Page 99 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 11

Monday

I closed the door behind me and clicked on Sophie’s name in my phone.

“Please tell me that the two of you kissed,” she said when she answered.

“Not yet. Soph, I’m panicking.”

“Why? You’ve had tons of practice now.”

I groaned. “That’s the whole problem. Jacob thinks we’ve been dating since the first party of the year.”

“Yeah. It’s been super cute to watch.”

“I didn’t know we were dating!” I hissed.

“Of course you did. You went to get ice cream together. And he holds your hand between classes.”

“Soph! Why didn’t you tell me I was dating him?”

“Because I thought you knew.”

“I wouldn’t have made out with half the football team if I’d known that!” God, I was a terrible person.

Sophie laughed. “It was for charity.” She kept saying that, but I’d never seen her hand the money over to the team.

“And I kept flirting with my kiss thief too.” And sending him illicit pictures. Seriously...what had I been thinking?

“Yeah, because it was just casual between you and Jacob. It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal. I feel like I’ve been cheating on him now.” With Mr. Halifax. No! Gah!

“It’s not cheating until he officially asks you to be his girlfriend. Which he hasn’t done yet.”

“He just did that.”

“What?”

“He asked me tonight.”

Sophie squealed. “Really?! Yes! Tell me everything. Scar, I’m so happy for you! Operation Too Hot to Handle for the win!”

That operation had been about winning over Axel.

But I didn’t bother to correct her. She’d come up with Phase Incest. I shook my head.

I hated that phase, but the results were pretty magnificent.

“He asked me to wear his jacket to school tomorrow. And right after, he was just about to kiss me when Uncle Matt interrupted us.”

“Uncle Matt is such a cock blocker.”

Okay. “But then Jacob told his whole family that we were official.”

“Team Jacob!”

My heart was pounding against my ribcage. “But what if he’s not my kiss thief, Soph?”

“What if he is ? He has such a hidden dominant side. You’re a lucky girl. Hopefully. Super awkward if it’s not him though.”

I groaned. Awkward wasn’t a strong enough word. “So what do I do about my kiss thief? I need to break up with him.”

She laughed. “You weren’t dating the kiss thief.”

“I know, but just in case it isn’t Jacob, I need to text him right away. To end things. Or if it is Jacob, he’ll probably expect the breakup text. Or he’ll think that I’m okay with cheating on him, you know? Does that make any sense?”

“Kind of?”

“Sophie, help me!”

“Take a deep breath, Scar. But yes, text the kiss thief right now. Either way, it’s better to clear the air.”

I kept Sophie on the phone while I texted my kiss thief. “I have a boyfriend now. So please stop texting me. Thank you.” I hit send.

“What did you say to him?” Sophie asked.

I relayed the text to her.

“You said thank you?” She laughed.

“Just in case it’s Jacob. I don’t want him to think I wasn’t having fun with it. Because I was.” This whole thing was such a mess.

“Did Jacob look at his phone when you sent the text?”

“I don’t know. I’m hiding in the bathroom. Did you seriously think I was having this conversation with you right in front of him?”

“Maybe. You didn’t tell me your location. Did the kiss thief respond?”

“No.”

“Well, good. It’s done.”

My heart was still pounding.

“It really could be Jacob,” Sophie said. “I’m actually starting to think it only could be him.”

I waited for her to go into all her proof, but she didn’t. I focused on believing her words anyway. “Right,” I said.

“But you need to kiss him to know for sure.”

“I know. I’m going to.” I had to. I didn’t want tonight to be tainted by this kiss thief nonsense. I took a deep breath. “I really do think it might be him. There are like a million signs all pointing to him.” Even though Sophie wasn’t listing facts, I had some.

“Did you learn something else?”

“Yeah, get this. Aunt Brooklyn told me the story of how her and Uncle Matt started dating. And it all started with him stealing her first kiss in a dark auditorium.”

“You’re joking.”

“No, I’m serious. She called Uncle Matt a dirty kiss thief. That’s a direct quote. And he said he told her he was going to steal all her firsts.”

Sophie gasped. “Just like your kiss thief. Oh my God, do you think it’s Uncle Matt?!”

“Ew? What? No, Soph. I think that Jacob heard the story his whole life and is using it for a grand romantic gesture for me.”

“Oh. Yeah. That makes way more sense.” She laughed. “Sorry, this mystery has really gotten my head spinning. And probably that confession Sean had during Truth or Dare. So weird.”

I sighed. “Yeah, my kiss thief is definitely not Uncle Matt.”

“Definitely not,” she said. And then she laughed. “Remember when you thought it was my brother?”

I cringed. “Remember when you wanted to sleep with my dad?”

She gagged. “Stop it.”

“You stop it.”

She gagged again. “Sorry, I know we had a truce about that. I was just doing research about your six all afternoon and my brain was fried. But I’m like 99% convinced it’s Jacob now. How about you go lay one on your boyfriend and end this mystery once and for all?”

“Yeah. I’m going to.” But for some reason, my feet felt frozen. I couldn’t believe all the shenanigans I’d pulled since that first part of the year. And especially since Jacob and my lunch date. Clearly I shouldn’t have been hooking up with other people after that. I wish I could take it all back.

“Good. Text me immediately after. Although you’ll probably be spending the rest of the night going to third base, huh?”

I could picture her waggling her eyebrows at me. I laughed. “I think we should start with a kiss.”

“He’s already gone to second base, Scar. He’s your kiss thief.”

Every time she said it I felt more confident. “You’re right.”

“I know. Have fun kissing your cousin, byyyyee!”

“Sophie!”

She laughed. “I’m joking. Kind of.”

“We’re not related.”

“Not by blood, no. But you call his parents aunt and uncle.”

“So do you.”

“I’m not making out with him in dark closets though.”

“I’m hanging up now.”

“Good because he probably thinks you’re taking a massive shit.”

Ah! No! I ended the call and practically ran out of the bathroom. How long had I been in there?

It was time for my second first kiss. A do-over of sorts. A first kiss where I knew who I was kissing. And I was choosing it too.

But I was very aware of the fact that if Jacob was my kiss thief, that this wouldn’t be my last first kiss. It was like my mom said though. The important kiss to remember was the one with the person you chose to kiss for the rest of your life. I really hoped that was this kiss for me.

Jacob was in the kitchen with Aunt Brooklyn and Alora icing cupcakes.

He looked up when I walked over.

I smiled. I was choosing him. From this moment on, I’d always choose him. Each step forward I took, the more my heart raced.

“We can finish up in here, Mom,” Jacob said.

“Okay, sweet boy.” She grabbed Alora’s hand to go into the other room for their movie night. Aunt Brooklyn winked at me as she left the kitchen.

My cheeks grew hot.

“Hey,” Jacob said.

“Hey. So these are the famous mint chocolate chip cupcakes?”

He handed me a knife to help put the icing on. “You’ll see for yourself in a second.”

I started putting icing on them. But I was very aware of Jacob’s gaze on me. I looked up at him.

The kitchen was open to the family room. And you could hear his family talking as they chose a movie. But all the noise disappeared.

“What is the story about Aunt Brooklyn and your dad?” I asked and focused on my cupcake. There were holes in the information I knew about Jacob. And I wanted to know everything.

“He was her bodyguard. When she had to move out of the city, it was just the two of them. I think it happened kinda slowly.”

I stole a glance at him out of the corner of my eye. Kind of like us.

“Eventually they realized that they had feelings for each other. They kind of ran away together. To get away from their pasts.”

“That’s very romantic.”

“The main thing she’s told me is that he was always there for her,” he said.

“He still is. I have a star in my pocket to prove it.”

Jacob smiled. “I’ll have to take you to the lake house where we lived sometime.”

“I’d really like that.”

Jacob stared down at the cupcake in his hand. “My mom told me her life used to feel like a snow globe. A perfect little family on the inside. Away from the world. But they were on the run. And the whole thing broke so easily.”

I pressed my lips together. I didn’t want to burst into tears. This wasn’t supposed to be a sad moment. This was supposed to be the moment. “I’m sorry, Jacob.”

He didn’t respond. He seemed lost in thought.

“I think the two of us will be a little stronger than a snow globe,” I said. “More like a...brick.”

He looked up from the cupcake he was putting icing on and laughed. “Our love story is like a brick?”

“You know what I meant. A very romantic brick. And bricks are like...the foundation of a home, Jacob. They’re very important.”

“Okay then,” he said with a smile. “Our love story will be like a very romantic brick.”

I liked the way he said “love story.” And I wondered if one day, years in the future, we’d be telling our kids about this moment. I couldn’t stop smiling.

“Aren’t you going to try one?” Jacob asked.

“Once I’m finished icing all of them.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” He sprinkled some mini chocolate chips on top of one of the finished cupcakes and handed it to me. “Taste testing is half the fun.”

I smiled. “True.” I took a bite of the cupcake and stifled a moan. “How does it actually taste like ice cream? These are insane.” I took another bite.

Jacob laughed.

“What?”

“You have something right there.” He pointed to his cheek.

I rubbed my left cheek.

“Other side,” he said.

I wiped my right cheek.

“Here, let me.” He reached out and ran his thumb across my cheek. And then his hand just stayed there.

All I could hear was the sound of my own heart pounding as he leaned closer.

It was the exact move I’d tried to initiate when we’d gone out for ice cream. But I’d flubbed it. Jacob wasn’t flubbing anything though.

He tilted my chin up as he leaned closer.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered.

I knew as soon as he kissed me, it would change everything. A line would be crossed that we couldn’t uncross. Jacob Miller would no longer be my lifelong friend. He’d be...mine. We’d be us .

“Even with icing on your face,” he said.

“What? I thought you got it?”

“You have a little more right...” He ran his finger through the bowl of icing and then touched the tip of my nose. “...there.”

I laughed. “Oh it is so on.” I touched the top of my cupcake and went to put the icing on his face, but he caught my wrist. His fingers wrapped around my wrist and he pulled my arm down, pinning me in place between him and the kitchen island.

He stepped forward, pressing himself against me.

And my whole body suddenly felt alive. It was so much like the way the kiss thief had captured my hands so I couldn’t touch him. But we weren’t in a dark closet right now. And I could touch Jacob all I wanted because I still had one free hand. I reached up and put my hand on his chest.

I did everything in my power not to grab hold of his shirt and pull him closer. I wanted him to kiss me. That’s how I pictured my first kiss in my head. And I wasn’t messing up my first kiss do-over.

He glanced over my shoulder.

I knew his family was only one room away. But all I wanted was for Jacob to kiss me the way he had in those closets. Like I was his whole world. Like he’d been waiting a lifetime. Like I was the only sustenance he needed.

Jacob’s eyes fell back to me and he leaned forward. He towered over me. “You really are bite-sized.”

My heart beat even faster. I remembered him calling me that outside the school. I’d been upset that I’d gotten my high heels confiscated. But he’d said he preferred me like this. Bite-sized. I smiled. “Then maybe you should bite.” I couldn’t even believe I’d just said that out loud.

“Oh, trust me, I’m about to.” He ran the tip of his nose down the length of mine, smearing the icing.

I laughed. But I barely made a sound because his lips slammed against mine.

I felt my fingers tightening on his shirt. Pulling him closer now that he had already made the first move.

I’d been desperate for another kiss since he’d pulled me into the snake-infested closet.

I’d been desperate for anything he’d give me.

Because if I was being honest with myself, I’d been falling for the kiss thief ever since that first kiss.

He’d completely captivated my mind. Every touch.

Every text. Every night when I closed my eyes and thought of him.

He’d somehow taken over my mind even though I’d never seen his face.

I parted my lips to deepen the kiss.

Just as my phone buzzed in my pocket.

But I already knew who it was.

My kiss thief.

Because the kiss was all wrong. My kiss thief was definitely not Jacob.

Oh screw me.

***

What is Scarlett going to do about Jacob not being her kiss thief? Or is she wrong?! Seriously, who IS her kiss thief?

Keep reading to find out in Scarlett and the Fake Boyfriend !