She shakes her head, laughing. “We haven’t gone at it like that in a long time. That was fun. I’m almost finished with the experiment. If you’ll work on the calculations, I’ll finish up.”
“I forgot how much fun it is to spar with you.” I laugh. She hands me her notebook, and I copy the numbers she already has. I was wound tight from that meeting with the football scouts, but Hannah has helped some of that tension melt away. I reach my hand out, twirling my fingers into the bottom of her cheer skirt, and skim them up her thigh. She stops what she’s doing and takes a deep breath, glancing at me. “Thank you,” I mouth.
She gives me a little wink and smiles. “You’re welcome.”
I can feel someone’s eyes on me, and I glance across the room and catch Landon Phillips watching me. He’s staring at my hand under Hannah’s skirt. I tilt my head, and his eyes meet mine. There’s a spark of embarrassment at getting caught, but then he narrows his eyes and frowns, his forehead furrowing. He looks angry. He jerks his chin up, giving me a defiant glare, and then goes back to working on his experiment. I glance up at Hannah, who’s pouring a blue liquid into her beaker, and it dawns on me. Landon likes Hannah. That’s the only reason for the scowl. It makes sense. He’s been overly chatty this year with her, and he’s sat next to her in both this class and economics.
Before Hannah and I got together, I could’ve seen her dating Landon. He’s a typical nerd. He’s in the running for Valedictorian, but I don’t think he scored as high on his SATs as Hannah or I. He’s also in a lot of extra-curricular activities. But he’s too late. Hannah is my girl. The idea of him dating her makes my gut knot. I don’t think Hannah realizes how attractive she is and how many guys would love to be in my position. I’ve never cared about a girl the way I care about Hannah. She matters to me. I just got her back, and I will not lose her again.
I crunch the numbers for our experiment, so by the time the bell rings for lunch, we’re all done, and don’t have any homework for the weekend. “So, what colleges are in town for the game tonight?” Hannah asks as we pack up our books.
I scratch the back of my head, thinking. “Oregon, USC, UCLA, University of Utah, and probably a few others. Those are just the schools that met with me, but several recruiters are looking at some of the guys on the team.”
“That’s a lot of schools.”
“It is, but it’s a big game tonight.”
“Well, I know you won’t disappoint.” Hannah reaches up to kiss my cheek, but I turn at the last second, and her lips meet mine. She gives me a swift little kiss and then breaks away, glancing around the chemistry room. But most of the other kids have left for lunch.
“Relax.” I back her against the wall and run my hands down her arms.
“I just—It’s nothing.” But she won’t look me in the eye. Something has got her wound tight, and I’m going to find out what it is.
“Come on, let’s get our stuff.” We pack up our bags, and then I usher Hannah out of the room and down the hall toward the parking lot.
“What are you doing?” she asks as I hold the metal doors open for her.
“Going to lunch.” I’m not being entirely upfront with her, but I’m not giving her a chance to get out of telling me what’s going on with her. As we make our way to my car, I entwine my hand with hers. I text Jack and Tyler, letting them know what Hannah and I are doing, then put my phone away. Hannah doesn’t say anything as I take her bag and help her into the Range Rover, but I can tell she’s nervous. My house is only about ten minutes from the school. The tension is thick between us as we walk into the house through the garage. I pull her over to the sofa, sit down and then pull her down onto my lap. “Okay,” I say, letting my head rest against hers. “Now tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s—”
“Don’t you dare say it’s nothing? I know you, Hannah, and something has you completely stressed out. I’ve never seen you like this. We made a promise to each other to be more open and honest.”
Tears well in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks. “I know. I didn’t want to tell you about this before your game tonight. I didn’t want to add any more stress to an already stressful situation. I was going to tell you. I just wanted to wait.”
I wipe away her tears with my thumb, then tip her chin up, so she’s looking at me. “Baby, yes, football this year is stressful, but it’s also something I love. When I’m out there on the field playing, I’m not thinking about my parents, the scouts, or my grades. I leave that all on the sidelines. So whatever’s going on, I promise you I can handle it.”
Hannah nods and pulls out her phone. “Do you remember last Saturday at breakfast when I mentioned Leah and Aubrey had told me about a fan website for you?”
“Yes, you were going to show me, but we got distracted. A couple of the guys on the team have mentioned it to me, but I’ve never looked. I don’t know why someone would want to make a fan website about me.”
Hannah’s eyebrows scrunch together. “Seriously, Cross? You know why.”
I take a breath and slowly let it out. “Yeah, okay. Is that what has you upset?”
“That’s part of the reason. Leah mentioned it again yesterday and told me I should look at it. So Last night, after I finished my homework, I used Aubrey’s name and password to log on. Here, let me show you.” Hannah hands me her phone.
The website looks innocent enough. “Whoever put this profile together knows nothing about me.” Hannah makes a little humph in agreement. “I don’t—” I stop when I see pictures of Hannah and me kissing after school yesterday, and then in front of my house last night. The caption reads: ‘Homework buddies? Or hump buddies?’“Is this why you called me last night, and why you tensed up when I kissed you after class?”
She nods. “Yes. Ford, someone had to have been stalking your house last night to take that picture. It freaked me out.”
Or they were following Hannah, but I don’t say that out loud. She’s already super upset about all of this.
“Why would someone sit outside my house, hoping you’d show up? That’s crazy.”
“Remember, you shouted at me not to be late.”
“Dang it. I did.”
