Read 1. That's What Friends Are For for Free Online Page A

dripped muddy water where he'd slipped off one of the rocks when they'd crossed the shallows. "What would your fans think of you now, Mr. Crawford?"
    "I hope they would realize that I haven't enjoyed myself so much in years," he said with a smile. He gave up trying to resist temptation and reached over, running his thumb lightly across her upper lip.
    Penny jerked her head, startled by his touch. His eyes were filled with golden sunshine, their toffee color warm and inviting.
    "I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly.
    "I didn't think you were," she admitted. "You just startled me, that's all."
    Brad chose not to pursue her reactions to him. At the moment it was enough for him to see her looking so relaxed and at ease.
    He rolled over onto his back and stared up at the trees above them. Sunlight dappled the ground around them, the leaves forming a canopy above. "We had some good times together, didn't we, Runt?" he asked.
    She nodded.
    "Do you remember the time you lost your glasses and accused me of hiding them from you?"
    She laughed. "Yes."
    "I almost got a beating for that. My folks believed you."
    "I wonder why? You were always hiding something of mine—my baseball glove, my volleyball."
    "Maybe so," he admitted, "but never your glasses. You couldn't see a thing without them."
    "How well I remember."
    "Contacts made a big difference for you, I know."
    "You're right. A whole new world opened up. Particularly when I got the extended wear. Do you have any idea how wonderful it is to wake up at night and be able to see the clock without putting on my glasses?"
    "Weren't you ashamed of accusing me of taking them and getting me in trouble?"
    "Wel-l-l, maybe. But I'm sure you did a lot of things and never got caught, so it probably all evened out."
    He reached over and touched her hand. "I've really missed you, Runt."
    Penny looked at him a long time without speaking. "I missed you, too," she said, finally. "For the longest time I didn't think I'd ever be happy without you in my life." She began to smile. "Isn't that crazy? Now I have a whole new life separate from yours, and everything in my life is just perfect."
    She looked over at him and idly noted that he had closed his eyes. His thick lashes rested on his high cheekbones. "Do you remember how we always used to argue? It drove our mothers nuts."
    "Yeah, but all they had to do was find something to get our minds off whatever we were arguing about.''
    "Are you saying we argued out of boredom? Surely not."
    Without opening his eyes he said. "You were always such a tomboy, no bigger than a minute, convinced you could do anything anyone else could do, and you usually managed to prove it no matter how hard I argued against you."
    "I can remember a few times when you managed to help me in such a way that nobody else knew I hadn't done it all myself."
    He smiled to himself. "That's what friends are for."
    "Yes," she said with a hint of surprise. "I guess it is."
    The quietness of the park settled over them, and Penny laid her head on her folded arms. She was probably going to be sore tomorrow with all of her unaccustomed exercise today. Her eyes drifted closed. The park was so peaceful. She'd just rest her eyes for a few moments and...
    "Penny? You'd better wake up. I'm afraid we both fell asleep."
    Penny sat up with a start. The sun had almost set, and she glanced at her watch in dismay. "Oh, no! Gregory was supposed to pick me up almost half an hour ago." She came to her feet and stared up at Brad and his rueful expression.
    "I'm sorry, Runt. I didn't mean this to happen," he said softly.
    The sincerity in his voice couldn't be mistaken. Quickly slipping her sandals on, Penny said, "It was just as much my fault as yours." She hoped Gregory would understand. She'd never been late for a date before. He was such a stickler for promptness.
    Her life seemed to be falling into a shambles since Brad had appeared, although she couldn't really hold him responsible. He just seemed to