Page 151 of Fall Fake-Out

My sister is right.

Ari absolutely needs to know where my head and my heart are at.

Hours later, the reception finally begins winding down. The dance floor empties as Landrie and Jaxon leave to change their clothes for their big exit.

I go looking for Ari.

She’s not at her table.

Not near the dance floor.

Not by the dessert station.

Not outside the tent.

I push the worry away. It’s not like she could’ve gone far. She’d never miss Landrie leaving.

I find Dusty Langford sitting with Tom Walker.

“Hey. Have you seen Ari?”

“I think she went out to the parking lot.”

“The parking lot?”

“Yeah, with that guy.” He turns to Tom, snapping at him as if he has the answer he’s looking for.

“Jaxon’s friend Ethan.”

“Right.” Dusty nods. “She left with Ethan.”

My world stops.

She left with Ethan?

I don't wait for further clarification. I head toward the parking area. Fast. The farther I walk, the harder my heart pounds in my chest because I finally know what happens next between Ari and me.

I just have to tell her.

Wade

She left with Ethan.

The words replay on a loop as I stride through the dark parking lot.

But she’d never just leave without telling me. Would she?

The row of parked vehicles comes into view. My head is on a swivel, looking for Ari, hoping that I’ve caught her before…I don’t even know what.

When I finally see her, standing beside what’s probably Ethan’s car with the passenger door open, relief hits so hard my knees almost give out.

Ethan stands by the driver’s side, holding something in his hands. They’re just talking. And suddenly, all the courage I spent the last ten minutes building threatens to disappear. What if she’s already figured out Ethan is the better bet than I am?

The thought physically hurts.

“Ari!” I kind of hate the desperation in my voice.

Both of them turn.