“I’m sure. Jax will probably be there, right?” Brandee asked.
“Probably? Maybe? I have no clue!”
“It’s going to be fine. Kate is picking you up, right?”
“Yes, I can barely believe it. I’ve gone over to her place so many times, and the last time I saw her, we drove separately to her place. Should I be worried?”
“What do you think you should be worried about?”
Hannah sat down at the desk in her bedroom. She’d splurged on an LED mirror, and now she tapped it on and began doing her makeup. “That this is a test to see if I get along with herfriends? I mean, there must be a reason why she’s waited this long to be with me in public.”
“I don’t know her.”
“Right, but still tell me what you think?”
“I’m taking a class this semester that’s all about social-emotional development in elementary school-aged children, and one thing we’ve learned is that all behavior is communication. That’s not limited to kids. It totally applies to adults.”
“I know this sounds super dumb, but I thought maybe this is a new-to-me lesbian relationship thing and I just didn’t get it.”
Brandee shook her head. “I love that eye shadow.”
“Thanks!”
“You never sound dumb to me. I can’t say I know the ins and outs of lesbian relationships, but my gut says that it’s a Kate thing, not a queer thing, and I kind of get it. Remember how I blew Luc off after we spent New Year’s Eve together? Even though I liked him, I was too scared to try. I said that I had too much going on with work and taking care of Chris, but was that really true?”
Hannah used her eyelash curler as she mulled over what Brandee had just said. “So, you think she’s scared?”
“What do you think she is trying to communicate?”
“I’m not sure. I know we both have super shitty exes.”
Brandee sighed. “Don’t we all.”
“Mine takes the cake, though.” Hannah put lip primer on.
“I’m so glad you got away from him and came to Marley Creek.”
Hannah reached over to get her favorite lipstick. As she pulled it out, she couldn’t help but glance at a small, round scar on the inside of her arm. She’d thought about getting a tattoo to cover the burn mark, but she decided to keep that reminder just in case Chad ever showed up and she started to think fondly about him. She twisted the tube, revealing the bold poppy red. He hadhated her in red lipstick, so now she wore it all the time. “You and me both. If I never see him again, it will be too soon.”
“You didn’t see him when you went back home for Christmas last year, did you?”
Hannah rubbed her lips together, and then she responded. “Nope.” Hannah ran her hands through her hair, adjusting the way it framed her face.
“You are so hot, I’d do you. Especially if you came bringing the cookies you said you were going to make,” Brandee joked.
“Want to see how they turned out?”
“Sure!”
Hannah shut off her mirror and the light in her bedroom. Smoky hopped off her bed and scampered to the kitchen, expecting a treat.
“Let me just give Smoky one of the cookies from Kate’s place.” Hannah pulled out a cat treat.
“Meow, meow.”
“You have the loudest cat.”
“He’s my guard cat, loud and with a full set of claws, ready to attack.”
