"A kissing booth?!" I shriek. "Are you insane?"

"C'mon, Stassie, it'll be fun!" Molly exclaims, tugging on my arm.

"Maybe for you. There's no shot in hell I'm doing this."

"Stassie, look at that line of hot guys," she says, gesturing to it.

"You mean the line of horndogs," I correct her, but she pouts at me.

"Okay, you know what? I just got my heart broken, so if you don't mind, I'm going to find myself a rebound."

"Don't let me stop you," I say, gliding my hand in the air.

Molly's up next and the brown-haired guy she has to kiss is pretty cute. But I don't think Molly's into him because she gives him a quick peck even though his lips try to linger on hers for longer.

As this is all going down, I see Jack standing off to the side with Jordana. It's just the two of them, and her hands are all over him. He's not even trying to push her away, and the sight makes my blood boil; the feeling is like someone just punched me in the gut.

"That guy smelled so bad," Molly says, wiping her lips clean, as she comes back to where I'm standing. "Should we check out the food tents? I'm starving."

"Actually, I changed my mind," I say, keeping my eyes on Jack and Jordana before looking at Molly. "I want to play the kissing booth."

***

Molly's standing to the side of the stage, biting down on her light blue nails in excitement. "Woooo, go Stassie," she cheers, but I'm too nervous to look her way.

What was I thinking? A kissing booth? Really, Anastasia?

But then I think back to Jack and Jordana. Like Molly, maybe I need some sort of rebound tonight.

I'm sitting on a wooden stool in the center of the stage when a clean-cut guy with light-brown hair sits down on the empty one that's across from me. I take him in; he's got this country club vibe to him, dressed in a striped polo shirt and jeans.

Okay, maybe this wasn't a bad idea.

"Hi," he smiles. "I'm Philip."

"Hi. Stassie," I say.

His light brown eyes stay fixed on me, but something about the gesture seems warming.

"I'm kind of nervous," he cutely says, but the confession surprises me.

"Me, too," I anxiously smile.

"You're really pretty."

"Thanks," I bashfully say. My smile stays, but the anxious part of it vanishes.

"Is it okay if I kiss you?"

I love that he asks, and I slowly nod my head as my expression turns a bit more serious. He leans in and I move my body forward to meet him.

Our lips touch and there's a bit of a spark that ignites in my body. A spark that I wasn't expecting to feel.

The kiss turns into something more when he widens his lips and I do the same. It's definitely not a peck, nor is it short.

And then, suddenly, I no longer feel his lips on mine. So I open my eyes, and that's when I find Jack standing in his way.

"Hey asshole, that's my girlfriend you're kissing," Jack drunkenly shouts.

The guy stands up from his chair and says, "That's because it's a kissing booth, dumbass."

"Jack...," I interrupt, shaking my head at him.

"Get off the stage, Stass," he tells me, but I look at him like he's out of his mind.

"No. I'm not your girlfriend."

"Anastasia..."

"You heard her, man. She's not your girlfriend," the guy says, and Jack looks back at him.

"Shut the fuck up."

I walk up to Jack from behind and reach for his arm. "C'mon. Let's go. You're drunk."

"Not until I kick this piece of shit's ass."

"Jack, c'mon," I tug at his arm, successfully getting him to move my way. To my surprise, he listens and turns around to walk in front of me, and I mouth 'sorry' to the guy.

I lead us down the stairs of the stage, and the second that our feet hit the concrete, I gape at him. "Are you serious right now, Jack?"

"What?" he asks, squinting his eyes like he did no harm.

"You can't just go around starting fights with people."

"He was kissing you, Stassie."

"So? Jordana's hands were all over you. You don't see me threatening her."

"I don't care about Jordana."

"And I didn't care about that guy. I don't even know him."

"Great, Stas. That's just great. You're kissing guys you don't know now." I don't say anything, but he looks at me remorsefully and then reaches for my hand, pulling me towards him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Come here," he says, but I pull my arm back.

"You have to sober up, Jack. You don't want this."

"I don't want what?"

"Me," I tell him.

"Are you kidding, Stas? I want you more than anything else in this world."

"I don't think you know what you want," I say quietly. "We break up, right? And I take full accountability for ending things the first time around. But then I come back to you, and you tell me that not being with you is what's best for me."

"I know, Stas, I know," he says, covering his forehead with his palm. "You are better off without me, but I can't help what I feel for you."

"So, don't help it. I can take care of myself, Jack. I know what I need."

He's about to say something, when Rafe calls out, "Yo, J." He beckons Jack with his hand and Jack tells me that he'll be right back.

I stand in place, waiting for him to return, when Jordana comes out of nowhere and approaches me.

"Anastasia," she calls out. "Give Jack a little message for me, will ya? Tell him we can finish that kiss from earlier tonight at my place."

She gives me an evil smirk and I call out to her when she turns away. "Excuse me?"

She circles her body back around and then says, "What part of that wasn't clear? You seriously can't be surprised to hear that your dream boy is kissing someone else who isn't you."

I don't answer her and she gives me a condescending chuckle before walking off.

A minute later, Jack walks back to me and I can't help the shocked expression that's plastered across my face. He reaches for my cheek, but I shove at his chest, pushing him as far away from me as possible with just a single touch.

"You kissed Jordana tonight?" I ask, my eyes crossed as I try to process the thought of it.

"Stas, it's not what it sounds like."

"You kissed Jordana tonight," I say again with a nod, only this time, I state it like the ugly fact that it is.

And the worst part is...he doesn't even try again to deny it.