Adventures of a New Year's Kiss: A Holiday Romantic Mystery (Funeral Crashing Young Adult Mystery Books) (7 page)

Back to our plan: Kait convinced Ethan to suggest to his friend, Mike that he should ask Sarah to go with him to the festival. Mike and Sarah had gone to Homecoming together. The problem was that they were only casually dating and they weren't officially going out. Still, Mike thought it was a great idea and agreed to ask her. That meant that we'd definitely be seeing Sarah at the festival.

The last one of the trio was Megan. Although it was possible that Megan might not show up to the festival, it was doubtful. With both of her besties in attendance it was almost a sure thing that she'd be there hanging out with them.

Ethan's other good friend, Dave, could have asked Megan to make it a sure thing that she'd be there, but we needed him to ask Claire. Kait talked to Dave about this herself since she wasn't sure that she could convince Ethan to tell Dave to ask Claire to the festival out of nowhere. Dave was a little reluctant about asking Claire, though, because she wasn't his type.

So, Kait talked to Dave and he finally agreed after she told him why he was really asking Claire. I was okay with him knowing my situation as long as he could keep it a secret. Dave was amused and said he'd help us out. He had nothing else going on and it would be an exciting New Year's Eve if he were going undercover. I just hoped he didn't hurt Claire in the process. If she didn't steal my necklace, then we were setting her up on a very exciting Cinderella fairytale date with a popular guy. Her heart might just get broken if she learned that he wasn't into it.

After that, our plans got vague. We'd need to run into everyone. Running into Dave and Mike would be easy and thus, we'd definitely run into Claire and Sarah. Hopefully, running into Sarah meant that we'd also see Megan and Ariel. Then if someone had the necklace on, we had him or her. Kait thought the culprit might wear the necklace. It was a new necklace and a big occasion. None of the girls had any idea that they'd see me at the festival since the odds that I'd be there were pretty small. I wasn't so sure that our mystery would be solved so easily, though. If I stole something like that, I wouldn't wear it out.

Assuming that our luck wasn't that good and that the necklace wouldn't just land in our laps, we had to be prepared to talk to each of our suspects. Maybe they would let something slip. I was letting Kait take point on that. As evidenced by my results so far, I wasn't so great at the whole interrogating thing. I preferred to listen.

The day finally arrived. I was a nervous wreck. Not only did I need to look amazing for Kyle, I also had to worry about the investigation and my first New Year's kiss. My whole morning felt like it was getting ready for a major date. Kyle and I had been on all sorts of casual dates and one fancy one for Homecoming, but this was another big one. Kait and I had bought dresses at the mall and I made an appointment to get my hair done. It took me forever to do my makeup and nails. I also kept texting Kait. She assured me that everything would be fine. I hoped so. It would seriously be a perfect New Year if I had an amazing kiss with Kyle and also found my necklace. So, why did that feel like it was a pipe dream?

By the time it was nine o'clock and time for Kyle to come over, I'd been ready to go for an hour. I got ready way too early. Luckily, Kyle was always on time.

I heard the doorbell while I was checking another text from Kait. She was having issues with her dress. She was totally freaking out about it because Ethan was on his way. She didn't know if she'd be able to fix it in time. I just hoped that wasn't a bad omen. I was nervous enough already without needing to worry about omens.

I put my phone in my purse and ran to open the door for Kyle. Nobody was home to answer it for me since everyone in my family already had their own New Year's Eve plans. I opened the door. Kyle looked absolutely dashing in new jeans, a nice blue button down shirt, and a fancy black overcoat. He took the coat off as he walked into my house.

I was impressed. Kyle had even styled his hair. Usually he just let it do its thing. I took a moment to take him in, grinning. He smiled back at me.

"Suzie, you look so beautiful," Kyle said.

I smiled back at Kyle, "Thank you."

He couldn't stop looking at me. I felt my cheeks turn pink. I thought I looked pretty good, but until Kyle saw me I didn't feel confident about it. I was always nervous about what he'd think because I wanted to wow him every time. I knew I should feel confident, but it was something I had to work on. Kyle definitely helped with that. When he looked at me - I felt beautiful.

For New Year's I was wearing a dress with a golden swoop neck top that clung to my curves and flowed into a powder blue skirt at my waist. It was a very casual New Year's Eve outfit, but I really liked it. I was saving my next fancy dress to wear to the prom. Still, if the look in Kyle's eyes meant anything, it meant that I had chosen wisely.

My hair was curled with half of it up and the other half down so that my neck would stay warm in the cold weather. I was going to wear flats so that I'd be comfortable, but Kait somehow convinced me to wear white high heels. She said they looked totally sexy on me, which Kyle would like. She also wanted us to be on equal footing with Ariel, Sarah, and Megan. I didn't think the whole footing thing should be taken literally, but Kait insisted so I relented. The shoes did also look pretty great with my dress. I was just thankful that there was no snow on the ground or my feet would have frozen.

I kissed Kyle quickly on the lips as he continued to gaze at me. He smiled and then quickly kissed me back. I laughed and pulled him to me in a long, drawn out kiss that warmed me up from head to toe.

Kyle and I were both quiet on our way to the festival. Despite our make out session just before getting into the car, I kind of felt like we were on a first date. Usually silence between us was comfortable, but I actually felt a little nervous. Then again, maybe that was because I knew Operation Get Back My Necklace was about to spring into action whether I was ready or not.

Kait and Ethan met us at the entrance of the festival. Kyle and I were a little late. I hoped they hadn't waited long. I looked at my phone. It was almost ten o'clock. Oops. We were supposed to arrive by nine-thirty.

Kait was pulling on her dress strap as we walked up. She was wearing a coat over a strappy blue sparkly dress and black boots that went to her knees. I should have worn boots. My legs were freezing.

"Hey," Kait said to both of us and then to me. "My dress strap was being weird all night. I tried to fix it at home. Anyway, it just broke for good. Do you happen to have a safety pin on you?"

"No," I said feeling glad that she didn't seem to notice that we were super late. "Sorry."

Kait frowned. She looked upset. Maybe someone at the festival would have a safety pin.

Ethan took ahold of her hand. "It's okay, Kait."

"I have one," Kyle said and he miraculously pulled a safety pin out from his coat.

I almost laughed. Kyle was always randomly prepared for certain things. I hugged him and said, "You're awesome."

Kait took the pin, her whole mood changing. "Thank you so much Kyle."

I swear Kyle blushed at the compliment.

"Suzie, can you fix this thing for me?" Kait said. "I can't see it and I don't want it to show."

I could swear I heard the words not in front of Ariel at the end of her sentence. Still, I understood. She wanted to look her best for Ethan too. I hooked the safety pin through the dress strap and hid it as best as I could under the dress.

"There. That should work," I said.

Ethan smiled at me and then at Kait. "You can't even tell it broke."

Kait hugged me, "Suzie, you're the best."

Now I was the one blushing. Still, I felt good inside. If Kait's dress strap breaking was the worst thing that happened tonight, that wasn't so bad. It didn't seem like a bad omen anymore.

I felt a little lighter inside, "Let's go in."

Everyone agreed and we all walked toward the festival. The square was a part of downtown Palos. It had an old fashioned feel. The park that we were walking into was where the ball was going to drop at midnight. Carts and booths with people selling trinkets and handmade items were set up all around. There were also vendors of hot chocolate and other snacks. Some shops and restaurants around the square looked like they were open late too.

"Let's go eat," Ethan said. "We still have two hours and we might as well stay warm while we wait."

I glanced at Kait. Did we have time to eat and get our plan underway? Kait nodded. I relaxed a little. If Kait thought we could go, it would be fine. Two hours was plenty of time to eat, interrogate suspects, and find my necklace. Besides, I hadn't really eaten all day because I'd been so nervous.

"Sure," I said and Kyle nodded. "I'm starving."

"Great," Ethan said. "Dave and Mike are meeting us there."

Kait and I glanced at each other at the same time. I guess it was show time after all. I took a few deep breaths and followed the others to the Pickle Cafe. It was a mom and pop cafe that served sandwiches and burgers. It usually wasn't that busy, but it was absolutely packed when we got there.

I didn't see Dave and Mike or their dates. Maybe we'd gotten a reprieve. I relaxed again until Ethan waved at someone in the back corner. This was definitely it. I took Kyle's hand in mine. I held it tightly as we made our way through the throngs of people and toward the booth and table where it looked like not just two, but all of our suspects and their dates already sat.

A round of heys went around the table. I tried to take everyone in. I was not good in large groups of people and we were now a party of twelve. This was going to be a disaster. I never usually said anything when there was this big of a group. In my head we had run into everyone separately. This was not going to be the case.

Kait squeezed into the booth next to Troy, who had made room for her when we walked up. He was with his girlfriend, Ariel. Ethan, Kyle, and I sat in chairs that had been pulled up around a second smaller table in an effort to try and fit everyone. I found myself sitting next to Claire, who was sitting with her date, Dave. Mike and his date Sarah and Megan and her date, who I didn't know, were also there. If anyone from school saw us their minds might explode at the varying social classes at our table.

I looked at the four girls who were my suspects. Claire wasn't wearing any jewelry. Sarah had on this really cool necklace, but it wasn't mine. I wondered if she made it. I couldn't see Megan's neck because she was wearing a sweater dress with a high neckline. Ariel still had on her bright pink pea coat. I couldn't tell if she had it on. I'd have to assume that Megan and Ariel weren't wearing jewelry. So, basically we were still stuck at square one. I glanced at Kait. She met my eyes and nodded. She noticed that nobody was wearing the necklace too. Darn. It would have been nice if it were that easy.

My phone beeped. I had a text. Was it my parents? I glanced at it. It was from Kait and it read:
We need to get them alone. This is crazy.

It was crazy. Megan, Ariel, and Sarah were all talking to each other. Ethan was talking to Dave and Mike. Troy was trying to make conversation with Kait. I was starting to wonder if he liked her even though he was dating Ariel. Kait hadn't said anything about it, though. I turned to Kyle. He shrugged. Yeah, he felt just as socially out of place as I did. It looked like Kyle, Claire, and I were the awkward ones, not saying anything at all.

I looked over at Kait, who was watching me even though Troy was still trying to talk to her. I nodded a yes in answer to her statement. We did need to get them alone. The question was how were we going to break up this group? It's not like we were all friends to begin with, but it would be at least an hour before we all got food and ate. We were kind of stuck here. I wondered if Kait had anything in mind because I had no idea how to get out of this situation.

As I thought that, Kait turned to Ariel and said, "Hey, Ariel."

"Yeah?" Ariel asked.

"Is it true that this is going to be your first New Year's kiss?" Kait asked.

At the look on Ariel's face, the whole table went silent. Troy suddenly looked really, really, really uncomfortable. Maybe it was the topic or maybe it was the fact that he was sitting between them. Everyone turned to stare at Ariel and Kait. Actually, I think we all felt really awkward. I know I did.

"Why? Is it yours?" Ariel asked like she knew the obvious answer to the question.

"I asked you first," Kait said. "You're not answering."

"You're not answering either," Ariel snarled.

"Well, I remember a conversation where you said that..." Kait started.

Ariel interrupted her, "Hey, Sarah, Megan, want to go check out some of the shops and booths? I'm not that hungry anymore."

Wow. It worked. I glanced at Kait. I was surprised that Kait said what she did. She glanced back and shrugged. She definitely knew how to push Ariel's buttons. Somehow, I think Ariel knew how to press Kait's too.

"Excuse you," Ariel looked at Kait, who promptly got up, followed by Troy, to let Ariel out.

"Come on, Troy," Ariel said, sliding out of the booth.