“We’ve been friends forever too,” I said. Jacob had moved here when he was four. I could barely remember a time when he wasn’t here. “Axel will get over himself.”

Jacob laughed.

“So that’s what you wanted to tell me. What did you want to ask me?”

He smiled. “I was hoping you’d start wearing my jacket to school.”

I stared up at him. So did that mean we were dating? Or were we just hanging out? And what the heck did “just hanging out” mean anyway? But before I could ask, there was a knock on the door.

Uncle Matt popped his head in.

“Hiya, Coach,” Jacob said.

“Hey, can you...” Uncle Matt’s voice trailed off. “Oh. Hi, Scarlett. I didn’t know you were here.” He didn’t sound like his normal happy self at the sight of me. “What are the two of you doing up here?” he asked.

I thought about my dad finding Axel in my room. I wasn’t supposed to have boys in my room. And I wasn’t sure what my dad would think of me in a boy’s room.

No, scratch that. I did know. I’d be grounded for an eternity. So I said the first thing that popped into my head. “Jacob’s tutoring me,” I said.

Uncle Matt frowned. “I don’t see any books.”

“It’s an oral exam thing.” Oh God. Why had I just said oral?

Uncle Matt raised both his eyebrows.

Jacob cleared his throat and stood up. “We just finished up, Coach.”

“Great,” Uncle Matt said. “Well, come help your mom cook, kiddo.”

“Sure thing,” Jacob said.

Uncle Matt grabbed his arm before he reached the door and whispered something to him.

Jacob nodded and turned back to me. “You coming, Scarlett?”

“Mhm.” I tucked my star in my pocket and hurried after him, ducking past Uncle Matt. I really hoped Uncle Matt wouldn’t tell my dad about this.

The downstairs wasn’t full of kids anymore. But it was full of music blasting on the speakers.

Aunt Brooklyn was humming and swaying her hips to the music. Alora was spinning around in circles. And Max just kept running back and forth, sliding on the kitchen floor.

“What can we help with?” I asked as I walked around the kitchen island.

“You two are on salad duty.” Aunt Brooklyn pushed the ingredients toward us and laughed as Uncle Matt wrapped his arms around her from behind.

I washed my hands and started cutting up the lettuce. But it didn’t take long before we were all dancing around the kitchen. I mimicked Aunt Brooklyn doing some kind of shimmy thing with her shoulders. We both kept laughing.

And then Uncle Matt held his nose and pretended like he was swimming under water. Max slid by with his hands above his head like a shark’s fin.

I’d really missed nights like this.