Page 108 of The Forever After Bet

Piper puts her hands on her hips, fluttering her eyelashes. “It was me, okay? I was in there.”

“By yourself?” I try not to laugh, but I fail.

“Yeah, Clark. I made out with myself. Beckett finally has his cast off. We’ve been making up for lost time.”

“That’s understandable.” Aubrey shrugs.

“That still doesn’t tell us where Clark and Ford disappeared to,” Leah says, her eyebrows disappearing into her hairline.

“Um, you know, the student workroom, or testing room. Someone left it unlocked.” I smile and shrug.

Leah tips her head back, laughing. “I knew it. Jack said you’d never make out at school, but I told him he was wrong.”

When we return to the school, Ford, Jack, and Ty are on the bus. “Can I sit on the inside?” I ask.

“Yeah, of course, that gives me more legroom. Here, I got you these.” He hands me a package of all pink Starbursts.

“My favorite, thank you.” I lean in, kissing him.

“You’re welcome.” He runs his hand down my arm. “How are you feeling?”

“Yeah, I’m good. The back of my thighs are a little sore.” I laugh. “You?”

He hesitates a second too long. “I’m great.”

“That’s good. How was French?”

Ford’s expression turns dark. His eyes narrow, and his mouth turns down in a frown. I blink, and it’s gone. He gives me a lopsided grin and shrugs. “Boring.”

I feel like I’m missing something, but I’m unsure. It’s probably nothing, and I’m seeing something that’s not there. “I think you need to practice speaking it more. I’m more than willing to bear the burden of listening to you speak French. Practice makes perfect.”

Ford leans down, gliding his nose along the edge of my jaw. He kisses the shell of my ear, then whispers. “Je t’aime du plus profond de mon âme.”

I hum with contentment. “I love you too, and ditto to whatever else you said.”

Ford kisses my temple. “My life is complete with you in it.”

I turn my head, looking him over. That weird feeling is back, and I don’t like it. Things have been so good with us. It’s like I can tell something feels off. “What’s going on?” I ask, taking his hand and entwining it with mine.

He lets go of my hand and bends over, rubbing his forehead and scrubbing his hands through his hair. “You always see

” My heart races, and my stomach twists with anxiety. “What do you mean?”

“You can always tell when something bad happens.”

I inhale, trying to stay calm. I It’s not working. “Ford, you’re scaring me,” I whisper.

He grabs my hand, holding it in both of his, then brings it to his mouth, kissing my palm. He lets go of my hand and scoots close to me. He pushes my wayward curls behind my ear, then leans down so his mouth is next to my ear.

“I need you to listen to everything I have to say before you react. Promise me.”

“I promise,” I breathe.

Ford begins telling me what happened, and my entire being fills with dread. My hands curl into fists, I grind my teeth, and a stupid wayward tear slides down my cheek. I bite my lip to hide the tremble. When he’s done, he sits back and looks at me, waiting for my reaction.

I shake my head. “No, no.” I crawl onto Ford’s lap, wrapping my arms around him as tightly as possible. I don’t care if we get in trouble. He holds me just as tight.

“It will be okay,” he whispers. “My promise is forever.”

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