Chapter 21
“Oh my god! You must have wanted to die!” Melissa squealed in Hannah’s office as the two gossiped about their previous evenings and Hannah recounted the embarrassment of a farmer finding her and Nick in a…quite precarious situation. He had started to walk away to give the couple privacy but Nick ran after him nearly naked. It was certainly a sight to be seen but they managed to fix the tire and make their way back home to Los Angeles. “No more side trips to the country for you two,” Melissa warned and Hannah openly agreed.
“I don’t know,” she shook her head. “It was definitely a thrill though. Poor Nick was so humiliated. Thank goodness the man didn’t recognize him.”
“I’ll say! That one would be on the front page of every tabloid and magazine around the world. I can see it now, ‘Naked Backstreet Boy Flags Down Heterosexual Farmer!’”
“Melissa!” she squealed. “It would not read that! Nick is not gay!”
“Yea, obviously,” she laughed and rolled her eyes. “Hmm, fine maybe it would say ‘Backstreet Boy Strips Down to Roots for Late-Night Country Excursion!’”
“I swear,” she shook her head, “You are working for the wrong magazine. The National Enquirer is your real calling.”
“I’ll put my letter of resignation in today,” she chuckled before bracing herself on the arms of the chair and raising to her feet. “I think I better go do some work now. You keep having fun with Nick, but I’d take a trip to Walmart and pick up a jack before you go on any more mini-road trips.”
“Thanks for the suggestion but I’ve already taken care of the problem. Went there during my lunch break,” she smiled and filed through the papers on her desk for the one article she was supposed to be editing. “I’ll get this to you before I leave tonight.”
“Great, and I’ll clear my calendar so I can make it to your Christmas party. I definitely don’t want to miss that.”
“Christmas party?” Zach asked walking into the room with an interested expression on his face. “I suppose this is something I’m not invited to.” Nodding his head understandingly he shoved his hands deep in his pockets.
Melissa looked back and forth between Hannah and him before shrugging her shoulders and exiting the room. “Zach I didn’t think you’d be interested in coming because…”
“Because Nick’s going to be there,” he finished her sentence abrasively.
“No,” she shook her head in refusal, “Because it’s my engagement party!” His eyes widened in shock and it looked as though a knife had been driven through his heart. “Look, I’m sorry. This is why I didn’t mention it to you.”
“So you’re marrying the Backstreet Boy! Wow, I bet you’ll be all over that In Style celebrity weddings edition. Hope you enjoy all the fame and fortune.”
“It’s not about that,” she was starting to get agitated with him, something she desperately did not want. She wanted to like him as much as she always had. “I don’t want to talk to you about this Zach. Can’t we just move on with our lives?”
“Sure you can,” he nodded. “Go right ahead and walk down the isle in your designer wedding gown with your Harry Winston wedding ring. Nevermind how much you played me or how much you hurt my feelings. Hell, nevermind my feelings at all…assuming that you ever cared about them.”
“Of course I cared about your feelings…in fact I still do! Why do I have to be in love with you for us to be friends? I’m sorry that things didn’t work out the way you wanted them to but things didn’t work out the way I wanted them to either. Life will never go the way you want it so might as well stop hoping for it to. Zach, I do care about you. Why do you have to make this so hard?”
“Because it is hard Hannah! I fucking fell in love with you and now you’re dallying around with someone else. That’s not exactly something I can sit back and accept.”
It seemed as though she was literally fuming with anger at that point. He was badgering her simply because she didn’t feel the way he wanted her to feel. No one should dictate her life like that or even try to. Yet at the same time it killed her to watch him act like this because he deserved better. “Zach if I make you so miserable then why are you doing this? Please, for your sake and mine just stop.”
“Or what? You’re gonna dump me for some Backstreet Boy? Well, I think you’ve already taken care of that.”
“Damn straight she did!” Nick shouted as he stepped in between the argument with a furious body language. Suddenly the air in the room thickened.
“Oh if it isn’t Mr. Wonderful himself,” Zach sighed as he rolled his eyes. “I feel so honored that you’ve blessed us with your presence. I can now die a happy man.”
“Don’t hate me for your imperfections.”
Unsure what to say Hannah stared at the two disgruntled men wondering why these things always happen to her. ‘What do I do to deserve this?’ Zach took two bold steps towards Nick as if to initiate a game of chicken. Accepting the offer Nick took two steps of his own bringing them face to face, only their breath to separate them.
“So you think you’re all wonderful don’t you?” Zach asked smugly. “You and that precious fist of yours that pounded into your fiancé.”
“Zach what did you want?” Hannah finally spoke up with an exasperated sigh, desperately trying to change the subject…and it seemed to work. Zach shook his head as if coming back to reality and looked at her.
“Huh?”
“What did you want? You came in here uninvited…why?” she asked looking up at the ceiling trying to avoid eye contact.
“Yea what are you doing in here? I think it’s time you stop stalking Hannah. Get a clue buddy! She doesn’t want you!”
“Nick!” she screamed. “Would you please not involve yourself in something that doesn’t involve you? This is between Zach and I and I don’t need the two of you playing he-man in my office.” Quickly she turned back to face Zach, “Again, why are you here?”
“Forget it,” he sighed and shook his head. “Forget everything!” Angrily he turned and walked out of the room, forcefully pushing past Nick. The engaged couple watched him leave the room with remorseful expressions on their faces. Except probably for varying reasons. Nick was angered by his mere existence. Hannah was struck with guilt for everything that had gone wrong. Why did Nick have to walk in when he did? She felt as though she could never have a productive conversation with Zach no matter how hard she tried.
“Well that was interesting,” Nick shrugged his shoulders and brought his hand around her neck to lean down and kiss her hello. “How’s your day been? Up until this moment I mean.”
“Nick,” she reached up and removed his hand. “You can’t do this anymore. You can’t step in things like that with Zach and you can’t just show up without any notice at my job.”
“I’m sorry babe,” he kissed her forehead. “I thought you’d be glad to see me. My bad.”
“Of course I’m glad to see you but as far as Zach’s concerned it causes a lot more trouble than it’s worth.” Nick nodded understandingly and kissed her once again before she broke away and returned to her desk. “So how was rehearsal?” she asked as she glanced over an article, marking it with a red pen.
“Long,” he whined and sat in a spare chair, fascinated by watching her work. He could see that even though it wasn’t a glamorous job it was one she really enjoyed doing. He saw how her eyebrow furrowed as she read through the article and he wondered what it would be like to be in her head. To know what editing corrections were running through her mind. “By the way, all of the guys are able to make it to the party. So things can go ahead as planned.”
“Oh that’s right,” she sighed and dropped her hands. “I forgot to go by the butcher today to place an order of a beef tenderloin. Those are less than impossible to find around the holiday season. Would you mind stopping by there on your way back to the apartment.”
“You want me to order beef?” he asked completely confused.
“Yes,” she smiled with a slight laugh. “Is that so impossible for you?”
“I dunno,” he shrugged. “I’ve never ordered beef before. What if I get the wrong thing?”
“Nick, a beef tenderloin is a beef tenderloin. I’m sure the butcher will be able to help you. Tell him that the guest list is going to be around thirty and we’d like at least ten ounces for everyone. He’ll know what to do.”
“Damn isn’t that a lot of beef?”
“Ok,” she exclaimed. “Do you need me to stop what I’m doing and go there myself?”
“No,” he shook his head. “No no no! I can do this. You just do whatever you have to do here so you can get home soon.
“Oh don’t worry about that,” she smirked. “I am home. With you, I’m home because with you I feel the safest.”
Reaching out his hand he took hers and kissed it softly. “Well, in that case…welcome home.”
Chapter 22
Lost in the Rain Main
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