“Oh my god, this is amazing.”
His fervent declaration had her lips twitching.
“You like it then?” She smiled.
“It’s seriously probably the best I’ve ever had. You’ll have to tell your mom thank-you and how much I loved it.”
Hannah side-eyed him, watching as he tackled the food with unfeigned enthusiasm.
It was a good thing Eric was seeing someone. Her mom would probably have tried to set them up in a heartbeat. Steady, reliable job, he liked her mom’s cooking, and he was attractive.
She sighed inwardly and turned her focus to the movie. But the usually flavorful bites seemed tasteless, and it wasn’t long before she gave up trying to eat. She set the bowl down on the side table beside her and adjusted herself on the couch to get a little bit more comfortable.
Eric followed suit a short while later, but unlike her, she noticed he’d eaten every last bite. He shifted on the couch, and now, instead of being on opposite sides, they were both closer to the middle.
What was the girl he was seeing doing tonight? Why wasn’t he with her?
The way her thoughts circled back to Eric and his love interest was once more a distraction from the movie.
None of your business.
What kind of woman did Eric find attractive?
Stop it.
She closed her eyes, hoping it might shut out the stream of thoughts about Eric and his love life.
Think about work.
With deliberation, she forced her mind to reflect on all the teacher conferences from the week. Which in turn led back to Stoddard Wentworth.
Her lips twisted in discontent.
Nope, not thinking about that wacko.
Maybe she’d just do some meditative deep breathing.
In and out.
Wow, she was actually kind of exhausted. Clearly, she hadn’t gotten much sleep this week. A yawn popped her jaw before she could stop it.
“Getting tired?”
Her eyes snapped open at his question.
“A little, but I can finish the movie.”
Her eyes drifted shut again.
The tension eased from her muscles and her mind released its death grip on the constant stream of thoughts.
This is totally helping...
It must’ve helped a little too much, because she was in and out of wakefulness throughout the movie. More than once, she caught herself falling asleep.
And then eventually the credits were playing. Only the words were tilted, and there was something kind of soft, but kind of hard, beneath her cheek.
She always did this. Fell asleep on James’s shoulder during movies. It was like her party trick that everyone loved to tease her about.