Film Strips and Hockey Sticks

Chapter 23

Hannah found the quiet of Finland to be inspiring for her manuscript. She was starting to realize why she liked Olli, and Finnish people so much: they didn't ask questions like 'when are you getting married' or 'are you going to have any kids' or anything like that. They barely even asked how you were, or how your day was. After dealing with questions like this from her mom and Beth and countless other relatives, it was nice. Nobody asked what she was working on, or when it was going to be published or if they could read it; they left her alone to work on her screenplay in private.

She was only going to stay for a few weeks, but a few weeks turned into the entire summer. The first few days she met Olli's family and friends and he showed her around the town he grew up in. She planned to leave the next week, but she changed her mind after spending the night in the Maatta family's cabin. It was only about 15 minutes from his house and it was very close to a beautiful lake. They had planned on just spending the night, but the next morning Olli couldn't convince Hannah to leave.

"I feel really inspired to write out here. I had come to a roadblock in the latest version of my manuscript, but now I suddenly see everything," Hannah mused over coffee, staring out over the glimmering lake. "Would it be okay if I stayed out here for a few days?"

"You kind of sound like you're on drugs, but okay," Olli teased and shot her a questioning glance.

"Would you mind brining my typewriter out here? And some of my clothes?" Hannah requested. "I'm going for a swim." She stood up and slipped off her bathrobe, revealing she was wearing nothing underneath, and Olli nearly choked on his coffee.

That was another thing Hannah liked about Finland: she could swim naked. She loved bathing suits, but there was something different about having nothing between your skin and the water.

She smiled at a blushing Olli before skipping off towards the water. "Don't forget the typewriter!"

Begrudgingly, Olli sat back down at the table on the porch and watched her. He almost joined her, but he promised his friend's he'd play golf with them this afternoon; and he knew swimming with Hannah would lead somewhere else.

At first, Olli stayed at the cabin with her to make sure she was okay, but soon 'a few days' turned into weeks, and all Hannah did was write. It gave him time to recover from his surgery, work out, go to physical therapy, catch up with his friends, and other stuff. Olli checked in on her every few days, but by mid August, he was starting to get a little worried about her.

He knocked on the door with some coffee and some groceries, and Hannah opened the door in her pajamas, as usual.

"You're here already? You were just here yesterday," she pushed her unbrushed hair behind her ear.

"That was three days ago, Hannah," he smiled warily and walked past her into the small cabin. "I got you some coffee."

"Thank you," she took the coffee from his hand and started putting groceries away.

"I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go out to dinner tonight," Olli asked. Hannah thought for a minute before shrugging.

"I'm kind of at an important spot in my screenplay, maybe some other time?" She replied without looking at him.

"Tonight's kind of important," he paused, "Because it's my birthday."

Hannah dropped the loaf of bread she had been opening. His birthday? But that wasn't until the end of August....

"Wow, I guess I've really been out of it. It's already the 22nd?" She shook her head to clear her thoughts and rubbed her eyes. "Yeah, of course, I just need to find something to wear."

"I know birthdays aren't really your thing, so I didn't want to do much," Olli half smiled.

"No, I just hated my birthday. Because that meant I was 5 years older than you. But now you're 20, so I'm only 4 years older than you!" Hannah smiled up at him, but her eyes were full of guilt and regret. How could she have forgotten his birthday? She'd insisted they not do anything for her birthday, but he still got her flowers and chocolates. She said it was because it was at the beginning of the playoffs and she wanted him to focus on his game, but really she just didn't want to be reminded of the fact that she was now 24, and he was still 19. He said he didn't care, and Hannah believed him, but she cared. She still felt like she was ruining his rookie year in the NHL by tying him down. And now she'd forgotten his 20th birthday.

"No, we're not going to dinner," she said, still forming a plan in her head. "We're going clubbing, or dancing, or whatever it is the kids call it these days. I'm going to put on a short skirt, high heels, and some kind of low cut sparkly shirt, and we're going to some loud and dark club. We're going to get drunk, and dance like teenage kids out past curfew. And then we're going to come home," she added quietly, leaning in to him to wrap her arms around his neck. "And then I'm going to give you the best birthday present you could ask for."

Olli's heart started beating faster, and his eyes got wide as he stared down at her. It took him a second to catch his breath, but he smiled. "I hope it's not another copy of your manuscript."

She hit him teasingly and laughed. "Hey, I have been working on that all summer and I think it's excellent. But no, what I had in mind is something far better than that, and I'm 100% sure you'll like it. Or at least you did last time." She added with a cheeky smile.

He was speechless and stuttered as he tried to form coherent sentences in English. "That's-that's fine. I'm, um, doing stuff with my family during the day anyway, so we can do whatever tonight. Maybe like 9?"

"Whatever you want, it's your birthday. But I'll try to be ready by 9." Hannah gave him a quick kiss before scooting him back out the door.

That night, as promised, Hannah put on her shortest skirt, highest heels, and found her most sultry shirt. She hadn't exactly packed for this kind of activity, but she did her best. As she learned in college, any outfit can be sluty. Olli came 15 minutes early with flowers, and he was dressed to kill.

"Wow, did you buy these?" Hannah asked as she looked him over.

"The flowers? Yes." He found a vase in the kitchen and carefully put the flowers in it.

"Flowers?" She blinked a few times. "I meant your clothes. The flowers are very nice, though. Normally you don't buy other people flowers for your own birthday."

"I thought of you when I saw them, they match your eyes," Olli mumbled. Hannah had attached herself to him, arms wrapped firmly around his midsection.

"I really like the way this fits you, and the color goes with your skin tone...." She trailed off, running her hands up his back. "I might end up giving you your birthday present early if we don't leave soon..."

"What has gotten into you?" Olli asked and started to lead her toward the car.

Hannah giggled in a girlish way Olli had never heard before. "Oh, you know what they say," Hannah paused to giggle again. "A man in a well tailored suit is to girls, what lingerie is to men."

"I did not know that, but I'm glad I've...it's... had that effect on you," Olli blushed, as usual. "And this isn't a suit, it's just a jacket and....never mind."

The night was exactly what Hannah thought it was going to be, and more. They drank a lot of alcohol, perhaps too much, and went to the club all the cool kids were flocking to. Being an Olympic athlete apparently means you can skip the line at any club you want, and sometimes get free drinks. They danced like horny teenagers late into the night, and found themselves grabbing a cab home a little earlier than expected. Olli was a little eager to get to the rest of Hannah's birthday surprise, although he had a pretty good idea of what it might be.

Hannah made sure to surpass his expectations, and it was well into the morning by the time it ended.

"Best birthday ever?" She asked, head resting on his chest.

"Yeah," he said, still trying to catch his breath. "Can't imagine what you'll do next year."

"Next year I'll get you something boring, like a tie," Hannah teased. "Actually, I did get you something, something other than amazing sex," she added with a mischievous smile and got up to get hand him his gift.

"Scotch? Thank you," Olli looked over the bottle the ornate Laphroaig label.

"Yeah, I think you liked that kind," Hannah always got awkward when giving other people presents, even if it was Olli.

"Yes! This is my favorite, thanks," he leaned over and gave her a kiss.

"If we weren't already drunk, I would suggest we try it, but maybe tomorrow," Hannah said sleepily and fell back onto the bed, using Olli's arm as a pillow.

"Thanks, I've had a really nice birthday. Maybe now we can get you out of this cabin and back in the real world, huh?" He glanced down at her only to find her fast asleep. "Goodnight Hannah, I love you." He kissed her goodnight and quickly fell asleep.

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