She spent months talking nonstop about finding Scarlet’s parents, starting a ‘Who is Scarlet Jacobs’ fund, and doing DNA testing to see if Scarlet was from a different planet.
It was obnoxious.
Sweet, in an overbearing, obsessive-friend way, but obnoxious.
Heather thought it was “cool” Scarlet didn’t have a past. She was convinced Scarlet had been a government spy who’d had her memory erased in order to ensure the safety of the world.
Because Heather was a drama queen.
But it was easier for Scarlet to play along with Heather’s ridiculous government theory than it had been to wallow in self-pity. Heather had been a welcome distraction.
In a way, she’d saved Scarlet’s life. Or at least, her emotional well-being. She’d given Scarlet something to laugh about and a friendship to believe in.
She’d given Scarlet hope.
She was bright and sunny and full of positivity. Sometimes it was annoying, but most of the time, Scarlet needed it. She valued Heather’s role in her life and respected her a great deal.
Even though, at that very moment, Heather was paying to kiss a boy.
“Yeah,” Scarlet continued, as she watched Heather apply more lip gloss at the kissing booth. “She is definitely happy.”
A moment of silence hung between Gabriel and Scarlet. She shuffled her feet, unsure of how to continue their conversation. “So, this is your first Kissing Festival?”
Gabriel ran a hand through his dark hair. “Yeah.”
“What do you think?” Scarlet smiled and raised a brow.
“Honestly?” He gave a crooked smile and shrugged. “I think it’s…charming.”
“Charming?”
Not the word Scarlet would have chosen.
He nodded. “Yeah, it’s…I don’t know…nice. Everyone being friendly and positive. People dancing and laughing. It’s…refreshing. Sometimes the world is a cold place but this…this is nice. It’s warmhearted.” He smiled as he looked about the park.
Scarlet wrinkled her brow. “I guess so….” Up until that moment, Scarlet hadn’t seen any upside to a town full of affectionate neighbors. She’d only seen a city of people using an old war tradition as an excuse to make out with the hot checkout girl from the grocery store. But come to think of it….
Scarlet looked around at some of the happy couples nearby; whispering in each other’s ears, playfully kissing beneath paper stars, sharing lip-shaped popsicles. The bright twinkle lights glowed above the dancers while love songs floated into the air….
It was kinda sweet.
“I guess, you’re right. It’s sorta…pleasant. All the love and flirting.” Scarlet looked around again and spied an elderly couple feeding each other chocolate candies.
She leaned to the right, accidently brushing arms with Gabriel, and her insides sparked at his touch. Scarlet blushed and immediately repositioned herself so there was space between them.
They watched the park crowd without speaking as she waited for the heat that had flooded her face to subside.
Gabriel cleared his throat.
“Free Lover’s Lemonade!” A woman wearing a pink sundress walked past them carrying a tray of pink lemonade.
She handed each of them a cup and moved on.
Gabriel looked at the cup, and then gave Scarlet another crooked smile. “Wanna walk around with me?”
Scarlet hesitated.
His eyes looked playful. “I promise to protect you from the sidewalk dentist.”
Scarlet tucked her lips in, trying not to smile.
Was she totally crushing on a complete stranger?
Yes, she was.
“Sure,” she said.
For a minute, they strolled in silence, crossing the grassy park while observing the dancers and merchants and kissers. Scarlet took a sip of her lemonade and welcomed the ice-cold liquid sliding down her throat.
“So, tell me about yourself, Scarlet.” Gabriel said. “I mean, I already know about your love for coffee and sleeping in—which makes you awesome, by the way—but what else?”
She inhaled deeply, thinking of where to start.
Well, two years ago I was abandoned in a forest outside of town and then taken into custody by this pretty woman named Laura, who gave me a home so I could have a normal life and go to high school. Oh, and, I have amnesia. You know. Same ol’, same ol’.
Yeah, probably not the best way to keep Gabriel around. Instead, Scarlet decided to go with the random-facts-about-yourself answer.
“Well…I speak Spanish,” she said.
One of the few perks of having amnesia was that, every once in a while, Scarlet would uncover a hidden talent.
Like Spanish.
She’d discovered her mastery of the language last year.
“That’s cool,” he said, sucking down his drink.
“Also,” Scarlet took another sip of her drink. “I’ll be a senior at Avalon High this year. And I love ice cream. What about you? Who is Gabriel Archer?”
He laughed. “Well, that could take me all night to explain. The short answer? I just moved here from New York. I’m a fan of this pink lemonade,” he took a sip, “and I don’t like snakes.”
Scarlet nodded.
“But I do like this festival.”
Scarlet nodded. “Right, because of all the love and positivity and goobers.”
He smiled. “Among other things.”
Scarlet smiled and kept her eyes on her decorated shoes as they strolled along.
Their walk slowed to a standstill and, suddenly, Scarlet was very aware of how close they stood to one another. She looked up and saw paper stars dangling from the tree above.
Something akin to panic shot through Scarlet.
Why did Georgia have to have so many trees?
Paper stars were everywhere.
Her heart began to race at the thought of Gabriel kissing her. Half of her wanted him to, but the other half—the sane, logical, you-don’t-like-to-kiss-strangers half—wanted to flee from the park and burn down every tree in Georgia.
What was wrong with her?
She was so confused by her own heart. It was pounding in panic at the thought of kissing a guy she’d just met and hammering in delight at the thought of kissing the beautiful boy in front of her.
She was no better than any of the other kiss-crazy townspeople.
Her eyes fell from the stars down to Gabriel’s mouth and quickly back up to his eyes.
Gabriel noticed the stars and tilted his head. “Do you think it’s weird to kiss someone you barely know?”
No, it’s perfectly normal and gives us a fantastic excuse to make out. Kiss me!
“Totally weird,” she said, immediately wanting to slap herself.
He nodded slowly. “Me, too.”
Scarlet’s heart sank a little.
Gabriel flashed his dimples. “I guess now I’ve got a good reason to get to know you, don’t I?”
Scarlet narrowed her eyes. “Who said I’d let you kiss me even if you got to know me?”
He nodded his head with a smile. “Challenge accepted.”
“I’m baaaaack!” Heather rushed up to Scarlet, completely unaware of Gabriel. “I came, I kissed, I conquered. Now, let’s go find you a hot guy with a tasty mouth.” Heather reached for Scarlet’s arm, caught sight of Gabriel, and froze.
Her mouth hung open for a moment as she took him in. “Or….” She looked Gabriel up and down shamelessly. “We could just stay here and talk to this lovely gentleman.”
Heather whipped her head around and shot Scarlet an O-M-G-who-is-this-hottie? look.
Scarlet cleared her throat. “Heather, this is Gabriel. Gabriel, Heather.”
Heather put on her best smile and turned to Gabriel. “Why, hello Gabriel. It’s nice to meet you.”