This was so perfect and I didn't want anything to jeopardize it, so I knew exactly what I needed to do. I just didn't want to do it in a way that would result in me getting slapped across the face, or worse. I had to find Brett. He seemed to be the 'go-to' guy for relationship advice now. Fortunately, I managed to grab him in-between class.

"Brett... you have to help me, please."

"Haven't I helped you enough for an entire life time?"

"You have, but there's one other thing."

"And what might that be?"

"I need you to help me break-up with mystery mint kisser. Not break-up...I mean...we weren't together... it was just flirting and... you know what I mean?" I said holding my phone in one shaky hand.

Brett stopped walking and turned to face me. "And how would you like me to do that?"

"I need to send her an email. But what do I say? I don't want to hurt her feelings and....shit Brett...I don't want to mess this thing with Sadie up when it's just starting."

"What do they say about honesty?....I'd start there." Brett started walking again but I grabbed him by the arm.

"But what do I say? Please!" I begged.

He shrugged. "Why not try Google it? 'How to sort-of break-up with the anonymous online girl who kissed you in the dark' It's probably not high up on the search engine."

"But... but..."

Brett stopped my stammering by laying a reassuring arm on my shoulder. "You'll be fine. Just tell her the truth." And with that he walked off.

Our teacher was late to my next period, so had a few extra minutes to compose my email. But as I wrote it, I suddenly worried that my mystery kisser might actually be sitting in the same classroom—That would be fucking awkward!

Honesty. Honesty. Okay, I took a deep breath as I lowered my fingers to my phone.

To: [email protected]

Subject: Good bye

Message: Hi there, I know this mail will probably come as a shock, this whole thing has been a shock to me, too. Something happened last night that made me realize that this thing between us cannot continue. I know we've been messaging each other, but I'm going to have to put an end to it. I will always be grateful for all the advice and help you gave me over my parents' divorce, and I'll never forget our kiss in the dark. But I have to go with my heart, and my heart belongs to someone else. I'm sorry, and I wish you all the best.

Connor.

My heart pounded as I reread over the message again and again. It sounded so weird, almost formal. Still, it had to be done. So I closed my eyes and pressed send, hoping I wouldn't hear an email notification sound somewhere around me. I pressed and waited.

I didn't hear any beep and I almost melted into the floor with relief. Good sign. But seconds after I'd sent the mail, I got a response. It was an error report. No such email address. What did that mean?—Did Mystery Mint Kisser delete her account.

Maybe she had deleted it because she'd decided to reveal herself to me at the tournament. Or, maybe she just wasn't into me anymore. I was hoping for the second option.

Classes dragged by, and I couldn't concentrate at all. All I wanted to do was kiss Sadie. But this was the one day I wouldn't be able to see her. We didn't have classes together that day, and because of the tournament, I had to head to the courts at lunch for the knockout rounds. At one point in the morning, I managed to manoeuvre myself close enough to Sadie to brush her hand as I walked past. I was desperate to hold her again and I hoped she'd changed her mind about coming to the tournament. I couldn't wait to see her after it was over.

***

Despite his bravado, I killed Chase in the knockout rounds, and I barely broke a sweat doing it. I think he was nervous, because his match temperament was completely off. I think seeing the scout walking back and forth on the other side of the fence threw him. I actually felt sorry for him. It was arguably the worst game of tennis I'd ever seen him play. But it had given me the extra bit of confidence to walk into the semis and walk all over my next opponent. The cherry on top was the message I got from Sadie just before stepping onto the court for the final.

Sadie: You're playing really well. As soon as you've won, there's something I want to give you. X X

My heart skipped a beat as I searched for her in the crowd. Sadie just telling me that she wanted to kiss me was a million times better than any real kiss I could get in the dark. This whole thing had started because I'd gone looking for mystery mint kisser, but instead of finding her, I'd found Sadie instead. I walked onto the court and glanced up once more. Sadie was there in the stands and she had a naughty smile plastered across her face—fucking hell.

I tried not to think about it as I played, but whenever I looked up during the match, I couldn't help but be transported to that happy place, with just me and Sadie. I was tempted to blow her a kiss, but all eyes were on me and I still had a vague reputation to uphold. But then, seeing my dad in the crowd brought me back down to earth.

I did my best to put thoughts of him out my head as I fought through the match. I wasn't really relying on my brain to get me through it. I was relying solely on the muscle memory I'd honed over the years, during hundreds of hours of practice. Thank God for that.

As I hit the last shot of the game, an overhead volley that had so much kick, it flew over the back fence; I knew I had the match in the bag. I also noticed that the scout was on his phone, looking like he was having an intense conversation with someone.

People must have thought I didn't care about my win. I didn't fall to the ground or punch the air or first pump. I simply ran off the court and went straight for Sadie, ready to grab her by the hand and run away from everyone. I locked eyes with her and the crowd around her disappeared. She was the only one who existed. That is, until McKenzie walked in front of me and stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Well done!" she exclaimed. "You were amazing." She threw her arms around me and hugged me. I don't think we'd ever hugged before and she held on for what seemed like ages.

"I guess I was your lucky charm after all."

Her words crashed into me hard, as did the potent smell of mint and cinnamon coming from her mouth. The smell made my head spin and it almost made me feel sick to my stomach. I looked up from McKenzie desperate to find Sadie. She was approaching me fast and she looked panicked.

Then the moment turned surreal and dreamy. No, nightmarish. I looked back at McKenzie. She nodded, smiled and opened her mouth to give me another whiff of the gum. Her mouth was moving, but I didn't hear what she said. The only thing I comprehended was cinnamon, mint. Mint, cinnamon. It was everywhere, and, for a second, I felt like I was going to suffocate in it.

Before I could confirm that Sadie's twin was indeed the mystery girl, Sadie was upon us. "McKenzie! What are you doing?"

"Just coming to congratulate Connor," she said, turning to smile at Sadie. I saw Sadie take a deep breath through her nose. Her face fell and it contorted into a shape I'd never seen before.

"McKenzie!" Sadie sounded like she had an air of desperation in her voice. "What are you doing?"

McKenzie then turned to Sadie and they exchanged a look, and man, it was so loaded!—What the fuck is going on?

"Why?" Sadie looked at Mckenzie and I swear, it looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"Why what?" I asked, looking from one sister to the next.

"Well," McKenzie's tone was mocking, "are you going to tell him, or should I?"

"Tell me what?" I asked.

And then Sadie turned and met my eyes. Gone was her happy face from the stands. She looked desperate. Her eyes were pleading with me. "Connor, I...I can explain..." Her voice broke and tears welled up in her eyes.

Explain what? What the hell was happening?

"Connor Matthews?" A hand touched me on the shoulder to get my attention. The scout had arrived.

"I'm Brian Evans and I must say, I was very impressed with your playing today. If you have some time, I'd love to have a word with you."

I was on autopilot. I took his hand and shook it, and as I did, Sadie dragged McKenzie off behind the clubhouse.