Stone Cold (15 page)

“
So many people were there that we could hardly find room to dance. Lots of cute boys too,” she said with a smile.

“Some of them even asked me to dance which I did and I was blown away when two of them asked me for my phone number.”

“Do you think they’ll call?” Hannah’s interest was growing.

“I hope they do, but at this point if they don’t
, who cares! There were so many guys there that chances are good when I go back more will be interested. It’s a numbers game or so they say.”

“It sounds like you had a lot of fun. Wish I’d been there with you. Let’s go again soon.”

“That’s a definite. I know that when you go, guys will be interested in you too.”

Hannah was flattered by Gina
’s comment but she wasn’t really interested in meeting any new boys. Her thoughts were still on one boy in particular.

Gina
could sense that Hannah was less than enthusiastic about the possibility of meeting guys.

“You
know Hannah, it’s been weeks since you thought you’d hear from Conall. I don’t want to seem unsupportive but maybe it’s time to move on. He hasn’t made any contact with you so he either didn’t get the email or he did and doesn’t want to pursue things. I’d hate to see you miss out on meeting someone else who may be a great guy for you while waiting for something that may never happen.”

Hannah knew she was right. Still, she couldn’t help wanting to wait at least until she went to the ferry
landing.

“I know you’re right Gina
. I just need to wait a couple more weeks until I go to meet him. If he’s not there then of course I’ll start to meet other guys.”

“I’m with you no matter what, Hannah. Whatever it takes.”

*****

The next two weeks flew by for Hannah
. She’d been working as an assistant at her dentist’s office this summer. She was learning new skills and it was a busy office so it kept her mind from wandering.

She spent her evenings hanging out with a group of girl friends doing anything from sleepovers
, to movies, to dancing.

Much to Gina
’s delight, Hannah did meet some boys at Zero Gravity and danced with a few although she was thinking about Conall the whole time. There were a few who asked for her number and she gave it to them but nothing had come of it and she was glad. She still had no room in her heart for anyone else at the moment.

The day she’d been waiting so long for had finally arrived. She barely slept the night before and it was all she could do to stay calm enough to get ready for the tr
ip. It would take them a little over two hours to get to New York City and then she’d have to be driven to the ferry. If they left by ten she’d be there with time to spare.

“Hannah
, I’ll be ready to leave in about fifteen minutes,” said her mom.

“I want to try and get on the road before the late risers get a jump on me.”

Hannah was already on her way out to the car.

“I’ll meet you in the car mom.”

Not long after, they were on the road and it appeared as though they wouldn’t have to contend with too much traffic.

“Hannah, you look awfully nice today. I’ve never seen you get s
o dressed up to see your great Aunt Grace before.”

Hannah had yet to tell her mom
about her plans. Aunt Grace didn’t live far from the ferry landing and she figured her mom wouldn’t mind just dropping her off.

“Mom, I was kind of hoping you could d
rop me off at the Bosque Garden in Battery Park near the ferry landing today before you go to see Aunt Grace. It’s such a nice day and I want to see what it’s like there when it’s better weather than when we took our field trip,” she lied.

“I also want to take some pictures – never know what kind of projects I might have to do next year and it would be nice
to have my own photos to use.”

Her mother l
ooked back and forth between Hannah and the road a few times before she spoke.

“I guess it’s
okay but you have to call me every half hour so I know you’re safe and don’t talk to any strangers. I’ll give you three hours tops and then I’m picking you up, no arguments.”

Hannah
was cheering inside. She felt as though she’d just won a small victory with her mom and it was impossible to keep from smiling.

“Hannah, I mean it. Call me every half hour on the hour and don’t talk to any strangers. Period!”

“Okay, okay mom! I heard you the first time. No talking to strangers and call you every half hour on the hour.”

“If you don’t call me I’m coming to find you right away, understood?”

“Yessssss. I understand!”

She was in too good of a mood to let anything her mom said get her down. The nervous energy was welling up inside of her and it was all she could do to keep the lid on her plans.

“So what are you and Aunt Grace going to do today?”

“I think I want to take her to lunch and then maybe go shopping or visit a museum. It depends on what she
’s feeling up to.”

Hannah felt a bit guilty about not spending an
y time with Aunt Grace on this visit.

“Will we be going back to see her after you pick me up from the ferry?

“It all depends on how she’s feeling. At 85, she’s been having some issues with her health. Every year I wonder if this is the last time we’ll be seeing her.”

“I can’t imagine not coming on this trip every year. We’ve been doing it ever since I can remember.”

“You read my thoughts exactly. Tell you what. I think that even when Aunt Grace passes on, you and I can continue to visit NYC. We can make new memories and keep the tradition alive. What does that sound like to you?”

“That’s exactly what I hoped you’d say. I know I don’t say it very often or maybe never but I don’t just come here to
see Aunt Grace. I also come because I enjoy doing things like this with you mom.”

Hannah looked over at Sara
and smiled. She was starting to realize just how cool her mom could be. She looked young for her age and had continued to take care of herself long after many of her peers had given up. Many of her friends were ashamed to be seen with their moms but she wasn’t.

Sara
smiled back at Hannah.  She was thrilled at what her daughter had just said to her. She’d been a joy since birth and it just kept getting better and better as far as Sara was concerned. She was always excited to see what the next stage of Hannah’s life would bring, especially now that she was nearly old enough to begin dating.

“So tell me, are their any special boys you’ve had your eye on lately?”

Hannah was looking straight ahead at the road in front of her. She could feel her mom shifting her eyes from her to the road and back.

“I’ve seen so
me boys that I think are cute - not gonna lie, but there’s really no one special yet,” she said to dodge the bullet.

“There’s no rush, Hannah.
I was just curious because you’re fifteen and in high school now, so it’s only natural that sooner than later this is going to be a part of your life.”

Sara
continued as Hannah started to blush.

“I know you’ve had the sex talk in health class from a clinical point of view but if there’s anything you want to know about the emotional side of things
or anything else, I’m here to answer any questions you want to ask.”

Hannah slumped down in the seat a little more and looked out the side window.

“Thanks for the offer mom. Not really sure what to say at this point. Nothing has come to mind because nothing has happened in that department yet.”

She
almost told her about Conall but thought better of it at the moment because she didn’t want to go any further into the subject of their current conversation.

“Believe me, when there’
s someone special in my life, you’ll be the first to know. How else will I ever get to go out with anyone?”

She thought maybe a bit of humor would divert her mom to the next subject.

It worked because Sara started talking about Hannah’s summer job at the dental office and what courses she was taking next year.

Before long, they were crossing the
George Washington Bridge into the city.

Hannah was starting to get nervous. They were about ten minutes from the ferry landing and she had about a half hour until Conall was hopefully going to meet her there. For a minute she wondered if she would recognize him again but quickly dismissed that thought. There was no way she wouldn’t recognize those amazing green eyes!

“Hannah I’m going to pull over next to that red car up ahead and you can get out there. Remember, what did I say again?”

“I have to call you every half hour on the hour and
don’t talk to strangers!”

“I’ll be back here at 4
:00 P.M. to pick you up right here on State Street. Make sure you’re on time because I don’t want to have to get out of the car and look for you.”

“Okay mom got it. Please go and have fun with Aunt Grace. Tell her I said hi and give her a
big hug for me.”

Hannah jumped out of the car and started walking toward the water.

She could see the landing and decided to go straight to the benches in the Bosque Garden where she told Conall to meet her.

The sun was reflecting off of the water and she could feel a warm breeze all around her. This was a much better day weather wise than the day she met him.

There were a number of people walking around, looking at the water and other sights. They were undoubtedly tourists many of whom were waiting to board the ferry to take them to the Statue of Liberty.

She w
as glad she told Conall she’d be wearing a jacket with her name on the back because with all the people he might not see her otherwise.

H
er stomach had started to feel nauseous as some negative thoughts began to surface in her mind.

“What if he doesn’t recognize me and goes
home? Or worse yet, what if he doesn’t show up at all?”

Sitting still was making it worse so she decided to walk around the area near the benches for a bit. There was nothing she could do that would make him show up so she had to get a grip on herself and accept whatever happened.

She began to look around at the crowds to see if she could spot Conall. Some of the ferries had begun to allow people to board so most of the people had headed in that direction. This would make it easier for her to find him since he’d be looking for her near the benches.

The area had cleared out considerably except for a few people here and there who were picnicking or enjoying the afternoon sun. Hannah was taking a few pictures with her camera. Her mother was sure to ask to
see them since that’s why she let her go there in the first place.

It was after 1
:00 P.M. now and her spirits were starting to drop. She’d wait at least a half hour or maybe a bit more. He could be late for any number of reasons in a city like New York.

The zoom lens on her camera was helping her capture some interesting photos.
She saw a group of boys coming towards her and she focused in on them with the lens. At first she thought Conall was one of them but upon closer inspection she could see it wasn’t him.

Hannah had
been so focused on searching for Conall that she was unaware that someone had approached the area from behind her.

As she took the camera away from her eyes, she
was startled by a young, attractive businessman who’d seated himself on the bench where she’d been sitting.

Chapter 12

Conall was half an hour late. He’d left Eden so abruptly and felt bad about it but there was no time to waste. He had no idea where he was supposed to meet Bobby and Shawn so a phone call was in order.

Out of
breath from running, he paused and called Shawn.

“Hey man
, where are you? Eden just told me you and Bobby are going to meet me in the Bosque Garden. I’m already late.”

Shawn said, “We’ll be there in about two minutes. Is she there yet?”

Conall scanned around him in all directions. “I don’t see her anywhere but as soon as you get here meet me behind the bushes near the benches. I have to stay hidden at first so I can scope out the area for Jack Barnes and his body guards. If he isn’t here I’m going to go over to the benches and finally meet Hannah. Get here as soon as you can.”