The Year Falling in Love (Alternative Version) (Sunnyvale Alternative Series Book 2)

by Jessica Sorensen

  Chapter 6

  Isabella

  I dribble the ball against the concrete as I calculate where to make my next shot. So far, Kyler and I are both tied at HORS. It’s taken us over an hour just to get to that point because we both rock at the game and rarely miss a basket. It’s fun spending time with him. What’s really cool is that he hasn’t brought up my mom and dad. While I know I’m eventually going to have to talk about it, it’s nice to take a break from the emotional chaos.

  “Quit procrastinating losing,” Kyler taunts as he watches me walk the length of the court.

  I stop near the half court and smile sweetly at him. “You mean, you losing?”

  He chuckles, fishing out his phone from his pocket. “In your dreams. And when I win, you owe me,” he says, reading a text.

  “You’re so not going to win. And you want to know why?” I raise my arms with the ball in my hands.

  He leans against the pole of the hoop, folding his arms, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Because you’re so awesome?”

  “Yep.” Grinning, I take the shot. From out of my peripheral vision, I swear I see a flash, like a camera, and I wonder if it might be Kyler, but when I look at him again, I don’t see his phone in his hand. And why would he take a photo of me?

  Shoving the weird paranoia aside, I watch the ball soar through the air, swish through the basket, and I break out in a goofy dance, throwing my hands in the air and tapping my feet.

  Kyler laughs as he chases down the ball. “Cute victory dance, but FYI, you haven’t won yet.” With that, he strolls up to where I’m standing and easily makes the basket.

  I stop dancing, gather the ball in my hands, and inch back farther to make a shot. But I try to go too big and end up missing. Now Kyler’s the one to dance around like he’s already won.

  I can’t help giggling at his silly dance moves. “You still haven’t won.”

  “I’ve got this in the bag now.” He appears pretty confident as he strides around behind me and presses his solid chest against my back. My breath gets caught in my throat as my heart dang near explodes out of my chest. My body shakes from the sensation, and I quickly step forward before he notices.

  But his fingers fold around my arm and draw me back against him. “Nope. You need to stay put for this one.” He lets go of my arm and rests his elbows on my shoulder.

  After he shoots the basket, I spin around and put my hands on my hips, giving him the death glare. “No fair.”

  “Why isn’t that fair?” he asks innocently.

  “Um, hello, because you’re, like, five inches taller than me.” Sure, I’m not short or anything, but Kyler is tall. For me to be able to even get my elbows onto his shoulders, I’d have to get a stepstool.

  “I’ll tell you what.” He’s totally enjoying this. “I’ll make it easy on you. Just make the shot from here.”

  Like hell I’m taking the easy way out.

  I square my shoulders. “No way. I’m going to win this fair and square.” I skip around him. Then, with a jump, I hurry and rest my elbows on his shoulders for a split second, quickly tossing the ball. It arches through the air, and at first I think it’s going to make it, but at the last second, it curves left, dings the rim, and falls to the ground. “Mother of all zombies.”

  Kyler whirls around with a ha-ha-I-just-kicked-your-behind look on his face. “You should’ve taken the easy shot.”

  “No way.” I grimace, partly joking but partly not because, man, I hate losing! “It wouldn’t have felt like a real win.”

  “But now I win.” His grin is as shiny as a disco ball.

  I want to sulk and be a sore loser, but he looks too adorable standing there shirtless with his hair a tousled mess and his skin lightly damp with sweat. “Fine. What crazy thing are we doing?”

  “Aw, don’t pout.” He lightly prods me with his elbow. “I promise I’ll pick something fun.”

  I frown for two point five more seconds before the smile wins. “Fine. What’re we doing?” I bounce on my toes, bursting with anticipation.

  He laughs, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “I think that might be the quickest I’ve ever seen anyone get over losing.”

  I rub the light sheen of sweat from my hairline with the back of my hand. “What can I say? I’m a sucker for surprises.” I clasp my hands together. “Now please, pretty please, tell me what we’re doing.”

  He shakes his head, scooping up the ball. “No way. It won’t be a surprise if I tell you.”

  I follow after him as he starts across the grass toward the car. “Oh, come on.” I grasp his arm. “We never agreed it had to be a surprise, just that the winner got to pick something crazy that we’d both have to do.”

  He digs his car keys from his pocket. “Yeah, but I think it’s more fun this way.”

  I jut out my bottom lip. “Says who?”

  “Says me.” His gaze briefly falls to my fingers on his arm.

  All of my insecurities overwhelm me, and I pull away from him, my cheeks warming.

  A beat or two skips by, and the silence makes my cheeks heat even more with embarrassment. Trying to chill out, I focus on everything else except Kyler staring at me: the leaves gusting across the dry grass, a horn honking in the distance, the playground swings squeaking against the wind, the tree Kai and I used to hide in when we were younger and just a couple of days ago during lunch when we almost kissed, and a twenty-something-year-old guy with dark brown hair, leaning against a tree, watching us as like a creeper.

  What the hell? Maybe he was the one who took a photo of me when I made the shot. But why? That doesn’t make any sense.

  Stop worrying so much, Isa. No one wants a photo of you.

  When the guy notices me observing him, he waves sheepishly before jogging toward the parking lot and across the street, disappearing into a nearby neighborhood.

  I’m not sure what to make of it or if I should make anything of it.

  Just chill, dude. You seriously watch too many horror movies.

  “I think you’re adorable.” Kyler tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear, drawing my attention back to him. “You get so excited over the simplest things. It’s such a nice break from what I’m used to.”

  “You know, that’s the second time you’ve mentioned I’m a nice break from what you’re used to.” I cringe at the breathlessness in my voice.

  “I know.” His voice is soft and his eyes are on mine as his tongue slips out of his mouth and wets his lips. Then his gaze drops to my mouth.

  Wow, wow, wow … in my wildest dreams … Is he going to kiss me? is the first thought that races through my mind, but then it’s followed by hesitancy. Is this really how I want the kiss to go down? On the day my parents threatened to send me off to reform school? Wouldn’t that make the memory of it tainted?

  I shove the thought aside, though, when my stomach does a kick flip. No, I want this kiss. Who cares if this morning was crappy? I can erase the crappy and replace it with fireworks. Fireworks, everywhere.

  I barely breathe as I wait for him to kiss me, my heart shape-shifting into a freakin’ hummingbird, fluttering a million miles a minute.

  But he suddenly hesitates, raking his fingers through his hair as he stares at the street. “Isa, I want to get to know you more. In the past, I’ve never taken the time to get to know the girls I’ve gone out with. But I want things to be different with you. I want to take my time and enjoy every moment.”

  A couple things cross my mind at the moment: 1). Does he mean he wants to get to know me as a friend? 2) He’s obviously working on reinventing himself, but why? Where did the sudden change come from? Because there’s usually a reason behind someone wanting to change, like me, like Kai, even though I still have no clue why he went from popular, preppy guy to bad boy in the span of a night.

  I want to ask Kyler if something’s going on with him, but I chicken out. “Okay.”

  He looks at me again, smiling as he threads his fingers through mine and pulls me
toward the car.

  I feel the slightest bit of excitement from his touch but a drop of disappointment at the same time. I don’t know why. Is it just lingering sensations of the almost kiss? Or something else?

  “Ready for crazy task number one?” he asks, squeezing my hand.

  I nod, tearing my thoughts from my worries. Nope, I’m not supposed to be worrying about stuff today, whether it’s my parents, my mom, or what’s going on with Kyler. Today is supposed to be about being distracted from the craziness in my life, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to go into worrying-about-a-guy mode. I’m going to focus on whatever Kyler’s got in store for me and nothing else.

  Chapter 7

  Isabella

  “Um…” I’m unsure what to say to the scene in front of me.

  Kyler said it was a surprise, and while I wasn’t sure what to expect, I wasn’t expecting this.

  “I promise it’ll be fun.” He reaches over the console, brushes my ponytail off my shoulder, and gently massages my shoulder. “And it’s an excellent distraction.”

  My muscle tense from his touch, mostly because I’m not used to being touched so much. But he doesn’t seem to notice, his fingertips delicately kneading my muscles.

  I concentrate on the football field we’re parked by. A bunch of guys are on the field, throwing and catching the ball, and several girls a year or two older than me are watching from the benches. I’ve seen a couple of the girls at the parties Hannah’s thrown at our house, and most of the guys are Kyler’s friends from high school. Nausea forms in the pit of my stomach when I realize a few of them have made fun of me at one point or another.

  “None of the girls are playing.”

  A challenge glimmers in his eyes. “I didn’t think you were the kind of girl who cared about stuff like that.”

  “I’m not.” It’s the truth. I just used the girls not playing as an excuse to avoid telling him the real reason I don’t want to play flag football with a bunch of dudes—because I’d rather spend time locked in a dungeon than play football with his friends who can be total douchebags.

  I rack my brain for a legit sounding excuse, but all that pops into my mind is, Sorry, can’t. I’m allergic to football and all balls in general. Yep, sounds super legit, Isa. Face palm.

  “Look, I know you said you thought football was kind of boring, but I really think, if you try to play it, you might like it,” he says. “Besides, it might get your mind off other stuff.”

  He has a point, but paintballing or playing video games would do that for me, too, and I wouldn’t have to hang out with a group of people who spent years bullying me.

  “No one’s going to say anything to you,” he adds, as if reading my mind. “I promise.”

  I give him a fake smile, wondering if he can tell it’s forced. “Okay. Yeah. Sure. Just give me a second. I need to make a call first.”

  “You want me to wait for you?”

  “Nah. It might take a minute.”

  He nods and hops out of the car. Once he shuts the door, I punch in Indigo’s number. She doesn’t answer, so I text her to call me ASAP, saying I need a ride. I give her exactly one minute to respond before I panic and dial Kai’s number. I know he said he was going to Mapleview, but I’m hoping upon hope that he ended up not going. He never did text me back, though, when I replied to his message about hanging out tomorrow. I told him sure and asked where he wanted to meet. Maybe he never replied because he didn’t have a signal. The drive to Mapleview is pretty much a dead zone.

  After four rings, his phone goes to voicemail.

  “Hey, it’s me… Isa…” I’m unsure if I should tell him what’s going on. “Look, I’m kind of in a mess and really need a ride. I know you said you were leaving town, but I’m hoping maybe you haven’t left yet... But anyway, yeah, I’m guessing you have; otherwise, you probably would’ve answered your phone.” I hang up, shaking my head at my rambling message.

  I don’t get out of the car right away. Instead, I sit in the car and watch Kyler and his friends from out the window. I know I’m being a coward, but I feel like a mouse about to walk into a lion’s den. I have no idea why Kyler would bring me here when he knows how much his and Hannah’s friends despise me. Could that be the point? Perhaps this is some trap Hannah’s set up. Maybe, when I get out of the car, she’ll step out from underneath the bleachers, and she and her ra-ra space cadets will break out in a chorus of “Isabella Smellera.”

  After a few minutes tick by, I decide it’s time to face the inevitable. I grab the door handle and open the door. Part of me wants to flee in the opposite direction and run down the road. I honestly might have if Kyler didn’t spot me. He waves me over with a smile on his face, and all of his friends stare at me.

  Cringe. Cringe. Double cringe.

  Why couldn’t I have just taken the easy shot during horse?

  I bump the door shut, zip my jacket up, and keep my head down as I hike across the field toward them. It feels like the first day of school after I got back from my trip, all made over, a completely different person on the outside. Still, I hardly looked up at anyone as I walked, too afraid they’d still see me as Hannah’s dorky younger sister.

  But I’m not Hannah’s dorky younger sister. I never really was. Hannah and Lynn just made me believe that. But if I look down at the ground right now, then I kind of am, aren’t I?

  Sucking in a deep breath, I level my gaze on Kyler. I’m not sure what he told his friends about why I’m here, but none of them seem that interested in me. The guys go back to warming up, and most of the girls go back to chatting with each other. But a couple of them have their gazes locked on me like they’re ready to swoop in and attack.

  “So, when you said come play flag football, did you actually mean I had to play?” I ask Kyler, coming to stop in front of him.

  He thrums his finger against his lips. “What do you think?”

  “I don’t know. I’m kind of hoping you just meant you’d teach me how to throw a ball.” I give him my best hopeful look.

  He chucks the ball in the air, giving me a lopsided grin. “Come on, Isa. I thought we talked about this.” He catches the ball and grips it in his hand. “That you were going to be different than them.” He nods his chin over at the girls then waggles his brows. “You know you wanna.”

  If it were any other sport, I’d be all over this, but I know zilch about football. “All right, but you’re going to have to show me a couple of things first.” I put my hands together and bow to him. “Oh, great one, please show me your knowledge.”

  He chuckles, but I can tell my remark goes way over his head. Huh. Guess it only works with Kai. “Okay, we’ll practice catching first.”

  For the next twenty minutes, Kyler does just that. He’s passionate about it, too. While he looks super cute with his eyes lit up with excitement, I find myself getting kind of bored. Still, I act like a good pupil and pay attention even when my stomach grumbles in hunger. I tell it to shut its trap, that food will come later, but then a guy walks by, munching on a cup of ice cream. It looks like strawberry, too, with cheesecake bits.

  Man, I’m so hungry even vegetables are starting to sound good.

  “We’ll get something to eat after the game,” Kyler tells me, rotating the football in his hands.

  Um… Did I just say that aloud?

  “Okay.” I resist the urge to take the damn ball from him, toss it into the tree, and declare the game over…. Hmm… Kai said I was like a gremlin when I get hungry. I guess he was right.

  Kyler spends another couple of minutes making me catch the ball before he deems me ready to play. He and a guy I’m guessing Kyler knows from college, because he looks older, get voted captains. I quickly find out his name is Wes and that he’s kind of a sexist asshole.

  “If she’s going to play,” Wes says to Kyler while pointing a finger at me, “another girl’s going to have to, too, so the teams will be fair.”

  “Why? Isa’s more athletic than Ben and Tim
,” Kyler replies, tucking a ball under his arm. “In fact, she might be better than you.” He winks at me.

  Pride swells in my chest as I smile at Wes. Yeah, dude, just because you have a penis, it doesn’t mean you’re the shit.

  Wes rolls his eyes. “Whatever, man. You’re so just trying to get laid right now.”

  A few of the guys snicker, but Kyler shoves Wes, and kind of hard, too.

  “Shut up,” he warns, glaring at Wes. “You’re such a prick sometimes.”

  I look away as I feel my cheeks flame. Oh, my God, I’m so uncomfortable right now. Maybe I should just bail out and chase Ice Cream Dude down. I could be all like, “Hand over the ice cream, or else a murderous, man-eating monster will sprout from my flesh.”

  “Whatever. Let’s just get the teams picked,” Wes mutters, shooting me an annoyed look.

  He makes his first pick, and then Kyler goes, choosing me. I smile appreciatively at him then wait while Wes makes his choice. Kyler puts an arm around me and starts massaging my shoulder again. Although a few of his friends are staring at us curiously, Kyler doesn’t seem to notice as he makes his next pick. Me, I notice. Like, way, way notice. Not just because he’s touching me, but because he’s touching me in front of his friends.

  I probably hold my breath the entire time the teams are divided up. When there turns out to be an uneven number of players, Wes starts having a drama queen fit.

  “I’ll play.” A girl with long brown hair pulled into a side braid leaves the bleachers and crosses the field toward us. She looks about my age, but I don’t recognize her from school. And unlike the other girls chilling on the sidelines, she’s not decked out in heels and a dress, but a pair of skinny jeans and a plaid shirt over a black tank top.

  “Lily, go sit your ass down,” Wes barks at her. “You can’t play football for shit.”

  She flips him the middle finger. “Neither can you.”

  Wes glowers at her. “Whatever. If you want to play, then play. But you’re on Meyer’s team.”