The Things You Kiss Goodbye by Leslie Connor Read Free Book Online Page A

it to my first party in the glider field. Historical. I stood with Brady, doing my imitation of the tail on the
Q
once again. This night, Brady’s circle was full of guys and girls, including some of the Not-So-Cheerleaders. And as usual, I felt the vibe:
What the hell is Brady Cullen doing with that girl?
But we were a couple. I was proud of that, and I trusted that time would take care of the rest. Meanwhile, my spot on the periphery was giving me a crazy-good view of the night and that moon.
    I could also see about fifty kids, and not nearly enough beer for all of them. There were a few other bottles of this and that and some smokes—various aromas rising. A beach ball kept popping into the air for a sort of dark-blind game of volleyball. I saw multiple attempts to get a little bonfire going. (I started to count the matches.) Another group of kids was singing, changing the words to familiar songs and having huge laughs. Me, I guess I was “being with Brady,” andkeeping warm against his side. I looked upward over and over again. The night was beautiful—that active sky above. I was a sucker for anything celestial.
    Brady leaned down to tell me, “Hey, we’re going for a smoke.” I was a little surprised. All we’d ever done before was split a beer in his basement after sex once or twice. It just wasn’t how we spent our precious minutes together, and besides, I couldn’t see me dumping myself drunk or stoned back in through my bedroom window late at night. Still, I’d smoked with Julia and the free-range kids. I was game to get a little high, especially if I could do it with Brady. I nodded and started to follow. But Brady unhitched me from his arm. “Maybe stay here,” he said, lifting his chin just slightly. “I’ll be right back.”
    I’m sure I stood there giving him a dumbfounded look, at least at first. But I shrugged and said, “Oh. Okay.” So he wanted to have a “guy smoke.” No problem. I watched them move off under a stand of pines about a hundred feet away. Soon, a haze rose over their huddle. Off my mooring, I felt cold. I tucked my hands up into the sleeves of my sweater—still being careful of my wrecked fingers—and looked up at the moon. Music was drowning out the silly singers now. Something danceable filled the air. I swayed a little by myself, tamped down some grass, and fantasized about getting Brady to dance with me. Does
anyone dance out here?
I wondered.What a great place for it. I stretched my arms out.
    “Nice night, huh?” Tony Colletti was suddenly next to me.
    “Tony! Oh, hey! Yes, it’s awesome. I’m so glad to be out like this—oh, but never say that you saw me here.
Please
. You know how my father is.”
    “
Ooh
, yeah,” Tony said, and nodded. “He hasn’t let up on you?”
    “Are you kidding?” I said. “I lied about where I was going tonight, so . . .” I let it hang. I trusted Tony Colletti. Then I distracted him. “Hey, look at that silvery edge that runs all along the tree line.” I pointed up at the moonlight as I stood shoulder to shoulder with him. “It’s like liquid metal.”
    “Like solder,” he said. I laughed. We’d had an industrial arts class together the beginning of sophomore year, and Tony had spent two whole periods helping me put a seam on a metal napkin holder. (I’d been afraid of the torch.)
    “Hey, Tony,” I said. I tilted my head at him. “Is everything all right? With you and your family? When I saw you the first day of school, well, I just had a feeling . . .”
    “Yeah. Well. I guess I kind you blew you off that day. Sorry.” He sighed.
    “No, no. I didn’t mean that you had,” I said.
    “Well, you remember my nonna Regina?”
    “Of course,” I said. The notion that anyone mightforget Regina Colletti was laughable. I put a finger in the air and spoke. “We could call her Regina but we were
not
allowed to call her ‘Nonna’ unless she
was
our nonna.” Tony laughed. But I remembered my mistake as a