An unlikely romance sprouts from a chance encounter between Cliff and Hannah after she spurns his good deed. ----------
Cliff tries doing a good deed for financially distressed Hannah by paying for her expensive car repairs. He expects nothing in...
Cliff worked all day in the sweltering summer heat with one of his trash crews. He was toweling himself off after a welcome shower when his cellphone buzzed. Izzy sent him a text message asking if he was up for a pizza. She was on her way back from her tennis date with Aaron and offered to buy.
Something was up. His sister usually called for delivery after she got home and then conveniently disappeared when it came time to pay the delivery person. He texted her back a one-word answer: Yes.
He finished toweling off, dressed in a track suit, and lounged in their shared living room, watching the evening news on the TV while waiting for her.
A half-hour later, Izzy burst in carrying a flat pizza box. She set it on the coffee table. All in one breath, she said, "Go ahead and start. I'm going to take a quick shower cause I'm all icky from tennis. Can you grab a beer for me from the fridge? Oh, and get one for yourself too. I see you don't have anything to drink."
She disappeared into her suite before he could respond.
His sister had a tell. Whenever she rambled on the way she just did, it meant she was nervous. Something was definitely up. He retrieved the beers from the fridge, also a decanter of bourbon and two glasses. Whatever bothered her, Cliff figured the bourbon would get her to talk about it.
Another tell, she took unusually long, like she was thinking about what to say. When she finally emerged, he patted the sofa cushion beside him. "Sit and tell me what's going on."
She sat and looked at the unopened pizza box. "I told you to go ahead and start eating." She reached across and fumbled with the box.
Cliff pulled the stopper from the bourbon decanter and poured two fingers into a glass. He slid it across the coffee table to Izzy. "Drink."
She eyed the glass. "The beer is what I wanted. I don't need that."
"If you're not going to drink, then talk. What's up?"
She bit off the point of a pizza slice. "Let me eat first. I'm starving."
Why was she stalling? Did something happen between her and Aaron?
He joined her in eating and waited.
When done, Izzy took a long pull from her beer and sighed. She reconsidered the bourbon and took a swig.
Cliff chuckled at the face she made as the liquid burned her.
She set the glass on the table. "I don't keep secrets from you."
"And I don't keep anything from you. It's a promise we made to each other a long time ago."
She nodded. "But if I tell you what happened today, I'll be betraying a confidence. I'm really conflicted, Cliffy."
"It's okay, kiddo. You don't have to tell me unless it's important."
Izzy cleared her throat. "I saw Hannah today at the club."
Cliff considered what he had just heard. Hannah wasn't a member. If she was there, did it mean she was dating someone who was a member? Did Hannah ask Izzy to keep it from him? Was that the confidence she was worried about betraying? The thought of Hannah seeing someone else made it feel as if his heart was being squeezed in a vice.
"She works there," Izzy said. "Hannah is the new facilities manager."
It took Cliff a moment to emotionally process the information. "How...how did that happen? When did that happen?"
"I can answer the when part. She just started. The how part, I don't know. You'll have to ask her."
He scoffed. "I would love to do that, but as you are aware she's not responding to me."
Izzy touched his forearm. "She will, Cliffy. She told me she would. All she wants is for you to give her a little space. The new job is a lot for her to take in. I get the feeling she's overwhelmed and avoiding distractions."
"Is that what she thinks of me, a distraction?"
"You are distractions to each other, and you've both been too damn stubborn to admit your feelings and do something about it."
"Yeah? Well, I'm going to do something right now. I'm done texting. I'm going to call her." He reached for his phone.
Izzy grabbed his arm. "No, Cliffy, don't. This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you. If you push Hannah now, you'll lose her for good. She might get upset and block you. You need to let things play out on her terms."
"If you didn't want me to do something, why did you call me stubborn."
"You were stubborn, but now you have an opening to take advantage of. Hannah will talk with you after the social. She promised me."
"The social? Oh, crap, is she going to be there?"
"Duh, she's the facilities manager. Of course, she'll have to work."
Cliff put his phone away. "Will she talk to me there?"
"I'm sure she'll greet you and make polite small talk. Just don't get heavy with her."
"What's Hannah going to think when she sees me with Kayla? She'll get the wrong idea. It's her I want to be with, not Kayla."
"I told Hannah about Kayla. She understands the situation, and Cliffy, I could sense she doesn't like it much. Don't doubt her feelings for you. I think you'll be able to work things out."
Cliff felt buoyed by her comment. "I hope so." He poured himself a splash of bourbon and downed it.
"Just one more thing," Izzy said. "Hannah knows about Kayla, but Kayla doesn't know about Hannah. Please, don't neglect my friend on account of wanting to spend time with your real crush."
Could he do that? "It'll be a challenge, giving Kayla the attention she deserves without giving Hannah the wrong idea."
As he thought about it, Cliff wondered if it might be tactical for him to try to make Hannah jealous. Would that make her want him more, or would it push her away? If the roles were reversed, seeing Hannah enjoy herself with another man would motivate him to try harder.
He also knew trying to anticipate a woman's thoughts was playing a fool's game.
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How well did Izzy handle her brother in delivering this news?
