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I nodded my head.

Gigi laughed. “Well I definitely doubt that. Axel is still hung up on me.”

I was pretty sure the dating Gigi thing was just a last desperate effort by Axel to make me wake up. And I was done letting Gigi mess with me. Axel was mine. Not hers. “He’s in love with me,” I said.

Gigi looked surprised that I’d even spoken. “That’s not what he said the other week when he was making love to me.”

What? My stomach churned.

Sophie pretended to gag.

I thought about all the girls that Axel had dated over the years. And his big box of condoms that wasn’t even half full. I’d always assumed he’d done things with all his girlfriends. But with Gigi? Really? Axel had said he only dated other people to make me jealous. So why was he making love to Gigi behind closed doors? And how many girls had he had sex with exactly? He’d dated so many people. Had he screwed all of them? For someone so obsessed with stealing all my firsts, he didn’t seem to care much about his own.

“Your face is priceless,” Gigi said. “Did Axel not tell you?”

“No...he...um...” I stuttered.

“I think telling women that he loves them is just his line. Probably how he got half the cheerleading squad to sleep with him.”

Half the cheerleading squad?! I hoped bitch wasn’t contagious, because if it was there was no way Axel hadn’t contracted it.

“Don’t listen to her,” Sophie said. “Axel wouldn’t have screwed this witch.” But she didn’t sound that sure.

“Oh, he screwed me real good.” Gigi bit her lip like she was remembering every second of it.

Ew.

“Anyway, I gotta get back to my date. Since I actually have one, Sophie. Have fun enjoying my sloppy seconds, Scarlett.” Gigi blew me a kiss and then turned on her heel and walked away. Her minions quickly followed.

Sophie shook her head. “I know that she knows I’m here with Eli. What is her problem?”

“Do you really think Axel slept with her?”

“No. Never. He was just dating her to make you jealous. It was all fake. Like everyone else he dated.”

“But...was it all fake? You saw that box of condoms in his room.”

Sophie was quiet for a moment. “You were dating Jacob and you knew he’d been with other girls. And you were okay with that, right?”

I slowly nodded. “Yeah, but Jacob wasn’t obsessed with stealing all my firsts. He didn’t manipulate everyone around me to make sure I couldn’t date anyone else. While he was off screwing half the school.”

“Does Axel having sex with a hundred girls really change how you feel about him?”

“A hundred?!”

“I was exaggerating. Obviously.” Sophie stared at me. “But based on your face, I guess that does change how you feel about him?”

“I don’t know,” I said.

“You know Axel was experienced with how good of a kisser he was as your kiss thief. Experience is a good thing. That’s why I like older men.”

I nodded. “I guess.”

“Scar.” She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “I get it. I know what it’s like to see the person you’re in love with every day not loving you back. But Axel did. And that’s what you should focus on. Please, leave the past in the past and just be happy. You gotta let that all go.”

I took a deep breath. “Yeah. Of course.” My words sounded a little more confident than I felt. “But what if I’m bad at sex?”

“Which is where his experience will be a good thing.”