# Chapter 22: The Proposition and the Confession
Hello everyone, it’s me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review Chapter 22 of "The Deal: Off Campus." This is the chapter where Hannah Wells stops running from her own pain long enough to ask Garrett Graham for something no one else has ever been asked—and then hands him the truth she has kept locked away for years.
We begin with Hannah waking up in Garrett’s arms for the second time in two weeks. But this time, she doesn’t want to slip away. She wants to be there. The night before changed something in her. She drank in public without a panic attack. She admitted, at least to herself, that the rape damaged her more deeply than she likes to pretend. And she made a decision: Garrett is the answer to her problems. Her seduction attempt may have failed, but not because Garrett didn’t want her. She knows exactly why he stopped—he thought she was drunk and not thinking clearly.
But Hannah knows she was thinking clearly. She kissed him because she wanted to. She would have slept with him because she wanted to. And in the morning light, that want hasn’t faded. If anything, it has sharpened. Seeing Devon left her scared and uncertain. It made her question what would happen if she ever got involved with Justin. It made her wonder if she was just inviting more frustration and disappointment into her life.
Then a strange thought takes hold. A test run with Garrett might be exactly what she needs. He doesn’t date girls—he sleeps with them. There’s no risk of him falling in love or demanding a relationship. And the chemistry between them? It could inspire an entire R&B song. It would be the perfect arrangement: sex without the pressure of love. With Devon, her issues were tangled up with affection and fear of disappointing someone she cared about. With Garrett, it can be just about the sex. A way to put the pieces of her sexuality back together without worrying about breaking someone’s heart—or her own.
There’s only one problem. She has to get him to agree.
So she wakes him with a kiss. Garrett blinks awake, groggy and confused, asking if he dreamed it. Hannah tells him he didn’t. Then, after making sure he’s awake, she blurts out the question: “Will you have sex with me?”
Garrett’s face cycles through shock, disbelief, confusion, intrigue, and finally suspicion. He thinks it might be a prank. Hannah insists she’s serious. She wants them to have sex with each other. Garrett asks if she’s still drunk, offering to play the rare gentleman card and never speak of this again. But Hannah says she’s not drunk. She’s serious. She asks for a simple yes or no.
Garrett explodes. Simple? There is nothing simple about this. He reminds her of what she said at Maxwell’s party—that the kiss meant nothing, that they’re just friends. What changed? Hannah says she changed her mind. He demands to know why. She bristles. Since when do guys cross-examine a girl about wanting to get naked? Garrett fires back that she’s not the kind of girl who gets naked. She’s not a puck bunny. Hannah snaps that she’s not a virgin either, and that doesn’t mean she can’t sleep with a guy she’s attracted to.
Garrett takes a breath and tries to be honest. He believes she’s attracted to him—of course she is, and she moans whenever his tongue is in her mouth. Hannah protests, but he moves on. What he doesn’t believe is that she suddenly wants to jump his bones “for funsies.” He asks if she’s trying to get back at her ex, make Justin jealous again. Hannah says no. She just wants to do it. She wants to do him. But Garrett still isn’t convinced. Frustrated, Hannah tells him to forget it. Forget she asked.
He grabs her arm before she can leave the bed. “What the hell is going on, Wellsy?” The concern in his eyes hurts more than rejection. She practically begged him for sex, and he looks worried about her. She mutters forget it again, but Garrett pulls her onto his lap. She tries to scramble off, but he traps her by the waist. His gray eyes search her face, and she’s mortified to feel tears prick her eyelids.
He asks what this is about. Tell him what’s wrong, and he’ll try to help. A hysterical giggle escapes her. “No, you won’t! I just asked for your help and you shot me down!” Garrett looks bewildered. She didn’t ask for help, she asked him to sleep with her. Hannah mumbles that it’s the same damn thing. Garrett swears he has no idea what she’s talking about, but when he reaches up and strokes her cheek with infinite tenderness, something inside her cracks open.
She admits it. “I’m broken, and I wanted you to fix me.”
Garrett’s eyes widen with alarm. He still doesn’t understand. So Hannah confesses the truth she lied about at Beau’s party. She doesn’t know anyone who was drugged in high school. She was the one who got drugged. When she was fifteen, a guy she went to school with drugged her. And then he raped her.
Garrett’s body goes rigid. A shocked breath hisses out of him. He doesn’t say a word, but his jaw is tense and his eyes burn with fury. Hannah rushes on. She doesn’t want pity. It was awful and terrifying and it destroyed her at the time, but she worked through it. She isn’t scared of all men or angry at the world. She has put it behind her. But it broke something inside her. She can’t—she can’t have an orgasm with a guy.
Garrett finally speaks, his voice low and tortured. “No, I don’t know.” So Hannah forces herself to clarify, cheeks burning with sunstroke-level embarrassment. She thought maybe if they fooled around a bit, she might be able to reprogram her body to respond. The words stumble out before her brain can edit them, and the humiliation unleashes her tears.
A strangled sob tears out of her mouth. She tries frantically to scramble off Garrett’s lap, but his arms tighten around her. One hand tangles in her hair, bringing her head closer. She buries her face in his neck, trembling wildly as tears slide down her cheeks. Garrett begs her not to cry. It breaks his heart to hear her cry. But she can’t stop. She gulps for air and shudders in his arms while he strokes her hair and makes rough, soothing noises that only make her cry harder.
“I’m broken,” she whispers against his neck. Garrett’s voice is clear and fierce. “You’re not broken, baby. I promise.” She whispers back, “Then help me prove it. Please.” He gently pulls her head up. She meets his gaze and finds raw emotion and shining sincerity. He lets out a long, unsteady breath. “Okay,” he whispers. “Okay. I will.”
And just like that, the deal is made—not the easy, no-strings arrangement Hannah imagined, but something far more fragile, terrifying, and real.
Reader’s Impressions & Star Rating:
This chapter is an emotional knockout. It takes the playful tension between Hannah and Garrett and drops it into a much deeper, more vulnerable place. Hannah’s confession is raw without feeling exploitative, and Garrett’s response—his fury on her behalf, his tenderness, his refusal to let her call herself broken—shows how much he has already changed. The banter still crackles, but it now carries weight. The chapter balances humor, heartbreak, and hope beautifully. It’s one of those turning points that makes the entire story feel bigger than a romance. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.9 / 5 Stars
Next Chapter Prediction:
Now that Garrett has agreed, the next chapter will likely show the awkward, careful, and intensely intimate beginning of their arrangement. Garrett will probably take the lead in a way that is patient but determined, asking Hannah what she needs and setting boundaries to protect her. But the emotional stakes are already higher than either of them expected. I predict we’ll see them try something physical, only for Garrett to realize he cares far more than a casual deal should allow. Meanwhile, Justin or Devon may resurface, adding external pressure. The real question is whether Hannah can let herself trust Garrett—and whether Garrett can keep his heart out of something he never planned to feel.
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