“Ian!” I hear Levi’s voice tearing me away from my thoughts. “This is Hannah, my new roommate I’ve been telling you about,” he says, gesturing to the gorgeous blonde.
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” she answers in a quiet voice
“Nice to meet you too,” I reply, extending my hand to shake hers. The minute her hand touches mine it’s like everything is right in the world. Like a weight I didn’t know I had has been lifted off of me. Clearly, I’m not the only one affected, because when I look away from our hands, I see a soft blush covering her cheeks.
Before I can say anything, Lacey grabs her other arm and pulls her back towards the dance floor. As she pulls her away, I hear her say, “See, I told you. Ian is another sex on skates. . .” but the crowd swallows them before I can hear what Hannah responds.
I spend the entire night watching Hannah. I know, total creep, right? Not going to lie, I kind of feel like one. But I can’t keep my eyes away from her. From the way her hair shimmers when she throws her head back laughing, or the red of her cheeks as she follows along to new dance moves. She looks like she’s having the time of her life, so carefree, unlike how Levi has been describing her.
After a few minutes, or what could be hours of watching her, I catch a glimpse of her, Ellie, and Lacey as they make their way to the bar. I smile to myself as I see them taking another shot, knowing JJ is going to have fun wrangling Lacey and Ellie tonight. Serves him right for calling me Kitty. After a second shot, I see Lacey head to what I presume is the bathroom, as JJ grabs Ellie and leads her to a dark corner of the bar. Taking the last sip of my beer, I sneak away from Levi and Stevi who are in what looks to me to be an intense conversation and make my way to the bar, to where Hannah is standing alone.
“What can I get for you?” I ask as I slide in next to her, making her jump a little.
“Oh my gosh, you scared me.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you,” I say, liking the slight blush on her cheeks and wondering what I’d have to do to get it to darken and spread down to the valley of her breasts.
“It’s all good, I didn’t spill a drink, so no harm, no foul,” she says with a small smile.
“What are you drinking?” I ask her, pointing to her almost empty glass.
“Mojitos.” Flagging the bartender down, I order her another mojito and a pint of their house IPA for myself.
“Thanks, you didn’t have to,” she says, taking a sip of the fresh drink placed in front of her.
“Pretty girls shouldn’t have empty drinks,” I comment, before I can stop myself.
“Well, that’s a line if I’ve ever heard one,” she says laughing.
“Definitely not my best work, but it did make you laugh,” I point out, even though I can feel the back of my neck heat up.
Before she can say anything, Lacey comes back and orders two more shots of tequila, pretending I’m not standing there. Before I can make myself known again, Lacey pulls Hannah back onto the dance floor as Shania Twain starts blaring through the speakers.
Leaning back against the bar, I watch them try to keep up with everyone else. It seems to be getting harder instead of easier, telling me they’re starting to feel those tequila shots more than they think. As I keep an eye on them, I go over my short exchange with Hannah.Pretty girls shouldn’t have empty drinks, I replay in my mind, making me cringe.Why in the hell did I say that? She definitely thinks I’m a weirdo now,I think to myself as I finish my beer. I’ve never had trouble talking towomen, not even when I first discovered the opposite sex, but this one short-circuits my brain and I’ve barely spoken to her.
Ordering another pitcher, I make my way back to the table where JJ is also back watching as Ellie joins the other two on the dance floor. The boys are chatting around me, but I can’t focus enough to follow their conversation, I’m too focused on Hannah. For the life of me I can’t understand why my attention keeps wandering to her. I’ve seen, hell I’ve slept with, plenty of blondes before, why is this one so different?
Once they’ve danced to another song, the girls make their way back to the table. Checking my watch, I see it’s already past midnight. Standing around the table, Ellie drags JJ to the dance floor, saying he needs to dance at least one song before they leave, if not, he can’t say he’s been line dancing. Levi follows Lacey to the bathroom and Stevi is chatting up a redhead at the table to our left. Leaving me alone with Hannah.
Shuffling closer to her I ask, “How are you liking Calgary so far?”
“I love it. I visited a few years ago, and always wanted to come back, so I’m happy to be here.”
“It’s definitely the place to be. I’m happy I got drafted by Calgary, it meant I got to stay where I was born and raised. You’re from Vancouver, right?” I ask, knowing she grew up with Levi.
“Yes,” she answers without elaborating.
“Moved here from the East Coast, right?” I ask.
“Yeah,” she answers again. Seems to be hard to start a conversation with her.
“I haven’t spent much time on the East Coast, but I hear it’s gorgeous in the summer.”
Nodding her head, she doesn’t look at me. Come to think of it, she hasn’t looked at me the entire time we’ve been standing here alone.
“I get the sense you don’t like me very much,” I say, nudging her with my elbow and giving her a small smile showing her I’m teasing as she blushes.
“Not that I don’t like you, I’ve just been told to stay away from you,” she says, slurring her words a little. “Plus, you scare me a little,” she continues.
