Later that evening, Talitha paced back and forth in her room. This time, she had made sure the window shades were firmly closed.
Okay, so Matt had been watching her with her new toys. So what
, she reasoned to herself. She didn't think he was going to tell anybody. It was just hugely embarrassing to know that he had seen what she had been doing. When she had been a freshman in high school, Matt had been a senior and the hottest guy in school. All her friends had been jealous of the fact that she lived next door to him, and they had always watched him through her back window when he was in his backyard. Once, she had even seen him having sex with his girlfriend in the pool. Luckily, she had been alone that time.
She had been an awkward, gangly kid, and he had always been one of the only guys to be nice to her. Her childhood adoration quickly turned into a full-blown crush once she hit puberty. She had blossomed in high school, but Matt hadn't seemed to notice, or if he had, he had hid it well. Still, she had been secretly jealous all of his girlfriends, and there had been plenty. The most beautiful girls in school had lined up to date him, and there had been rumors that he had slept with quite a few of them.
That's probably true,
Talitha thought to herself. After all, she had had seen him with one. The girl in the pool had seemed to enjoy it, even though Tali couldn't say for sure. She sat down on the bed buried her face in her hands, still horrified that he had watched everything she had done.
Well
, she reasoned,
it's not like I'm going to see him this vacation. I'm sure he'll be busy with his latest conquest.
Little did she knowβ¦
*****
The next morning, Talitha slept in. Finally waking up at 11 am, she could hear the sound of her brother moving around the kitchen downstairs. She blinked groggily at her clock.
Why was he home?
Dragging herself out of bed, she quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face, then wrapped a short robe around her nighttime attire of boxers and a thin t-shirt. The house was always warm at night.
She went out downstairs and into the kitchen, where her little brother Aaron was shoving cereal into his mouth as he stared at the television.
"Hey, what are you doing home? It's Thursday," she asked him, a little annoyed that one of her quiet vacation days suddenly included her brother.
"Look outside. They estimate that there's almost a foot of snow," he grunted back in reply, not bothering to glance away from his show.
She glanced at the window and drew in a quick breath at the sight of snow everywhere. The sun glinted off the fresh white powder, the brightness hurting her recently awakened eyes. Still, it was pretty.
"So you're home for the day?"
"Yeah, but I'm going over to Jason's as soon as I'm done with breakfast. We're going to shovel driveways -- thirty dollars for each one. So don't worry, you'll have the house to yourself."
Talitha blushed. Was she really that transparent? "Well, good luck with your snow shoveling."
"Thanks," he said, pushing away from the counter as he dumped the remaining contents of his bowl in the sink and headed for the front door. Feeling guilty, she followed him.
"Do you have all your stuff? Gloves and scarf and whatever else you need?" she asked, watching as he started to pile on the layers.
"Yeah," he replied, pulling his hat firmly down over his head and opening the front door. The sudden blast of cold wind made Tali jump back from the door, shivering.
"Aaron! It's freezing outside! Don't open the door until you're ready toβ¦" The words trailed off as she realized why her brother had opened the door. Matt was standing out in front, his hand raised to knock, but Aaron had noticed him before he had the chance.
"Hey Matt!" her brother said enthusiastically. Talitha rolled her eyes. As a teenage boy, Aaron had seen Matt's gorgeous girlfriends and his cool sports car and a serious case of hero worship had developed.
Not unlike me
, she admitted wryly to herself.
"Hey Aaron. Going out?" Matt asked easily, looking even better than he had in high school in a blue jacket that matched his eyes, his thick, charcoal hair covered with a dark snowcap.
"Me and my friends are going to make money shoveling driveways today," Aaron bubbled. "Want to come?"
Matt laughed. "Sorry buddy, but I've already paid my penance. Shoveled driveways for five straight winters, so I'm going to have to pass. Actually," he said, his gaze shifting meet Talitha's cold stare, "I came over to say hi to your sister. I haven't seen her in a while."
Aaron nodded, oblivious to his sister's glower. "Okay. Oh, sorry, do you want to come in?"