Read Online Possess by Gretchen McNeil - Free Book Online

made her happy. “Thank you.”
    Matt slowed down for the stop sign. “No problem. I like Sammy.”
    Bridget laughed. “You and I might be the only two people on the planet who do.”
    They smiled at each other, and Bridget couldn’t suppress the warmth spreading over her. There was something so familiar about Matt. Homey. Comfortable. Something that reminded her of a happier time in her life.
    A honk from the car behind them snapped Matt’s attention back to the road, and he accelerated through the intersection. As they drove in silence, the radio DJ bumped out of a commercial break into the next song, and Coldplay blared through the speakers once more.
    Without thinking, Bridget reached to change the station. At the same time, Matt’s hand shot forward and his fingers grazed the top of hers. Bridget was surprised how soft his fingers felt; she’d assumed a pitcher would have rough, calloused hands. Matt let his fingertips linger, and even though Bridget’s first instinct was to pull back, she didn’t.
    What the hell was wrong with her? Bridget shook herself and whipped her hand away from the radio. Matt’s hand fell to his lap.
    “Why are you so difficult?” he blurted out.
    “Me?”
    “Yeah. You know, I’ve tried really hard to be your friend since I moved back to San Francisco. But you’re so prickly all the time. Always looking for a fight.”
    “I am not!”
    “See?”
    Bridget threw up her hands. “What?”
    That look of concern crept back into Matt’s face. “You weren’t like that when we were kids. You were more fun. You used to smile. And laugh.”
    His words struck a chord. At one point in time there’d been a happy, laughing Bridget Liu, content to wear her school uniform and play peekaboo with her baby brother, or hide-and-seek with the son of her dad’s best friend. But somewhere along the line, that Bridget had been lost, masked by a hard, sarcastic shell complete with steel-toed boots and a don’t-mess-with-me scowl.
    Bridget sighed. She was so tired. Tired of fighting with everyone. Tired of having no one to confide in. Hector wasn’t exactly a confidant, and Peter would only get two seconds into a serious conversation about her feelings before the words “I love you” came spilling out of his mouth. Her dad had been her best friend. Now that he was gone and her mom had a revolving door of boyfriends, it was like she had no one to talk to.
    She glanced sidelong at her chauffeur. Maybe Matt understood? They’d been close once, a long time ago, and in a way, he’d also lost a parent. Although in his case it was to a dot-com millionaire who moved his mom to Dubai. Still, they must have been close since he’d lived with her for all those years after his parents divorced. When she left, it must have felt like she’d been ripped from his life too. Just like her dad.
    The truck slowed as Matt pulled into her driveway.
    “Are you going to Winter Formal?”
    His question caught her so off guard, she burst out laughing.
    “What’s so funny?”
    “I don’t do dances.”
    “Why not?”
    “Well, the lameness factor for starters.”
    “You ever been?”
    “Hell, no.”
    “Then you can’t judge.”
    Bridget shook her head. “Dude, are you applying for my mom’s job?”
    Matt ignored the jab. “You should go.”
    “To Winter Formal?”
    “Yeah. You should go with me.”
    Did he just invite himself to her school dance? “No way.”
    “Are you afraid?”
    “Of a dance? You’re kidding, right?”
    Matt looked right at her. There was a hint of a smile he couldn’t suppress. “Then prove me wrong.”
    Bridget wasn’t a complete moron. She knew when she was being played. Matt had found her sore spot: her inability to refuse a challenge.
    “Fine,” she said, meeting his steady gaze. “Hope you don’t mind a date in combat boots.”
    Matt smiled, flashing that lethal combination of perfect teeth and hazel eyes. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Eight
    B RIDGET