Dear reader... another quick interjection to warn that those of a squeamish nature may want to look away... this part follows on from the further exploration and slide into complete intimacy that Hannah and I are embarking on. There is mention of the natural cycle and it may offend some. Anyway, if you are ok with that, read on...
I walked home in a daze. It felt as if the rest of the world was going the other way, heading into town as I passed through and out the other side. The flat was quiet and, for once, not a mess, mainly as the stupid flatmate hadn't been home, or had just come in and slept. Whatever, it was a welcome change.
The laptop whirred into life and I made coffee as it started and the auto programmes opened. I sat down and there was a message from Hannah, "Hey buddy, thanks for noodles last night, we must do it again sometime." I gigged at her sweet nature and then froze as another message came up. Nicole.
"Hey. Hope the noodles were good, you could have had much more than just noodles. Next time."
I needed to say something, she was getting serious now. I wrote and rewrote my reply many times, until I hit send, "Hi, the noodles were great. I am sorry, but I am seeing someone." It was all I could say.
"So?" Came her reply, followed by "They don't have to know." Holy crap, she was not giving up.
"Sorry, it's not my style." I replied and waited for her crazy answer.
"You went out for dinner with another woman last night. Go with me, just maybe we can forget the noodles and we can enjoy something else."
I decided to just ignore this conversation, but Nicole hadn't. "I will see you at the party next week and you can decide if you want to change your style."
I pressed 'Hide Conversation' and got on with work, one eye on Hannah's status and hoping to see a message flash up. I realised I hadn't replied to her earlier message and sent a quick message asking if she enjoyed the meal.
"Took your time!" Came her reply, before "YES! it was a great place. We can make it a regular thing. Monthly noodles." It took me a few moments to realise the significance of that comment, then laughed.
I checked my diary and Monday was pretty free, so I got the nod from my manager and booked the day off, then sent Hannah a message on the phone. "Any plans?" came the reply. I didn't know if she was joking or not and stared at the screen until a ping on the laptop distracted me and I saw a row of laughing emojis from her. My stomach did several somersaults, we were going to have a day off together. I started to get nervous.
I spent lunchtime looking for seaside towns to go on a day trip to and then sent links to Hannah. She replied that Folkestone looked good as it wasn't too touristy, so I checked train times and a plan was almost made. The rest of the weekend we would play by ear, mainly depending how Saturday went as it would be our first day out together.
The end of the day saw Hannah go 'Offline' and a few moments later her call flashed up on the laptop. We chatted about our day and the upcoming weekend. She seemed quiet, but she smiled big and often and laughed frequently. There was something different though, but maybe it was just she was getting over her 'grumpy bitch' phase. She stood and pulled her t-shirt off and jiggled her breasts at me before we sat and chatted again, the conversation easy and fun and my nerves about the weekend faded.
"Oh, hey, guess what?" I didn't have a chance to reply, "I went to get a coffee after a stressful meeting and the moron Paul was there. So, he started hitting on me right away." I shuffled a bit on the chair as she spoke, "Asking where 'my guy' was and could he help me in any way while you were not with me. I mean, pretty creepy stuff." She giggled as she remembered the encounter, "So I told him I was more than happy, but he kept on saying he could bring me coffee and cake and give me a 'personal service', if I just called him... SOOOOOOO." I had a feeling I knew what was coming, "I said that I was fine and, anyway, I was off limits to him." Hannah laughed, but also blushed, "He looked confused and asked why, so I said about him not wanting to go anywhere Simon had already been! OH MAN, he just stared, so I grabbed the coffee and walked out and he was calling after me, so I just waved." Hannah was laughing hard now, but I was slightly less amused, mainly as I was slightly worried about how Paul would react.
Hannah breathed in deep, "THEN! A few minutes later Simon messaged me to ask what I had said!" She laughed more now and I started too. "He sent me a screenshot of the text Paul had sent where he asks 'have you been in that Hannah bird?' I mean, he didn't even spell my name right, he put H.a.n.a. Idiot!" She carried on laughing. "So, Simon was worried about what to tell him, so I said 'the truth'. He sent me another screenshot where Paul is being really quite nasty, then he says 'I will get a blowie off her then' and Simon just replied, 'Sorry, you can't go there either'" Hannah bent over laughing at that and, I must admit, I did find it very funny.
"So, you may have to find another coffee shop." I laughed and she giggled.
"Yeah, or only go in when Simon is there. He sent more screenshots, man, Paul didn't take it well. Think it was just his brother actually getting some action, more than him wanting me." I wanted to disagree, but knew she wouldn't listen. After this we chatted about nothing much and we said our goodbyes that lasted about ten minutes before the call ended.
I scanned the rest of the negatives later as I ate dinner. I needed something to keep me busy as I was missing Hannah. She looked amazing in the shots, which was no surprise. When they were all done I finished them off in the edit software and then uploaded them to my photo page and made sure they were marked "me only". I then emailed them to Hannah.