Page 26 of Better Than Expected

Hannah arched a disbelieving eyebrow, because…

Caroline rolled her eyes at herself. “Maybe not necessarily when it comes to sex itself, but – me.”

There was such sincerity in her voice, it melted Hannah’s dubiousness. Melted it right into a soft smile.

That lasted until her eyes caught on the clock on the wall behind Caroline’s head. Shock and alarm raced through her, making her jump. “I have to get into the lineup in ten minutes!”

She made it just in time, nine minutes and forty-three seconds later. Hannah excused her way through the mass of caps and gowns, until she got to her place next to Karla and exhaled a deep sigh of relief.

“Hey, I expected you to be here like a half hour early, with snacks,” Karla joked before she took a good look at her.

Hannah watched as her eyebrows lowered, abject confusion flashed over her features, and then a shocked, knowing look took over.

Oh, boy.

“Don’t you look… well taken care of.” She sniggered behind her hand.

And honestly? Even as she blushed, Hannah really didn’t even care.

It was a good day. Her body was still thrumming from coming so hard, her heart was brimming, and she was about to finally graduate with a degree she earned.

As her row was called, her stomach twisted in nervous excitement, and she took a second to close her eyes and take a deep breath, as she thought of her mom. She would have been so, so excited. This was a moment she’d wanted for Hannah, for a long time, as someone who had never quite graduated from high school herself.

Hannah took in a deep breath and could remember just how proud her mom had looked at her high school graduation, right out in the crowd. So proud.

Seeing her cheering there… well, Hannah still remembered it, fifteen years later.

Opening her eyes, she peered up into the stands, exactly where Caroline had texted she was. It was close enough that they would have a really good view, Caroline had said. Which meant it was close enough that Hannah could see them, too. And she needed it.

She caught sight of Robyn, then next to her where Abbie sat, and her heart swelled a bit. Even more when she locked eyes with Caroline.

What really surprised her, though, was when she realized who was sitting next to Caroline.

Caroline’s parents, and her brother, Jared, too. Even after he’d asked her out and she’d politely turned him down – not even realizing at the time that she’d had a crush on his sister, but she had – he’d turned out to be a very good friend.

She had to blink away unexpected tears as her name was called, and she watched her little section clap and cheer. Somehow in the last year and a half, she’d gone from having only Abbie to a section.

That maybe meant just as much to her as the diploma. Maybe more, even.

This was exactly what Hannah had been striving for, this door to be unlocked. It had been a dream of hers, locked up for years, and now – she’d done it.

She’d really done it.

July 4 – This Year

The future she was scared of didn’t really hit her in the face until summer.

“Mom, the pool!” Abbie shouted.

Hannah laughed as she watched her daughter excitedly belly-flop right into Caroline’s pool.

Not the pool at her condo, like where they’d spent last Fourth of July. But the one that had been completed as of last week at Caroline’s house.

The house that was almost completely done. Hannah had been here to see the construction stages with Caroline a few times, and the speed with which it was put up over the last couple of months was truly astounding.

But, as Caroline reminded her with a cute little grin, she was pretty good with codes and laws.

Also, she’d helped a foreman at one of the best construction crews in the city with his divorce, so that certainly didn’t hurt.

---