I don’t know whether I’m touched that he’s looking out for me or annoyed that he thinks I’m too naïve to take care of myself. “It was just one party. I don’t really hang out with them.”

“Okay, it’s just that . . .” He massages the back of his neck. “You’ve never really hung out with Kai up until recently, so I just wanted to warn you that he hasn’t been making the best choices lately.”

“Thanks for the warning.” I start back down the stairs, surprisingly relieved to be getting away from the uncomfortable conversation.

“Hey, what are you doing for the next couple of hours?” he asks before I can make my escape.

I stop on the bottom stair and turn around. “I was actually going to head home and blog for a little while. Then I probably have to find a way to get over to my grandma’s so I can crash there for the night.”

“How come you need a place to crash?” he asks, glancing over at my house.

“Hannah’s having a party, and I’m not allowed there while she has one.” I shrug, wondering if he’s going to act all offish now because I brought up Hannah.

He pats the doorframe a couple of times. “If you want to wait for me to get done baking, I can give you a ride.”

“Really?” Tap dances and fist pumps all around. “That’d actually be super great.” Face-palm. Seriously? What the hell is with all the ‘supers’ every time I’m around him?

He motions for me to come inside as he steps back into the washroom.

I jog up the stairs, squeeze by him into the house, and take a whiff of the air. “What are you baking?”

He shuts the door then moves past me and into the kitchen. “Chocolate chip cookies.” When I start to grin, he adds, “Don’t get too excited. I’ve never done this before, so I’m not sure how they’re going to turn out.” He stops in front of the island that’s covered with bowls, spoons, eggshells, and layers of flour. “Maybe you could help me out. I know how much you like sweet stuff. Every time you came over here, you always ate all the cookies.”

I’m surprised he remembers that about me.

“I don’t think I’ll be any help,” I tell him apologetically. “I like to eat them, but I suck at baking.”

He picks up a spoon and looks over a page of a cookbook. “I’m sure the two of us can figure it out, if we put our heads together.”

“Okay, we can try that.” I stand beside him anyway. I recollect all the times Lynn baked cookies and how she did it, but since she never let me help her when I asked, I lack great knowledge on cooking. “Where are you at in the recipe?”

“I’m not sure.” He licks batter off the spoon and then gags. “God, that’s disgusting.”

“That’s because you basically just ate eggs and flour.” I peer into one of the mixing bowls then cover my mouth, trying not to laugh at the bubbling goo inside.

“Is it that bad?” he asks, setting the spoon down.

I shake my head, but laughter is choking me to death. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t be laughing.”

“No, you really should.” He laughs with me. “This is such a disaster.”

I get my laughter under control. “Why are you even trying to bake?”

“It’s for my mom. She does this fundraiser bake sale every year for the school, and she always takes on too much, so I usually help her out.” He pulls a face at the mess on the counter. “Usually she supervises, though.”

“Disaster or not, it was really nice of you to try.”

“Yeah, I just hope she has time to fix the mess.” He picks up the bowl and puts it into the sink, giving up.

I get an idea right as he starts to clean up. “I might know someone who can help us.”

“Really?” He perks up as he turns on the sink to rinse the bowl out. “Who?”

“My grandma. She’s not the greatest cook, but she can make a mean batch of cookies.”

“You think she’d help us?”

“I can text her and find out.” I slide my phone out of my pocket. “I need to tell her I’m spending the night there anyway.”

“Thanks, Isa.” His mouth tips to an adorable half-grin. “That’s really awesome of you.”

“It’s not a big deal.” I’m such a liar. It’s such a big deal to me that my hands shake as I text Grandma Stephy.

Me: Hey, can I stay the night there? Hannah kicked me out.

“It is a big deal,” Kyler insists. “You’re always so nice and always willing to help people, even when they haven’t treated you as nicely as they should.”

My brows furrow. “Are you talking about you?”

He nods, cleaning a glob of yolk off the counter with a paper towel. “I haven’t always treated you as nicely as I should. I never even thanked you for making my free shot skills awesome.”

I shrug. “Like I said, it’s not—”

“Don’t say it isn’t a big deal,” he cuts me off. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, mainly when things with your sister went south, and I realized I can come off as an arrogant dick sometimes.”

“Why did things going south with my sister make you realize that?” I don’t know why I ask, but I have this overwhelming urge to know.

“I kissed her,” he says almost guiltily. “And I never should have kissed her, because I didn’t like her that way. But the fact of the matter was I kissed her and she took it the wrong way, and it made me feel like such a douche. And then I started thinking about how many times I acted like a douche, and it started to drive me crazy.”

“Hannah’s ego can take it. I promise.”

“I know.” He steadily carries my gaze. “But there’s other people who might—who shouldn’t have to put up with my shit.”

I shrug. “You never really did anything to me. And you’ve always stuck up for me when other people were acting like douches.”

“Yeah, I guess.” He tosses the paper towel into the trash and then scratches his forehead. “You know, you’re so easy to talk to. I don’t know how, but I somehow forgot you were like that.”

“You know, you’re not the only guy who’s told me that.”

“Really?” He seems intrigued. “I guess I’ll have to think of a better compliment then.”

“I guess you will.” The light, flirty tone of my voice shocks the crap out of me, and I honestly kind of feel silly for even attempting to flirt. Fortunately, my phone buzzes. “Hold on a sec,” I tell Kyler. “My grandma just texted me back.”

Grandma Stephy: Goddamn that child. She’s such a pain in the ass. Of course u can stay, but does your father know about this? Because he’s been really upset with me lately.

Me: Maybe we should just keep this between us. If I text him about Hannah kicking me out, it’s just going to start more drama, and there’s way too much of that already.

Grandma Stephy: Okay, sweetie. I’ll come pick u up.

Me: I actually have a ride, but I need to ask u for another favor. I have a friend who has a cooking crisis and needs help baking a few batches of chocolate chip cookies. I love eating me some cookies, but u know I suck at actually making them, so I thought maybe u could help us out.

Grandma Stephy: So u want me to cook for u? Jesus, aren’t u needy ;)

Me: I know. It’s your fault, though, for giving me everything I want ;)

Grandma Stephy: Glad to c u haven’t lost your sense of humor.

Me: That’ll never happen, no matter how bad things get.

Grandma Stephy: You’re a strong girl, Isa. U really r. And I love u to death. I’ll cook for u, but only if u tell me who this friend is.

Me: Um . . . Kyler Meyers, a guy who lives next door to me.

Grandma Stephy: Is that the boy u and Indigo were always whispering about?

Me: Maybe

Grandma Stephy: Interesting.

Me: Please don’t say anything weird while we’re there.

Grandma Stephy: I’ll try my best, but no promises.