Page 36 of The Summer of ’98

“I want to,” he said. “Cass, Els, leave us to it? I owe you both a big fat kiss on the cheek.”

Cass sat up and made a kissing noise. “Look forward to it.” She hung up and threw the phone onto her bed. “That was so much fun. Look at us, matchmakers.”

“That is pr—”

Cass’s bedroom door swung open and a tall, slender woman with dark-blond ringlets and an upturned nose stood in the frame. “Oh,” she looked between the two of us. “I thought you were on the phone. That’s why I waited outside. Who’s this?”

“Ellie,” Cass answered with boredom, still cutting out her magazines. I waved. “Ellie, this is my mom, Jessica.”

Jessica smiled but her attention fell back to Cass. “You home for dinner?”

“I don’t know,” Cass said. “I guess.”

“I won’t be,” Jessica said, looking down at her skintight dress. She had an incredible figure, long legs and a thin waist. “That’s why I’m asking. I can leave ten on the counter if that helps.”

“Whatever.”

“Yes or no?”

“Yes,” Cass bit back, finally looking over her shoulder behind her. “God, what are you wearing?”

Jessica’s cheeks reddened, her hands sweeping her frame. “A dress, Cassidy. Don’t be rude.”

Cass’s face twisted into disgust and she turned from her mom. The atmosphere was tense. There was no way that I could ever have given my momma that sort of attitude. The look on Cass’s face alone would be enough to have me grounded for two weeks.

Jessica reached for the door handle when her gaze landed on Cass’s wall, then traveled to the floor where we were cutting up magazines. “What have you done to your wall?”

“Covered it in John Stamos photos,” Cass mumbled. “What does it look like?”

Jessica muttered something and left, closing the door with a solid thud, it rattled the mirror hanging on the back of it. It was quiet again, neither of us speaking, the sound of paper being cut, slow and careful. The Spice Girls blared from the radio, and Cass bopped her head along to it.

“You wanna stay for pizza tonight?” she finally said.

My heart sped up, feeling terrible about the fact that Leroy and I had plans. “I think Noah said that he wanted to come over tonight,” I said.

She looked up at me. “He did?”

“Yeah, he told us this morning.”

A flicker of a smile danced on her mouth, but she ducked her head before I could see it. “You don’t have to leave for him.”

“That’s okay. Leroy and I could use some alone time if I’m being honest. His mom and dad are going out, so he’s going to teach me how to cook burritos.”

Cass winked at me. “You go, girl.”

We spent a few more hours cutting out magazines and sticking pictures to the wall before I had to leave, but I promised her that I would come back and help more when I could. The afternoon with her reminded me that no matter how much I loved being with Leroy, girl time was essential. It was nice to know that during my stay here, I could connect with someone other than Leroy.

Leroy

Mom mentioned that she’d appreciate it if I made some time for Noah this summer. It seemed as if I hadn’t acted on that quickly enough and she’d taken matters into her own hands, asking Ellie to leave me alone for a little while so that Noah and I could hang out. My girl didn’t elaborate on how the conversation had gone down, but it was obvious that it was Mom’s idea.

Downstairs, Noah was still sitting on the deck with his Game Boy. “Hey, man, want to go to the arcade for a few hours?”

He twisted, peering at me over his shoulder. “The arcade?”

No doubt he was surprised because we hadn’t been to the arcade together since we were thirteen and fourteen. The arcade was how we killed time on the weekends when we were in middle school—especially in the summer, right before things shifted between us, and I started high school, made the varsity team, and grew up.

“You got something better to do?” I said.

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