Say My Name

Chapter Seven: The Very Thought of You

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Sara questioned herself as to whether or not it was such a good idea for her and Nick to get involved with each other when they were already involved with other people. Sara rested her head against the door of her locker and banged her forehead against it twice in frustration.

What she really needed to be doing was heading home for her date with Hank. He was taking her out for a nice dinner, something they hadn’t done in a very long time, and she couldn’t help but think that Nick simply being at her apartment when she was in the shower had inspired Hank’s newfound actions for the past week.

There were so many things running through her mind when she arrived home to change into something a little more decent for a five star restaurant.

At eight thirty sharp there was a knock on her door. She had managed to work a double and was now just dying for sleep. Sara didn’t know if she had it in her to carry on a conversation with her boyfriend when she had been awake for over twenty-four hours. All she wanted was to go crawl into her bed or possibly Nick’s… Sara stopped dead in the middle of her hallway and just stared at the front door. She was thinking about sleeping in Nick’s bed… with him? Sara sighed and shook her head, bringing her hands up to rub at her temples. She had to focus on Hank and their date, not a hot Texan who was at his home right then, catching up on his own sleep from working a double.

Sara wasn’t sure if the smile on her face looked as fake as it felt when she answered the door. Hank smiled genuinely at her and she felt instantly guilty for thinking about Nick when she should have been happy about going out with her boyfriend who treated her like she was his world and who would do anything for her. Nick would do the same, she found herself thinking, as Hank took her hand in his while he led her to his car.

Biting down on her lip, her mind racing in competition with her heartbeat, Sara slid into the passenger side of the Hank’s vehicle and buckled up. She brought her fingers up her head to run them back nervously through her hair but stopped when she realized her hair was curly that night. The sound of the driver’s door closing soundly made her jump but Hank didn’t seem to notice.

Sara was wondering why she was acting like she had committed murder or something. She was jumping at everything and she didn’t know when she had been this stressed out before in her life. However, she did have a reason to be jumpy and anxious; she had, after all, cheated on Hank with Nick. She had kissed the man twice and they had gotten a little hot and heavy in the locker a few days ago, until he told her that it would happen another day.

They arrived at the restaurant before Sara had even realized it, bringing a sort of relief over her. If the night could go just as quick, she would be eternally grateful. The two of them were seated near the back of the restaurant at Hank’s request and as they followed the waiter, Sara took in their surroundings. The restaurant was dimly lit and furnished with mahogany tables, chairs, and booths where mostly couples sat over a glass of wine. This looked like a place where people proposed, Sara thought to herself, eyeing a couple that was leaning close together, her hands clinging to both of his while she looked at him with so much love and devotion that Sara tried not to vomit on them as she past.

“Here you are,” the waiter said, setting down two menus for them. “Would you like to hear the specials?”

“Sure,” replied Hank, smiling at the waiter friendly.

Sara barely heard them and took the waiter twice to ask her what she wanted to drink. Her attention was caught when Hank took her hand in his and her head whipped up, staring at him. She mumbled her order, water, and then hastily licked her lips, looking around.

“Sara, what’s wrong?” Hank whispered, leaning close over the table.

“Nothing, nothing’s wrong.”

“Then why are you so jumpy and spaced out?”

“I haven’t had sleep in over twenty-four hours,” she deadpanned, meeting his eyes and holding them for a rather long second before looking away.

“We could have stayed in, honey. You should have said something.”

“No, no. It’s fine. I wanted to go out. We’ve haven’t eaten out in a while,” she smiled.

There was one thing for certain that Sara knew: conversation with Nick flowed and never had awkward silences in them unlike the discussions that Sara had with Hank. They sat there for a moment in quietness, gazing down at their menus after Sara had taken back her hand.

“What are you having?”

“I’m thinking of the Primavera,” she responded. “What about you?”

“Sterloin Steak dinner,” he answered, folding up his menu and placing it on top of hers that was on the edge of the table.

They placed their orders a few minutes later and then sunk into the dull conversation about work that they often had with each other. Sara found it tedious to talk about. She had just spent twenty-six hours that the lab; she didn’t want to talk about it when she wasn’t working.

After another long silence between them, Hank took her hand once more and stroked over the back of her hand with his thumb. She smiled faintly and he saw it, grinning back at her. She knew that he was trying to say something, working up the courage to, and she couldn’t help but dread it. They hadn’t come here for nothing, she realized.

She took a healthy gulp of her water and refused to meet his eyes while they gazed at her lovingly.

“Sara?”

“Yes, Hank?”

“I’ve been giving it a lot of thought and…” he trailed off, looking down at his lap as he let out a breath.

She watched him anxiously.

“Well, I was thinking since you already spend so much of your time at my place that maybe… umm… maybe we could, uh, move in together?” He looked up into her eyes and then added, “I mean, if you wanted to. I understand if you don’t. We’ve only been dating for a few months.”

“Seven,” she said grinning.

“Okay, a few more than a few,” he murmured.

He glanced up when she squeezed his hand.

“Of course.”

“Really? You will?”

“Yes,” she said, nodding her curly chestnut head.

Neither of them seemed to believe that she had actually agreed to his suggestion and Sara couldn’t believe that she was grinning madly like a fool. She blushed as Hank leaned in and kissed her chastely on the lips just as the waiter came with their dinner.

The rest of the night seemed to move a little more smoothly now that Hank had gotten his question of his chest and now that Sara was surprisingly giddy. They decided to go over everything the following day and it was apparent that he couldn’t wait.

Sara let out a long sigh once the front door of her home closed behind her. She leaned back against it, her head resting on the wood, the smile still on her face. She wondered if she was bipolar, going from edgy and sketchy to happy and thrilled within ten minutes flat. She shrugged off her coat and pushed mental illness aside.

Slipping out of her black cocktail dress and carefully placing the locket that she had worn on the dresser, Sara hummed to herself. She happily slid on her pajama bottoms and a tank top before crawling into bed. Her last thought was of her moving all of her belongings into Hank’s apartment in just a week short weeks, before sleep claimed her.