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

“You did what?” From the kitchen, Grandma Stephy stares at me in shock.

“We weren’t totally naked,” I tell her, mentally cursing myself. I’d been doing so well, lightly flirting, saying fun things, and then my weirdo gene decided to make a grand appearance.

She points the spoon she’s holding at me. “We’ll talk about this later.” She goes back to her cooking, leaving me to sit here in shame as I blush.

“You really did that?” Kyler asks, trying not to smile.

“I didn’t mean to say that aloud. I do stuff like that sometimes. Talk without thinking.” I lean back in the sofa. “But yeah, Indigo—my cousin—and I went swimming in our underwear when we were in Scotland. It was more her idea than mine. She was really big on making sure we had a ton of crazy experiences.”

“It sounds like that’s exactly what you did.” He playfully bumps knees with mine. “Maybe one day you could tell me more crazy stuff you did.”

I bite back a smile. “Maybe one day, if you’re lucky.”

He grins, totally noting my flirty tone. “Maybe when you come watch my game, we can go out and get something to eat. Hit up a party or something.”

Okay, he’s definitely asking me out. I get all giddy, but then I hesitate. I don’t know why, but at that moment, I think about Kai and the party we went to. We had so much fun. More fun than I’ve ever had. Would I have that much fun with Kyler? I’ll never know unless I go. Besides, going out with Kyler has been my dream since practically forever. I owe it to my eight-year-old self to do this. And talking with him today has been so easy.

“That sounds like fun,” I say. “And I think it has crazy adventure potential.”

“I think so too.” He glances at his watch. “You’ll have to be the leader of our little adventure. I’m not very good at impulsive things.”

“I’ll think of something,” I promise him as he glances at his watch again. Am I boring him to death?

“I still can’t believe you went to Scotland,” he says, staring at me in awe. “I mean, I knew you went somewhere for the summer, but not Scotland.”

I wonder where he thought I was this summer. Did he buy into Hannah’s mental institution thing? “Where exactly did you think I went this summer? I’m just curious.”

“I knew you went on a trip with your grandma, but Kai never said exactly where you went.” He pauses, seeming conflicted. “Were you worried about Hannah’s rumor and the mental institution thing? Because, you should know, no one believes that.”

“Really?” I hug a pillow against my chest. “Why not?”

“Kai told everyone that it wasn’t true.” He intently studies my expression. “You didn’t know that?”

“No, I didn’t. He never said anything to me about it.” My thoughts drift to Kai.

Why didn’t he tell me? I wish I knew, so I could at least thank him.

God, I need to thank him, like a lot.

“Okay, I’m new at this not-being-a-douche thing, so you can totally tell me if I’m being rude,” he says with a hint of remorse in his voice. “But the games on in, like, five minutes and I—”

I laugh, cutting him off. “Kyler, you can turn on the game. It’s cool.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep.” I’m just glad I know what all the watch-checking was about.

I turn on the television for him and his attention instantly goes right to the screen. I think about sending Kai a text and thanking him, but a text doesn’t feel like the right way.

No, it should be in person.

Eventually, the air laces with the scent of soon-to-be done, yummy-in-my-tummy cookies. I’ve just started contemplating getting up and going into the kitchen, wondering if it makes me rude, when Kyler turns to me.

“You want me to explain the rules to you?” Kyler asks as a commercial comes on. “If you’re going to come watch me play, you should probably know what’s going on. That way you can cheer me on when I kick some ass.” He winks at me. “I kick ass a lot.”

“I bet you do,” I tell him, smiling from the wink. “You can try to explain the rules to me, but I’m going to warn you that I usually don’t catch on to stuff very quickly, unless I’m actually doing it.”

“I guess we’ll have to throw the ball around sometime then.” The dimple grin appears and my pulse quickens. “But I’ll try to explain it now, if that’s cool.” He gets an excited look in his eyes, like he’s pumped to be doing this.

The look is contagious and gets me pumped too, even if we’re going to be talking about football.

He faces the television again, sitting back in the chair and putting his arm on the back again. “Okay, so how much do you know about football?”

“A little bit.” I’m hyperaware that he’s playing with my hair. I don’t even think he realizes he’s doing it. “My dad watches it sometimes, but he’s not a fan of me being anywhere near him when he does.”

“But you’re good at sports, right?”