Adventures of a New Year's Kiss: A Holiday Romantic Mystery (Funeral Crashing Young Adult Mystery Books) (9 page)

"I heard you do," I said.

"Well, I don't," Sarah said.

"You're lying," I prodded and I was suddenly sure that she was. Her eyes were doing a crinkling thing. It was weird.

"What?" Sarah asked like she was appalled that I dare question what she said.

"Tell me the truth," I said feeling a little braver. I was definitely right. Maybe there was something to the feeling you got when you solved a case.

"Just go away," Ariel said and stepped between Sarah and me, breaking our intense moment.

I moved around Ariel and kept staring at Sarah. She had to crack under the pressure. The problem was that Ariel was about to ruin it.

Sarah glanced away from me and at Ariel. "She thinks I stole her necklace. I didn't. I put it back..."

My jaw dropped. I had to pounce on this. ASAP. Think of words, think of words, think of words!

"You put it back?" I repeated as a question.

Sarah looked at me and I could see it in her eyes. She knew she was caught. She still didn't say anything.

"Sarah, you just admitted that you took it," I said.

Sarah frowned. "Well, except that I don't have it anymore. I gave it back."

"Well, I don't have it either so tell me what happened. Exactly," I said suddenly feeling like I was talking to a pouty child.

Sarah crossed her arms over her chest. Yes, she was definitely acting like one of the seven year olds I babysat when she'd been caught doing something that she shouldn't have been doing. I waited.

"Did Megan tell you?" Sarah asked and then didn't wait for me to answer. "She did, didn't she? I so did not hit on her date at the restaurant. I am so going to tell her off when I find her..."

"Sarah. My necklace," I reminded her.

Sarah gave in, "Fine. I found it on the floor. I didn't know it was yours, so I picked it up. I thought it was really pretty and I just thought that if someone asked about it then I'd give it back. If they didn't, it was finder's keepers. And then you were talking about it in English. I didn't want to tell you that I had it, so I snuck it into your locker when you left for the pool during gym the next day."

"But it wasn't in my locker," I said.

"Well, are you sure it didn't catch onto your clothes or something? I definitely put it in your locker," Sarah said.

Now I felt really upset. That was the day that I rushed out of gym to the counseling center. Was it possible that the necklace had caught onto my clothes? If it did, had it fallen off somewhere in school? I'd never find it now.

Tears started falling from my eyes.

"I have it," A voice said.

"What?" I asked.

"I have it," Ariel repeated looking at me.

"Wait," I wiped at my face, trying to stop the tears from flowing. My brain was having problems comprehending what was going on now. I had asked Ariel about it already and she had point blank lied to me. "So, you're the one who took it? But..."

"Well, I didn't take it exactly," Ariel said. "I found it in my locker. I thought it was for me. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I was just surprised. I needed to think about it. I really thought it was a gift."

"Did I put it in the wrong locker?" Sarah asked.

"Duh," Ariel said.

"Who exactly did you think put the necklace in your locker?" I was having trouble believing Ariel's story.

Ariel shrugged, "A secret admirer."

"Who snuck into the girl's locker room?" I asked.

"If they were madly in love with me, sure, why not?" Ariel said.

"It would make more sense that your admirer was one of the girls in our gym class then," I said.

Ariel shrugged. "I'm not going to turn away admirers bearing nice jewelry."

"Well, it wasn't from your secret admirer. There wasn't a note attached or anything, right?" I said.

"It's the gift that counts," Ariel said. "Words mean nothing most of the time."

I shook my head. It was time for me to stop debating with Ariel. I could definitely see why Ariel frustrated Kait so much. "Can you give my necklace back to me?"

"Yeah," Ariel said. "Sure."

"When?" I asked after Ariel didn't say anything else. I didn't want her to renege on giving it back to me.

"Um. How about on Monday when we come back after break," Ariel said. "I'll give you the necklace in gym. I promise."

"Okay," I said and relief flooded through me.

Things could finally go back to normal. I could return to being the quiet girl who reads books and blends into the wall unless she was with her boyfriend. Then I was the center of his world and he was the center of mine. I really couldn't wait for normal to return.

"You took it?" My happy bubble was broken as Ariel and I both spun around to find Kait gaping at us.

Ariel actually looked a little pale all of a sudden, but her voice came out crystal clear. "Well, not exactly and we already settled it. Suzie and I are cool."

I wasn't going to debate Ariel again. If she gave my necklace back, all was well anyway. Plus I wanted to diffuse the situation. Kait looked angry.

"Kait, how did you even..." I started to ask.

"I knew you must have found something out, so I waited," Kait said.

"Oh," I said. "Well, it's fine. Really. Ariel's right. Things are cool."

"Things are so not cool," Kait said and then turned to Ariel. "How could you do this to Suzie, Ariel? Is it because she's my friend?"

Ariel rolled her eyes. "It's not like everything is about you, Kait."

"Really? Sure," Kait said.

"Look, let me explain," Ariel said.

"I don't want to hear it," Kait stepped forward to stand between Ariel and me. "Give the necklace back to Suzie. Now."

Ariel frowned. "It's not here. It's at my house."

"So, go and get it," Kait said.

"Like I already told you, Suzie and I already settled it. I'll give it to her at school on Monday," Ariel said.

"No. You're going to go and get it now or Suzie and I are going to file a police report," Kait said.

My jaw dropped. Whoa. I didn't want to press charges against Ariel. I wasn't even sure I could. She didn't exactly take it. I didn't think. Besides, I just wanted the necklace back. I thought Ariel was misguided more than anything else.

Ariel looked taken aback too. "If I go get it now, I'll miss my New Year's kiss with Troy. It's almost midnight."

I automatically reached for my phone. Oh no. It was ten minutes to midnight. I texted Kyle. This was not happening.

"So?" Kait said, not realizing that she was about to miss her New Year's kiss with Ethan too. "Have Troy go with you. Suzie should have it on for her New Year's kiss with Kyle."

"But I always see the ball drop here," Ariel whined. "I won't make it back in time."

Kait frowned. She glanced at me. Her facade faltered and she looked torn. She felt bad for Ariel. I did too. Nobody should miss his or her New Year's kiss.

"Kait, it's really okay. Kyle will just be super thrilled that I found it. Getting it back on Monday is totally fine," I said holding my breath a little. We had to go.

Kait reluctantly nodded. "Okay. Fine. If you say so."

"I do," I said. "Now, let's go."

I glanced at my phone again. It was 11:53 pm. I had seven minutes to find Kyle. My heart raced. We had to hurry! I grabbed Kait's hand and pulled her toward the square.

"Happy New Year!" Ariel said as we raced away. She actually didn't even sound sarcastic.

Kait looked back at her, but didn't say anything.

"Happy New Year!" I yelled, not looking back.

I wasn't one to hold grudges. I had told Kait the truth. As long as Ariel gave my necklace back, we were cool. Besides, I was getting excited. The big moment was almost upon us. Still, if I missed my New Year's kiss with Kyle because of all this, Ariel and I might not be so cool anymore.

Four minutes to go. Kait and I split up when we reached the square. Kyle and Ethan were in totally different sections of the park. Ethan was with Dave and Mike, closer to the stage where the band was playing. Kyle had run into his friend, Mason Alexander, and they were talking about constellations by the playground. Mason was equally as geeky as Kyle. He was really sweet, but I wondered if he had a date to the festival. I texted Kyle that I was on my way to him. I hated to admit to it, but I didn't really want Mason to be our third wheel at midnight. Even though he was a really nice guy, I wanted Kyle all to myself.

The square was packed with people. Everyone was excitedly looking up at the ball. The band was still playing. It would be stopping any minute for the countdown. I had to hurry. I made my way as fast as I could through the crowd of people toward the playground.

Then I saw him. Kyle was waiting for me near the swings, alone. I ran toward him.

"You made it!" Kyle said and swooped me into a hug.

He leaned down to kiss me, but I stopped him with my right hand and a grin. "Not until the new year."

Kyle smiled at me. "Okay."

"And Kyle?" I said.

"What?" Kyle took my right hand in his.

"I found the necklace," I said.

"You what?" Kyle stared down at me in surprise. "But how?"

I explained the whole story to him.

"That's so amazing!" Kyle said and leaned in to kiss me again.

I stopped him again with my left hand, laughing. "Not yet!"

"I forgot," Kyle said, taking my left hand in his too. "I'm just really excited that you found it."

"Me too," I said.

Kyle frowned. "But Suzie, I have something to tell you."

"What?" I suddenly felt worried. There wasn't much time left until the ball dropped and whatever Kyle wanted to tell me sounded a little foreboding.

"I asked Kait to help you look for your necklace," Kyle said. "I talked to her the morning after Scarlett collapsed."

"What?" I was totally shocked.

Kait hadn't even hinted at that. She could really keep a secret. Whoa. So that's where Kyle was that morning. I'd had no idea. And that's why Kait had searched everywhere to find me after gym. And that's why Kyle understood about me going off with Kait tonight and leaving him alone with the guys. Wow. It all made sense now.

"Please don't be mad at her," Kyle said. "I just knew how much you wanted to find that necklace. I couldn't stand to see you beating yourself up about losing it. Then when you thought that Scarlett was wearing it, I got worried. I didn't know how to help you, so I asked Kait to..."

"Kyle, I'm not mad," I said, looking up into his eyes. "That was really very sweet of you. I know you just wanted to help. I promise I'll never lose it again."

"Suzie," Kyle said. "That's the thing. The most important thing in the world to me is you. I don't care about the necklace. I just want to make you happy. I love seeing you smile. That's all I wanted."

I smiled back at Kyle as he said that, "You make me the happiest girl in the world, Kyle."

Kyle looked down at me. Then all I could see was Kyle looking into my eyes, leaning toward me. He had both of my hands in his, but I didn't want to stop him this time. I leaned toward him too. Our lips met. Kyle let go of my hands and pulled me all the way to him.

"Five! Four! Three! Two! One!" The MC yelled.

I barely heard him or the crowd. I didn't see the ball drop and I didn't care. Cheers erupted all around us, but I was totally oblivious. There was only Kyle and I and his lips on mine, our bodies molded together.

We were already well into our New Year's kiss when the clock actually struck midnight. If anything, our kissing just intensified. My hands were on Kyle's back and his were roaming my body. Our lips never left each other, though. They just continued to move together in a teasing, taunting dance long past midnight.

It was the best New Year's kiss ever. It was the first of many that I knew Kyle and I would share. After all, I was pretty sure that he was my forever guy. Plus, I was about to get back the most amazing necklace. I had my happily ever after and I was happy to spend the New Year enjoying it.

###

It was almost midnight. I had to find Ethan. Suzie was right. It was our first New Year's kiss and I shouldn't let anything spoil it, not even Ariel. Arg! I was so angry with her. She could have just given Suzie's necklace back when she found it. Why did she take it? Her parents bought her anything she wanted anyway. And Troy. Troy could probably have made her a cool necklace if she'd wanted one. No. I'd never understand her.

I took a couple of deep breaths. I had to calm down and find Ethan. This was a big moment in our relationship. So much had happened this year and ending the year on a kiss with Ethan was absolutely perfect, especially after just solving Suzie's mystery.