'Blade Runner' - Chapter 2

As Hannah had predicted it had been a long week with a heavy workload and she was more than ready for the weekend and a couple of days of downtime. She had worked long days all week.  Friday was not been an exception; it was close to six thirty in the evening and she still had about an hours worth of work to get through.  With a sigh she pushed her reading glasses back in place and did her best to focus on the report she was typing.

“You’re working late.” A familiar baritone voice got her attention about half an hour later and she looked up into Jason’s smiling face. It was ‘casual Friday’ and Hannah thought he looked quite yummy; he was wearing a pair of dark jeans, a black and white plaid shirt with the top two buttons open and a black tailored blazer.

“Oh…hi, Jason. I’m just trying to get through this so I don’t have to come in tomorrow. After the week I’ve had I need some time off to recharge my batteries.”

“Tell me about it…” he said with a heavy sigh. “I just managed to finish my ‘to-do’ list and I’m ready to head out. Would you like to join me for dinner? I’ve only eaten a couple of power bars today, so my stomach is ready to riot.”

“I’d love to, but I still have about an hour or so of work left before I can leave. As I said I really don’t want to have to work tomorrow.”

“I can wait for you, it’s fine. Do you have any preferences food-wise?”

“I thought you were starving.”

“I’ll live. I know your company will be worth the wait. Now, you didn’t answer my second question.”

Hannah’s heart skipped a beat when Jason said her company would be worth the wait and she couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across her face.

“Well, when you put it like that,” she teased. “I’m not a picky eater, but I guess if I have to name a favorite cuisine I’ll say Thai. How do you feel about that?”

“I like Thai food. Have you tried that new Thai-restaurant on Duncan?”

“I have. It’s really good. Oh, now I’m craving their green curry with chicken. I don’t know if we’ll be able to get a table there though, rumor has it they’re pretty busy and it’s Friday evening, so…”

Jason frowned and looked like he was lost in thought for a few moments. Then he looked like he’d just had an epiphany.

“Why don’t we get takeout and eat at my place? I wouldn’t mind some peace and quiet right now.”

“Oh, that sounds lovely actually. I’m not really up for a busy restaurant either. How does eight o’clock sound to you? That would give me time to drop by my place to change into something more comfortable and walk over to your place.”

“Sounds like an excellent plan to me,” Jason said with a smile.

Hannah couldn’t stop herself from watching as he walked away. When he was wearing pants there was no way to tell that he was a double amputee; his gait was perfectly normal and his stride was confident.

…

As Jason loaded his groceries into the trunk of his car his iPhone beeped and he grabbed it to find a waiting text message from Hannah; “Leaving the office now. Will be at your place in about half an hour. H.”

He quickly replied; “Great. I’m on my way to the restaurant to get the food now. See you soon. J.”

…

Jason spotted Hannah on the sidewalk just before he was about to turn onto his street and he pulled up next to her and rolled down the window on the passenger side.

“Hannah! Jump in,” he hollered at her. She looked slightly startled, but pulled herself together quickly and climbed into the passenger seat.

“Good timing,” she said with a smile. She noticed that Jason was still in his work clothes. “You haven’t been home yet?”

“No, when I got back to my office there were a few new emails in my inbox, so I dealt with the most urgent stuff before I headed out. And I needed a few groceries, so I dropped by the supermarket before I went to pick up our food.”

“It smells really good,” Hannah commented. The scent of food had her mouth watering.

“No kidding. I’m starving, so this drive has been torture,” Jason chuckled as he pulled into his garage.

…

“I’m just going change into something more comfortable real quick. Make yourself at home. There’s beer and soda in the fridge.” Jason said as he deposited the bags from the supermarket on the counter next to the fridge and headed down a short hallway. 

Hannah put the bag with their takeout down on peninsula that separated the open plan kitchen from the living room and looked around the spacious room. The décor wasn’t as ‘bachelor-pad’ish as she’d imagined. It was modern, with clean lines and a few pieces of art that appeared to be carefully selected. 

She decided to busy herself with unpacking the food and when that was done she grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down on one of the barstools.

It didn’t take Jason long to change into a pair of comfortable shorts and an old Georgetown Law t-shirt. He was shoeless when he walked back into the living room, his feet clad in white ankle socks.

…

After they finished eating they worked together on putting the leftovers away and filling the dishwasher. When that was done Jason grabbed two beers from the fridge and a bag of chips from the pantry and then he suggested they moved to the living room.

Jason’s couch had a chaise lounge attached to it and he settled down on that end. As Hannah sat down on the opposite end Jason removed his prosthetic legs and then he stretched his stumps out on the chaise lounge. He kept what looked like socks on. Hannah was surprised at how long his stumps were, as well as the thinness of them.

“Ah, that feels good,” he said with a contented sigh.  Then he had a sip of his beer and leaned back against the pillow, one arm draped across the back of the couch.

“Are your prosthetics uncomfortable to have on?”

“No, but I suppose it’s kind of like when you take your shoes off at the end of a long day. It’s nice to have them off, to give my stumps a break. I usually take them off in the evenings, when I just watch TV or read. But if it makes you uncomfortable I’ll put them on again.”

“No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry for staring.”

“Please stop apologizing, it just makes things awkward. And it’s okay to be curious and ask questions. I prefer that over awkward silences.” Jason smiled reassuringly and took another sip of his beer. Hannah followed suit and had a sip of her beer as well.

Jason felt that taking of his prosthetic legs in front of Hannah the second time they spent time together outside work was a bit of a bold move. It could possibly freak her out, but she seemed pretty accepting and had expressed being interested in him, after she became aware of his disability.  Jason wasn’t self-conscious about his legs at all, but he was aware that seeing his stumps could make other people uncomfortable

“What do you do if you have to use the bathroom or want to get something to drink in the middle of the night?” Hannah asked after a few moments of silence. “I guess you don’t sleep with your prosthetics on?”

The direct question threw Jason a bit and he had to take a moment to pull himself together before he answered.

“I keep my wheelchair next to the bed, so I either use that or just walk on my knees. Depends on the situation.”

“You have a wheelchair?”

“Yeah, when you don’t have legs a wheelchair come in handy from time to time. Last year I was stuck in it for almost a month.”

“Why were you stuck in your wheelchair?”

“I ran a half marathon on brand new blades, I had only been to one fitting and they weren’t a perfect fit. They chafed, it got uncomfortable pretty fast, but I pushed through the pain because I had trained for it for so long and I was so determined finish with a decent time. The price I paid was almost a month in my chair while the sores and blisters healed. That really ruined my summer vacation.”

“Reminds me of when I went for a two-day hike in brand new hiking boots once, bought them on my way to the trail. I didn’t think my feet would ever forgive me. It was blister hell.”

“Ouch! I suppose the good thing about having no feet is that I never have to worry about shoes being comfortable. As long as they’re the right size it’s not a problem. And my shoes never get sweaty. I can wear the same shoes for 100 days flat and they still smell like they’re brand new.”

Hannah chuckled. “I never thought about that.”

“How long have you worked for Bowman and Hunter?” Jason asked, changing the subject.

“Almost four years. I started as a secretary and got promoted to personal assistant for Bowman about a year ago. It’s a good place to work. How do you like it so far?”

“It’s been good. The clients are more demanding than in my previous job, but one of the reasons I changed jobs was that I wanted more challenges. And I like my co-workers.”

“That’s good,” Hannah said with a smile.

Jason took a long sip of his beer, draining his bottle. After he set the empty bottle on the coffee table in front of him he turned his attention back to Hannah.

“You mentioned the other day that you almost lost your job because you were in a relationship with a co-worker. What happened, if you don’t mind me asking? If it’s too personal I completely understand.”

“My first job out of college was as a secretary at a big law firm in Chicago. I got involved with one of the attorneys, despite the company policy against inter-office relationships. He convinced me it wasn’t a problem since we worked in different departments and rarely interacted professionally.”

“And when the relationship ended it blew up in your face?”

“Yeah. I broke it off, he was very jealous and possessive and I decided enough was enough. His response to the rejection was to report our relationship to my boss. It was a mess. I barely managed to hold on to my job, but after a few months I quit and moved here.”

“Shit, that can’t have been easy.”

“It was hard, very hard. I don’t want to go through something like that again.”

“I appreciate you giving me a chance,” Jason said sincerely.

“Just don’t make me regret making this move,” Hannah said as she scooted across the sofa to sit next to Jason and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she snuggled against his side.

“I will do everything in my power to avoid that, I promise,” Jason assured her as he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.  Hannah turned to face him and pressed her lips to his.

...to be continued...