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 filthyanimal!”
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 ofA Wrinkle in Timefrom 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 ofJurassic Parkfrom 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?”
