Page 78 of The Forever After Bet

He nods, and I help him carefully remove his dress shirt and slacks. I toe off my shoes, and he helps me take off my warm-up pants and panties. I lay back on the seat, and Ford slides on a condom. He covers his body with mine and takes me to a place only he can.

Afterwards, we get dressed but sit together in the back seat. “We finally christened my car.” Ford laughs, kissing my head.

“Thank you.” I raise my head, kissing his chin.

“I love being with you, Hannah. Thank you for loving me.”

I sigh contented nuzzling my nose into his neck. “I’m going to tell my dad that we’re dating.”

“Okay,” Ford breathes.

I sit up looking at him. “That’s it?”

“I have mixed feelings, but it’s a start to us not hiding our relationship.”

“I agree. Thank you for supporting me.”

“Always,” Ford whispers over my lips, then kisses me.

When I get home from the game, my dad is sitting in his favorite chair, reading and waiting for me.

“Hey,” I say, dropping my keys in the bowl. “Did you go to the game?”

“Yeah, we left a little after halftime. Hank and Scottie were tired, and it was clear we would win.”

“Yeah, it was a good game.” I sit on the sofa.

My dad gets up, coming to sit next to me. He puts his arms around me, hugging me.

“Thanks,” I say when he lets go. “I needed that.”

“Me too.” My dad pats my back.

I pick at a loose string on my cheer skirt. I resolved to tell my dad about what’s been happening in my life; but now that it’s time, I’m scared. “Dad…” My voice is a horse whisper.

“You can tell me anything, Hannah. I promise to listen.” My dad squeezes my hand.

“Okay,” I nod. “Ford and I are back together.”

“I kind of knew that,” my dad says.

I rub a hand over my forehead, unsure if I should tell him about the elopement.

“I talked to Mitch Cross several weeks ago. He called because he was worried about you.”

I groan, covering my hands over my face. “Did he tell you what we did?”

“Yes.”

I peek up at my dad through my fingers. He doesn’t look mad. I sigh and sit up. “For some reason, we thought it was the answer to our problems. It might have solved a few of them, but it would have caused more. We talked things out and realized the importance of our families and being teenagers a little longer.”

“That’s a very grown-up thing to say.” My dad pats my back.

“I’m sorry I kept it from you. I don’t want to hide things from you.”

“I think I was trying to hold on to my little girl for as long as possible.” My dad wraps his arm around me, and I lay my head on his shoulder. “The problem with that is you’re not a little girl anymore. Hannah, I’m so proud of the young woman you’ve become.” My dad’s voice cracks, and he clears it twice. “Thank you for telling me about Ford. He’s a good kid.”

“Thank you for listening.”

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