Page 80 of Our Forever Starts Tonight

It pulled a chuckle out of Aria. “I’m okay with that.” Then she opened her arms and Hannah walked into her embrace and they hugged. It made me happy to see the two women I cared about most getting along. I was actually a little nervous, but it was clear I had no reason to be.

But then Hannah turned around and came face to face with Arden, and things got awkward fast. “Hi,” she said.

Arden’s gaze was shifting side-to-side uncomfortably. “Hi.”

Hannah looked as if she wanted to say more, an array of emotions flashing across her face, but she opted not to say anything at all. She took a step backwards and I met her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and holding her so that she knew I had her back. With Aria and I dating now, things were bound to dredge up between Hannah and Arden, whether she was ready for it or not, and I wanted her to know that we were going to get through it together. She smiled up at me and I could read thanks in her eyes, so I left it at that.

“Aria, right?”

We turned and Capito was behind us. Aria looked up his full height and gasped. “Y-yes.”

“I’m Capito,” he said. “One of the aforementionedrealfriends.”

“Ah,” Aria said. “Nice to meet you.”

“You take good care of my boy, you hear?” He tapped the top of my head. “And you take good care of her.”

“Yeah,” we said in unison.

“I’ll see you guys at lunch then,” Capito said, walking around us waving as he went. He was such a tell-it-like-it-is kind of guy, and having him as a friend had certainly changed the dynamic in my life. That one outburst at dinner gave Capito the insight he needed to open up to me, and I was glad for that. Painful though it had been, if Aria and I hadn’t been estranged at that moment, it may have never happened.

Just another thing I could thank her for.

“Oh, so now that giant guy is going to sit with us at lunch,” Arden said. “Cool. I like giants.”

The bell rang and everyone dispersed for their first classes, leaving Aria and I standing alone once again. I caught Ceradi up ahead watching us through a narrowed gaze, so I curled Aria towards me and gave her a huge kiss, which Aria then punctuated by flipping Ceradi off. She stormed off down the hallway, and though we both knew it wasn’t the last we’d hear from her, neither of us were too worried.

We watched as Arden introduced Capito to some of their debate friends, while Hannah stood awkwardly behind them, and Aria laughed.

“That is quite the sight,” I said, noticing some of the people standing around looking in awe as one of the largest football players in the entire school exchanged comic book notes with the debate team. “I don’t think anyone here has ever seen anything like that before.”

“I certainly haven’t,” Aria said. “The drama may have ended, but it looks like the fun is just beginning.”

I nodded. “Yeah.” Then I pulled her close and kissed her on the forehead. “But I knew that when I looked up the first day of school, and realized that you had found your way back to me.”

“I love you,” she whispered up to me.

I looked back at her, thanking whatever god of fate brought her to me. “And I love you.”

Epilogue

ARDEN

Being extra careful not to splinter the old wood as I climbed, I lifted one foot over the other to bring myself up into the treehouse that I hadn’t been in for ten or more years. For a while there, it was just about the fact that I was a big kid, and the treehouse had been built for a much younger version of myself, but then once Hannah and I fell apart, I could barely bring myself to look at it.

For some reason, I woke up that morning compelled to climb up into it and smoke a little weed. I wasn’t sure if I was expecting it to make me feel better, but when I crouched and twisted to shove myself inside, the position I had to contort into in order to fit seemed to fit the circumstances perfectly.

Just like my relationship with Hannah.

“Arden?”

I didn’t move, mostly because I was afraid if I did, I’d break something. “Up here, gorg.”

Dragging the papers and weed out of my pocket to start rolling a blunt, I waited until Aria’s head popped up through the opening in the base of the treehouse that allowed entry. “Wow,” she said. “A true blue treehouse. I honestly didn’t think these things existed outside of old movies.”

“You wanna come in?” she asked. “I’m sure we can both fit if we’re willing to get a little cozy.”

Aria raised an eyebrow. “Are you just trying to feel me up?

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