Certainly he hadn’t ever emailed her last year while he was away at school, and then there had been al those late nights in his bedroom.
Last summer when Libby’s mom had been invited to teach a two week workshop at some pastry school in Pennsylvania Libby spent 14 perfect days at the Marchetti’s home. Not that she was glad when Mel caught a nasty stomach bug the last 5 days of her visit, but she hadn’t been in a hurry to turn Tony down when he offered to take the couch and give Libby his bed so she would stay germ free.
Tony had made a smal attempt to clean up, and of course Mrs. Marchetti had changed the sheets, but it was stil his room. His bed. His space. Just remembering gave her goose bumps. The Tuesday that Mel started feeling il the new sleeping arrangements were finalized and her things were moved to Tony’s room by 7:00. It had been too early for bed realy, but for the first time in eight years she had felt awkward and out of place in the Marchetti home. With the family room transformed into Tony’s temporary bedroom, there weren’t a lot of options. So she had changed into her pjs, borrowed a book from the family library, and settled nervously on top of Tony’s twin bed to read and wait for sleepiness to claim her.
At first she almost didn’t hear the knock at the door. But then came a louder knock. “Libby? You aren’t asleep already are you?” Tony’s voice always gave her heart flutters but Libby had forced herself to sound calm.
“No. Come on in. Is this okay?” Libby gestured indicating where she was sitting on his bed.
“Of course.” Tony puled a face and shook his head at her. “We told you it was fine a milion times. I don’t mind the couch realy – Mom never let me have a TV
in here anyway, and in the dorm I got used to faling asleep to Letterman’s top ten. I just thought it was pretty early. In al the years I’ve known you I don’t think I have ever seen you hit the sack before midnight.”
“Wel I usualy have very important and secret slumber party rituals to complete” Libby was relaxing more and finding that talking to Tony in her pjs, in his bedroom wasn’t al that different from talking to Tony anywhere else.
Except that now she wasn’t wearing a bra, and that had realy started to matter lately. Shivering nervously Libby looked around for a discreet way to cover herself.
Tony must have seen her shiver because he grabbed a blue hoodie off a hook on the back of the door, and tossed it to her. “Here … it can get chily in here.” He made himself a little busy straightening the frame holding his high school diploma on the wal for several seconds.
“Thanks.” Libby shrugged into his sweatshirt inhaling deeply the mix of his cologne and laundry detergent
–a smel that was distinctly his.
When she looked up Tony was looking at her a little strangely. “It is clean. I wore it for a few minutes yesterday, but only out to the mailbox and back, it’s clean.”
“Okay. It’s clean.” Now Libby almost thought Tony might have been the nervous one, but that was probably just her over active imagination Shaking off the weird moment Tony produced a very battered monopoly box from under his arm. “I thought we could play. Maybe it’s time we had our own slumber party rituals.” The last part was said with a teasing grin and despite the fact that her heart was desperately trying to pound its way out of her chest an easiness settled back over them. Tony sat cross legged at the foot of the bed and set up the board between them.
They played for hours, and talked the whole time.
It was the first time Libby could remember having any lengthy conversation with Tony that didn’t also include another member of the Marchetti clan. And they talked about a lot of stuff. First they debated the strategy behind great monopoly players: green properties vs. blue (green obviously), and utilities vs. railroads (railroads if you could get al four of them were the better deal by far). Eventualy the topics spun off and they were discussing life, and classes, and coleges. When Libby admitted she had tried out for cheerleading at the end of the school year Tony laughed.
“You would make a terrible cheerleader.”
“I wasn’t that bad.” Libby whispered practicaly too herself. She could jump and giggle as wel as anyone else. Besides she knew perfectly wel that Tony had dated else. Besides she knew perfectly wel that Tony had dated Elen Kirkpatrick for months his senior year, and she had been the cheeriest of cheerleaders.
“Don’t get al sulen on me, Libby.” Tony chuckled and shook his head at her. “Every year you come over for the super bowl, and every year you make me explain the rules of footbal, and every year you fal asleep before it’s over! And that’s the most exciting game of the year. No way you make it through a high school footbal game every Friday night for an entire season. No way.”