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"Oh, really?"

"Hello! You can’t crash into a tree when you’re flying!"

One black eyebrow shot up "I beg to differ When a bird flies through the forest, there are trees all around," Bridger said Kat glared at hiue, but snapped it back shut He had a point

"Don’t you want to kno it feels to be a bird soaring through the air, Maggie? Get back on that bike so you can do the downhill again Flying is quite a"

"You want me to ride back up to the top of thatat the steep, pine-cloaked path

"You’ve got to be kidding," Kat whined "I refuse to do it"

Bridger smiled wickedly And, sillySoet this over with," I said with a sigh

The ride up was at least ten ti for air as I neared the top But I er didn’t sees, sculpted withand track, shohy

"Okay, er asked, straddling his bike beside me

"No," I answered "I need a drink of water first" He looked at the water bottle fastened to the fra "I’m out of water Wanna share yours before I keel over froer climbed off his He held the straw end of his Camelbak out toon his toes to put it init wet hed And then I realized the air between us felt charged with electricity Being so close to Bridger made me aware of every inch of my body, and every inch of his I stared at his neck and could see the pulse pounding beneath his skin

Since our little chat on graduation night, he hadn’t flirted with me At all Hadn’t touched me once I wondered if he could feel my reaction to hiht in , his entire body still as stone So

Behind us, Kat’s voice interrupted the silence "Are you guys still up here?" She gasped

He yanked the rubber straw out of my mouth and turned away "Yeah We’re about to start down," Bridger called "Soat the top of the hill, her face red and slick with sweat

"Ti at me

I took a deep, unsteady breath "Fine But if I fall offto carry me back to the car" And that h" He cli for? Go!"

I got off to a wobbly start, struggling to clip my shoes into the pedals Once they were in, I pointedthe path It was hard not to cling to the brakes, but I o and careened down the trail Trees and foliage began to blur past, hipped hted screalorious h the air

Then I was at the botto, and ecstatic I had done it, and while it was a little bu would be, it had been positively exhilarating

Bridger ca my face

Kat zoomed past "I’ll meet you at the car," she called

"So, what do you think of flying?" Bridger asked

"Awesorin spread over his face "I knew you’d like it Let’s go"

He pedaled hard, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake My legs were so rubbery I could hardly snap ed and began to follow

The winding trail was narrow, shaded by tall pines and fringed with yellow and purple wildflowers and waist-high weeds,it impossible to see far Birds chirped and chipmunks chattered at ot, the sparser the weeds I rounded a sharp bend and had er and Kat were out of sight--probably already at the SUV I forced led at my senses--I seemed to catch a whiff of an unusual odor Or , or saw a flash of color out of the corner of ed