Moments of Reckoning

by Savannah Stewart

  A loud bang came from on down the alleyway “What was that…?” I whispered to myself, halfway jumping out of my skin. I couldn’t really tell who it was but I saw someone standing there facing me quite a ways away. Normally I would have jumped off the barrel and ran as fast as I could over to Jason but apparently the alcohol, and the wonderful events of the night, had given me a sense of courage. Hopping off the barrel I called out to the figure, “Hey…Who’s there…?” But no response came. I looked back to Jason and Alex, but couldn’t see either of them anymore. I felt my pulse quicken at the thought of being alone in the alley with whoever it was that wasn’t responding to me. I quickly spun back around but no one was standing there anymore. Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me…I mean it is dark and I am pretty buzzed up still…Calming myself I walked farther down the alleyway with my cell phone in hand as a flash light. I didn’t realize how far I had gone until I noticed that I couldn’t see the parking lot anymore behind me.

  My heart was pounding as I approached what was clearly a male figure leaning against the wall, and I almost jumped out of my skin as a voice finally spoke up, “Did I scare you Hannah…? I never want to scare you…” Can we say creepy…I wanted to take off running and my instincts were telling me to, but when the man stepped into the light relief washed over me.

  “Landon… My god, you scared the shit out of me!” Placing my hand over my heart in an attempt to slow the pace, I smiled back at him.

  “Sorry, darling, I never meant to do that. I also didn’t realize how much of a potty mouth you have, either.” He was laughing now. “Why are you in the alley all by yourself, anyway?”

  Crossing my arms over my chest I shrugged my shoulders in response before stepping closer to him. “Shouldn’t I be asking you why you are out here scaring the shit out of people in the pitch dark?” Laughing at me again, we began to walk farther down the alleyway towards a different exit door.

  Landon pulled the door open to let us back inside when I saw that the place had cleared out quite a bit. It must have been close to closing time by now and I still wasn’t with anyone I had come here with.

  “Maybe I should go back down the alleyway to find Jason.” I mentioned to Lan. He didn’t like that idea very well since I would be out there all alone again. I didn’t have a chance to argue because I saw Abby coming up the stairs waving at me, obviously looking for someone.

  “There you are!” she squealed while embracing me. “I have been looking for you for hours! Where did you run off to…” she continued as I threw my hand up to stop her mid-sentence.

  “Seriously Abby?! You ran off into the royal rumble and left me high and dry on the floor. I have been separated from everyone except the few times I ran into Jason or Landon but yet you have been looking for me…I should be royally pissed at you!” I said with more annoyance than I had meant to.

  The look on Abby’s face showed how hurt she felt, I automatically felt like a horrible best friend for bitching at her, but I was only being honest. I had spent most of the night running around…alone…trying to find her, which in return ruined the first moment Jason and I had together. But yet she was off playing sucky face with Xavier and having Alex fight over her when he ran across the two of them doing so.

  Jason…Crap…I bet he is looking for me… I glanced around to make sure Landon wasn’t in sight, “Actually, Abby…don’t worry about it. I have to go back outside and find Jason. He is probably looking for me…I kind of ran off before he came back over to me…Ummm…tell Landon I’m not alone so he doesn’t freak out again please…” I rambled on as I headed back towards the exit door.

  “Hannah, be careful…and you need to tell me about the Jason situation… I’m missing something here…” Abby called back to me with an anxious look on her face. I pushed the door open to step back into the alleyway and paused for a moment half turning and flashed Abby a grin as I stepped out into the darkness.

  The alleyway was much darker than I thought it had been earlier, maybe because I had sobered up slightly or because I was looking for Jason. A small gust of wind blew through the alley that slammed the door shut behind me, causing a shiver to run down my body. Jerking on the knob I tried to pull the door open but it was now locked. I let go of the door knob in defeat as my phone slipped from my hands and crashed to the pavement, I cursed myself for not putting it back into my wristlet. Please don’t let it be broken…Please don’t let it be broken… Squatting down I picked my phone up from the pavement; my case had broken off of it and it wouldn’t power on. “Dammit…” I cursed.

  “Looks like you did a number on it to me…” a vaguely familiar voice said.

  Standing up, I turned around slowly and sighed, “Not you again…”

  Chapter 6

  Jason

  (Earlier in the night)

  Alex and Xavier’s bullshit was getting on my everlasting nerve. I finally kissed Hannah…even though the moment was rather fleeting…I loved every fucking minute of it. The way she tasted on my lips lingered on but yet I was stuck trying to make sure these two jackasses don’t kill each other. “CALM THE FUCK DOWN, ALEX!!!” I yelled as stepped in between him and Xavier, “ARE YOU SCREWING HIM, ABBY?! YOU KNOW HOW NASTY THAT MOTHERFUCKER IS…HE WILL LAY DOWN WITH ANYTHING THAT WALKS…I NEVER THOUGHT YOU WOULD END UP BEING A WHORE…” Alex yelled over me towards Abby, who had her hands on Xavier’s chest attempting to hold him back. I moved out of the way because I knew what kind of storm was coming after that comment. Abby had no chance of keeping Xavier under wraps; he pushed past her and punched Alex in the jaw while taking him down to the floor. All hell broke loose as Alex’s buddies jumped in, which in return caused Xavier’s frat buddies to jump into the mix. I stood back because there were more than enough people hitting one another. Might as well let these assholes fight…

  I heard a female yelp out a few curse words a little ways behind me. Turning to find the source, I saw Hannah on the floor with Abby on top of her like they had both just fallen down. There were too many people in-between me and them to get there to help them up. But lord knows I tried to push my way through. Before I could move, Abby had jumped up and made her way back into the mess of Xavier and Alex. All I could do was shake my head at her. Poor girl needs to figure her shit out… Xavier is in fact a man-whore but Alex and Abby make no sense to me. I lost sight of Hannah as I pushed through a group of people. Dear god, I hope she isn’t being trampled down on the floor. My heart began to race as sweat beaded on my forehead from the thought of her on the floor. I pushed even harder through the crowd because I had to get to her…wherever she was.

  Rounding the last swarm of people I couldn’t find Hannah anywhere on the floor. As I brought my eyes up to the wall adjacent to where I was standing, I noticed Landon with a death grip on her arm and a distraught look scattered across her face. Suddenly all I could see was red.

  “Let go of her!” I snapped through my gritted teeth. Hannah turned to me as her face flashed with surprise. “Jason it’s not what it……” Before I could catch what Hannah was saying Landon moved her from in front of me to beside him, causing me to swell up in anger. I was waiting for the punk to make his move before I kicked his ass all over this place. Just because he was a bouncer here didn’t mean I couldn’t take him…I had all the confidence in the world when it came to protecting her. Hannah’s raspy growl asking us to stop snapped me back into reality. “Alex and Xavier have started World War Three over there and now the two of you are going to act like children?! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!”

  Landon didn’t even acknowledge Hannah’s rant, but I couldn’t miss the confusion in her eyes. I didn’t give a shit about this guy…that girl’s my world…not his.

  “You’re lucky I’m still on the clock and have to drag your boys apart. Or this would be ending very differently.” Landon half-ass stated while poking me with his index finger in my chest before jetting off into the crowd, cutting off my response. Ha! That was supposed to be intimidating…What a
fucking joke! It took all I had not to react to his ignorance but I knew Hannah wouldn’t approve. I turned back to Hannah to see if she was all right but before I could speak she snapped with fury.

  “Don’t…Just don’t, Jason… Abby is stuck in the middle of that madness somewhere and I have to find her. I cannot let her get hurt so if you’re not going to help me find her, MOVE!” She threw her hand in the air and walked away, leaving me with my jaw on the floor. I couldn’t even react...I should have grabbed her and demanded that she talked to me but I couldn’t process what had just happened. I could faintly hear Hannah calling out for Abby but instead of following her I went straight for the exit to catch some well-needed fresh air. I took up shop slightly down from the exit door. My mind was going a hundred miles a minute so I closed my eyes and let my head fall back against the building. “What the hell just happened…?” I sighed.

  ∙∞∙

  I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since I first leaned up against the wall but the familiar voices of Xavier and Abby coming from across the parking lot made me open my eyes. They were making up for lost time…I bet you could smack Xavier upside the head and he wouldn’t even notice. The two of them were intertwined like a vine creeping across a railing. Seeing how different Xavier was with Abby made me think about how stupid I have been. I should have told Hannah years ago how I felt, yet I tucked my tail and kept her at arm’s length. The sound of the door knob turning snapped me out of my dazed state. The door slammed so hard against the wall that I automatically jumped and headed towards it. My eyes roamed over Hannah standing in the door way with her eyes shut and her head tilted up towards the sky…she was breathtaking as she took in the cool night air. My pulse began to quicken at the sight of her. Why has it taken me all these years to admit how madly in love with this girl I am…? Fuck this shit…I’m telling her tonight. I smiled at myself as I noticed Hannah starting to step forward. “Shit!” I said under my breath when I realized that she hadn’t opened her eyes and was now going to miss the two steps in front of her. Hannah snapped her eyes open as she started to fall as I lunged towards her. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her to me, as she threw her arms lazily around my neck.

  “Jason?” she mumbled breathlessly with wide eyes.

  “Yeah Han, I got you…are you okay?!” I smirked back as her eyes fell to my mouth. That’s when I noticed how drunk she was. Hannah had always watched me but never made it so obvious without even blushing. Not to mention the way she could hardly hold herself upright.

  Concern washed over me, either she wasn’t this drunk the last time I was around her or I hadn’t even noticed. Either way, I hope she hadn’t been stuck in any type of situation that I should have been there for. My smile began to fade as I asked her again if she was okay, which I guess annoyed her because she moved out of my hold and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Yeah, I’m okay…a little intoxicated…but okay. Did you find anyone? I still haven’t seen Abby…or Xavier for that matter.” Damn, she is drunk… The whole time she was talking I couldn’t help but remember the way her lips felt against mine earlier. I couldn’t take advantage of her drunken state without knowing if it was actually what she wanted from me. Giving up on my internal struggle, I leaned back against the wall. Nodding over towards the parking lot letting her know where the two love birds where residing. Watching her from the corner of my eye, I watched the disappointment in her eyes as she watched them. Right then I wanted to scoop her up and run all the way back to her apartment. That look broke my damn heart and I had no idea why she was feeling that way. A large sigh escaped her as she leaned against the wall beside me with her foot propped up against it, as her arms hung loosely at her sides. This girl owned me and I wasn’t ashamed to admit that. Fuck just friendship…I want her everything.

  Chapter 7

  Jason

  A small gust of wind blew down the alleyway, stirring Hannah’s hair on its way past us. I couldn’t help but stare, she was leaning against the building with her eyes shut. The silence between us had hung around long enough…I was about to drop a bomb. “Hannah…” I started to speak but stopped myself to think for a moment before starting again. “I…I don’t want you to think…that I only kissed you because I was drinking.” She hadn’t mentioned anything about our encounter earlier and we hadn’t been very nice to one another since. This gave me a feeling that she might not have wanted what transpired between us to have happened. I continued before she had a chance to respond, “You don’t have to say anything, Han…if you want to act like it didn’t happen then I will just have to deal with that…” At that point I was going all in. Balls to the wall… I placed my hands against the wall surrounding her head and inched in closer as I began to talk. “…I won’t apologize for finally kissing you because it has been the one thing I have been dying to do since I first met you. I know you look at me as your best friend and I haven’t wanted to jeopardize that but, Hannah…I love you…I fucking love you…I can’t go a day without talking to you, let alone seeing you. Everything you do intoxicates me and I am tired of trying to hide my feelings. I don’t want to look back and realize I didn’t even try to let the one person I love know just how much I wanted them. Seeing the way you are with Landon made me realize even more that you won’t be single forever and if I don’t give us a shot then I don’t deserve to sulk over you when you are with somebody else. Please, Hannah… Give us a shot…Give me a shot...” I let the words flow off my tongue in the most honest way I could and I sure as hell wasn’t holding anything back at this point. I let out a deep breath as I realized how nervous I was, and Hannah was just staring at me in awe without responding. I didn’t know if she was freaking out because I had just thrown our friendship out the window or if she felt the same…This waiting game was killing me.

  My hands were back against the wall surrounding her head as I searched her eyes for a response. Hannah let out a small quick sigh before she pushed her hands into my hair, pulling me closer and smashing her lips to mine. The fierceness of her kiss caught me off guard as I froze for a moment before my body kicked into overdrive. I was grabbing the sides of her face as she continued to run her hands through my hair. She is going to be the death of me… I felt like an addict trying to get a fix. Gliding my hand down her spine I felt the fire building within me. Once I found her lower back I pulled her closer. Moving my other hand into her hair, then down against the nape of her neck, I secured her head in place while I slowly continued to savor every last taste of her lips and tongue. In-between my assault on her mouth, Hannah let out a moan that made my inner caveman go wild. I felt like I couldn’t get enough of her. I teased her jaw line to her ear and down her neck with kisses, causing her to shudder under my touch. God I love the way she feels… “Oh…Jason…” she moaned breathlessly close to my ear as I continued down her neck. The sound of her saying my name in that tone had places responding in no time. I hadn’t noticed she was slightly trembling until she grabbed hold of my shoulders to steady herself. “Whoa there, beautiful…” I ran my hands down her thighs and wrapped her legs around my waist. Without missing a beat I continued to kiss her neck and then her mouth, while walking us over to a wine barrel I had noticed. It was sitting slightly down from us against the building.

  Hannah must not have been used to compliments because her face turned fifty shades of red after the few words I had said. It didn’t stop us from continuing our adventure of each other’s mouths and bodies. I began to run my hand up her thigh slowly as I kissed her with every inch of my being. Just as my hand was about to reach the top of her leggings I heard a female yelling across the parking lot. You have got to be fucking kidding me… Putting a halt to our mind-blowing moment, I noticed the yelling was coming from Abby. She was stuck between Alex and Xavier’s bullshit yet again. These jackasses better stop this shit before I kick both their asses… “Let me handle this, Hannah…stay here, I will be right back.” I sighed in defeat as I turned and headed towards t
he madness.

  “I’m seriously going to kill these jackasses…” I mumbled to myself through gritted teeth. The closer I got to them the more I realized I definitely needed to intervene. Abby was half way falling down trying to hold Xavier back as he had a hold of Alex’s shirt collar. “XAVIER LET GO OF HIS SHIRT, YOU’RE KNOCKING ABBY DOWN!” I snarled. It looked like it actually made him realize he was about to trample all over her. He let go of Alex and pulled Abby up to him. Alex drunkenly mumbled something that made absolutely no sense, even though he thought he was saying something witty by the look on his face. “Get out of here, you two…I will take care of Alex.” I said sternly. Abby didn’t waste any time, she grabbed Xavier’s hand and led him across the parking lot towards the front of the bar. “Damn, you are sloshed…” I said, turning back to Alex and putting my hands on his shoulders to steady him.

  “That’s what reckless women do to a man….” Alex mumbled through a hiccup.

  “Seriously dude…this isn’t solely her fault. Yes, Abby should have waited and broken up with you but honestly nothing had happened until tonight I don’t think. For all I know they hadn’t even been around each other much. You being M.I.A. all the time because of work didn’t help either. Can you blame her for being lonely? I’m surprised you all have lasted this long. Yeah, it sucks…it sucks ass that you had to walk into that but you have to be the bigger person and let it go. Don’t get shit face drunk and constantly try to fight Xavier because that will only end badly. He knows of frat guys that won’t hesitate to make your life a living hell. Now come on and let me get your drunken ass home.” Alex shook his head okay as I helped him back through the parking lot towards his car. Even though Alex went willingly I knew this conversation wasn’t over; as soon as he was sober enough to make sense he would be blowing my phone up about it all.