Hannah carried her tray over to his table, still looking faintly surprised.
“Well,” she said as she set her drink down and slid into the chair across from him, “I didn’t expect to see you again quite this fast.”
Jason laughed softly. “Yeah… same.”
She glanced around the small restaurant. “Do you come here often?”
Jason nodded toward the counter. “More than I probably should.”
“Because it’s tucked away?”
“Because the food is ridiculously good.”
Hannah smiled and unwrapped her sandwich. “Fair enough.”
For a moment neither of them spoke.
The small restaurant hummed quietly around them with soft music, the clink of dishes, the murmur of a couple talking near the window. Outside, cars passed slowly along the street.
Jason realized he was studying her again.
Hannah seemed just as aware of the silence. She took a sip of lemonade, then set the glass down.
After a few seconds they both opened their mouths.
“So—”
“Did you—”
They stopped at the same time.
Jason let out a laugh. Hannah did too, shaking her head.
“You go,” she said.
Jason leaned back slightly, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck.
“Did you…” He hesitated, the question slipping out before he thought about it. “Did you have that dream again?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he knew something was wrong.
Hannah blinked.
“What?”
Jason felt heat rise up his neck.
“You—” she said slowly. “How did you know about that?”
Jason sat there for half a second, completely blank.
Right.
She had never mentioned it.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. “I, uh, didn’t mean it like that.”
Hannah was still watching him, her brow slightly furrowed.
Jason looked down at the table and gave a small, embarrassed laugh. “Sorry. That came out wrong.”
“Then what did you mean?”
Jason exhaled and rubbed his forehead.
“I had a dream last night,” he admitted. “About the beach. The one from the painting.”
Hannah’s expression shifted.
Jason continued, trying to explain himself before the situation got stranger.
“That’s what I meant to say,” he said quickly. “I was going to ask if you’d ever dreamed about that place before, since we were talking about it yesterday.”
He looked up again.
Hannah had gone very still.
“You dreamed about it?” she asked quietly.
Jason nodded. “Yeah.”
“The beach?”
“And the house.”
“The gray house on the edge of the water?” she said.
Jason felt a small chill move through him.
“Yeah.”
Hannah stared at the table for a moment, then let out a soft breath.
“I dreamed about it too.”
Jason blinked.
“Last night?”
She nodded slowly.
“Not just last night,” she added after a moment. “I’ve had that dream before.”
Jason leaned forward slightly. “Before?”
“When I was younger,” she said. “Off and on.”
The restaurant noise faded into the background for a moment.
Jason studied her face.
“What happens in the dream?” he asked carefully.
Hannah hesitated.
“I’m standing on the beach,” she said slowly. “Near the water.”
Jason felt his chest tighten.
“The wind’s blowing,” she continued. “There’s tall grass behind me.”
Jason didn’t interrupt.
“And the house is behind me,” she said. “Right at the edge of the sand.”
Jason let out a quiet breath.
“Yeah,” he said. “That’s the one.”
Hannah looked up at him again.
“In my dream,” she said carefully, “there’s someone else there.”
Jason didn’t move.
“Same,” he said.
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