Hannah made her way into the lounge, the neon lit entrance immediately making her feel exposed. Having texted Jade that she arrived, her best friend grabbed her arm. It had been 3 months since they had seen each other. 

“HANNNAHHHH!!!” She exclaimed.

Hannah giggled “Um...Miss Bride are we drunk already?”

Jade shot Hannah a forced smile as she spoke through gritted teeth “Noooo...This party is extra. SAVE ME”

Hannah laughed “That’s YOUR manager…”

“WHATEVER...I need you.”

“Where’s Aaron?”

Jade rolled her eyes. “They have kidnapped him for whatever depraved activities were set up for the guys…”

In honor of two of his clients getting married, Eric had gone all out for a combined bachelor/bachelorette party. Ever an opportunity for more press, he had pulled out all the stops, and the whole lounge and bar area looked like something out of an elevated Hustler magazine.

“Here,” Jade handed Hannah a rhinestone necklace in a quite phallic shape.

“Classy…” Hannah made a face.

“Please just put it on…”

“No Boas?” 

Jade laughed. “I got to have SOME input…”

“Are there strippers?” Hannah wiggled her eyebrows. 

“The cast of ‘Thunder from Down Under’ is performing at midnight…” Jade winced.

Hannah involuntarily snorted “Oh dear God,” she grabbed Jade’s hand “Let’s go get you a shot…”

‘My hero!” Jade sang…

Hannah made her way around the room with Jade, pausing as she fielded warm wishes and playing photographer for a few cell phone photos.

“Who are all these people?” Hannah gave Jade a confused look. 

Jade sighed “Vendors, sponsors, network people...some of my cousins...My brother is with Aaron…”

“How IS Jordan?” Hannah smiled.

Jade gave her a look “Still no. You cannot go out with my brother.”

Hannah rolled her eyes “I was never going to. I wouldn’t do that to you. I just have eyes, that’s all.”

Jade scrunched up her face at Hannah “He’s fine…”

Hannah giggled. “Let’s go dance,” she pulled Jade onto the dance floor.

Letting loose for the first time all night, Jade laughed as the playlist moved through their teenage years and they tried to replicate moves from their youth.

Jade sighed and grinned at Hannah “What would I do without you…” She shook her head, much more relaxed. 

“Well I can fill the void a LITTLE…” a voice teased, wrapping his arms around her from behind. 

Jade beamed as she tilted her head up at Aaron. “You’ve been released!” She gave him a quick peck on the lips. 

“Hey Hannah, you made it!” Aaron smiled at her. 

Hannah smiled back “I did! I may have gotten your fiancee tipsy…” she teased. 

Aaron laughed “Good! She works too hard.” He kissed the side of her face. 

“What torture did they subject you to?” Jade smirked as she looked to him. 

Aaron gave her a look “It was HORRIBLE,” he said sarcastically “I was force-fed bourbon and got a media friendly lap dance…”

“What’s a media friendly lap dance?” Hannah asked.

“Awkward…” Aaron laughed. He looked at Jade “You better get ready for yours.”

Her eyes went wide “WHAT?”

He chuckled “You think they WON’T pull you onstage later?”

Jade covered her face with a hand. “I’m gonna need more shots…”

Hannah laughed at both of them, her face suddenly falling as she noticed something behind them.

“Hannnahhh….You ok?” Jade asked, noticing the look on her friend’s face. 

“Um yeah, fine...I just...I didn’t know who all would be here…” she looked down “Of course he is…”

Aaron closed his eyes briefly, sighing. “Shit…”

Jade looked between both of them, then behind her, eyes landing on JC as he talked to a group of guys. Her face twisted into concern.

“He um...Apparently Eric insisted…” Aaron explained. “He tried to decline…”

“Hannah..I’m sorry, girl...But...It’s been almost A YEAR...It’s still weird?” Jade questioned her.

Hannah sighed, avoiding Jade’s glance “Orrrrrr it’s been 3 months…”

“HANNAH RAE! WHAT?”

Hannah shushed her “Hey! A little louder, please? There was...a run in...It was...Whiskey was involved.”

“WHEN?”

Hannah bit her lip “Ummm…”

Jade thought for a second. When was the last time Hannah had been in LA?

“OH MY GOD. Please don’t tell me...Wedding planning weekend?!”

Hannah sighed. 

“I swear to GOD, Hannah…” Jade shook her head. Aaron looked up, pursing his lips together to avoid any reaction at all.

“WHATEVER. Look, just... I just don’t want things to be weird, ok? I’ll be fine, just…Gotta stay distracted”

“How about I go get us more drinks…” Aaron offered. 

Jade kissed him again “Probably a good idea…” She let her hand linger on his chest for a second.

“Hannah...He won’t be at the wedding...There’s that…” Jade offered.

“Yeah...Yeah I know.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. Ignore me. This is YOUR night!” she squeezed her arm.

“Is it, though?” Jade made a face, laughing. “We’re wearing designer penis necklaces…”

Hannah lost her nerves for a moment, laughing with everything she had. “Ohhh my God, Jade...Your life is so weird…”

Aaron found his way back with drinks, as the three of them made the best of the evening. 

Hannah found herself much more relaxed, even offering to grab waters as they started to wind down a little. 

Making her way to the bar, she was stopped by a soft voice. 

“Hey Hannah…”

His face was kind, and his eyes were only slightly glazed, piercing in the lighting. She turned to look at him, a controlled breath before she spoke.

“Hey…” 

“How’ve you been…?” He bit his lip. Her hair was pulled halfway back, her natural curls in perfect form. Her dress hugged every curve without being suggestive, and a signature pair of gold hoops hung from her ears. She was every bit as gorgeous as he remembered.

“Good! I’ve been good...You, Ja-JC?”

She didn’t know why she stopped herself. There had been no fight. No formal agreement to stop talking after the last time they saw each other. All of each other. Distance and time had been the only thing that kept her from reaching out to him. 

For his part, he could take a hint. He respected her boundaries and didn’t interfere with the new life she had created for herself. He was putting himself out there again, albeit sparingly, but this had been the first event he had been to since their encounter. 

He smirked “Yeah uh...same old...You know.”

“ Right...Well, um...I should ...Lady of the hour needs water” She gestured toward Jade, who was staring intently at their exchange. Hannah silently scolded her with her eyes. 

They were interrupted by a woman in a much smaller dress than Hannah had on.

“Jayyyyyy-ceeeeeee….” She cooed “There you are!” She draped herself into his side and stared at Hannah with a goofy, dreamy look before turning her gaze to JC.

“Uh hey...Just...Getting more drinks…” He blushed slightly as his eyes avoided Hannah. 

“Well come on….” she grabbed his hand, burning a hole into his eyes with hers. 

He looked briefly to Hannah “I uh...It was good to see you, Hannah…” he managed as his new friend pulled him off. 

“You too, JC... “ she smirked. His back to her, she let out a breath, downing the rest of the drink she had brought with her. 

“Fuck…” she whispered to herself.

**

Deciding Jade and Aaron could use some alone time, Hannah excused herself, opting to use the restroom, then walk around a little. The one person who could make the night awkward had already been dealt with, and he seemed to be having a great time being single.

Hannah scanned the crowd, looking for anyone she might know. Her eyes landed on a familiar face. It had been years, but he looked mostly the same. He smiled at her, walking the short distance to her.

“Hannah?” his eyes squinted a bit.

“Yeah ...Uh...Andy, right?”

“That’s me. Wow. Been awhile. How have you been?”

Hannah shifted a little on her feet. “Uh...Good. You?”  

“Same old, same old…. Can I buy you a drink?”

Hannah opened her mouth to speak, catching a female giggle that distracted her. She shifted her eyes slightly in her direction, in time to see her leaving with JC, hand firmly on his arm.

Turning back to Andy, she smiled “Sure.”

**

“...SO...I guess I’m the disappointment in the family...Doctor, Lawyer, and then me...Music”  Andy continued as they talked. 

Hannah shook her head as she took a sip of her drink “You seem to do ok for yourself.”

He shrugged “Eh. I love what I do. Makes it easy...You know minus the boring paperwork and all.” He charmed.

She nodded “Yeah well...No one likes the paperwork.”

“What about you? Have you always wanted to write?”

Hannah lit up. “Yeah, since I was a little girl...My mom kept all the little ‘books’ I used to write...Mostly just scribbles.” she laughed.

“Hey those will be worth money one day when you’re the next Danielle Steele…”

Hannah giggled “Uh...Not that kind of writer…” she shook her head.

“Ah. My bad. Not much of a reader, myself. Hard to find the time, ya know?”

Hannah nodded “Uh huh…” She studied him. Comfortably handsome. His flirting was standard, but not offensive. There was something familiar about the way he carried himself, like so many men who had talked to her before. 

“You ever get tired of these parties?” he made a face at her “I mean..I don’t know how many of these you’ve been to, but...just standing around, being seen.

Hannah smiled, nodding “Yeah..It’s all a game, isn’t it?”

Andy chuckled “Feels like it. One ya gotta play, though…”

Hannah looked up at him, his gold watch clinking gently against his glass as he took a sip “Do you?”

Andy shrugged “It’s Hollywood, Hannah...It’s what you do.”

She smirked “I don’t…”

Grinning back at her, he focused on her eyes “You don’t, do you?”

She shook her head. “Nope. Not much into games. More a straight shooter.”

Andy smiled, intrigued “Yeah, that makes sense. Here for Jade, right? Supportive friend? This isn’t fun for you.”

Hannah sighed “I make my own fun.”

“Is that so?” he replied.

She smirked ‘Yep. That’s me…”

Andy took a breath “Do you think...Having a drink at my place might be fun?”

Hannah took a sip of her drink, nearly finished, as she looked back at him. “Only one way to find out, I guess…”

Smiling, he took her hand, leading her toward the exit. 

“Hannah! You’re leaving?” Jade caught up to her as they walked past.

“Oh um..Yeah...Jade this was great! I’ll...be in later ok?”

Jade looked from Hannah to Andy, a polite smile in her eyes. “Uh..Yeah. Sure.” She shook her head slightly, hugging Hannah and smiling at her “Thank you for coming. Love you”

“Love you too, Jade...I’ll see you later.”

Jade looked her best friend in the eye, an unspoken “be careful.”  It had been so long since she had given her that look.  She nodded, letting her leave.

She watched as they made her way out of the party, sighing under her breath “Oh, Hannah…”