We get to Leah’s, and she leads me into a formal living room. “We’ll sit in here and talk. That way, no one can sneak up on us. I told Aubrey six, which gives another thirty minutes or until the guys show up.”
“Sounds good.”
Leah hugs one of the sofa pillows to her chest, picking at a string. “You can ask me anything you want?”
“Leah, I don’t even know what to ask. Did you like sex?”
“Not the first time, but Nate was always gentle, and he cared about my wellbeing.”
“Did you love Nate?”
“We never said I love you, but my feelings for him were strong. Do you love Ford?”
I pull a soft white blanket off the back of the sofa and rub the fuzzy material through my hands. I nod. “Yes, I do. We say I love you every day.”
Leah’s eyes get wide. “Wow. I didn’t know. But now that you’ve told me, I can totally see it. The way you treat each other screams love.”
“Thanks. I just wish a bullseye wasn’t painted on our relationship. It makes every situation we’re in together hard, and it makes being alone impossible.”
“Have you and Ford had sex?” Leah asks. “And you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want. Just tell me to shut up if I’m overstepping.”
I peek up at her. “You’re not overstepping. I’m glad I have you to talk to. Yes, we’ve had sex. Ford has been amazing about everything. It took him a while to make a move because he wanted it to be on my terms. We slowly worked up to going all the way.” I quirk a smile when I sayall the way.
“That’s how it was with Nate.” Leah lets out a heavy sigh.
“If it’s hard to talk about him, you don’t have to.” I reach over, grasping her hand.
“I’m okay. When he broke up with me, it came out of the blue. The hardest part is that our families are close, and we’re always doing things together. I don’t have feelings for him anymore, but I don’t like to talk about it much.”
“I can understand that,” I say.
“So, do you—like sex?” Leah’s face turns a rosy color.
I bit my lip, nodding. “Yes. Ford always makes sure it’s good for me.” I hide my face in the blanket, feeling embarrassed.
Leah yanks on it, but she doesn’t take it away. “That’s awesome.”
“Well, I think so.” I laugh.
The doorbell rings, and I glance out the window and see Jack’s and Ford’s cars in the driveway. “It’s the guys.” We both stand up and walk to the door, but I stop Leah before she opens it. “Thank you for this.”
She turns around, pulling me into a hug. “I’m so glad we’re friends, Hannah. I hope you know you can talk to me about anything, and it will always stay between us.”
Everyone shows up within ten minutes of each other, and we head downstairs to the game room. It has a pool table, a couple of sofas, and an entire wall of shelves filled with all kinds of games and puzzles. Tyler and June confiscate the pool table, but they’re not really playing. Ty’s just standing behind her, helping her try to use a cue stick. Aubrey is sitting on Cameron’s lap, and they’re whispering together. Leah dares Jack to a game of chess, and they sit together on the floor in the corner. Ford lies on the other couch while I search the shelves. I can tell he’s tired tonight. I finally decide on something and go sit next to him.
“Did you find a game?” he asks, sitting up.
I drop the jumbo-size pack of cards in his lap. “Do you think you can beat me?”
“At, Go Fish? It’ll be tough, but I’ll try my best.” Ford lifts my legs over his, scooting closer to me. “Should we make it interesting?”
I tilt my head, looking at him. “Did you just ask me if I wanted to make a bet?”
Ford smirks. “I didn’t say that. The word bet has been stricken from my vocabulary.”
“And what did you have in mind to make it interesting?”
“The loser has to give the winner…” he pauses, leaning closer to me, his smile getting bigger. “A kiss.”
