“Clark, are you telling me those pictures—that you and Ford—oh my gosh, please tell me you weren’t feeling pressured by what Chanel and Bree said Saturday at Tyler’s?”
I rub a hand down my face. “No, we didn’t. My mom called, and we left and went over to my house. And I couldn't care less about what Bree and her stupid clones say.”Well—maybe that’s not entirely true.I hate that those two have been intimate with Ford, but that’s the past. I’m Ford’s present and his future. And that’s all that matters.
Leah clutches a hand to her chest, taking a deep breath. “You almost gave me a heart attack. How about you come to my house tomorrow after practice, and we’ll hang out?”
“What are we doing?” Audrey asks, dropping next to Leah.
“Uh—” Leah looks at me, unsure ofwhat to say.
“We’re going to hang out tomorrow after cheer practice.” I smile. I’ll have to find another time to talk to Leah about sex.
“Okay girls, stand tall, left leg behind you, and make sure your tummy is tight. I want us to try this move one more time before we call it a night. On the count of three step wide to your left, bring your left elbow high above you, curling your arm above your head. Watch me.” I demonstrate the move for them. “Now you try. On the count of three. 1…2…3.” Everyone tries their best, and the line of girls moves left, and their arms come up. Some graceful others flaying, but most are stiff boards straight in the air like they’re raising their hands to ask a question. “Good job. It’s looking better. I want you to practice this move at home over the next week. That’s all the time we have this week. I’ll see all of you next Monday. We’ll start putting our steps and poses together with music.”
The room erupts into squeals and cheers, and my little students charge me for hugs. “Thank you, Miss Hannah,” the girls singsong as they hug me and say goodbye. I catch sight of Ford through the large viewing window where parents sit and watch the class.
“Hi,” he mouths, smiling and giving me a wink.
I smile back and give him a little wave. “Is that your boyfriend, Miss Hannah?” A little girl named Marley asks.
“Well, he’s my friend and a boy, so yes, he is.”
A couple of other girls, ooh and ahh.
“He’s cute,” McKenna, the spunkiest of my students, says.
“See you next week, girls.” I wave to them as they walk out of the dance studio. I walk over to the sound system and unplug my phone. When I turn around, Ford is standing inside the door. “How long have you been here?”
He glances at his watch. “About twenty minutes. You’re amazing with those girls.”
“Thank you. I’m slowly finding my groove. Now, what are you doing here?”
Ford scratches his jaw, a mischievous smile on his face. “You have my car.”
“Oh yeah,” is all I say. I pull my dance hoodie on, and Ford grabs my bag. He takes my hand, and we walk out of the dance studio into the front lobby. I glance around, looking for any lingering students. “We can go. All my girls are gone.”
“Your girls,” Ford says with another smile. He wraps his arm around me, and we head to his car. I notice his football gear is in the back of the car.
“Did Jack bring you straight here?” I ask as he pulls out of the parking lot.
“No, we stopped by your house first, but when I saw your car there and not mine, I had Jack bring me here.”
“Let me guess, my dad was home?”
Ford glances at me. “Yep.”
“That’s the same reason I didn’t go home and change cars. I’m not ready to face either of my parents.”
“I’m almost positive your dad talked to my mom.” Ford lets out a long sigh.
“What? How do you know?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “I have six missed calls from my mom, three voicemails, and two text messages that say to call her ASAP.”
I cover my hands over my face. This website is getting out of hand. A part of me wishes I’d never told my dad about it. I wouldn’t have made an account to get on the site, and some weird, unknown person wouldn’t be harassing me with text messages.
“Hannah.” I look up, and Ford is standing inside the passenger door. We wrap our arms around each other.
“I’m okay.” I breathe, my eyes dry.
