Chapter 8
11 Years Ago
After grabbing a slice of pizza at Tony’s, Isla, Nolan, Milo, Harper, and Olivia walked down Main Street toward their respective houses. Summer was in full bloom… along with their tans. Isla couldn’t believe there was still a month and a half left before they had to return to school. The days had been long, filled with trips to the beach, crabbing off the docks at night, and many trips to Tony’s Pizza.
Isla walked beside Nolan, and every now and again their hands would brush against each other. She didn’t think either of them were doing it on purpose, but she wasn’t attempting to stop it either. Nolan was one of her closest friends, and she liked being near him.
They hit Olivia’s block first, and she gave a wave before teetering away on the new heels she insisted on wearing, even though they walked everywhere. Before she got to the house, her parents pulled up in their golf cart and gave her a lift the rest of the fifty feet she had to go.
“I need to get me one of those,” Milo said.
“Why, are your feet bothering you?” Harper asked in a mocking tone.
“They are. Do you want to carry me?”
Harper scoffed. “No.”
Milo wrapped Harper in a bear hug from behind, and she let out a squeal. “Milo!”
“Pleeeeaaaassssseeeee.”
“You’re so annoying,” she said with a laugh before bending her knees and lowering her back. Milo hoisted himself onto her, and Harper continued walking.
“That’s real manly of you,” Nolan said, and Isla laughed.
“Hey, she offered.”
Nolan shook his head, dirty blond hair made lighter by the sun, falling into his eyes. Isla watched as a smile tugged at the edges of his mouth. She loved when he smiled; it was infectious and made her happy.
They only made it one more block before Harper came to a halt. “Okay, train stops here.”
Milo slipped off her back and bent down in front of her. “You want a lift now?”
“No.”
“No?” Milo slapped a hand to his chest and let his knees wobble. “You wound me. I’m just trying to be a gentleman.”
Harper rolled her eyes, though she was clearly amused. She gave Milo a shove, and they all fell into pace together. Harper’s street was next, and Milo, being the gentleman he was, walked her the rest of the way while Isla and Nolan headed toward his place.
She wanted to stop by and say hi to Grandma, so she walked with him.
“I had fun today,” Nolan said as he kicked a pebble in the road.
“Me too.” They hadn’t done much other than walk around town and grab some pizza, but it didn’t matter. It was always a good time when they were all together. They made it fun.
They turned on to Nolan’s street, but he came to a stop and sat down on the curb. He bent to tie his shoe, but it was already tied. Isla sat next to him, grateful for the break in walking, even though their destinations were only a couple hundred feet away.
“Do you want to go to the movies tomorrow?” Nolan asked.
“Sure, I can call Harper and Olivia and see if they’re down.”
Nolan’s shoulders fell forward, and he let out a slow breath before meeting her gaze. “I mean just the two of us. Like a date.”
“A date? But we’re friends,” Isla said.
Nolan sighed. “Friends don’t think about kissing each other.”
Isla’s head snapped up, and she felt her eyes widen. “You think about kissing me?”
“All the time,” he said without hesitation.
“Oh.” She bit her lip, trying to conceal the smile that was attempting to spread wide. Heat rushed into her cheeks, and she glanced up at him. “I think about kissing you, too. Maybe not all the time, but a lot.” This time she didn’t bite her lip, letting her smile naturally bloom.
“Then maybe we should.”
“Maybe we should!” she declared, hoping it would cover her nerves, but as soon as the words were out, she realized the high-pitched tone only highlighted them. “I mean… let’s do it.”
“You sure?” he asked, his voice dropping to a whisper. His blue eyes pinned her in place, and she nodded, momentarily forgetting how to speak. He moved closer to her, his thigh pressing against hers until he shifted to face her.
She sucked in a surprised breath at how close he actually was. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheeks and smell the mint of the gum he’d been chewing. Oh no! What if she had garlic breath? She ate pizza and now she was kicking herself for not taking a piece of gum from Olivia. Darn it! If only she had a time machine to go back and say yes instead of, I’m good. But how was she supposed to know Nolan Parker wanted to kiss her?
They’d known each other since they were six, and he never wanted to kiss her before. Well… according to him he thought about it… a lot. But he never made a move or said anything to her. And now here she was, completely unprepared for a kiss she’d thought about on numerous occasions.
How could she not? The boy was super cute with his blue eyes and Justin Bieber inspired haircut. Though he was much cuter than the Biebs. At least in her eyes, anyway.
His face came closer, and she sucked in a breath, afraid to breathe on him.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I should’ve chewed gum!” she announced, and she swore her voice echoed through the entire neighborhood.
“Your breath is fine,” he said as if he knew exactly where her train of thought had gone.
“How do you know?”
“I sat next to you at the pizza place, we walked next to each other the entire way here, and you’re literally inches away from my face right now, and you’re good.”
She sighed a breath of relief and blinked up, not expecting to catch the bright blue of his eyes. The color was almost identical to her favorite flower in Grandma’s garden, the blue daze.
He cupped her cheek, and the warmth from his hand spread through her cheeks. “We don’t have to kiss if you don’t want to.”
“No, I want to.” She licked her lips, so he wouldn’t think kissing her was like kissing a dried-out mummy. Oh God, but what if he thought she was like a sloppy fish mouth? She reached up to wipe her lips, then stopped herself.
“Isla.” Nolan’s voice broke through the panic in her mind. “Stop thinking.”
“Okay,” she said.
He tilted his head and closed his eyes.
“Wait!”
He let out a breath, and his head fell forward.
“Sorry, but I just want to make sure that this won’t ruin anything. Our friendship, I mean. Because you’re one of my best friends, and I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
His declaration went from her ears to her heart, and she finally let his lips meet hers in the sweetest first kiss.
“Yes,” she said when they pulled apart.
“Yes, what?”
“I’ll go to the movies with you.”
With a smile, Nolan stood up and reached his hand down to her. She happily accepted, and they walked the rest of the way hand in hand.