"Wait, he did what?" Brandon stared back at Hannah incredulously, a slightly amused smile plastered on his face.

"He kissed me, and wrapped his arms around me very passionately," Hannah reluctantly repeated. She and Brandon were getting cinnamon waffles, and the diner was mostly empty, but she was still speaking quietly.

"Really? Because he said you kissed him, too," Brandon raised his eyebrow with interest, yet Hannah found it to be somehow mocking. "What, was Olli not young enough for you?"

"Shut up, and no, I didn't exactly kiss him. I was a bit startled by his lips and didn't react as fast as I should have."

"You mean, when you punched him in the face...." Brandon laughed. "So, this 'not kiss' was, what exactly?"

"His lips are like two, squishy, warm, soft things.... I don't know, I can't explain. It was weird, and totally caught me off guard because normally I don't care about guys lips, or anything like that. But it's like I didn't realize I liked it until they were right on my mouth."

"They're like boobs." He grinned like a 12 year old boy, and blushed. "Sorry, that's just what I thought of when you described his lips. But you liked it?"

"NO! I mean, it wasn't terrible, but I wouldn't want to do it again. I have a boyfriend, I don't kiss other boys, even if they do have luscious, velvety, pillow-lips..." Hannah found herself recalling the details with less negative feelings than she thought she should.

"Hannah Eldridge," Brandon scolded her. "That is not okay. You can't enjoy kissing other boys while you have a boyfriend, no matter how nice his lips are."

"Whatever," Hannah sighed. "Just don't tell Olli, okay? I don't want him getting mad at Kasperi. He has enough going on...."

Brandon shook his head, "I can't believe he knocked your sister up."

"Maybe. And it's probably not even his. I'm positive it isn't. He's smart enough to use condoms, I think, but Beth is not smart enough to pay attention to what people are putting in her." Hannah rolled her eyes and took another sip of coffee. "Either way, she's having a baby and it sucks."

Her phone buzzed on the table between them, and she stared at it for a second before picking it up carefully. "It's Toronto," she whispered to Brandon before taking the call outside.


Olli was warming up before practice when Brandon skated up to him, practically bumping into him. "Congrats, man," Brandon said, and Olli gave him a confused look. "About Hannah? Did she not tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Olli asked, his heart beginning to race. What did Hannah not tell him?

"Sorry! I guess she didn't have time to tell you before practice, she found out when we were getting lunch together," Brandon shrugged apologetically, and coach Johnston blew the whistle for practice to start. Olli didn't get a chance to ask Brandon what he was talking about, and during practice his mind raced through every possibility. However, there was one thing that kept coming back to him. He got off the ice as soon as he could and texted Hannah: 'What the hell is Brandon talking about?'

Hannah read over the text and froze. Why had Brandon told Olli about the kiss? She tried calling them both, but neither answered. They were probably driving home, which meant Olli would be here soon. She paced the living room and poured herself a drink (that did not help) and waited for Olli.

"He kissed me! I didn't kiss him, and I didn't really like it. I don't know what Brandon told you, but he-" Hannah blurted out as soon as Olli opened the door.

"What?" Olli interrupted her. "He didn't say anything about a kiss. Brandon kissed you? I'll kill him!"

"NO! No, Kasper did, but it was nothing, he was just really upset and not thinking clearly.... Eww, Brandon would never kiss me, that's gross..." Hannah continued, but Olli was not listening.

"Kasperi kissed you?" He continued muttering in Finnish, some of which Hannah caught. She poured him a drink and made him sit down, and wrapped her arms around him.

"It was nothing; he was just upset. And I punched him in the face, if that makes you feel better."

It did, actually, Olli smiled and laughed at the image of his tiny girlfriend punching Kasperi in the face. "Then what was Brandon talking about? He said 'Congrats,' and that you had found out during lunch.... Hannah, you're not pregnant, are you?"

Hannah blinked for a moment and tried to process what Olli had said. "What? No, why would you think I was pregnant?! Why would I tell Brandon before I told you? Why would I have found out at lunch? We were eating waffles!"

"I don't know, I'm sorry. Maybe it's because of everything with Beth. I don't know why, but I feel like you're kind of jealous of her or something. And if that's something you want, we can talk about-"

"Olli," she cut him off. "That is the last thing I want right now. Do you know why? Because at lunch, I got a call from the Toronto film producer, and they have decided to accept my screenplay, and they would like me to direct it!"

Olli was speechless for a moment, before he managed a smile and said, "That's awesome!" He didn't feel as happy as he thought he would, perhaps because of the odd circumstances that he'd found out, but also because he knew Hannah would be leaving him for a while. He gave her a kiss and a hug, and held her longer and tighter than normal. He didn't want to lose her, and he felt like he was saying goodbye.

"We start filming in January, so the rest of December will be spent working out casting, location, set details, stuff like that." Hannah was exuberant enough that she didn't notice Olli's disappointment, and she continued talking about upcoming meetings with producers, and scouting locations, and how they were going to have to stay in the budget.

"But you're still coming to Finland over Christmas, right?" Olli asked, partially interrupting her.

"Yes, of course," she looked surprised, and wondered if he had even been listening to her, but she was too excited to care. She was going to direct a movie, and that's all that mattered.

"Good, I've already made plans for us, and my parents are looking forward to seeing you again," Olli said. He had three days off, and they would be leaving for Finland from the game on the 23rd against the Lightening, and return to Pittsburgh the morning of the 27th for the game against the Capitals. So they had three days, and a lot of traveling, but it would be worth it. Hopefully. "And I'm going to have to kick Kasperi's ass when I see him again. I can't believe he kissed you!" Olli added angrily. His arm was still around Hannah and he instinctively pulled her closer.

"It was nothing, I swear. I was helping him fold his clothes while he packed, because I wanted to talk to him about Beth before he left, and then he just kissed me! It was very unexpected, but-"

"Why were you folding his clothes? Remember what happened last time, when you tried to do his laundry?" Hannah couldn't tell if Olli was joking or not; he had a certain edge in his voice that caught Hannah's attention.

"He wasn't masturbating because I was going to do his laundry; that would be really weird."

"Just stay away from him for a while, okay?"

Hannah nodded and leaned into him. Olli was being more protective than usual, and Hannah liked it.

"I just don't want to lose you," he added quietly, and kissed her hair.​​

A/N: Want to keep reading? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Z7DW6JS?*Version*=1&*entries*=0