Page 116 of The Forever After Bet

“I’ll see you later.” Ty bumps Jack’s then my hand before he gets out of the car.

I pull through Twisted Soda’s drive-thru, get me a drink, and buy Hannah a banana cream pie sugar cookie. Jack talks me into going through Chick’s drive-thru and getting dinner. He scarves down a chicken sandwich with fries and a milkshake. I get chicken tenders but only eat one and a couple of fries. My stomach still feels twisted up.

I walk into the studio to watch Hannah finish up her dance class. Her teacher shows her how to do a particular move. Hannah practices it several times. Then they rehearse several minutes of her dance to music. I love watching her move. She’s beautiful in the way she glides gracefully across the floor.

After the music ends, I sit down at the viewing window. I’m the only person here besides Hannah and her teacher, so they immediately notice me. Hannah’s face lights up when she sees me, and she waves. Her teacher helps her with another intricate dance move, and they practice it again. After that, they hug and end her lesson. Hannah comes running out of the dance studio. She jumps up, and I catch her, hugging her to me.

“Hi.” She beams, kissing my cheek.

“You looked amazing out there.”

“Thanks, it’s coming along. The All-American dance competition is in Portland on the first weekend in February. If I place in the top three, I could qualify for a scholarship.”

“You’ll blow the competition away.”

I walk Hannah over to the passenger side of the Rover, but she backs up against the door, so I can’t open it. “This was a delightful surprise, but something feels off. What’s going on? Did you meet with Bree?”

I nod. I lean my forehead against Hannah’s, trying to get my heart to calm down. It feels like I just sprinted across a football field. I need to hurry and say it, or I’ll never get it out. “Bree kissed me, and I let her.”

45. Urban Decay Lip Gloss

The look on Ford’s face breaks my heart. It’s the look he gave me the day his parents learned about our elopement. My only consolation is that I didn’t have anything to do with putting it there this time. Bree Chandler did. That makes me burn with rage. I put my hand on his chest. “Breathe, Ford, it’s okay.”

“It’s not okay.” He squeezes his eyes shut like he’s trying to purge the memory from his mind.

“Ford,” I whisper, grazing my lips against his. “Kiss me.”

He threads his hand through the back of my hair and presses his lips to mine. I trace my tongue along the seam of his lips. He grunts as he opens and sucks my tongue into his mouth. I moan as he presses me against his car, lifting me. I wrap my legs around him.

“I’m sorry,” he breathes between kisses.

I cup my hand around his cheek. “You’re doing this for me. I’m the one who should be sorry.”

“We’re in this together all the way. No matter what,” Ford says.

“No matter what. Thank you for coming here to tell me what happened. That means a lot.”

“I needed to see you after talking to her. We made a promise to always be open and upfront. We need to discuss this more. Let’s go over to Leah’s. Jack said he’d wait for you, and we could tell the both of you together.”

“Okay, but first, I want you to kiss me again.” I pull him to me, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“It would be my pleasure.”

We stand in the parking lot and kiss until I shiver from the cold. I text Leah and let her know we’re on our way. I eat some of Ford’s leftover food from Chick’s on the way.

Once we get to Leah’s, we all go up to her bedroom. Ford is tense, and he cracks his neck and fidgets with the ring I got him. He pulls his phone out, handing it to me. “I recorded my conversation with Bree,” he says.

I glance at him, and he nods. I push play.

I stop the recording several times to process what Bree said. When the conversation gets to the part about breaking up with me in public, I look up at Ford. He has that heartbreaking look on his face again.

When the recording ends, I fell sick inside. A small part of me almost feels bad for Bree. She has completely deluded herself into thinking that Ford will fall in love with her. What happens if Ford goes through this whole charade and then tells her he doesn’t love her? It’s scary to think about.

“What are we going to do?” Leah asks.

“I’ll try talking to Alison tomorrow after school,” I say. “Hopefully, she has an idea of what Bree has against me.”

“What she thinks she has.” Ford presses his lips into a thin line. He’s not happy. I just nod, agreeing with him.

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