The Deal

The Deal Plot Summary

Introduction

# Breaking Through Ice: A Symphony of Healing Hearts The fluorescent lights of Briar University's philosophy classroom cast harsh shadows across Hannah Wells' face as she stared at the A+ circled in red at the top of her ethics exam. Around her, seventy percent of the class had failed spectacularly under Professor Tolbert's merciless standards. She should feel triumphant, but all she could think about was Justin Kohl three rows over—the beautiful football player who made her heart race with just a glance, who represented everything normal she desperately wanted to become. What Hannah didn't expect was Garrett Graham cornering her after class with desperation bleeding through his arrogant facade. The captain of Briar's championship hockey team needed her brilliant mind to save his plummeting GPA and his athletic career. But Hannah carried her own demons—years of trauma had left her unable to trust, unable to feel, unable to be the woman she desperately wanted to become. When Garrett offered to help her catch Justin's attention in exchange for tutoring, neither realized they were about to embark on a journey that would shatter their carefully constructed walls and force them to confront the broken pieces of themselves. Sometimes the most profound healing comes not from forgetting the past, but from finding someone brave enough to help you face it.

Chapter 1: The Reluctant Bargain: When Necessity Breeds Opportunity

The diner's fluorescent lights buzzed overhead as Hannah wiped down sticky tables, her waitress uniform a stark reminder of the financial reality that separated her from Briar University's privileged elite. When Garrett Graham slid into her booth with that infuriating smirk, trouble had found her again. "I need you to tutor me," he said without preamble, his gray eyes intense despite his casual tone. The hockey captain who had everything handed to him on a silver platter was actually begging for her help. Hannah almost laughed at the bitter irony. "Not happening," she replied curtly, but Garrett didn't flinch. He was used to getting what he wanted, and Hannah Wells—with her perfect grade and razor-sharp tongue—had become his lifeline. His father's crushing legacy loomed over everything he did, and failure wasn't an option when you carried the Graham name. Hannah tried to escape to her beat-up Honda, but Garrett followed, his desperation finally cracking through the cocky facade. "My GPA is tanking. If I don't pass this makeup exam, I'm off the team." The vulnerability in his voice caught her completely off guard, but she'd learned not to trust pretty faces and smooth words. The parking lot standoff stretched between them like a battle of wills, two stubborn forces refusing to yield. Garrett saw something in Hannah's defiant stance that reminded him why he was drawn to impossible challenges on the ice. Hannah saw past his arrogance to the fear underneath—a fear she recognized because she carried her own version of it, wrapped around her heart like barbed wire. "Five hundred dollars," Garrett said finally, playing his last card. The number hung in the air between them, heavy with possibility. Hannah's mind raced to her parents' mounting legal bills, the second mortgage they'd taken to fight a case they'd ultimately lost. Five hundred dollars was groceries for a month, textbooks for next semester, a small dent in the crushing debt that followed her family like a shadow.

Chapter 2: Walls Begin to Crumble: From Pretense to Possibility

The Sigma house party pulsed with music and laughter, but Hannah felt like an alien observer studying a foreign species. She was only here because Allie had dragged her, hoping to push her best friend back into the social world she'd been systematically avoiding for years. When Hannah spotted Justin Kohl across the crowded room, her carefully constructed confidence crumbled like a house of cards. Garrett appeared beside her like a predator sensing weakness. "You're staring at Kohl," he observed, and Hannah's cheeks burned with embarrassment. But instead of mockery, she heard calculated opportunity in his voice. "He's not your type," Garrett continued, studying Justin with the cold assessment of someone who knew exactly how the social game was played. "He goes for status, popularity. Girls who turn heads when they walk into a room." The words stung because Hannah knew they were brutally true. The proposition came as she was fleeing the party, overwhelmed and defeated by her own inadequacy. Garrett blocked her path to the waiting taxi, his offer hanging in the night air like a lifeline thrown to a drowning woman. "One week of tutoring. In exchange, I'll take you to Maxwell's party as my date. Make you visible to guys like Kohl." Hannah's pride warred with her desperation in a battle that left her breathless. She'd spent years rebuilding herself after the assault, becoming strong and independent and utterly alone. But strength didn't make Justin notice her, didn't make her feel normal or desirable or capable of the kind of easy intimacy other women took for granted. "Fine," she whispered, sealing a deal that would change everything. Neither of them realized they weren't just trading services—they were opening doors to rooms in their hearts they'd kept locked and barricaded for years. The key was already turning, and there would be no going back.

Chapter 3: Whispered Confessions in the Dark: Sharing Sacred Wounds

Garrett's bedroom became their unlikely sanctuary, philosophy textbooks scattered across his massive bed as Hannah tried to drill Kantian ethics into his surprisingly sharp mind. She'd expected a stereotypical dumb jock; instead, she found someone who grasped complex moral theories once they were explained without academic pretension. "You're actually smart when you apply yourself," she admitted grudgingly, watching him work through a practice essay with focused intensity. Garrett's grin was boyish and free of his usual arrogance, and Hannah felt something dangerous flutter in her chest like a caged bird testing its wings. The tutoring sessions stretched longer than necessary, academic necessity bleeding into something more personal. Garrett brought her coffee, remembered exactly how she liked it. Hannah found herself laughing at his stories about his teammates' ridiculous antics, sharing her own frustrations with her demanding music program and her perfectionist duet partner Cass. One evening, Garrett produced an acoustic guitar from his closet. "Sing for me," he said simply, and Hannah's automatic protests died when she saw the genuine curiosity burning in his eyes. Music had always been her escape, her truth, the one place where her trauma couldn't follow. When she began to play, the room transformed into something sacred. Her voice filled the space between them, raw and beautiful and achingly honest. Garrett watched with an intensity that should have made her nervous but instead made her feel truly seen for the first time in years. When the last note faded into silence, the air stretched taut with possibility. "You're incredible," he breathed, and Hannah believed him. The power of her own talent reflected in someone else's eyes was intoxicating and terrifying in equal measure. She was falling for him, and the realization sent panic shooting through her veins like ice water.

Chapter 4: Healing Through Vulnerability: Learning to Trust Again

The panic attack hit Hannah like a freight train during Dean's birthday celebration at Malone's bar. She'd been laughing at Tucker's terrible jokes, actually enjoying herself for once, when she spotted a familiar face across the crowded room. Rob Delaney—one of the boys who'd testified against her, who'd helped her rapist walk free—stood near the pool table, and suddenly the walls were closing in. Garrett found her hyperventilating in the bathroom hallway, her back pressed against the wall as she fought to stay conscious. Without hesitation, he gathered her into his arms, his voice low and soothing as he talked her through breathing exercises he'd learned during his own dark nights. "You're safe," he murmured against her hair. "I've got you. You're completely safe." Later, in the sanctuary of his bedroom, the truth spilled out of Hannah like blood from a reopened wound. She told him about Aaron, about the party where she'd been drugged, about waking up to find her childhood stolen and her body violated. She spoke of the trial that had destroyed her family financially and emotionally, of the lies told under oath that had set her attacker free. Garrett listened with a stillness that was almost frightening, his hands clenched into fists as rage built behind his carefully controlled expression. When Hannah finished, he was quiet for so long she wondered if she'd disgusted him beyond redemption. Then he spoke, his voice rough with barely contained emotion. "The first time my father hit me, I was twelve years old. It was Halloween, and I'd eaten too much candy." His confession unlocked years of buried pain, stories of Phil Graham's fists and his mother's terrified screams echoing through their childhood home. He told her about the relief he'd felt when cancer finally freed his mother from her tormentor, and the crushing guilt that had eaten at him ever since. They held each other in the darkness, two broken people finding unexpected solace in shared understanding. For the first time in years, Hannah felt truly seen. For the first time in his life, Garrett felt truly known. The walls around their hearts were crumbling, and neither of them possessed the strength to stop the avalanche.

Chapter 5: Love Amidst the Shadows: Confronting Family Demons

Hannah's request caught Garrett completely off guard, the words hanging between them like a loaded weapon. They were lying in his bed after another tutoring session that had devolved into heated kisses when she suddenly pulled back, her eyes bright with desperate determination. "Will you have sex with me?" The question wasn't born of desire but of clinical desperation. Hannah explained haltingly about her inability to reach climax with a partner, about how the rape had broken something fundamental inside her that she couldn't seem to repair. "I thought maybe if you and I..." she trailed off, her cheeks burning with embarrassment and shame. "I want to feel normal again. I need to know if I can." Garrett's heart shattered for her, recognizing the desperation in her voice, the way she was trying to use him as a cure for trauma that ran bone-deep. He could have said yes—God knew he wanted her with an intensity that kept him awake at night—but something about her clinical approach made him pause. Instead, he suggested something that surprised them both: mutual masturbation, a way for her to experience pleasure while maintaining complete control. The first time was awkward, charged with nervous energy and whispered instructions. But as Hannah learned to trust him with her vulnerability, something beautiful began to unfold. Garrett watched with reverence as she discovered her own capacity for pleasure in his presence, his own release secondary to the wonder that bloomed across her face when she finally climaxed without fear. Their physical relationship progressed slowly after that, each milestone a hard-won victory against the ghosts that haunted them both. When they finally made love, it was with a tenderness that surprised them both with its intensity. Hannah cried afterward—not from pain, but from the overwhelming relief of feeling whole again. Garrett held her as she sobbed, his own eyes wet with tears he'd been holding back for years. They were healing each other, piece by broken piece, creating something beautiful from the wreckage of their pasts.

Chapter 6: Sacrifice and Separation: When Love Demands Letting Go

Phil Graham's ultimatum came like a blade between the ribs, delivered with the casual cruelty of a man who'd perfected psychological warfare over decades. Hannah was working her evening shift at the diner when he appeared, sliding into a corner booth with the predatory grace of a shark scenting blood in the water. "Break up with my son, or watch him lose everything," Phil said with surgical precision, his cold eyes never leaving her face. "I pay for his rent, his car, his education. One phone call from me, and he's working full-time just to survive. Is that what you want for him? To watch his dreams die because he's too distracted by a piece of college tail?" Hannah's hands shook as she absorbed the threat, her mind racing through the implications. She thought of Garrett's face when he talked about hockey, about his dreams of going professional after graduation. She thought of his teammates depending on him, of the championship within their grasp. Phil Graham was a monster, but he held all the cards that mattered. The breakup was the hardest thing Hannah had ever done, each lie she fed Garrett feeling like swallowing glass. She told him she wanted to explore her options, that their relationship was moving too fast, that she needed space to figure out what she really wanted. She watched his face crumble as she delivered each calculated blow, hating herself more with every word. "You're looking for someone better than me?" Garrett's voice was hollow, disbelieving. The pain in his gray eyes was unbearable, but Hannah forced herself to nod, telling herself she was doing this for him, that she was setting him free to achieve everything he'd worked for. But Garrett wasn't fooled by her performance. "For someone who's so damn strong, you really are a fucking coward," he said before walking out of her life, leaving Hannah alone with the wreckage of her noble sacrifice. The weeks that followed were agony, watching from afar as his hockey team continued their winning streak while her own heart withered in her chest.

Chapter 7: Victory Beyond the Ice: Reclaiming What Matters Most

The truth exploded out of Hannah in the most unlikely place—the hockey team's locker room, where she'd stormed in her fury over Garrett's campus-wide "hands off" decree that had turned her into a social pariah. Surrounded by half-dressed players and billowing steam, she finally cracked under the weight of her deception. "Your father told me to break up with you," she sobbed, the words tumbling out like a dam burst. "He threatened to cut you off financially if I didn't end it. I thought I was protecting you, but I was just being a coward." Garrett's reaction surprised everyone in the room. Instead of rage, he laughed—deep, incredulous laughter that echoed off the tiled walls and made his teammates exchange bewildered glances. "My grandparents left me a trust fund," he explained, pulling her into his arms despite their very public surroundings. "I turned twenty-one in January. I could have told him to go to hell months ago." The revelation hit Hannah like a physical blow, the realization that she'd sacrificed their happiness for nothing, had tortured them both based on threats that were ultimately empty. But Garrett's forgiveness was immediate and absolute, his lips finding hers in a kiss that tasted like redemption and second chances. Their reunion was passionate and desperate, months of separation dissolving in heated kisses and whispered apologies. They made love that night with the intensity of people who'd almost lost everything, each touch a promise that they'd never let anyone come between them again. The hockey championship was a foregone conclusion—Briar dominated their opponents with the ruthless efficiency of a team that had found its perfect rhythm. But for Garrett, the real victory was simpler: Hannah in the stands, cheering his name, her face radiant with pride and unconditional love. As he held the championship trophy above his head, his eyes found hers across the celebrating crowd, and he knew he'd already won the only prize that truly mattered.

Summary

In the end, Hannah Wells and Garrett Graham discovered that healing isn't a destination but a journey—one best traveled with someone who understands the geography of your scars. Their love story began with a desperate tutoring arrangement and evolved into something that fundamentally transformed them both. Hannah learned to trust again, to believe that intimacy could be safe and beautiful rather than something to be endured. Garrett learned that true strength didn't come from emotional isolation, that letting someone see your vulnerabilities was the bravest thing you could do. The ghosts of their pasts—Hannah's assault, Garrett's abusive childhood—would always be part of their story, shadows that would occasionally fall across even their brightest days. But together, they'd found something more powerful than trauma: the courage to choose love over fear, trust over self-protection, vulnerability over the illusion of safety. As they stood together after Briar's championship victory, Hannah's hand firmly clasped in Garrett's, they weren't the same broken people who'd met in that coffee shop months earlier. They were survivors who'd found their way home to each other, living proof that sometimes the most beautiful love stories are born from the deepest pain, and that healing is possible when you find someone worth fighting for, worth becoming whole alongside.

About Author

Loading

Elle Kennedy

Kennedy investigates the intricate dynamics of strong heroines and seductive alpha heroes, creating narratives that fuse heat and danger. She pursues her writing with the explicit goal of delivering stories that captivate and engage readers, demonstrating her passion for character-driven plots. Her dedication to crafting these compelling characters and situations is rooted in her early aspirations to become a writer, a dream she actively chased as a teenager.\n\nHer books often navigate the challenges and triumphs of bold female protagonists in thrilling contexts, integrating romance with elements of suspense. Kennedy's method involves a keen balance between character development and plot intensity, which she has honed while working with various publishers. As a result, her narratives appeal to those who relish dynamic storytelling and vividly drawn characters, providing an exhilarating reading experience.\n\nFor readers seeking a deep dive into stories with layered characters and gripping plots, Kennedy's body of work delivers a fulfilling journey. Her ability to weave complex relationships and intense scenarios ensures that each book leaves a lasting impact, making her a notable figure in contemporary fiction. This short bio captures her journey and the thematic essence that defines her career as an influential author.

Read more