Page 176 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 11

“Nope.” She shuddered, holding back another gag and then ran into the bathroom.

“Are you sure she’s okay? Should I call her dad?”

“No, she’s fine. She’s just having trouble swallowing some news.”Ew. Why did I word it that way?

My dad shrugged. “Well, this is going to be a fun year,” he said as we made our way out of Empire High.

I froze in my tracks. “Wait, you said you only took this job for a year. Where are you teaching next year?”

“We’ll see what happens.” He smiled down at me.

Hell no.“You can’t follow me to college, Dad.”

“Who said anything about following you to college? That would be very controlling of me. And I’m certainly not controlling.”

He was the definition of controlling. Why else would he be here?

“Come on. Your mom has ice cream waiting for us. She had a feeling you’d need it after my surprise. I don’t know why.”

I laughed. Because there was nothing else I could do. There was no way my dad was going to quit teaching here. If anything, my stupid outfit had solidified his need to insert himself into my life. And the fact that both Axel and Jacob had been staring at me during class. Had they really been? Or was my dad just overreacting?

“This is going to be the best year ever,” my dad said as he opened up the car door for me.

That’s what I’d thought at the beginning of the day. But I wasn’t as convinced now. My dad teaching here was kind of a disaster. And Axel kissing Gigi was an epic mess. But he’d given me his varsity jacket. And Jacob had stared at me in a way that no one ever had before. I had no idea how to feel about any of it.

As I climbed into my dad’s car, my phone buzzed.

I pulled it out and saw a text from Sophie: “This is going to be the worst year ever. Your dad is totally going to cock block me with Mr. Halifax, isn’t he?”

I shook my head. It was definitely going to be either the best or worst year ever. I just didn’t know which one yet. But I didn’t think my dad was going to interfere in Sophie’s love life. I looked down at Axel’s varsity jacket. He was 100% going to interfere in mine.

Scarlett and the Kiss Thief - Chapter 6 – Grounded

Thursday

Yesterday Axel had given me his varsity jacket. He’d told me I looked better in it than he did. That should have meant something. But he’d also told me he liked my old glasses more than my new contacts. And I had no idea what to do with that combination of information.

I took a step toward Axel’s jacket and then a step back. I crossed my arms and stared at it on the end of my bed. Was wearing it to school today a good idea or a bad idea?

I sighed and sat down on my bed. I reached over and ran my fingers along the 10 etched on the sleeve of Axel’s jacket. For years I’d dreamed of wearing this jacket with this number. It felt momentous. But I was just so confused.

I stood up and stepped away from it again. As if staring at it from a distance would give me clarity.God, what do I do?I bit my lip as I stared at the jacket.

Sophie would know what to do. I grabbed my phone, shot a picture of it, and texted her an SOS message. “To wear or not to wear?”

She responded right away: “Wear it. You’re still in the incest phase of Operation Too Hot to Handle. So while you’re wearing Axel’s jacket, keep flirting with Jacob. Total power play.”

I pressed my lips together. That kind of was a boss move. But really, why were we sticking with the name Phase Incest? It was terrible and made zero sense. I wasn’t even related to Jacob. I much preferred good old-fashioned Phase Three of the plan.

Flirting with Jacob was a little easier than I’d thought it would be though. I lifted up one of the framed pictures on my nightstand. It was of me, Sophie, Jacob, and Axel a couple summers ago. We were at my parents’ beach house sitting on the edge of the pool.

The four of us had grown up together. We were all practically cousins even though only Sophie and I were related. But it was very important to note that I wasnotrelated to either of the guys. Not even a little bit. Hence no incest. I’d always thought of Jacob as just a friend. Always. Because for as long as I could remember, I’d been in love with Axel.

But now? I stared at the picture of the four of us. It didn’t quite fit in the frame because there had been some blonde girl next to Axel that I’d cut out of the picture. I wasn’t focused on that now though. I was focused on the fact that Jacob’s arm was around my shoulders. He was making a funny face down at me and I was laughing so hard I could almost remember the feeling of my cheeks hurting. He’d been trying to cheer me up because I’d been glum all day, thanks to Axel’s blonde that I’d cut out of the image.

Jacob was always there for me. He was funny, and kind, and smart, and actually cared if I was in a good mood. Clearly Axel didn’t care what kind of mood I was in. He’d been slowly torturing me for years with all the girls he dated. And when I stared at the picture now, my eyes gravitated to Jacob. I didn’thave just friendly thoughts anymore. I thought about the way that he’d stared at me as I’d licked the side of an ice cream cone.

My phone buzzed.