Page 25 of The Forever After Bet

Nefarious? That’s a great word. I do want to say thank you for the ring, even though I don’t have it. It was so generous of her to give it to Ford. I can’t say anything about it here with so many people loitering around. The wrong person is bound to overhear us.

“Okay,” I finally say.

“Excellent.” She pulls her phone out, unlocks it, and hands it to me. “Type in your number. I’ll text you my address and directions. We live down in the canyon on the edge of town.”

“Sounds good,” I say, taking her phone.

When I walk back into the gym, the players are back on the court, warming up. I grab my pom-poms and take my spot at the end.

Leah turns around when she sees me. “Who were you talking to in the hall?”

“Ford’s grandma. The one who gave him the—” I glance around and then wiggle my ring finger at her.

Leah’s eyes get wide. “Was she mad?”

I shake my head. “No. She was charming and nice and wants me to go over to her house tomorrow to know me better.”

“Uh—that’s kind of weird.”

“It kind of is, huh, but I want to go. I need to say thank you—ugh, I still can’t get those words out of my mouth.” I stomp my foot, angry with myself.

“It’s okay. You may never be able to say them.”

“I guess.”

The buzzer sounds, and Ravenwood starts the game with the ball. Their players are fierce and intimidating. They make their basket, and Ty passes the ball to Dave, who drives it toward our side of the court. He passes it to Jack, who passes it to Ford. He dribbles and acts like he’s going to go left, but then fakes and goes right. A Ravenwood player pushes him. Ford bumps into another Ravenwood player, and they trip over each other, falling.

I gasp, covering my mouth. I wish I was better at schooling my reactions. Luckily, I’m not the only one to react. Half the girls in the stands gasp, too. Ford jumps up, brushing himself off. The only sign that anything happened is his now untucked jersey. I take a deep breath. It’s okay for me to worry about Ford’s well-being.

He uses the bottom of his jersey to wipe his forehead, and something flutters to the ground at his feet. Amy Fowler, a sophomore cheerleader who stands at the other end of our line, steps onto the court, picks it up, and hands it to him. He says thank you and then heads off the court. I watch as he flips his jersey up and undoes a tiny safety pin on the bottom right-hand side. He slides the piece of paper through it and pins it to his jersey.

My legs suddenly feel like jelly, and I’m having a hard time catching my breath. I don’t want to draw attention to myself, so I slowly walk out of the gym, down the hall, and into the bathroom. I go to wipe a hand down my face and realize I’m still holding my pom-poms.

He got my note. Not only that, but he pinned it to his jersey. I thought he might pin it to his warmup suit or his basketball bag. I never expected he would wear it at the game.

“Hannah?” June calls, coming into the bathroom.

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“Hey.” She comes running over. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m okay.” I smile.

“What happened?”

I look over at the row of bathroom stalls, then walk along, opening each one to make sure no one is in here with us. “Sorry, I know I’m being paranoid.”

“You have every right to be with that awful website.”

“Thanks for understanding.” I quickly tell June about the kiss note. “I can’t believe he pinned it to his jersey. I never expected that.”

June grabs me, hugging me tight. “That’s great.”

I feel wetness on my neck, and June sniffs.

“I wish you’d reconsider getting back together with Ty,” I say.

She shakes her head. “It’s done. I made my decision.”

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