Chapter 2
two
TWENTY YEARS AGO
“What is it with you and reptiles anyways?”
I roll my eyes and huff out a frustrated breath. “Come on, Ro. We’ve known each other our whole lives, so you should know why by now. They’re cool, okay?”
“Whatever you say, Iz.”
Crouched by the edge of the pond in my backyard, I’m cupping the fattest, greenest bullfrog I’ve ever caught in the palm of my hands.
Our yard is perfect for creature-hunting—all wild and overgrown at the edges where my dad has given up trying to tame it. A gigantic oak tree creates dappled shade across the soft green grass, and his half-finished projects scattered across parts of the backyard over near his work shed.
Rowan is squatting next to me, keeping a safe distance from my slippery prize.
Even at twelve, he’s already taller than most of the boys in our class, all gangly limbs and messy brown hair flopping over his eyes.
He’s wearing his favorite blue Bon Jovi T-shirt, wrinkling his nose every time the frog moves.
He’s staying with us while his parents are away on a business trip.
“Look at his little feet!” I exclaim, tilting my hands so Rowan can see the little webbed toes. The frog’s skin glistens in the sun, its emerald green spots sprinkled across it like tiny constellations. His throat puffs in and out as he breathes, probably plotting his grand escape.
“It’s all slimy,” he grimaces, leaning in despite his obvious revulsion.
The toad squirms in my hands, making me laugh. “It tickles.”
When we both look up and grin at each other, he says, “I love your laugh.”
My heart ka-thumps. “You do?”
Rowan shrugs and looks down at the grass, plucking a couple of blades from the ground. “Yeah. It’s what I imagine sunshine would sound like.”
His gaze flicks up and his neck flushes like it always does when he’s nervous before he shrugs again and looks away. “You know... if it could laugh.”
“Lizbeth Amelia Cade! You put that frog down right now and get in here and wash your hands for lunch!”
Jeez, my mom sure can yell.
“You too, Rowan!”
“Coming!” we shout back.
After carefully setting the frog down at the edge of the pond, he dives beneath the surface with a satisfying plop before disappearing beneath the murky water.
“Race you to the house?” Rowan challenges as he backs up, shooting me a smile that makes my heart do things it’s never done before.
“You’re on!” Sneakers pounding across the yard, I dash after him. Even though I’m small, I’m pretty fast, and I almost catch him before we reach the back porch.
Arms crossed, my mom is waiting at the screen door, trying not to smile. “Honestly, you two. Every single day it’s something new. Yesterday it was lizards; today it’s frogs. What’s on the agenda for tomorrow, Lizzy? Snakes?”
“Hopefully!” I grin, pushing past her, making a beeline for the kitchen sink.
“Don’t even joke about that,” she sighs with a shudder.
Rowan nudges me with his elbow as we stand side by side washing our hands. “Your mom would totally freak if you brought home a snake.”
“I know,” I whisper back. “That’s half the fun.”
After drying our hands, Ro and I take our seats at the dining room table.
“When’s Logan getting back from soccer practice?” I ask before taking a big bite of my ham and cheese sandwich.
Logan, my fraternal twin, is the bane of my existence.
“He should be home any minute,” she says, setting a glass of lemonade down in front of me. “Probably just in time to inhale his lunch and run upstairs to play video games.”
As if summoned, I hear the front door slam right before Logan barrels into the kitchen. Still in his soccer gear, he smells like a locker room.
“Eww, gross! Go take a shower first. You stink,” I grouse, wrinkling my nose before realizing I should’ve known better.
“Oh, yeah?” My brother retaliates by wrapping his arms around me and proceeding to rub his dirty, sweaty face all over my cheek.
“Ohmygod!” I squeal. “Get off me! Mooom!”
Rowan just laughs. Traitor.
“Logan Michael Cade! Stop harassing your sister and go upstairs and take a shower you filthy animal!”
Grabbing his sandwich, Logan scarfs half of it down in one bite. “Hey, Rowan. After I shower, ya wanna play the new Zelda game I just got? Dad finally hooked up the Nintendo in my room.”
Ro’s eyes light up. “Sweet! I’ve been wanting to play that! I’ll go set it up.”
And just like that, I’m a girl forgotten. Typical.
I turn my focus back to my lunch as they walk away, talking excitedly about boss levels and secret passages.
Boys. Always so predictable.
“I’m going to go hang out in the treehouse,” I announce to nobody in particular, grabbing my worn copy of A Wrinkle in Time from the counter.
With a hum, my mom nods absently while wiping down the kitchen counter. “Just be back in time for dinner, honey.”
Slamming out the back door, I cross the yard to the old oak tree and climb up into my treehouse.
My dad built it when Logan and I turned eight. It’s nothing fancy, but it has a small bench seat with cushions, a couple of milk crates full of books, and best of all, no twin brothers allowed. Well, technically Logan is allowed, but he never comes up here anymore. Says it’s for babies.
The afternoon sun filters through the leaves, creating dancing patterns on the wood planked floor of my sanctuary as I settle on a cushion and get lost in my book. I’m so absorbed in the story, I barely hear the ladder creak before Rowan’s head pops up through the hole in the floor.
“Hey,” he says, hauling himself up and inside. “Is it cool if I hang out with you for a while?”
Surprised, I shrug, keeping it casual. “What happened to playing Zelda?”
“Your mom said Logan had to finish his math homework first.” Rowan rolls his eyes. “He’s still working on it. I got bored, so I figured I’d come hang out with you instead.”
“Cool.” I scoot over on the bench to make room.
Taking a dog-eared copy of Jurassic Park from his back pocket, he flops down next to me.
For a little while, the only sounds in the small space are pages turning and birds chirping as we read in companionable silence.
After a while, I realize how close we’re sitting, our shoulders brushing every now and then. It’s weird—we’ve sat like this a million times before, but today it feels... different.
“Iz?” Ro pipes up from out of nowhere.
When I look up, he’s staring down at his book. “Yeah?”
“Have you ever kissed anyone?”
I laugh. He’s joking, right? “Sure. I give my mom and dad kisses all the time.”
“No. I mean...” He hesitates, finally looking up from his book. “A boy. Have you ever kissed a boy?”
“Ew! No.” Why is my heart beating so fast all of a sudden? “Have you ever kissed a girl?”
“Nope,” he answers, dropping his book into his lap.
He goes quiet and starts tapping his fingers on the pages with a weird look on his face.
Finally, after what seems like a lifetime, he closes the book and sets it aside. “What if we did?” he blurts.
“Did what?”
“Um...” He looks at me with a sheepish look on his face. “Kiss.”
My heart jumps, and I can feel my neck get hot. “You... want to kiss… me?”
“Sure. I mean, why not? We’re friends, and neither of us has been kissed before. We could be each others first.”
“Don’t you think that would be kinda weird? I mean, we used to take baths together, and you’re my brother’s best friend.”
“You’re one of my best friends too, Iz. Come on. Please?”
I think about all the reasons we shouldn’t.
I mean, this is Rowan. The same boy who put a frog in my sleeping bag at camp last summer.
The same boy who knows all my secrets and still likes me anyway.
Then I remember what he said to me by the pond earlier today.
How it made my stomach feel all fluttery. How much I liked it.
“Okay,” I shrug, acting like it’s no big deal even though it feels like my heart is about to thump right out of my chest.
Before I can even think about what’s happening, he leans in and presses his lips to mine.
Ro’s lips are soft and warm. The kiss is quick, and when he pulls away, my lips are all tingly, and my face feels hot. And he looks... shocked, I guess? I’ve never seen his face look like that before.
Blinking at me, he swallows hard. “Wow.”
Just as I lift my fingers to my lips, I hear my mom yell for us to come inside and wash up for dinner, breaking the spell.
Before I can say anything, Ro jumps up and scrambles out of the treehouse. “Let’s go, Sunshine.”
We don’t look or talk to each other much at all for the next couple of days. Then, one morning, I wake up and he’s gone.
And he didn’t even say goodbye.