It always amazed Mallory how even with a baby, Jessi's house was still quieter than the Pike house could ever be. Even "quiet" was still noisy in a home with eight kids and a basset hound, so she relished nights spent with Jessi's family.
Her parents treated them to Mexican food and ice cream sundaes and let them curl up in the den with their sleeping bags, a pile of Marguerite Henry books and a few movies. Becca was sleeping at Charlotte Johannsen's house with Vanessa that night, but even if she hadn't it wouldn't have made much of a difference.
Even if they had been at her house with all the noise, Mallory would still be smiling blissfully as she sipped a glass of lemonade and watched Mrs. Frisby's heroic quest. She wasn't a big fan of rats, but she always did have a soft spot for Don Bluth's movies and this one was hailed as one of his best. And any movie was a good movie as long as she was watching it with Jessi.
Sometimes she tried to remember a time before she'd had a best friend and failed. They'd only known each other about a year, but she'd never felt so connected to another person. Despite their obvious differences it was like they'd been cut from the same cloth; they loved horses, they desperately wished to be older than eleven, they loved to babysit. And you couldn't find a friend more loyal than Jessi, who had stuck by her throughout everything from Dad losing his job to solving a century-old mystery to mono.
Mallory lowered her glass just as Jessi raised hers for another sip, and she couldn't help but watch. Jessi was always so graceful, even in mundane little everyday motions such as raising a glass. Of course she would be, from all those years of dancing. And she was beautiful. Her satin chocolate-colored complexion, her long legs, her smooth shiny hair, her big brown eyes...it was hard not to feel a little plain next to her, but Jessi always assured her she was beautiful on her own. And Mallory always believed her.
When someone you adore and couldn't imagine your life without said you were beautiful, you tended to believe them.
They sat in silence, watching the movie and Jessi blissfully unaware she was being studied so intently. Sometimes Mallory wondered if Jessi could tell she was being studied. Sometimes she lay awake in bed at night, thinking of Jessi, letting the warm pleasant feeling envelop her.
Sometimes she felt a little funny for thinking like that. But what's the big deal? It's not like you're the first girl who's ever been attracted to your best friend.
The other club members could probably tell by now, and it wasn't like they wouldn't understand. She'd caught more than a few lingering gazes between Stacey and Claudia every now and then, heard Dawn wax poetic about her best friend in California, even Mary Anne would give Kristy a meaningful look every now and then.
But would Jessi? It was different when it was you who was being stared at. Jessi might not shove her away if she knew, but it would probably put a dent in the friendship and Mallory would rather eat brussel sprouts forever than let that happen.
So she and Jessi kept watching the movie, making small talk every now and then, and Mallory would continue to watch Jessi. By the story's end they were huddled together under the blankets, Jessi's body warm against hers and Mallory suddenly aware of her heart pounding against her chest.
"What should we watch next?" Jessi asked, and Mallory yelped. "Er, are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" she squeaked. "Er, how about Honey, I Shrunk the Kids?"
"Sounds good!" Jessie got up to change the tapes, her hand lingering against Mallory's just a bit longer than necessary, and Mallory sighed.
Sometimes she wondered if Jessi already knew.