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"I’m sorry"

"Me too" He shook his head, closed his eyes, and when they opened again, ahis arms around me, he stood and swept me up with him I was tossed over his shoulder He climbed over the bench, smacked my rear, and yelled out, "Derek! Do you have a pool?"

"No!" I started kicking "Logan, put me down"

He started forward The crowd moved aside for him Smiles started to spread around the backyard His friends had ot there, they noticed the change in his attitude, and just like that, like a switch had been flipped, the party atan He see, I felt the reverberations through his body as he et wet, Sahtened, and he hollered across the backyard, "What about it, Derek? If you don’t have a pool, please tellto dry off on the drive to see Mason

CHAPTER TWENTY

It was dark, nearing one in the ot to Mason’s house I called, but he never responded so I was relieved to see the living rooing the doorbell, I knocked softly Mason told , but that it was exa or staying out to party When the door swung open, I recognized their quarterback

He squinted atthe side of his face He pulled the door so it was only a fraction of an inch open His head poked around the frame "Who are you?"

"I’ht? We irlfriend’, his eyes got big and he stepped back fro it open with a hand, he tilted his head to the side

I flushed He was looking at me like I was an alien "Is there a probleirlfriend?"

"You don’t reirlfriend was here, I only saw her for an hour Mason kept her all to himself, not that I could blame him" He skimmed me up and down "You sure you’re her?"

I crossed my arms over my chest What’d he mean by that? "Yes"

"Girls show up all the tiirlfriend Kade’s serious about his girlfriend so if I let you in and he throws you out, don’t be surprised"