Page 63 of Unfinished

“I’m not saying never,” she whispered, talking about marriage.

“Oh, I know.” I flashed an arrogant grin.

Despite what Hannah might think, there was no way in hell she would be dating anyone else. I already had guys en route to watch her and keep track of her. There would be no other man touching her. Hannah thought she had her independence, but I wouldn’t risk losing her.

Chapter 28

Hannah

2 years later

“Happy Birthday, Babe!” Ashley came barging into my room with a bunch of my favorite pastries from our favorite local bakery. I knew twenty-one was supposed to be this big thing but I wanted to lie in bed all day.

“Thank you,” I said to Ashley as she handed me an apple fritter and I sat up in bed.

“I have another surprise for you.”

“Oh god, can I have coffee first?” I groaned.

“Sure, coffee is ready in the kitchen.” Ashley had a mischievous smile on her face. What the hell was she planning? I put the apple fritter back in the box and Ashley took the box as I stood away from my bed and left my room in search of coffee.

“Surprise!” I practically jumped out of my skin as Liam, Bas, Rion, and Archer all shouted from my living room. Meanwhile, Ashley was bent over laughing behind me and I turned and glared at her. Yes, I was ecstatic about this surprise, but I hated being jump-scared like that and Ashley knew it.

“I hate you,” I hissed at Ashley and she laughed harder.

Turning back to my boys, I quickly walked to them and gave them hugs. Liam and I managed to keep our friendship strong, and Bas, Rion, and Archer have all kept in touch too. Liam and I had managed to stick to the rules of our friendship and even while we talked about the terms of our arrangement, we didn’t change anything. Surprisingly, Liam hadn’t fought me too hard over them either.

It made sense to us and it has worked for the past year and a half. I saw he had a couple of dates but the women never made it past one date and they were all for big events. I, on the other hand, had only Ashley and Chad here in Pittsburgh and no time for things like dating.

Chad, who I met at the bookstore a couple of years ago, ended up in my Data Structures and Algorithms class, so we started talking and hanging out from time to time. We often studied together since we were both on the same educational path. If it weren’t for that, I don't honestly think we would be friends because I had so little time.

Liam and I talked for about an hour every Friday morning and then texted throughout the week. Bas, Rion, Archer, and I all texted each other whenever we had a chance too. I’d fallen into a bit of a routine that was working out well for now.

“Happy Birthday, Beautiful,” Liam said, giving me a hug and a kiss on the head.

“You didn’t need to come in for my birthday.”

“We wouldn’t miss your twenty-first. You’re going to get so wasted!” Archer shouted and jumped up and down like an excited kid.

“Never change, Archer,” I said, “Coffee first.”

“We are going to go to Carson Street, babe,” Ashley said, “Oh and you are going to dress hot. I’ll go pick out an outfit.”

“Can’t I wear yoga pants and a jersey?” Ashley looked at me with horror over my outfit choice.

“Absolutely not!” Ashley marched off to my room. I had exactly three outfits for going out, so whatever she picked wouldn’t be that bad. Plus, it would mean I didn’t have to pick out something.

Turning to the men, I took some time to catch up with all of them. All four were finishing up the first year of their MBAs. By next year they’d be graduating and moving to NYC full time. Ashley would graduate with her bachelor's in nursing next year and she’d be sticking around while I finished up my master's before we made the move to NYC ourselves.

They each told me about their classes while we ate the pastries. Liam and I discussed a few things regarding the trajectory of online advertising. He’d been working more and more at his father’s company, Trident Advertising, and trying to overhaul how they grew with the times.

Ashley joined us after a little while, telling me my outfit was on my bed and I would look “fucking hot” in it. I was lucky that my birthday fell on a Saturday and Ashley made sure I had the weekend off to celebrate. Now I knew why she was so adamant about getting the time off.

We spent most of the day hanging out, but around five Ashley shoved me off to get ready for the night. I showered, styled my hair in large curls. Based on the outfit Ashley chose for me, I decided to do a smokey eye look for my makeup.

After putting on Ashley’s outfit, I looked at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a gold sequin top that was open all the way to my lower back. It had spaghetti straps and a deep neckline that went below my breasts too. Black skinny pants, black ankle boots that had four inch stiletto heels, and a black leather jacket finished off the whole look. Ashley was right, I looked hot as hell.

“Are you ready?” Ashley knocked on my door.

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