I run my fingers along her rosy cheek. “Can we get together and talk?”
“You won the bet. I owe you a date.”
“Just to talk, not an official date.”
“Oh, and what’s an official date? Homemade sandwiches and a couple of games of Madden on the Xbox?” She smirks.
I shake my head. “Homecoming.”
Hannah’s eyes get wide, and her mouth drops open. “What?”
I lean down until our noses are almost touching. “You heard me. The date I won is for homecoming.”
“This is you asking me to the homecoming dance?”
“Yes, and no. I am asking you, but I’ll do it officially when it gets closer to the dance. We still have three weeks.”
Hannah bites her lip, and I can tell she wants to giggle. “Okay,” she whispers.
“Good. Now can we please—”
“Clark!” Leah yells. “Get up here.”
“I’ve got to go.” Hannah pushes me away, sprinting up the stairs.
Dammit. I’ll call her after practice. Hopefully, we can get together and talk.
5. Craziest Day of My Life
Cheer practice was brutal. Leah is a great cheer captain, but she demands perfection, and for some of the cheerleaders, that’s an impossible task. It’s almost six o’clock when practice is over. Today was one heck of a first day of school. I don’t think my classes will be too bad, but my social life may kill me, which is crazy because I barely had a social life last year. It was just me, June, and Alison. I didn’t even see Alison today. I know it’s stupid to worry about her. She was awful to me over the summer, but it’s hard to forget eight years of friendship.
Eight hours of school, an hour of running, and two hours of cheer practice are too much for one day. I’m exhausted. And I stink. I need a shower, and I want my bed. On my way home, I stop at Twisted Soda and get a drink. I decide to drive around for a while. I try to tell myself I don’t know where I’m going, and that’s kind of true, but mostly a lie. I’m going to the abandoned cabin. Ford’s secret spot. It only takes me about twenty minutes to find it, and I can pull all the way up to the front of the cabin.
I’m not sure what I’m doing here. I guess I need a spot to be by myself and think. I follow the dirt path that leads to the meadow. Most of the flowers are gone, but there are still a handful of little yellow ones that remind me of marigolds, and I pick a couple. I sit down under the tree where Ford carved a heart with F plus H in the middle. My mind wanders back to this afternoon when Ford grabbed my arm and pushed me back against his locker, his hands on either side of my face. I wasn’t sure what he was doing. I thought maybe he was upset about the Mickey toy, but then he kissed me. It was a hard, needful kiss. I can still remember the feel of his tongue pushing against the seam of my mouth. I was surprised by the kiss, but the tension between us was almost suffocating because of the stupid bet we’d made. That was Ford talking to me, only in a different way.
My mom said I’d get over Ford. I’d move on and want to date other boys. But the idea of dating or kissing another guy makes my gut hurt. And just thinking about Ford holding hands with another girl makes me want to cry and punch something all at the same time.
There’s the crunch of footsteps close by. Shoot! I didn’t think anyone came up here. I shouldn’t have come by myself; I need to leave before whoever is here sees me. I jump up just as Ford walks through the trees. The shock on his face resembling my own.
“Hannah?”
I take a step forward, but Ford runs up to me. “Hi.” I glance at him. I don’t know what to say. I feel like I’ve been caught somewhere I shouldn’t be. This is his spot.
Ford cups a hand on my cheek, tilting my chin with his thumb, so I look at him. “What are you doing here?”
I shrug. “I needed a quiet place to think. This was the only place that came to mind. I’m sorry I shouldn’t have intruded on your space.” I turn to leave, but he grabs my hip, stopping me.
“This place is as much yours now as it is mine. I’m glad you came here. It’s just….”
“I know it wasn’t smart to come alone and not tell anyone where I was going.”
He nods. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”
I smile up at Ford. “I was just startled.”
“That’s good.” He takes my hand, and we walk back to the cabin, sitting down on the step.
I lean into him, resting my head on his shoulder. He smells so good. I’ve missed this smell. We sit quietly for a while. I open my mouth several times to ask what’s wrong, but I can’t bring myself to do it. Instead, I ask, “why are you here?”
