# Chapter 26: Coffee, Confessions, and a Cellist
Hello everyone, it’s me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review Chapter 26 of *The Deal: Off Campus*. This is the chapter where Hannah’s carefully built walls start cracking, Allie pounces like a detective with a juice cup, and Garrett Graham shows up outside rehearsal like he owns the hallway. So grab your favorite drink, settle in, and let’s unpack every heated, hilarious, and heart-tugging moment.
We open with Hannah rushing toward her bedroom, only to be ambushed by Allie, who is lounging on the common-area couch like a queen holding court. Allie demands to know where Hannah thinks she’s going, and Hannah is genuinely startled—she didn’t even notice her roommate was home. Allie explains that econ was cancelled because the professor is “dying,” though she admits he only emailed about an illness. Her dark humor about automatic A’s is peak Allie: dramatic, ridiculous, and impossible not to laugh at.
Hannah tries to escape to rehearsal, but Allie refuses to let her go. She insists they need to have a chat, and when Hannah protests about being late, Allie throws Cass’s own lateness back in her face. Fair point. Hannah flops onto the couch and asks for the short version. Allie delivers: what on God’s green planet is going on with her and Garrett?
Hannah’s mouth snaps shut. Busted. She tries to play it cool, claiming nothing is going on, but internally she’s replaying the previous night—the nakedness, the mutual touching, the orgasms, the best feeling ever. Allie sees right through her. She asks point-blank if Hannah is dating Garrett Graham. Hannah says no. Allie narrows her eyes and asks again. Finally, Hannah admits the truth: they’re not dating, but they are fooling around. Allie’s jaw drops, then her eyes light up in victory. She practically wants to break out into a happy dance and asks if Hannah can teach her the running man. Hannah laughs and begs her not to, insisting it’s not a big deal and will probably fizzle out soon.
But that word—*soon*—lands heavily, because Hannah suddenly remembers Justin. Her impending date. The guilt tugs sharply at her. This is the first time Justin has crossed her mind since Dean’s birthday. She’s been entirely consumed by Garrett, by the way he turns her on, by the things she wants to do with him. Now she wonders if she can really go out with someone else after what happened. But she tells herself she isn’t dating Garrett, he isn’t her boyfriend, and he certainly doesn’t consider her his girlfriend. So why not? Still, the urge to cancel on Justin refuses to go away. She pushes it aside as Allie continues gushing.
Allie asks if she slept with him. Hannah says no. Allie is disappointed, but Hannah explains they did other stuff and refuses to give details. Allie argues that best friends tell each other everything, bringing up her own oversharing about Sean. Hannah shuts that down immediately—she never wanted to know about Allie’s sex life, and she definitely could have lived without the ruler demonstration. Allie pouts, promises she’ll eventually pry out the dirty details, but Hannah stands up and leaves. She’s done. For now.
Then we jump to the choir room, where Hannah walks in and sees a cellist. A cellist! At this point, she doesn’t even bat an eye. Ever since MJ endorsed Cass’s choir idea, Hannah has given up arguing. She doesn’t have the mental energy to play Cass’s game. Cass scolds her for being late, and she doesn’t apologize. MJ introduces Kim Jae Woo, a Korean freshman who will accompany them during the second verse. Hannah just nods and mutters, “Sounds good.”
For the next hour, they work only on the middle section. Normally Cass would nitpick Hannah, but today he focuses his criticism on poor Kim Jae Woo. The freshman shoots Hannah panicked looks, and all she can do is shrug and smile sympathetically. It’s sad—Hannah has lost all enthusiasm for the song. The only comfort is knowing that if they don’t win the scholarship because of Cass’s theatrics, she’ll get another chance in April at the spring showcase.
At two o’clock, rehearsal ends. Hannah pulls on her coat and steps into the hall, only to find Garrett standing there. He’s wearing his Briar jacket, holding two coffee cups, and greeting her with a crooked smile that makes her pulse race. She asks what he’s doing there. He says he stopped by her room, but Allie told him she was rehearsing, so he grabbed coffee and wandered around until she was done. He glances into the music room and asks if rehearsal is over. She tells him they have a cellist now. His lips twitch. He bets she’s positively thrilled. She says more like indifferent.
Then Cass’s sharp voice cuts in—Hannah is blocking the door, and some people have somewhere to be. She rolls her eyes and steps aside as Cass and Mary Jane exit. Cass doesn’t spare Hannah a look until he notices who she’s talking to. His blue eyes fly toward her. Hannah politely asks if Cass has met Garrett. Cass warily says no and introduces himself. Garrett says, “You too, Chazz.” Cass stiffens and corrects him: “It’s Cass.” Garrett blinks innocently and asks if that wasn’t what he said. Then Garrett adds that he hears Cass is singing a duet with “my girl.” He hopes Cass isn’t giving her any trouble. He notes that his Han-Han has a bad habit of letting people walk all over her. He arches a brow. “But you wouldn’t do that, right, Chazz?”
Hannah is embarrassed but also fighting not to laugh. Cass insists again: “It’s. Cass.” Garrett says, “That’s what I said, no?” There’s a long, obvious moment of macho posturing as the two guys stare each other down. As expected, Cass breaks eye contact first. He mutters “Whatever” and drags MJ away like luggage. Hannah turns to Garrett with a sigh and asks if that was necessary. He says, “Fuck yeah it was.” She says, “Okay. Just checking.”
Their eyes lock, and heat bursts inside her. She knows exactly what he’s thinking about doing. Me. She’s thinking the same damn thing. She might have told Allie this thing would fizzle out, but right now it’s blazing hotter than it did last night. Garrett murmurs two words: “My place?” Low and husky, those words make her thighs clench. Her throat clogs with desire, so instead of answering, she takes the coffee from his hand and dumps both cups in the trash can behind him. Garrett chuckles. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
And that’s where the chapter leaves us—Hannah choosing action over words, desire over denial, and Garrett over whatever cautious voice is still whispering Justin’s name in the back of her mind.
Reader’s Impressions & Star Rating:
This chapter is an absolute delight. The dialogue crackles with humor and tension, especially the Allie interrogation and the Garrett-versus-Cass showdown. Allie remains a scene-stealer, and the way she calls Hannah out is both funny and affectionate. Hannah’s internal conflict about Justin adds a layer of guilt and realism that keeps the romance from feeling too easy. Garrett showing up with coffee and waiting for her is sweet, but his protective, slightly possessive “my girl” moment is what really makes the heart flutter. The chapter balances comedy, heat, and emotional stakes perfectly. My only tiny complaint is that I wanted more of the actual rehearsal tension, but the payoff with Garrett waiting outside more than makes up for it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.8 / 5 Stars
Next Chapter Prediction:
Given that Hannah just dumped their coffees and silently agreed to go to Garrett’s place, the next chapter will almost certainly dive straight into their escalating intimacy. I predict things will get much steamier at Garrett’s house, and Hannah will struggle even harder to keep her feelings casual. The looming date with Justin will become a bigger problem, especially if Garrett senses she’s distracted or evasive. We might also see Garrett’s more vulnerable side—why he’s so protective of Hannah and what he really wants from this “arrangement.” There could be a moment where one of them almost confesses something real, only to pull back. And knowing Cass, he won’t let the “Chazz” insult go, so expect more friction in rehearsal later. But for now, the immediate cliffhanger is pure heat: Hannah has chosen Garrett’s place, and there’s no turning back from whatever happens behind that closed door.
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