But did Matty want to? Is this why he came up here to find me? We stared at each other, both still breathing more heavily than normal. Neither of us spoke for what seemed like forever before Matty said, “I think that’s what they call making out.” He said it so matter-of-factly that I couldn’t help but burst out in laughter. I leaned back in and we just hugged one another.
“Leah,” Matty whispered into my ear, our arms still wrapped around each other. “dancing with someone doesn’t mean anything. What we have between us is what really matters. You are my Leah; no other girl could ever take your place.” We separated just far apart enough to look into each other’s eyes, his arms still around my waist and mine around his neck. Matty added, “Although I still don’t like you dancing with other guys.” And with that, he gave me one more kiss and jumped off the table, straightening his shirt while I sorted myself out as we’d both rumpled our clothes a bit during our “make out” session. He then took my hand in his and we walked back down to the gymnasium, where we danced the last three slow songs of the night together.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Matthew and I spent over two hours digging through the contents of my memory box, first sitting cross-legged on the floor before moving everything up to the bed. While we’d been able to sit on the ground for ages as kids, as adults, we both confessed that our legs were cramping up. “We’re getting old, Leah!” Matty joked as we pulled ourselves up and stretched out our legs.
We sat on my bed, spreading out the pictures between us on top of my bedspread. We also opened the yearbooks to our respective grades from each year, and shrieked when we found hidden mementos such as award certificates and movie tickets. While I didn’t collect much as an adult, as a child I had kept every little bit of ephemera I got my hands on. There were buttons from our city’s summer festivals, programs from school plays, and postcards friends had mailed me during their vacations.
I had several copies of most pictures, and Matthew asked if he could have the duplicates. Back when we used flash cameras and film that had to be developed, I had often asked my mom to get double or even triple copies made of photos so that I could share them with friends. So, I had plenty of extras for him to have. My mom had also always ordered additional copies of the photographs from our school dances, so I gave Matty those, too. He ended up with enough pictures to fill a photo album.
“Your senior photos!” Matty said as he pulled the stack of glossy pictures out. As everyone did the summer before twelfth grade, my parents had booked me a session at a local photography studio to have professional senior year photos taken. I’d had four outfit changes and took countless pictures in various poses and with different props, both inside and outside. At school, we then exchanged photos, writing notes to one another on the backs of them.
“Oh boy, those are awful!” I said with embarrassment, looking over at the shots of me with my hair professionally styled, wearing outfits I had only worn for the pictures, and with too much makeup on my face. The last time I had seen the pictures was when I helped my parents move, and even then, I’d just glanced at them as I found them rather ridiculous. I cringed as Matthew flipped through all of the shots.
“You look beautiful in these, Leah,” Matty said sincerely, looking up at me. “You were still a girl when I left, but in these pictures…well, you were definitely a woman by senior year.” He then grinned and said, “Maybe it was for the best I moved away. I don’t know if I’d been able to keep my hands off you if I’d seen you looking like this.”
“Ha-ha!” I said with a laugh, trying not to blush. “None of the other boys had trouble keeping their hands off me. I’m sure you would have been just fine.” Matthew’s kind words had the reverse affect on me, making me feel insecure. I had never been the girl that the boys all chased.
“Well, those boys knew that you were my Leah,” Matty said seriously. “They knew better than to put their hands on you,” he added, looking me straight in my eyes. “Although, as you remember, in the end, I couldn’t keep my hands off you, either.”
I was speechless, unable to respond to what Matty was saying. I knew that my face was bright red, so he could clearly see the effect his words were having on me. What I wanted to do in that moment was tackle him to the ground and kiss him; but instead I coughed to clear my throat and turned my attention back to the box
Looking back inside to see what items were left, I saw that at the bottom of the box was a shoebox where I had stashed all the notes my friends and I had passed to each other during classes over the years. Matthew grabbed it before I could even touch it. “Oh no you don’t,” I said as I stopped him from opening the box. “That’s one’s off limits. Girls only!”
“Why? What’s in here? Now I have to see it!” he said as I tried wrangling the box away from him. After a few seconds of tug-of-war, I slapped his hands away, grabbing the box with the intent to put it back inside my closet. As I slid
