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"Yeah My great-grandfather owned theMy parents’ house is on mine property"

That is when I knew exactly which house had to be his, and I felt even more underdressed than before I wanted to turn into a cat, slink out of ain Instead I sank down in ht about his house We passed all the really big houses on the road and then came to the enormous stone-fenced ates barred the entrance to thethat looked like a garage door opener and the gates slid to the sides

We drove along the tree-lined driveway in silence--I was rendered speechless by the size of the three-story stone house It looked like solish country estate coazebo Cotton floated in the air like a er stopped the car, I turned to him to tell hilanced at ," he pleaded "Just wait here"

He jumped out of the car and ran to the front door, which I noticed had a keypad beside it instead of a lock He pushed some buttons, opened the door, and went inside

I stared at his towering house and felt lost in its shadow, co, wanting to take ain

I had my hand on the door handle, ready to open it and run ho a pair of jeans, flip-flops, and no shirt With shirt in hand, he sprinted to the car

"Don’t you dare leave!" he yelled

My hand froze He yanked the driver’s-side door open and looked at rim line

"You were about to ditch me, weren’t you!"

I wondered how he could possibly know that

"Admit it," he said

"Fine! I was about to ditch you I don’t knohy you want to be friends with someone like me when you come from a house like this" I pointed outacross his face "You have been through a lot of crap, haven’t you?" he finally said, clih crap to know I don’t want so not to stare at his bare chest His skin was golden, like he’d recently been in the sun, and his shoulders were square and strong, his torso covered with lean ht "I don’t need you, Bridger I’ve already savedI want is so house I am sick of that And besides, does it

"I don’t know I haven’t had much experience with friends," I yelled back

"Well, friends accept each other for what they are, rich or poor, happy or sad, weak or strong So do you want me to take you to dinner, or do you want me to take you home so that you canall alone in your bedroom?" he said, his voice hard

"I don’t ," I retorted

The anger faded from his eyes "But you could"

"What’s that supposed to h crap to have a very good excuse to feel sorry for yourself Yet you don’t" He fiddled with his shirt and pulled it over his head It was a siray T-shirt with soe clothes?"

"I was ely overdressed Not to mention, I’m more coine and glanced at me as the car pulled away from the house I couldn’t help but smile All of a sudden, I felt coined, how one should feel in the presence of a friend

We drove to Deer pulled up to the restaurant, an old, stately house surrounded by beautiful gardens and hedges trimmed to look like animals and shaded by tall trees, I was speechless I had never seen anything like it The sign above the door read TARA’S--SOUTHERN CUISINE AT ITS FINEST

Bridger opened the restaurant door forhostess was dressed like a man, in a fitted black suit with a bow tie, but she was beautiful and elegant and wearing enough eye makeup for three women She took one look at me and pursed her lips

"I’m sorry, but we only take custolanced at my worn sneakers and raised one pencil-darkened eyebrow I felt y and leave when Bridger’s hand pressed against the small of my back