I couldn’t stop smiling. Maybe the kiss thief seeing me kiss other guys would make him come out of hiding.

There was a buzz of excitement in the air as the stadium filled with people decked out in Empire High blue and orange. But I didn’t see the mascot anywhere. Didn’t he usually come out early?

I looked back down at my phone as Sophie manned the kissing booth.

Sophie sat down next to me. “Um...you might want to duck.”

“What?” I looked up. We had a line again.

“Too late,” Sophie said.

What was she talking about? Oh. Oh no. My dad had just appeared at the end of the line. And he didn’t look nearly as excited as the other guys in our line did.

“Everyone move,” my dad said. “Now.”

The line dispersed.

“James, I’m sure it’s for a good cause,” my mom said as they made their way up to us.

It was not. We’d made it up.

My mom turned to me. “What are you fundraising for?”

“The football team,” I said and tapped the sign to the side.

“The football team gets plenty of donations,” my dad said. “Shut it down.”

“Uncle James, please,” Sophie said. “We’re just trying to do our part to help the team.”

“How much money were you hoping to raise?” he asked.

Sophie shrugged. “I don’t know. Like $500?”

“Great.” My dad pulled some money out of his wallet and slammed it down on the table. “Now you can close down the booth.”

“James,” my mom said. “They’re just having a bit of fun.”

It actually wasn’t fun at all. But it was definitely necessary. I needed to figure out who the heck my kiss thief was.

“Scarlett is just letting guys kiss her cheek,” Sophie added. “It’s hardly scandalous.”

My dad turned to me. “Is that true?”

I nodded. So far it was. But I was pretty determined to kiss 13 guys later. Even if the thought of actually going through with it was making me feel all sweaty.

He sighed. “Fine. Cheeks only though.”

“That’s just a rule for Scarlett, right?” asked Sophie.

My dad lowered his eyebrows. “Where is your father?”

Sophie shrugged. “I don’t know. He’ll probably be here any minute. Wait. I think I see him now!” Sophie waved her hand. “Dad! Over here!”

Uncle Rob and Aunt Daphne walked over.

“A kissing booth?” Uncle Rob asked. “Good idea. That’ll raise a ton of money for the team.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Sophie looked very proud of herself.

My dad turned to Uncle Rob. “You’re seriously okay with this?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Our daughters are handing out kisses for money.”

He made it sound like we were whoring ourselves out. But he was wrong. We weren’t handing out the kisses. It was more of a receiving kiss kind of thing, but...