Page 55 of The Forever After Bet

“Yes, but there’s only one kiss I care about,” he says, leaning down to kiss me, but I stop him.

“I have a present for you,” I twist up my lips into a sly smile. I pull the thin gold chain out from under my cheer top.

Ford takes the charms in his hand. I still have the F+H and number 10 charms on it, but I’ve added his basketball number, a 23.

“I love it.” He cups his hand around my face and leans down, kissing the charms at my throat, then trails kisses along the slope of my neck to the spot that makes me shiver. He leans his forehead against mine. “I need to hear it.”

I smile, leaning in and kissing him. “Make this moment matter. Don’t let what’s happened today interfere with your game. Leave it off the court, and remember, I love you.”

“Thank you. Don’t worry about Bree.”

“I won’t. I’m more stressed about calculus.”

“We’ll figure out a way to work on it together. We can meet at the bookstore on Sunday.”

“That would be awesome.” I sigh, feeling relieved.

“Come on, we better go.” Ford takes my hand, leading me off the bus.

When our team comes out on the court to warm up, Ford smiles and winks at me, then concentrates on the drills. Ryker doesn’t seem to care about warming up. He spends five minutes trying to get my attention. When I finally wave at him. He nods at me and blows me a kiss. I pretend to miss it, then shrug and mouth, sorry. This makes him laugh and shake his head. I turn my back on him to talk to Aubrey. A basketball suddenly rolls in front of my feet. I pick it up and turn around, thinking Ford did it, but it’s Ryker who’s standing in front of me.

“Sorry.” He smiles, holding his hands out for the ball.

I smile and toss it to him. Instead of heading back to the court to finish warming up, he takes a step closer to me. “Do you have a date for the winter formal?” he asks.

“Shouldn’t you be warming up?” I glance over at Ford, who’s watching us.

“I never see you at school. Are you sure you go there?” He smirks.

“I was there all day.”

“I’ll talk to you later, Clark.” He winks at me and heads back out on the court.

“Not if I can help it,” I mutter.

Leah comes up and nudges me. “Look.” She nods her head toward the bleachers. I see Bree, Melissa, and Missy making their way up the student section of the bleachers. Bree has her Titan good luck charm shirt on and a new poster with the number 23.

“What the hell?” I turn to Leah. “They’re supposed to be setting up the booth for the craft fair tomorrow.”

“That’s why Bree Chandler should never be put in charge of anything. Her priorities are completely screwed up. She only cares about one thing, and that’s herself.” Leah huffs.

“I better call Landon and see if she left him any instructions,” I say.

“Yeah, okay, just hurry. You don’t want to miss the player introductions.” Leah glances at the play clock.

I grab my phone and dial Landon. Just as I thought, Bree didn’t call or text him. They got to the spot where our booth is supposed to be located, and it’s empty. I tell Landon where Mrs. Landry said to get a table and chairs. He assures me they will set it up. He tells me that if he needs to come early and help, he can, since he and Chanel have the first volunteer shift in the morning. I tell him I’ll let him know and thank him profusely for helping.

I get back to the gym in the nick of time. Only a few of the cheerleaders help form a line for players to run through when they’re introduced. Too many people on the court makes it hard for everyone to move around. I stand at the end of the line. We cheer and high-five as they announce the players and their positions.

Ford’s name is the last called. I hold out my hand for a high-five. He smiles and winks at me as he comes down the line. He goes to slap my hand, but then grabs my arm by the elbow. He spins me around, tipping me back over his arm and giving me a hot, fast kiss. When he sits me up, he has a drop-dead gorgeous smile on his face. “Thanks, Sweet cheeks.” He turns around, runs up to his teammates, and high-fives them.

Leah smiles at me, rolling her eyes. I cover a hand over my mouth in complete shock. Leah grabs my hand, and we run off the court together. We’re supposed to be keeping our relationship a secret. I have a feeling that kiss was for both Ryker and Bree.

“Uh what the heck was that kiss?” Leah asks.

“Huh?” I give her a dazed look.

Leah laughs. “Ford just kissed you in front of half the school.” Leah looks at me with her eyebrows arched.

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