at your hair and my braces…” the two of us bellowed in a fit of laughter, “That photo is actually from our eighth grade field day, when you ran me over trying to get to the event you were late for. The yearbook staff just happened to catch this lovely encounter and I begged them for a copy of it later in the year.”

“That was a good day
, huh?!” He winked and nudged my shoulder.

Did Jason just wink at me…?
Please don’t blush; please don’t blush...Dammit I know I’m blushing!
I grabbed the scrapbook rather swiftly and took off into the kitchen.

“Would you like something to drink?” I
called out.

“Sure
, Han, thanks. Not any alcohol since I’m driving. Do you have any tea?”

Cra
p I forgot he was driving us, He has me so damn flustered I can’t even remember that he is our driver. Oh the things this man does to me.
Suggesting we call a cab so that we could all let loose for once, I took Jason a beer. I poured wine for me and Abs and headed back into her room. To my surprise she was dressed and starting on her hair. Abby was definitely a girly girl, everything has to be to a “T” or she feels like her whole night is ruined. The process of her getting ready usually took a while—hopefully tonight was not one of those nights.

“T
hat dress really looks wonderful on you Abby. Thanks for everything you do for me, by the way. You truly are the best person in my life who actually understands me.”

“Hannah
, you do not have to thank me. I would be lost without you—where did all this tear jerking nonsense come from anyway?!”

“I don’t know really…
I just felt like it needed to be said.” Abby closed the space between us and embraced me in a death grip of a hug.

“Now let’s stop this right now befo
re we ruin our makeup!” she demanded as she let me go and walked back over to her mirror.

Abby went
back to working on her hair while I glanced helplessly in the mirror at mine.
Ugh… Such a frizzy mess! Why did I let it air dry?
I decided to re-wet it and go for the natural wavy look. I went into the bathroom and rummaged through the cabinets for my spray bottle and then started to do what I could to tame my mane.

Sometime
later I heard Jason laughing uncontrollably in the living room, which
definitely
grabbed my attention.

“Are you al
l right in there Jason?” I called from the bathroom and received no response.

I walked into the living room and sat down beside Jason, who was still chuckling and shaking his head as he swiped his finger a crossed the screen of his phone.

“Yeah, Han, Xavier called and was telling me one of his crazy stories about last weekend at the frat house.”

“
Ooooh… Please do not fill me in on what that might be, because I probably do not want to hear it.”

“Yeah
, you know how he is. It’s not exactly PG13. By the way, he said he was going to meet us later with a few others.”

“That’s fine with me; there is
never
a dull moment with Xavier around…”

Right about that time
, Abby came barreling into the living room with her empty wine glass. Glancing over at the clock, almost at the same time, Abby and I both sighed.

“It’s only 8:30?! L
et’s crank some music and get the pre-drinking started!” Abby cheered.

“In that case, I will pour you ladies another glass and gr
ab myself another beer.” Jason flashed his adorable one-sided grin as he walked into the kitchen.

Why is it all of a sudden he i
s making me crazy with every grin, every touch, every laugh? Has it always been like this? No…surely not. It would have been overbearing all these years. Ugh, does this mean I am seriously falling head over heels for Jason and there is nothing I can do about it? This is not good! Not good at all! I cannot and will not ruin our friendship because I want more from him now. I cannot risk losing our friendship if this goes south. Son-of-a-bitch…

“
Earth to Hannah, are you okay?” Abby waved her hand in front of my face.

“Oh
umm... yeah... I was just thinking about some things.”

“Well whatever you
’re thinking about I’m sure it will be fine. Now drink up, little lady, no getting down-an-out tonight!”

S
he knew it was something I didn’t want to talk about, so she let it go at that. Abby knows me like a book; I’m sure she had a feeling what it may be about and knew that it wasn’t the right time to go all “twenty questions” on me with Jason here. She plugged her MP3 player into the dock and cranked the first song that started to play,
Everybody Talks
by Neon Trees.