Destined to Succeed Read Online Free PDF

hangin’ from a limb. Thank goodness...I knew Suz wouldn’t embarrass me like that. Well, I’d hoped she wouldn’t.
    I put my shorts on and jumped on my bike. Suzanna’s house was just down the lane from my family’s ranch. So, I had to ride by her house to get home. After what she did, I thought she deserved a little ribbin’. I was gonna stop and give her a hard time and maybe even tell her mom what she did. That would embarrass her.
    When I got close to her lane, I could see her standin’ on her front porch talkin’ to somebody. As I got closer I saw who it was, Branch Johnson. That jerk, what the heck was he doin’ here with my girl, uh, I mean Suzanna?
    I saw her walk down the front steps and he took her hand in his. Branch was holdin’ her hand? Really?
    I watched them walk over to the swing-set that Suzanna and I’d played on since we were in the third grade. They each sat on a swing and they were still holding hands. I didn’t even know Suzanna liked Branch.
    My stomach dropped when he leaned over and kissed her. Why? Why did he get to kiss her? We’d been friends forever. I guess that was why. She wasn’t my girlfriend, she was my best friend. That was different. He got to kiss her.
    When he finally pulled away from her, she was smilin’. I loved to see that pretty smile. It lit up her whole face. I hated it that he was makin’ her smile like that.
    I couldn’t hear what they were sayin’, but when he stood up and started to leave, he said, “I’ll see ya at school tomorrow, sweetheart.” He called my Suzanna sweetheart. My Suzanna. Why was I feelin’ this way? I was mad at that jerk for touchin’ her. I shouldn’t be feelin’ that way, because she wasn’t mine.
    She was my friend. It’s not like I wanted to kiss her, right? No, I didn’t want to kiss her, but I didn’t want that jerk Branch to kiss her either.
    I watched Suzanna walk back toward her house. She didn’t see me, but I think her mind was on other things, like how Branch’s lips felt when he was kissin’ her. Damn, I felt like I was gonna puke.
    I rode off down the road to my house. As I pulled up to my front porch, I saw Cord sitting there talkin’ to somebody. When I got closer, I saw that it was Anna. Anna was cute, but a little weird. Maybe not weird, maybe more crazy. She was always lookin’ at me funny and laughin’ at everything I said. It was really creepy. Like I said, she was cute. She was kinda short with blonde curls. She always wore really tight clothes and super short-shorts.
    When I got up on the porch, she ran over to me. “Cade, you been swimmin’?”
    Really? Nah, I’m just soakin’ wet for no reason. Wow, this girl never claimed to be the brightest bulb in the box.
    “Nope, just fell into a puddle on the way home.” Yeah, I was bein’ a jerk, but I didn’t care. I was tryin’ to get past her and into the house.
    She grabbed my arm and giggled. “Oh Cade, you’re so funny.” She put her hand on my arm and was rubbin’ up and down.
    Why wouldn’t she just leave me alone? Now she was rubbin’ her whole body up against me. Being a thirteen year old boy I’d watched all the videos and had the talk with my dad, so I knew what she was doin’. But it just seemed weird when she did it.
    Cord ran down off the porch. “I’m gonna take your bike and ride down to the barn, ‘kay, Cade?”
    “Uh, you sure you don’t wanna stay here, cuz?” I was givin’ him a look that I thought said, “Save me from this crazy girl”. Instead, I guess my look said, “Leave me here all alone with this crazy girl,” because my cousin rode away on my bike. I would beat the crap outta him for this later.
    Anna pulled me down onto the porch swing. She was practically sittin’ on my lap. “Cade, don’t ya like me? All the other boys in school like me, but you don’t even talk to me.”
    While she was talkin’, she was runnin’ her hands through my hair and gettin’ real close to my face. “Don’t you