“Where are we supposed to put the check?” Leah yells. All four guys kneel in front of us and tear their shirts down the middle, revealing a large black boxdrawn across their abs with yes written above it.
My eyes are wide with shock, and I’m smiling from ear to ear. “What do ya say, Hannah?” Ford holds his hands out wide. “Will you be my date for homecoming?”
I undo the cap and draw a big red check mark on his chest. “Yes.”
Ford leans in, giving me a quick kiss. “Thank you.” He reaches behind me, grabs a dozen roses someone placed there, and hands them to me along with a t-shirt. Ford puts on a fresh shirt, and I laugh when I read it. “What do you think?” he asks, holding the shirt out.Hannah Clark said yes to being my date for homecoming with another check yes box that has a red check in it.
“I love it.”
“Look at the back.” Ford turns around. On the back of his shirt, it reads,Hannah Clark is my girlfriend. I smile and shake my head. He turns back around and leans in, whispering, “now everyone will know. Read your shirt.”
I hold up my shirt.I said yes to being Ford Cross’ homecoming date. I flip the shirt around, and on the back, it says,I’m Ford Cross’ girlfriend.
“Oh, jeez.”
“Here, let me help you put it on.” I raise my hands over my head, and Ford helps me slip the shirt over my cheer top. Someone in the lunchroom yells. “Hell yeah, you’ve practiced that move a lot.”
“Ignore them. They’re just jealous,” Ford whispers.
Chanel’s words ring through my ears again. Welcome to the club. I smile, but I’m overwhelmed by so many people standing around watching us. I glance over at my friends. They look so happy. Leah and Aubrey hug each other, and June and Tyler are sitting with their heads together, Ty’s arm wrapped around her. “Can we go?” I ask Ford, letting out a shaky breath.
He cups both his hands around my face, pushing my hair off my forehead, and leans in, giving me a soft kiss. Saying nothing, he stands up and holds out his hand for me. I take it, and he leads me through the crowd of students.
Several girls congratulate me, and I smile and say thank you. We walk down to the end of A hall and into an empty classroom.
36. Welcome to the Club
“Are you okay?” I cup my hands around Hannah’s face and rest my forehead against hers.
“Yes, I’m great. Whose classroom is this?”
I glance around the room. “It’s Mrs. Bouchard, the French teacher. She has a free period fifth hour, so she always leaves for lunch since she has the extra time. It’s been her schedule for the last couple of years. She used to let me come in and study during lunch sometimes when I’d get behind because of sports. You’re sure everything’s okay?”
“Yes. I just got asked to homecoming by the most popular boy in school.”
I bite my lip to hold in my sigh. Being popular isn’t important to me anymore. I wish I’d kept a lower profile and tried to be more humble. If I had, maybe me and Hannah wouldn’t be facing so many problems. “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?” She threads her hand through my hair.
“The whole spectacle in the lunchroom. All I was thinking about was showing everyone I was asking you to homecoming. Showing everyone that you’re my girlfriend. I didn’t think that it might be too overwhelming for you.”
“Ford.” Hannah grabs my face. “I loved every second. Especially when you tore your shirt off. I’m a hundred percent sure, every girl in the lunchroom watching loved it. I admit I got a little uncomfortable with all the people standing around staring at me, but what you and the guys did was amazing. I need you to show me your dance moves so I can teach them to my dance class.”
I finally let out the breath I’ve been holding. I’m relieved and thrilled Hannah liked everything. “We got carried away, but it was fun to plan. It was Cameron’s mom who came up with the idea to tear our shirts in half and have the check yes on our chests.”
“Cute, petite, soft-spoken, Mrs. Winters. Had that idea?”
“Yeah, she’s super creative.”
Hannah leans in, pressing her lips to mine. “Thank you,” she breathes when we break apart. “For asking me to homecoming. I’m so excited to be your date.”
“Thank you for saying yes. We’re going to have a night to remember.” I kiss her again, flicking my tongue out against the seam of her lips until she opens her mouth, letting me in. Hannah moans when our tongues twist and dance together, and our kissing turns passionate. Her phone beeps with several text messages, but we ignore them. Then her phone starts to ring.
“Stupid phone,” she pants, trying to catch her breath. I glide my hand down her side and into the waistband of her cheer skirt, where she’s stashed her phone. The missed call was from her dad and one of the text messages. The other messages are from Unknown.
“Hannah.” I breathe, feeling frustrated. “I thought we weren’t going to look at the website again.”
“There are pictures of us Saturday night laying on your sofa.”
