The Year I Became Isabella Ande - Jessica Sorensen Page 0,74
that dude who talked to us last night.”
“But who is he exactly?”
“Just some dude.”
“Don’t lie to me, Kai. I read one of your messages from him.” I shift my weight as he glares at me. “It wasn’t on purpose. I thought it was my phone.”
“You should probably just forget what you read.” He punches a few buttons then stuffs it into the back pocket of his worn jeans.
“Are you in trouble?” I ask. “Because that message . . . it sounded like you were in trouble.”
“I’m always in trouble,” he replies simply then stuffs a cookie into his mouth and licks his lips.
His tongue.
Those lips.
That kiss.
“Kai, about last night and what happened in the driveway—”
“Relax.” He cuts me off. “I kiss almost everyone when I’m drunk.”
“I wasn’t actually going to say anything about the kiss, but thanks for the info on your kissing routine,” I say, and he stares at me, unimpressed. “I just want to make sure you’re okay . . . with what happened with your dad.” I suck in an inhale, mustering up the courage. “And to give you this.” I wrap my arms around him and give him a quick hug that lasts just long enough for me to notice he smells like vanilla frosting. “You looked like you needed this last night, but I didn’t want to make your parents madder, so I thought I’d wait until today.”
The hug is not as awkward as I thought it would be, but when I step back, Kai’s staring at me with his mouth hanging open.
“You’re a strange girl sometimes.” He grabs another cookie from the package with a quizzical look on his face. “But in the best way possible.”
“So I’ve been told,” I say with a small smile. “You’re okay, though, right?”
He nods, swallowing hard. “I’m okay.”
I glance at the welt on his cheek. “Promise?”
His fingers drift to his cheek and he winces. “I promise.”
Then he turns his back on me and jogs up the stairs without saying anything else.
I’m not positive I believe he’s okay, but I’m not sure what else to do, other than keep an eye on him.
I head back to the kitchen, feeling sullen.
Kyler has gotten everything cleaned up by the time I walk in, and has his jacket and shoes on, ready to go.
“Everything okay?” he asks as he collects the car keys from the counter.
I nod. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”
That’s the second time I’ve lied in the last ten minutes. But who I’m lying to, I’m not quite sure.
BY THE TIME we arrive at my Grandma Stephy’s house, she’s halfway done with baking the cookies. I give her a good, stern lecture for not waiting for us, but she tells me that she doesn’t need my sucky cooking skills tainting her cookies and to go sit my ass down in the living room while she works her Baker Fairy Magic in the kitchen.
“She’s funny,” Kyler says after we settle on the living room sofa.
“Yeah, she’s pretty funny, I guess.” I shift on the sofa, feeling nervous as hell with how close he’s sitting next to me.
“You smile around her a lot,” he remarks as he slides his arm across the back of the chair.
“Do I not smile a lot when I’m not around her?” Do you notice that I don’t?
“I’ve seen you smile a couple of times,” he says. “But not a lot.”
“Maybe it’s because you haven’t been around me a lot,” I reply with a shrug. “Generally, I try to be a happy person, even when things are super sucky. And I’m seriously easy to please. I mean, give me a cookie and a comic book, and I’m like a freaking unicorn sniffing rainbows.”
“A unicorn sniffing a rainbow?” He cocks a brow.
I shrug, picking at my nails. “What? Unicorns are totally crazy happy when they sniff rainbows.”
He chuckles. “Funny. I didn’t know unicorns were real or that they sniffed rainbows.”
“Oh, they’re totally real,” I joke with a grin. “Now, I’m not positive the rainbow part is true, but I like to think it is, because I’m just that awesome.”
“That you are.” He gently tugs on a strand of my hair for God knows what reason. “You remember that time you wore a cape to school?”
I pull a face. “Yeah, I remember. Don’t judge me, though. I was like ten and going through this phase where I wanted to be a witch.”
“No, I wasn’t judging you at all,” he quickly says. “I always thought it was cool you were so comfortable with