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"You, too Pleasant dreaie Mae"

Pleasant was an understatement

Iair was cold onshorts--both hand-rab a sweatshirt

I propped the bike against the barn and turned to shut the door Shash looked atat et out of bed

"You big baby I don’t have the luxury of lazing in bed until noon, like you" He lay down and rested his head between his paws, and I shut the door

I climbed onto my bike, about to ride it to the end of the drivehere Bridger picked me up, but paused A car door slaht--Bridger alaited in his car until I came to the road I squeezed the bike’s brakes and stared down the driveway, thoughts of the night before, of what Naalyehe had said about the poacher, fresh in myalong the gravel driveway Toward me

My heart exploded in round, then clenched my fists and balanced on the balls of htmy body, I stared toward the road, ready to facearound the corner of Mrs Carpenter’s house, his eyes ith my reciprocated fear

I ran at his around his waist and buryingto his hard shoulders and forced the prickling tears to stay in asped

"Shh," Bridger whispered, running a hand over ie It’s okay" I feltdeep in his throat and realized he was holding me and I felt like a complete dork I’d never been so close to a man

I pulled away fro if he could feel hed louder, yet made no move to put s around hi ainst him He stared down into my eyes

"You know … I love you," he whispered

The o silent, all sound squelched by er could feel ainst his chest as I stared up at hiht? Did he really say he loved me?

He must have realized what he’d said His hands loosened their hold and his eyes narrowed

War me suddenly, uncommonly brave I slipped ht into his eyes, pulled his face halfway toward er froze His eyes studied er A million different euess what any of theht die, one of his hands inched its way up my back and into my loose hair Still scared, still unsure, he moved his face closer to htened in the roots of my hair and his mouth found mine

His lips were hesitant, as unsure and wary as his eyes had been, as gentle as a butterfly’s wings But they felt so right onlink to ainst his, and wrapped my arms around his neck Finally he realized I needed hiht I could hardly breathe I didn’t et close enough to hiers were learning every angle of his face, knotting in his hair, sneaking into the short sleeves of his T-shirt, and discovering exactly how his muscles felt as they tensed beneath ing to rowled deep inin co htened around ain he leaned down and kissed me For the second ti to relinquish his mouth, his closeness Hier existed in ht and my stars needed to line up, there was probably a new constellation in the sky of a boy and a girl sharing a first kiss In that instant, I knew I loved hi or anyone in my entire life

And then I remembered

He would never be mine

And I could never be his His family would never let me be

My heart clenched and my universe shattered My stars sped way out of orbit

His hands slowed their touching and his lips froze on mine He pulled away and looked intohis forehead againstto catch his breath