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“Uh, Caiti, after that little performance out
there, he would probably think any imperfections of yours are charming. It was
so sweet that I felt myself tearing up. You have no idea how long I’ve waited
for someone to treat you that way. You always seem to fall for the wrong people
– like Ryan. Either you feel like you have to save everyone, or you are dating someone
you know isn’t going to be long term. I swear you do it on purpose.”
    A wave of guilt washed over me. “I know.”
    Ryan had seemed nice at first, but then all he ended up
wanting to do was control me or change me. Conversely, Talon was protective
without being obsessive or suffocating me. I wanted to be with him all the
time, but I was so self-conscious around him. My stomach stayed tied up in
knots because I kept waiting for him to look at me and realize that he could
have so much better.
    Leah gave me a bear hug. “Cay-bear, there isn’t anyone
better than you. What would I do without you? You are the best friend anyone
could ever ask for, and I think he sees the same things in you that I do, so he
can’t be all bad.”
    I hugged her back just as fiercely. “Okay, you win. We
better get back to them before they disappear back to wherever they came from
in the first place.”
    We headed back to where we had left the boys waiting. They
were talking earnestly in low tones. When they saw us coming, they stopped and
moved apart, but it left me wondering what they had been discussing.
    That night we got back to our roots and had a girls-only
night. We hadn’t done that in a long time. My mom ordered pizza and we camped
out in my room and watched a marathon of our favorite movies. It originally
started out as Princess Night , then around
age eight we graduated to Barbie Night, and eventually the movies morphed into
a mix of comedies and romances. We would stay up almost all night and then sleep
for most of the next day—or at least until Brady came barreling in with donuts.
    ***
    Saturday evening, Leah met my gaze in the mirror as she was
straightening the back of my hair.
    “Are you as nervous as I am?”
    I stared at my reflection. “I thought it was just me. I’ve
been looking forward to tonight for a week, but I just can’t shake the feeling
something bad is going to happen. I feel sick to my stomach, but it’s probably just
me being paranoid again.” I smiled but it didn’t reach all the way to my eyes.
    Leah shook her head, making her blonde hair dance around
her face. “No, that’s just it. I feel it too. It’s weird, like there is a big
storm coming. Does that sound stupid?”
    “No, I learned years ago not to ignore your premonitions.”
    Leah had an uncanny knack for knowing when we were in for a
big storm, acting nervous and jittery a day or so before it hit. I always teased
her about her internal barometer. We looked at each other anxiously. Finally, I
broke the silence.
    “I know that the problem is.” I gave her a crooked smile. “We
need some music. One sec.”
    I plugged my Zune into the dock and flicked it to one of
our playlists loaded with a little bit of everything we loved: all of our
current favorites combined with the guilty pleasures of our past. Scrolling through
the list, I found one of our all-time favorites. I poked my head through the
bamboo curtain separating my bedroom and bathroom and sure enough, Leah was
already bouncing around in time with the music.
    “You are truly magical—you know that?” Leah started laughing,
and soon she had her arms wrapped around her sides and was gasping for air.
    Sometimes when she got like that, I could almost see twinkles
of light float around her head, like dust motes in early morning sunshine. I
walked back over and sat cross-legged in front of my full-length mirror so she
could finish the back of my hair. When she was done, we traded places.
    Then we sat awhile listening to the music. That was one of
the best parts about our friendship; it was simply effortless.