“Yes,” June squeaks. “Tyler asked me to homecoming.”
“Eek! That’s awesome. I’m so happy for you. I’m so excited.”
“I need you to go dress shopping with me. My mom has terrible taste in clothing.”
“It’s a date. I’m so excited. It’s only the first full week of school, and so much drama has happened, but so many amazing things have happened too.”
“It will get better,” June says.
“I sure hope so.” I stand up, pulling June up with me. “Should we go find our boyfriends?”
June giggles. She looks happier than I’ve ever seen her. It makes my heart happy. Downstairs, Ford is standing about five feet from me, talking to a girl I don’t know. I’ve never seen her before, but she’s standing really close to him. The only consolation is that he looks like he’d like to crawl into a hole and hide. Then she says something that completely shocks me.
“Another?” I stare at Ford.
His eyes get wide for the briefest second, and then his forehead furrows, and he pushes off the back of the sofa, sidestepping the girl. “Nope.” He wraps a hand around my waist, carrying me up the stairs. He grabs my keys from the bowl on the entry table, but when we get outside, two cars have parked behind mine. “Go wait by Ty’s jeep. I’ll be right back.” Whoa. He’s being bossy. A little tingle rushes down my spine, but I shake it away. Not the time. Ford sprints up the steps and into the house, leaving the door open. I haven’t even moved when he comes running out the door and jumps off the porch. “Come on.” He grabs my hand, walking me over to Tyler’s jeep and helping me in.
“Where are we going?” I ask when he turns out of the subdivision onto the main road.
“The Lake Side Diner it’s open until 2 a.m. on the weekends.”
“Are you going to tell me what that girl meant?” I ask, biting my lip.
Ford reaches over, taking my hand. “Yes, I will tell you everything, I promise.”
“Okay,” I whisper. My stomach twists with worry. I’m not sure I can handle whatever he has to tell me. “Did you sleep with that girl while we were broken up?” I blurt, my emotions getting the better of me.
Ford pulls over to the side of the road. He runs his knuckles along my cheek. “No. I didn’t cheat on you, I promise. I wasn’t with anybody.”
My heart slows down, and I take a breath. “I believe you.”
“I love you, Hannah, so much.”
“I love you too.” I take his hand, kissing his wrist next to the leather band I bought him.
Ford takes a deep breath and pulls back out onto the road. The Diner is busy for almost midnight. It’s a seat-yourself place, and Ford leads me back to a corner booth out of the way. I scoot in, and then he slides in next to me. “Are you hungry? They have great pancakes.”
“Do you come here very often? I always pass this place, but I’ve never been here.”
“Once in a while, me, Jack, and T. will end up here after a party. We came here a lot last year after basketball games.”
“To drown your sorrows?” For as good as LHS is at football, they’re the exact opposite at basketball. At least, they were last year.
“Yep. This year will be different. All the stupid cocky seniors are gone.”
“There were a lot of seniors on the team last year.”
“Too Many.”
A waitress shows up to take our order. Ford orders pancakes, and I get a huckleberry shake. When she’s gone, we’re both quiet. Ford takes a breath and then says, “Chanel Bywater is a girl I slept with the summer after my sophomore year. She lived in Ponderosa Valley and went to University High. I met her at the summer session concert, and she gave me her number. A couple of weeks later, I invited her to a party on the bluffs, and she came. We didn’t do anything at the party except make out and get a little handsy. When I took her home, she told me her parents were out of town, and one thing led to another. I guess her family moved into the area. She stopped me in the hall today on the way to French to say hi. I was going to tell you, but….”
“Things have been a little hectic.”
“Yeah.”
I feel better now that I understand the context of Chanel’s comment. I dislike that she now goes to Lake City and has had sex with Ford. It’s easier not to know or put a face to his other partners. “It was clear you weren’t enjoying your conversation with her.”
“No, I wasn’t. Hannah, I want to be as upfront and transparent as you want me to be about my past sexual relationships. If you want to know everything, I’ll tell you. But I need you to understand that I only want to be with you. I haven’t been with anyone as many times as I have with you.”
