The Year I Became Isabella Anders (Sunnyvale, #1)

“What’d you get him to turn on?” I ask, but then a song clicks on and I have my answer. I giggle. “You picked a Katy Perry song?”


“What? She rocks!” he replies, owning his song choice. He snatches hold of my hand and drags me through the people who’ve started dancing again. “Now come on. You owe me a dance.”

“How do you figure I owe you a dance?” I stumble after him as he shoves his way to the center of the room.

He elbows people out of the way to clear some space then his fingertips press down on my wrist and he spins me around so my back is aligned with his chest. “Because you never gave me the wand you promised me.”

I start to laugh, then stop myself. “You never gave me a chance to give you the wand. Three days after I promised you I’d make you one, you decided you were too cool to walk home with me anymore.”

“I came to your house after that happened,” he says. “You could’ve given it to me then.”

I tip my chin up to look at him. “When did you come to my house?”

“After I told my friend you were stalking me.” Remorse fills his eyes. “I wanted to say sorry. I know it wouldn’t have meant much, since I wasn’t planning on telling people the truth, but I felt bad.”

“Why didn’t I know that you stopped by my house?”

“Probably because Hannah answered the door and I chickened out.”

The mention of Hannah painfully reminds me of the birth certificate and how she put it on my bed for me to find. If she’s trying to get rid of me then that’s probably the tip of the iceberg. Who knows what other kinds of mean games are waiting for me at home?

“Stop overthinking and dance.” He grinds his hips against my backside and I laugh, finding it funnier than I probably should.

But this is Kai, not some random stranger at a club who Indigo roped into dancing with me. Kai, who used to walk home with me, who secretly shared my love for magic, superheroes, and zombies. Who teases me constantly and who pisses me off sometimes.

He seems pretty adamant about dancing with me, though, upping his moves as he grips my hips and pulls me closer.

“Okay, I guess we’re doing this then.” I down the rest of my beer, knowing I’m going to need it, then set the empty beer bottle down on the floor.

Giving one final panicked glance at the people around me, I sway my hips and rock to the beat of the music. I don’t move slowly either. That’s not my style. I may have social anxiety, but give me a drink and some loud music, and I’ll go wild. I’m talking freak out, lose your mind, whip it, shake your groove thang kind of dancing. I blame it on Indigo and the first time we went out clubbing.

Kai’s hand slides around to my stomach, his fingers dipping under the hem of my shirt. When his knuckles graze my bare skin right above my hipbone, I have a hard time focusing. And breathing. Suddenly, I no longer think dancing with him is that funny. I find it. . . . well, sexy.

His fingers trace circles on my skin as he grinds his hips against me. I fight to keep moving the way I was before all the touching started, but I keep spacing out and forgetting how to function.

His breath caresses my ear as he chuckles. “You seem tense. I thought you said you could dance.”

He’s so doing this on purpose. To distract me.

“Yep, I sure can,” I say, and then really start dancing, ignoring everything around me like I did when I was overseas.

I lift my arms, sway my hips, and rock out, matching the beat of the song. Kai lines his body up with mine and we move together perfectly. Song after song, we keep going, practically having sex with our clothes on. I’d be embarrassed—and maybe I will be, come morning—but right now, I’m having fun.

I’m not sure how long we dance or how long it would’ve gone on, but then Kai ruins the moment by licking the side of my neck.

I squeal, whirling toward him while I wipe his slobber off my neck.

He gives me an innocent look. “What? That’s how I thought all the cool kids were greeting each other tonight.”

I keep my hand cupped over the side of my neck for protection. “First of all, you weren’t trying to greet me. And second of all, it creeped the hell out of me when Bradon licked me.”

His chest shakes as he fights not to laugh at me. “I don’t think I’m as creepy as Bradon.”

“You know what? You’re right.” Which means I can pay him back. I let my arm fall to the side, lean forward, and lick his neck like a dog.

He jumps back, startled, and then busts up laughing, hunching over as he grasps his side. Unable to help myself, I join in with him.

After the laughter dies down, we mutually agree not to lick each other anymore and start dancing again. By the time we stop to get some water, we’re sweaty, hot, and out of breath. We wander back to the kitchen and Kai gets a bottle of water from the fridge, taking a sip before handing it to me. I down most of the water in just a few gulps then hand the bottle back to him.

“Now you’ve got me curious,” Kai says after he finishes the rest of the water.