Page 63 of The Forever After Bet

“Are you kidding? I thought it was awesome. I better go. I told Gigi I’d help her get Gramps home.”

“Call me later when he’s settled.”

“I will.” Ford leans down, giving me a soft kiss. It’s meant to be fast, but both of us keep our lips pressed together, holding onto one another.

“I love you,” I say, pulling back.

“I love you. I’ll see you later.” Ford leaves, and I decide to wait five minutes before I walk out. When I get to the volunteer booth, Bree is gone. Leah and June are working it. I look around the fair for a while. There’s a vendor selling popcorn in a myriad of different flavors. I get Ford cinnamon and sugar popcorn. I get myself strawberry and white chocolate, and I buy Hank and Scottie some confetti popcorn. I get Jack the Ranch popcorn. That guy eats ranch with everything. Why not popcorn?

Aubrey and Cameron show up at four for their shift, so Leah, June, and I walk around the craft fair. I buy Beth a necklace for Christmas. Leah buys Jack a pound of fudge. We walk by a screen graphics vendor that has some cool shirt designs. We decide to buy Jack, Ty, and Ford all the same shirt and play a joke on them.

At the end of the day, I log onto the fundraiser website to see the donations. We raised almost two thousand dollars by handing out flyers and talking to people today. Hopefully, people will show up next week with items to donate. Edison and Cory come back to help take everything down, and Jack and Ty make it back to help, too. With so many people, it only takes us an hour.

We’re taking the last load of decorations to the car when Ford pulls up. “Hey, are you all done?” he asks.

“Yeah, this was the last load. How’s your grandpa?”

“He’s good. He’s home, resting, and high as a kite on pain meds.” Ford laughs. “What are you doing now?”

“I told my parents I was going to Leah’s for a while, but I was going to call and see where you were.”

“Can Jack take your phone?” Ford asks.

“Yeah, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

We find Jack and Leah. They’re headed to Leah’s house and then out to eat later. June and Ty have plans of their own. Jack agrees to take my phone and car so I can go with Ford.

“So, where are we headed?” I ask Ford as we get into the Range Rover.

“My parents are out of town. Is it okay if we hang out at my house?”

I take Ford’s hand. “I’d really like that.”

Ford helps me out of the car, and we walk into his house. “My mom left stuff for sandwiches, or we can order takeout?” Ford says, walking into the kitchen.

“Let’s keep it simple and order takeout. I love your cooking, but you’ve had a tough day.”

He pulls a Gatorade from the fridge, smiling at me. “Thanks.”

“Oh, course.” I plop down on the sofa. “What are you in the mood for?”

“I was thinking, Chinese. I’m in the mood for Lo Mein and sweet and sour chicken.” Ford sits down next to me, pulling his phone out.

“That sounds great. Can we get some fried rice too?”

“Anything for you.” Ford winks at me. He uses an app to order our food and have it delivered.

I take off my shoes and socks, lying down on the sofa. “I’m so tired,” I whine, rubbing a hand down my face.

Ford crawls down the sofa lying next to me, and we turn so we’re facing each other. “You should be proud of yourself. We haven’t even taken any physical donations, and you’ve already raised two thousand dollars. This year’s fundraiser is a massive success compared to other years.” Ford brushes wayward curls off my forehead.

“Thank you. It was exciting to see how much money we raised today. I hope next Saturday is as successful as today.”

“It will be. I know it.” Ford traces his finger down my nose and across my cheek. “Next Saturday is also the Winter Formal.”

“I know. June and Leah talked about it today while we walked around the craft fair.”

“What did they say?”

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