Page 36 of Scarlett and Her Prince Charming

I was definitely going on that date. I just needed to figure out a way to break the news to Jacob. Well, all the news. He was going to be so pissed.

Chapter 8 – Shnookums

Tuesday

My mind went round and round all night thinking of all the possibilities. I only had three real kiss thief suspects left.

Apparently Sophie had flat out asked Eli the Halloween Henchman if he was my kiss thief after homecoming. Presumably before they did that weird photoshoot and made out. Either way, he was officially crossed off my list of suspects.

So that just left Zach the Stallion, Leo the Rugged Thief, and Luis the Cheater. And yes. Technically Mr. Halifax was still a possibility, but I wasn’t having it. And I guess maybe Axel. Or a drifter. Yeah, RJ said it wasn’t a drifter, but who knew what he considered a drifter?

I needed RJ to just rip the Band-Aid off already. My kiss thief had texted me back last night and he wasn’t budging on revealing his identity. Well, I guess he said he would budge. His exact words were: “I’ll tell you who I am right now if you break up with your boyfriend.”

Which wasn’t happening. Which meant I had to wait until Friday’s weird reveal. Gah!

“Are you okay?” Sophie asked as we headed to lunch. “You’ve been quiet all morning.”

“Mhm.” I kept walking. Sophie might have said something else, but I was busy making a mental list.

Zach the Stallion had definitely enjoyed dancing with me. The tent in his pants was proof of that. I was pretty sure if my dad ever saw me near him again, Zach would be the next person to get a black eye.

Leo the Rugged Thief would probably be at the top of my list if I didn’t have a boyfriend. I’d really enjoyed talking to him. He’d made me laugh and I felt weirdly comfortable around him. And he was an actual thief.

And then there was Luis the Cheater. Screw him. I didn’t want to be his fourth. He was the worst. Ugh, what if it was him? He might actually be worse than Mr. Halifax. If that was even possible.

For the millionth time my mind settled on Axel. Was that possible?

A part of me had been holding on to hope that it was. At least, before I started dating Jacob I was holding on to hope. Now the thought of it being Axel made my heart feel funny.

Seriously...was it possible?

It didn’t seem like it. Axel and I were friends. If he liked me, there was no reason he wouldn’t just tell me. Although...I’d hidden it from him for ages. But had I really? Apparently soup was only supposed to be sent to lovers. And I’d been sending him soup for ages.

Axel didn’t look at me like he loved me. He looked at me like he enjoyed my friendship. I’d been studying his face for years, so I ought to know.

But what if I was wrong? What if Axel was my kiss thief? My chest actually ached. I rubbed between the lapels of my blazer.

Sophie grabbed my arm before we walked through the doors into the cafeteria. “Seriously, what is going on with you?”