Page 44 of Scarlett and the Fake Boyfriend (Scarlett #2)

Saturday

Homecoming every year was fun. A buzz of excitement that lasted the whole week leading up to it. But there was something about having a date to the dance that made everything a million times better.

And for the first time ever, I didn’t have to cry over Axel having a date that wasn’t me. Because he was taking Soph. And that seemed like a win.

The stadium was already packed when Sophie and I arrived with our families. Music blared through the stadium, hyping up everyone even more. And the crowd was a sea of Empire High blue and orange. Except for a tiny section where our rivals Bernstein Prep were sitting.

The stands were practically rumbling as I squeezed into a spot on the bleachers next to Sophie. Despite Jacob’s jacket around my shoulders, I was freezing. The temperature had dropped a few days ago and a chilly fall breeze had settled over the city.

My phone buzzed. I pulled out my glasses.

Sophie laughed. “No one’s fixed that for you yet?”

“No.” I didn’t know how to undo whatever Axel did on my phone. So it only unlocked when I put my glasses on. “What kind of crappy technology is this anyway? Hunter Tech phones suck.”

“But at least your dad couldn’t hack it. ”

“He probably would have if Uncle Rob hadn’t caught him red handed.” I put my glasses on and my phone unlocked.

There was a new text from my kiss thief: “I can’t wait to see you at the dance tonight.”

I quickly texted him back. “Does that mean that you’re not at the game?” My kiss thief claimed to be on the team. Or maybe he was team adjacent. I looked up to see if the Empire High mascot was on the field yet. But Mr. Halifax was nowhere to be seen.

My phone buzzed with his response. “I just meant I’m excited to see you in your dress.” Another text came right after that one. “Although I’m more excited to see you out of it.”

“Oh, is he stripping you now?” Sophie asked. She was reading the texts over my shoulder.

“Absolutely not,” I said. I texted him back. “Focus on the game.”

He texted back. “Why? Are you going to reward me if we win?”

I swallowed hard.

“Hot damn,” Sophie said and fanned her face. “I wish Mr. Halifax would text me things like that. Not that he’s the one texting you. You knew what I meant.”

I laughed.

“But you do know how to reward your kiss thief now. After all your practice with Jacob.”

“Yeah, I guess.” I pulled off my glasses and put them and my phone back in my pocket.

“What’s up?” she asked. “You look so down. Which is odd. Because tonight is going to be the best night of your life.”

“How on earth do you figure that?”

“Scar.”

“Soph.”

She smiled. “You’re nominated for homecoming queen. You have a date to the dance for the first time ever. And we’re going to win this freaking game. What is there to be glum about?”

“Sophie, my life is a mess.”

“No, it’s not. You’re acting like you’re in such a terrible predicament. But Operation Too Hot to Handle worked. In epic proportions. You have not one but three guys pining over you.”

I wasn’t so sure about that. “I didn’t ask for three guys to like me. I just wanted Axel to.”

“At least the guy who you like likes you back.”

Again...I wasn’t so sure about that. But Sophie turned back to the field even though the team wasn’t out yet.

And I knew this didn’t really have anything to do with me.

She was in love with Mr. Halifax. She had been for years.

And yeah, she had a date to homecoming tonight too.

But she didn’t want to be going with Axel.

She wanted to be going with Mr. Halifax. Who she was worried was my kiss thief.

I put my arm around her and dropped my head onto her shoulder. “Maybe tonight will be the best night of your life too.”

She sighed. “He doesn’t like me. I’ve done everything I can possibly think of to win him over, but he always shoots me down.”

“Because you’re his student.”

“I just hate how he has the power to ruin my night and he doesn’t even know it.”

I squeezed her tighter. “You’re acting like you’re in such a terrible predicament.” I repeated her own words. “ But you’re nominated for homecoming queen. You have a date to the dance. And we’re going to win this freaking game. What is there to be glum about?”

She laughed. “Don’t use my supreme intellect against me.”

“Let’s just enjoy today. This is our last homecoming at Empire High. I just want to have fun.”

She nodded. “Screw Mr. Halifax.”

I laughed.

“But seriously...I hope I screw him tonight. Ah! The team is coming out!” She jumped to her feet.

I stood up too and started cheering.

The football team burst through a homecoming sign that the cheerleaders were holding. One of the guys almost knocked Gigi over and I laughed.

The stands shook even more as everyone started stomping their feet and cheering louder.

My eyes landed on Axel as he jogged onto the field.

His helmet was tucked under his arm and I watched as he pushed his shaggy hair off his forehead.

Jacob slapped him on the back and my eyes fell to him.

He looked even better in his football gear than he did in his Empire High uniform.

My eyes went back and forth between them.

I’d always loved Axel.

And I was pretty sure I’d fallen in love with Jacob too.

“Go Eagles!” Sophie yelled at the top of her lungs.

Axel and Jacob both turned in our direction.

I lifted my hand to wave at them. They both waved back and then they looked at each other.

Eek. The last thing I needed was for Axel to stop handing Jacob the ball again.

RJ burst in between them at the perfect moment, putting his arms around both their shoulders.

And then the Empire High mascot ran by.

Gross.

The Triple Gs bopped around, waving their pompoms in the air. I did my best to ignore them and stole another glance at Axel. He wasn’t looking at any of them. And that seemed like a good thing.

The football team ran over to Uncle Matt.

And now that they were in a huddle, I could stare all I wanted without any consequence.

“Who are you leaning toward right now?” Sophie asked.

I didn’t even know what to say.

“You know...you could ask them if they’d be into sharing you.”

I laughed. “Could you imagine my dad’s reaction if I told him I was dating both of them?”

Sophie mimed her head exploding.

My dad had been off all week. And he kept meeting me at Mr. Halifax’s door after my calc class.

Like he was worried if he wasn’t there Mr. Halifax would screw me against his desk or something.

One day he’d even walked into Mr. Halifax’s class, completely interrupting it, to tell me he was driving me home after school.

Which obviously wasn’t necessary. Because he always drove me home.

Unless he was busy trying to hack my phone or something.

I was so distracted by my wandering thoughts that I hadn’t even seen the handoff. Jacob sprinted toward the endzone and I leapt to my feet again.

“Go Jacob!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

Aunt Brooklyn started screaming his name too .

“Bull rush!” Mr. Nigel yelled and tossed a champagne flute of water to the side. “Pump and run! Pooch punt!”

Well...I had no idea what he was talking about. But Jacob ran into the end zone for a touchdown. He tossed the ball on the ground as his teammates all did some kind of shimmy thing with their shoulders.

I laughed.

Jacob looked up into the stands at me and blew me a kiss.

I knew my face was bright red.

“I’m still Team Jacob,” Sophie said. “I’m just obsessed with the two of you.”

Yeah. I was pretty sure I was obsessed with him too.

“Oooh Leo the Rugged Thief is coming out!” Sophie said. “I hope he makes the kick. If not, you should slap him when he tries to kiss you at homecoming.”

“You really think my kiss thief might be Leo?” I stared at him lining up for the kick. Of all the options, he was probably near the top of my list. Liam was right...Leo was funny. And Sophie was right too...he was a literal thief.

“Let’s see if he looks at you.” She cupped her hands around her mouth. “Go Leo!” she screamed just as they snapped the ball.

He turned toward us in the stands just as someone from Bernstein Prep crossed the line and absolutely decked him.

The whole crowd gasped.

“Pancake! Pancake!” Mr. Nigel yelled and hopped up and down. “ Pancake!”

I’d never actually heard Mr. Nigel yell anything correctly at the team. But he’d certainly nailed that one. I pulled Sophie back down into her seat.

“Maybe bad timing,” she whispered.

“You think?”

She cringed. “I hope he’s okay.”

Leo had already gotten to his feet. But Uncle Matt sure looked pissed that they’d missed the kick. Well...not even missed. Leo hadn’t even gotten a chance to try to kick it.

“Let’s forget about my kiss thief and just enjoy the game,” I said.

Sophie nodded. “Good idea.”

We stopped cheering for people on my list and just focused on cheering for the team as a whole. Axel threw a perfect pass to Zach the Shy Spy for a touchdown. And he didn’t seem all that shy when he did a hip thrust.

“He’s definitely Zach the Stallion ,” Sophie said. “And I’d prove it too, but we lost footage of the locker room.”

I laughed. “We’re lucky to not be in jail.”

“I guess. I’m not sure we ever would have gotten caught though.”

“But you had plenty of time to spy on him,” I said. “Does he really never pull it out when he’s changing?”

“I’m telling you...he doesn’t want everyone else to feel ashamed by his massive member. Speaking of which, I might give Pavel the exploder another go. Because boy is packing.”

“But you don’t even like him.”

She stared down at the mascot on the field. “Yeah. Well...” She shrugged .

I put my arm around her again. I’d been so consumed with my own stuff that I hadn’t realized how much she was struggling with this Mr. Halifax thing. And I didn’t really have anything helpful to say. He was our teacher. He couldn’t date her. Or me. I tried to hide my shudder.

Any guy would be lucky to date Sophie. I stared down at Axel on the field. And my heart started aching.