Page 82 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 11

Wednesday

Sophie looked so excited as I caught her up on my plan to catch the mascot changing. She didn’t even seem that upset that it might negate the need for a kissing booth.

“So let me get this straight,” she said. “We’re going to be able to see every inch of the locker room?”

“Yes.”

She squealed. “How did you get RJ to agree to it?”

“I may have accidentally led RJ and Liam to believe I was being blackmailed. And needed to learn who the mascot was before Saturday.”

Sophie laughed. “Brilliant. Our brothers would never let anyone mess with us. Good mind trick.”

“I didn’t mean for it to be a mind trick. I told them about the texts from an unknown number and they jumped to the blackmailing conclusion themselves.”

“Either way, check your phone! Has RJ texted you the login info for the cameras yet?”

I glanced at my phone. “Not yet.”

“Gah, he’ll probably have to wait until after practice. We’ll wait it out together.” She climbed into her car.

I sat down in the passenger’s seat.

“Your place or mine?” she asked.

“Definitely yours. I’m finally free!” This really did feel like a fresh start. Being grounded was behind me. And I was about to get some much needed answers about my kiss thief.

Sophie laughed and pulled her car out of the parking lot. “Check your phone again. RJ might have been able to text you real quick.”

I glanced again. “Nope, nothing yet...” My voice trailed off when I got a text. But it wasn’t from RJ. It was from my kiss thief.

I read it silently to myself. “I hope you enjoyed me stealing another first.”

I felt my cheeks flush. I was pretty sure he’d been able to tell how much I enjoyed that.

“Ah! Do you have access to the cameras? Tell me everything! Is Pavel there? How big is he really? Mr. Halifax walked in too soon so I didn’t have a chance to see.”

I laughed. “No, it wasn’t RJ. The kiss thief texted me. He said he hoped I enjoyed him stealing another first.”

“What first?”

“He...you know.” I put my hand on my chest.

“Ooooh second base. I love that for you. Over or under the shirt?”

“Over.”

“Text him back something saucy. Oh! Say: How do you know that was another first?”

Sophie’s good mood was contagious. And it was nice to have her here to help. She was the queen of flirting. And I didn’t want to accidentally start asking my kiss thief about stuffed animals again. I typed what she said and hit send.

His reply came back right away. “I’m guessing Sophie’s telling you what to text again? Because we both know you saved that first for me.”

I smiled. He knew me too well. I read his response to Sophie and she laughed.

“This guy is onto us,” she said. “Seriously...who do you think it is?”

“Jacob.” I hoped. “He knows we hang out together after school every day. It must be him.”

“Everyone knows we hang out after school. Oh my God.”

“What?”

Sophie made a face as she made a turn toward her apartment.

“What?” I asked again.

“We didn’t really consider that it might be someone who’s messing with you.”

“He’s not messing with me. He clearly likes me. The way he kisses me...”

“Scar, you’re hot. Anyone would be into the kiss. But we need to think bigger here. RJ and Liam jumped to the conclusion that you were being blackmailed. Maybe they have a point.”

I shook my head. “They only thought that because I said I needed the info by Saturday.”

“I know, it’s not about that. I just mean we need to consider the fact that something sinister might be afoot. We have enemies.”

“Are you talking about the Triple Gs?”

“Bingo. What if Gigi hired someone to be your kiss thief? All he has to do is make out with you. But she’s the one texting you, messing with your head. Trying to get inside information from you to leak to the whole school. Good Lord, what if I’m right?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I mean, yes, Gigi is the worst, but...” I sighed. Shit, she really was the worst. “She doesn’t know me that well. My kiss thief knows me. He likes me. He’s not just messing with my head.” I truly believed that.

“Girl, all he’s doing is messing with your head. He’s hiding behind a screen. He’s one big tease. And we don’t even know if the guy kissing you is the one texting you.”

Crap. Was that possible? My stomach churned. I thought about the picture I’d sent of myself in the bikini. I was really glad I hadn’t sent one of the more risqué ones. If this was Gigi somehow trying to blackmail me... “He knows details about the kisses though.”

“Which he could have told Gigi. If she’s behind this, he’d be reporting every detail back to her.”

I groaned. “Sophie, I hate this theory the most. Can’t we just go back to thinking it’s a hot football player?”

“I mean whoever is kissing you definitely is.”

I stared at my phone. “Maybe I should just stop talking to him then.”

“What? No. We need to figure out who it is! This mystery is giving me life right now.”

“I can’t keep talking to him if you think it’s Gigi.” I pretended to hurl.

“It’s just one theory. It could literally be anyone pulling the strings. Or it could just be who’s kissing you. We’ll have so much more information once we get that login info from RJ.” She pulled into the parking garage beneath her apartment.

Maybe I didn’t need to pretend to hurl. My stomach actually felt upset. “Isn’t there any way to tell if it’s a girl or a guy?”

“Actually...yes.” She put her hand out for my phone.

She could send him whatever she wanted as long as it ended the Gigi theory. She quickly typed out a text and handed my phone back to me.

“Sophie!” She’d texted him asking how many people he’d slept with.

“It’s the best way to tell. If the number seems weirdly high, it’s a guy. Because guys always add to the list. And if it’s super low, it’s a girl. Because girls are more likely to lower their number. I’d say anything above 10 is 100% a guy. And anything below 3 is probably a girl.”

“Or maybe the guy just doesn’t have much experience.”

“Does he touch you like he doesn’t have experience?”

I shook my head.

“Exactly.”

We made our way up to her apartment.

Sophie lived in a remodeled historical building along Central Park.

It was a short walk from my place, but entirely different.

Where my home was all sleek angles and modern furniture, Sophie’s place was more old fashioned.

It had been completely restored, but a lot of the features like the crown molding and floors were original.

Aunt Daphne apparently picked the place out. Uncle Rob had wanted a penthouse at some high rise. The two of them were kind of complete opposites. But somehow they fit perfectly. And one of the best parts about going to Sophie’s after school was that neither of her parents were home for a few hours.

Sophie unlocked the door and we walked in. Being away for even just one week felt like too much.

I kicked off my shoes like I always did and rounded the corner into the kitchen to grab a snack.

And I almost screamed when I saw Uncle Rob sitting on the kitchen island eating a slice of pizza.

Sophie laughed. “Dad, what are you doing home so early?”

“I had to bow out of the office for a bit so we could land a deal. Pizza?” He opened up the box.

“That sounds great.” I grabbed a slice. “Shouldn’t you have been negotiating the deal though?”

“Eh. Slight hiccup. I may have slept with the woman we were negotiating with. Forever ago, obviously. So I didn’t remember.” He shrugged. “I guess it upset her a bit?”

Sophie laughed.

I sometimes couldn’t believe that Uncle Rob was my dad’s brother. Where my father was kind of uptight...Uncle Rob was so laid back. My dad would never talk openly about this stuff with me. Because...awkward.

“So that’s why my dad had to miss class today?” I asked.

“You’re welcome for that,” Uncle Rob said. “I still can’t believe he’s terrorizing you girls at school. Just so you know...I tried to talk him out of it.”

I’d been hearing that a lot recently. My mom had tried to talk him out of it too.

“How was your day without my brother hovering?” Uncle Rob asked.

“Great,” Sophie said. “I almost seduced my teacher and Scarlett got felt up in the janitor’s closet.”

I choked on the pizza I’d been eating.

“And we put cameras in the men’s locker room so we can unmask this anonymous guy that’s been sending Scar saucy texts.”

Uncle Rob laughed. “I don’t know whether you’re joking about all that or not, but that sounds fun.” He took a moment to slap me on the back. “You okay? You gotta chew before you swallow, Scar.”

I stared at Uncle Rob. How was he not freaking out right now? Sophie just told him she was trying to seduce a teacher. I cleared my throat. “I’m good.”

“Great.” He slid off the counter. “I’m going to go hit the gym.” He stopped and then turned around. “But just in case you were serious about what you said...”

Okay, here it is. He was about to tell Sophie not to hook up with a teacher.

“It’s illegal to put cameras into locker rooms,” he said. “So you should probably use the V22s so you don’t get caught.”

“Already on it, Dad,” Sophie said.

“That’s my girl. Have fun studying, you two.” He walked out of the kitchen.

I opened my mouth and closed it again. “How was he not yelling?”

Sophie laughed. “What? Why would he yell?”

“Because you said you were trying to seduce a teacher. And the camera thing.”

She shrugged. “You know my dad never yells.”

“My dad grounded me for an entire week for wearing a short skirt and heels. You were spread eagle on our teacher’s desk and he just gave you tips on how not to get caught doing something illegal. Speaking of which...is it actually illegal to put cameras in locker rooms?”

“Oh, yeah. Highly illegal.”

“Sophie, I wouldn’t have gotten RJ to do it if I knew that.”

“It’s fine. RJ knew it was illegal. He knows what he’s doing.” She opened up the fridge. “Oh no,” she said.

“What?”

She pointed to the empty drawer in the fridge. “We’re out of pudding.” She sighed and closed the drawer. “Whenever my dad has any extra free time he always does this.”

“Eats lots of pudding?”