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  Why do I feel like smacking the guy?

  After he left, it wasn’t much longer before Elton had to go. He still remained faithful to his first assessment of the painting even as he was walking out the front door.

  “It really is very good, Emma. I wouldn’t worry about what Chase says. He obviously hasn’t been around much art in his life.”

  I thought about his travels abroad and the interest Chase had had in art while over there, but I kept the thought to myself. “Thanks, Elton.”

  He seemed pleased with himself. “I can’t wait to see it framed. I’ll be sure to come over as soon you’ve finished, okay? Oh, and Hannah, can I have your cell phone number in case I come up with any good pickup lines?” He pulled he cell from his pocket.

  Her astonished eyes flew to mine for an instant before she glanced back at him. “Sure.”

  Eeeh! He’s getting her number. “Actually, it’s probably easier if Hannah types it into your phone.”

  I smiled when Elton walked over to her, and I actually smothered a snicker when he leaned over her shoulder to watch her type. Oh my gosh! They are such a cute couple!

  “Thanks. Cool. I’m glad I finally have your number. It’ll make things a whole lot easier.” My heart stopped when Elton took the phone from Hannah, his eyes never leaving hers. He grinned a totally flirtatious grin right at her.

  Hannah giggled. “You’re welcome.”

  With a mock salute and, “Bye girls,” Elton was gone.

  I couldn’t shut the door fast enough to gage Hannah’s reaction. She didn’t disappoint. With a girly squeal she ran right up to me and we hugged.

  “Oh my gosh! Can you believe it? Elton Bloomfield just asked for my phone number. Eeeh! Mine.”

  I laughed. “And did you totally hear the way he asked for it? Hello? Can we say pickup line?” I mimicked his deeper voice, “Oh, Hannah, can I have you cell number in case I come up with any pickup lines?”

  Hannah giggled. “I know—I was so thinking we’ve got to get the book and add that one.”

  “Definitely an original. I don’t think many guys use pickup lines as an excuse to pick up girls.”

  “You were so right Emma. I can’t believe how much he likes me. Did you hear him go off about that painting? It was crazy.”

  I watched Hannah excitedly twirl around the entranceway and I gave myself a mental pat on the back. Phase Three has begun.

  You know, I should seriously think about starting my own matchmaking business. Who knows maybe one day I’ll have my own website.

  “Okay, that’s the guy I’ve been telling you about this whole time.”

  I tried to follow Hannah’s finger as she pointed to the allusive Martin Roberts. This time I had tagged along with her before lunch when she went to meet the guy. It became obvious that I needed to when she mentioned this paragon of manliness usually came and spoke to her then. Since she seemed practically gaga over him, I decided it was wise for me to check him out. I mean, we definitely didn’t want anything to scare Elton Bloomfield away.

  “Where?” I asked. I still didn’t see anyone remotely resembling her description of Martin Roberts, Farmington New Mexico’s president of Future Farmers of America.

  “Are you kidding me?” she gasped. “You can’t see him? That guy right there. Look again. I’m pointing right at him.”

  “Do you mean—?”

  “Yikes! He’s coming over. He must’ve seen me pointing. How do I look?”

  Ugh. No wonder why I didn’t see him straight away. He wears a cowboy hat for Pete’s sake. That is so Coyote Ugly turn-of-the century. –I mean who does that nowadays?

  “Good afternoon, ladies. Hannah.”

  I wasn’t impressed. Okay, yeah, so he had an accent. I mean, who doesn’t love a little country twang every now and then, but he definitely wasn’t as hot as Hannah had made him out to be. I glanced at my friend and stopped just short of rolling my eyes.

  She was lost. Completely. Utterly and hopelessly lost. It looked like male cowboy types are her thing. –Er, were her thing!

  “Hi, Martin.” Hannah giggled at him.

  I watched his grin grow as Martin bashfully dropped his eyes a moment before he looked straight at Hannah. “Man. You’re lookin’ real nice today, Hannah. Prettier than I’ve ever seen ya.”

  “Thanks!” She blushed. “It’s all Emma’s doing, actually. She helped me fix my hair.” It was good to hear Hannah’s voice. Apparently she had managed to stay afloat better than I thought. At least she wasn’t speechless, or anything.

  “Emma?” He turned his green eyes on me. “Oh?”

  I still wasn’t impressed. He definitely wasn’t worthy of Hannah’s notice, not when she practically had Elton drooling over her. My thoughts must’ve shown on my face, because Martin gave me a funny look and glanced back at Hannah.

  “Uh—well, your hair does look nice, I guess.” He shrugged his shoulders and worked a crooked grin. “Course, I’ve always thought it was nice.” He glanced away a moment, careful not to look at me again.

  “Really? You’ve always liked my hair?” Hannah blushed again.

  The conversation had begun to get out of hand. She’ll be in love with him before Elton’s even made a move. “Hannah,” I interrupted, “We’ve got to get to lunch.” I smiled dismissively at Martin before I tugged gently on her arm.

  For the first time since he showed up, Hannah looked up at me. “Oh! Are you hungry?”

  “Starved.”

  Martin touched the brim of his hat. “Then I’ll leave you ladies. You two have a good day, ya hear?”

  Why did Martin have to have that blasted southern drawl?

  “We will!”gushed Hannah. “You too!”

  “Yes, ma’am, I’ll try.” The guy actually had the audacity to wink before he took a step back and then with a slight wave walked away.

  “Isn’t he hot?” she asked as we made our way across the courtyard to the English building.

  “Um…” How to word this without hurting her feelings? “Yeah, he’s okay.”

  “Okay?” She turned toward me. “Are you blind?”

  “No. He’s okay. But honestly, there are a lot of better guys out there. Take Elton for example…”

  Chapter Seven

  “You remind me of a magnet,

  because you sure are attracting me over here!”

  I had begun to worry a whole lot less over Hannah’s fascination with Martin Roberts once Elton’s pickup lines started coming in during lunch a couple of days later. It wasn’t really the pickup lines it was more the words that went with the texts that made us so excited.

  “Ooh! I just got another one from Elton.” Hannah laughed as she fumbled with her phone. She had set it with a personalized chime so she would know when it was him.

  “Well, what does this one say?” I asked.

  Hannah scanned the text, giggled, and then handed the phone over to me.

  I no its lunch

  couldn’t stop

  thinkn of u

  heres another 1.

  Is there an

  airport nearby

  or is that my

  heart takin

  off?

  “Eeeh!” I giggled with her. Phase three was definitely working better than I thought. Martin Roberts will be toast after a couple more of these.

  “So what do you think?” she asked.

  “Think? Are you kidding? Um, I’m thinking the same thing I’ve thought all along.”

  “And that is?”

  “That the Senior Class President is seriously crushing on you.”

  “Do you really suppose so?” she grinned.

  I could tell she totally believed it, but just wanted to hear me say it again. I didn’t disappoint her. “Hmm… Let’s see? ‘I couldn’t stop thinking of you?’ Uh, yeah, obvious sign of affection right there. If a girl ever needed encouragement then this would be it.” I handed the phone back to her and smiled when she dreamily sighed. I had to hand it to her;
she was taking it better than most girls would have. I mean, he is Elton Bloomfield after all. I was impressed that she didn’t faint, or something.

  Just then her phone chimed again.

  “What? Another one from Elton?”

  “Yep,” Hannah laughed as she read it.

  You’ve got to be kidding me?

  “Holy cow. You have to read this one.”

  I quickly took the offered phone and scanned the text.

  Hey butiful must

  b somthng in the

  air jst thght of

  another 1.

  U must b a broom

  cuz you have

  swept me off my

  feet.

  Talk about staking his claim. “Oh my gosh! Hello? If this isn’t Elton hitting on you, then I don’t know what is.”

  “I know. He’s totally flirting with me, isn’t he?”

  “Yes. Come on, let’s get back to school. Maybe we’ll see him.”

  There was positively no other definition for it. Elton was head over heels. We hurried and tossed our food in the trash and ran out the door—giggling like we were in junior high the whole way.

  After school as I was heading out of the main building towards the parking lot, I received my own text from Elton. Surprised, I stopped on the grass and read it.

  Hey, could u giv

  this 2 hannah whn

  ur done readin it?

  i wnted u 2 c what

  i came up with i

  thnk its perfct.

  Thre u r… Ive

  Been lookin all

  ova 4 ya the

  grl of my

  dreams!

  No way. Elton, totally wants me to know how he feels about Hannah. “Oh my gosh.” This is just too cool. I couldn’t wait to share it with her. Quickly, I scanned the crowd exiting the building. After a couple of seconds I saw her.

  “Hannah!”

  She waved and jogged over to me with a massive smile on her face. “Guess what?” she gushed.

  I chuckled. Her enthusiasm was contagious. “What?”

  “I’m so excited right now, you have no idea. I just got asked out.”

  “Are you kidding me? No way. That was fast.”

  “I know.” She twirled around almost hitting a couple of other students with her bag. “Oops. Sorry.”

  Elton is so awesome. “So when did he ask you? How did he do it?”

  “With this!” She beamed and held up her hand. For the first time I noticed she was holding a piece of paper with folds and creases in it.

  Huh? “Elton asked you out with a note? You’re kidding me?” How junior high is that?

  “No, silly!” She laughed.

  “Oh, for a minute there—”

  “It wasn’t Elton who asked me out. It was Martin.”

  “What?” I whipped my head around. “Martin Roberts just asked you out? What did you say?” This can’t be happening.

  “Well, I haven’t answered him, yet. I just got it.”

  “Thank goodness.”

  “Why?”

  Why? “I—uh,” I started, and then closed my mouth. “Nothing.” Instead of meeting her eyes I looked out into the parking lot.

  Hannah stepped in front of me. “Emma, is there something wrong? Do you think I should tell him no?”

  Yes. I smiled my Bradford smile. “Hannah, this is your relationship. If you like him more than any other guy you know, then go out with him. I mean, he’ll be your boyfriend, anyway. I’m certainly not going to get involved if you like him that much.”

  “Oh.” She looked a little upset. “You don’t think I should tell him no, do you?”

  “I’m not going to say anything. This is your deal.”

  “Em-ma?”

  “Come on, I’ll drop you off home, if you want.” I smiled and hooked my arm through hers. “Then you can have a chance to think about it and decide if he’s the most perfect guy for you.”

  She looked down at the letter, disappointed. “I don’t need to think about it. I’ll tell him no. I mean, it looks like Elton’s going to ask anyway, right?” She crumbled the paper up and threw it in the trashcan ahead of us and then started walking.

  In shock I looked down into the can as we passed. “Are-are you sure? I mean, do you want to give it more thought?” I glanced back at the can. Ah! What am I saying?

  She chuckled. “No, I’m good. Besides, he’s not anywhere as cool as Elton anyway.”

  “Yeah that’s true—Oh! I forgot. Now, that you’re going to tell Martin no, I guess I can show you this.” I handed over my phone. “Read the last text. It’s from Elton. You’re going to die.”

  She quickly devoured it and then threw her hands in the air and shrieked. “Wahoo! I knew it!”

  I laughed along with her—causing more of a scene than I had in years, but it was fun. “Okay, so where do you want to go and celebrate?” I asked as we climbed into my car. “Pick anywhere, it’s my treat. This is definitely a day for celebration.”

  Hannah wiggled her eyebrows as she clicked her seatbelt in. “Imagine, less than a month ago, Elton didn’t even know I existed and now it’s so crazy to think that he likes me.” She brought one leg up and turned in her seat toward me as I backed out of the parking spot. “Okay, so like, no one knows this, but I have had a secret crush on Elton since the sixth grade.”

  “No way?” Flabbergasted I smiled and shook my head.

  “I know! Can you believe I had to wait until my senior year before my little dream came true? Holy rusted metal Batman; Elton Bloomfield has a crush on me!”

  We shrieked again as I pulled out onto the road. Well, we’re girls. Seriously, what else are we supposed to do?

  I was in the kitchen helping my mom with dinner when the doorbell rang later that evening.

  “Would you get it, honey? I’m a mess.”

  “Sure Mom.” I quickly rinsed my hands and jogged to the door. It was Chase. I could barely make out the huge smile on his face over the large bouquet of flowers in his arms. “Hey you! Come on in. What are those for?”

  He stepped over the threshold. “A gift from my mom to yours.”

  “Oh?”

  “They’re from the garden.” He chuckled. “Our house is chock full of flowers at the moment and dad has banned any more from coming in. So my mom sent them to you guys.”

  “Oh, well, come on into the kitchen, Mom’s gonna be really excited.” I started to head toward the back of the house and Chase followed.

  “You know, I’m really glad I saw you, I have some news about your friend Hannah,” he said.

  “Really? What do you know about Hannah?” Intrigued, I stopped near the stairs and turned around.

  Chase moved the flowers over a bit so he could see me better. His smile grew. “She’s about to get a boyfriend. A really nice one at that.”

  I grinned. “And how would you know?”

  “He told me.”

  Elton told you? “When did you see him?”

  “Yesterday, while I was checking out the store for my dad. He works there.”

  The store? I thought Elton worked at the Pinon Hills Golf Course? All at once I became suspicious, and cautiously I asked, “Who’s the guy you’ve been talking to?”

  “Martin Roberts.” He grinned while I stifled a groan. “You know, I’ve only been here—what two, three weeks? And I have to say that guy impresses me more each time I see him. I really think he’s one of Dad’s best employees. Anyway, so when I asked if he had a girlfriend—you know—just teasin’ him, he mentioned liking Hannah Smith. Your Hannah Smith.”

  “Gee, you don’t say?”

  “Crazy, huh? I told him that I thought she was great and he definitely wouldn’t find a nicer or friendlier girl in Farmington.”

  “Wow. You said that?”

  “Sure. So after about ten more minutes I convinced him to ask her out.”

  Good grief. “Ugh.” I took the flowers from Chase and headed into the kitchen, not caring if he fo
llowed me.

  Chase followed. “Emma? What did you mean by that?”

  “By what?” I kept walking.

  “By that grunt just now.”

  “Grunt?” I marched over to the countertop and deposited the flowers, surprising my mother slightly. “These are for you Mom, from Mrs. Anderson,” I explained. “Chase just brought them over.”

  My mom looked up from her dough covered hands and arms and smiled past me. “Oh, thank you, Chase. Tell Grace thanks, and that I said she was very thoughtful.”

  “I will,” he spoke right behind me as he casually took hold of my elbow. “Just wanted to drop those off, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta run.” Chase turned on his heel and began to bring me with him.

  “Okay, bye,” my mom called as Chase maneuvered me out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

  “Will you knock it off?” I hissed. I jerked my elbow, but it wouldn’t budge from his grasp. We were walking much faster than necessary and Chase Anderson was seriously beginning to get on my nerves.

  “Not until you tell me what that grunt meant,” he replied. Chase literally propelled me into our front room and released my arm. “Now talk,” he demanded as he shut the door.

  “Of all the stupidest, rudest, Viking-est things ever!” I walked right up to him with my hands on my hips.

  “Viking-est?” Chase grinned and one eyebrow rose.

  I felt like smacking that grin right off his face. “Yes. Viking-est. What are you some Neanderthal caveman? You can’t go around dragging people like that. This is the twenty-first century, we’ve evolved since then. I swear Chase, if you—”

  “Emmalee Bradford…” He folded his arms across his chest. “You can rant and rave all you want, but you’re not leaving this room until I get some answers.”