by EmMz
“Yeah, Elton’s new girl. Is she nice?”
Nice? Hmm? She’s as nice as a viper, I’m sure. “Uh, she’s okay.”
Chloe smothered a giggle and raised her brow. “That bad, eh? Chase told Taylor how he had to keep you from decking the guy.”
Chase talks too much. “He did, huh?”
“Yep. Kind of surprising he bounced back so quickly, don’t you think?”
I snorted. “Bounced back from what? There was nothing for the guy to bounce back from, believe me.”
“You think so?” I watched a grin form softly on her face as she looked over to where Elton and the other guys were in line. “Rumor has it; he’d been in love with you for something like two years.”
No way! “Are you kidding me?” How I could I have been so blind?
Chloe shrugged and took a step toward the concession stand. “That’s just what I’ve heard. Do you wanna come with me to get some popcorn?”
“Sure. But won’t Taylor be mad? I mean, won’t he insist on buying it?”
She laughed. “Probably. But when have I ever worried about what would make Taylor mad?” She glanced over as I joined her and brushed her curly red hair off of her shoulder. “He knows me too well now to be surprised at anything I do. Besides, if I don’t get the treats, how am I going to get the ones I want?”
“You have a point. Guys never get it do they?”
“Nope. I mean, honestly, how hard is it to decipher when a girl wants Red Vines or Whoppers? And yet, he still can’t figure it out.”
I shook my head as we approached the counter. “Yeah, but do you ever know what you want before coming up to the counter?”
“No! But don’t you ever tellTaylor that.”
I laughed. Man, I like Chloe. She’s so perfect for Taylor. I wished I had taken the time to get to know her more in high school, I think we would’ve had a blast.
“Chloe!” The shrill scream from Madison rang out through the whole lobby. Everyone turned to watch the tall girl run up to us and squeeze Chloe.
I looked over to where Carson and Ethan were talking. There was something about seeing the two brothers side by side from a distance, that really showed how much more rugged-outdoorsy they were compared to the other male specimens in line. Their aura was just naturally cool. Easily so. In fact, standing next to Elton, they put that poor guy to shame.
I bet he wishes he had half their confidence. Who am I kidding? He probably wishes his big toe had half their confidence!
“Who is that girl circling around my guy?” Maddy nearly growled.
I had to stop myself from laughing out loud. “Let me introduce you to Ashley Templeton. Apparently she believes she is every man’s dream of the ultimate woman. And even though she’s taken, by Elton Bloomfield over there, she’s still on the prowl.”
“I’ll say!” laughed Chloe. “That my friends, is a girl who obviously has a thing for outdoorsy animal magnetism. Can she seriously get any closer to poorCarson?”
“Well, she better get her prowling butt back to her own boyfriend, or she’s gonna see some animal magnetism. And I don’t think her pretty nose is going to like it.”
Aww… Poor Ashley doesn’t quite fit in! I would’ve felt sorry for her, if I didn’t think it was so darn funny.
Chapter 18
“I have an ‘owie’ on my lip.
Will you kiss it and make it better?”
About halfway through the movie, Ethan’s hands collided with mine in the popcorn bag we shared. It was something simple, but should’ve totally made my heart race. I waited for a small pitter patter or something, but alas, nothing happened. I was beginning to wonder if I was just meant to find love for everyone else and be completely immune to it myself. Maybe I’ll never marry? I’d be like some old lady who sews knitting ball things and never actually leaves her house. Eww. Okay, that was a scary thought. It was scary enough for me to take matters into my own hands. Literally. I waited a few more minutes before resting my hand in the bag. It didn’t take long Ethan’s hand bounded into mine again. Except this time, I latched my fingers through his and pretended like they were caught.
“Oh! I’m sorry,” I whispered and laced my little finger tighter around his.
Ethan chuckled and after lifting our joined hands out of the bag, he flipped his fingers around so they were cradling mine. “There. Much better.”
Shocked at how easy that was, I looked up at him. He winked. Yes! My heart melted. He really is hot. I smiled back and allowed my hand to be held by his—in the dark—for the rest of the show.
Afterward, he insisted on taking me home. Chase didn’t complain much. I could tell he thought the guy was being impractical. But hey! What girl doesn’t like a guy to be impractical for her every now and then?
At my front door, Ethan hemmed and hawed a bit while he waited for me to go inside. I didn’t want to. I was completely curious to see what his kiss would be like. So I waited. It was cold. I’m not a huge fan of the cold. Never have been. So after a few more minutes, I finally blurted out, “Are you gonna kiss me, or what?”
Ethan’s shocked burst of laughter caused me to chuckle too. “You’re uh, not shy are you?” he asked grinning down at me.
“Me? Shy? I think I can safely say the answer to that question is, no.” I smiled my Bradford smile and Ethan took a step back, his eyes never leaving my mouth. Man, I love this smile! I lowered my voice a bit and stepped forward. “Are you trying to tell me that you don’t want to kiss me goodnight?” Another step brought me within a foot of Ethan’s shoes.
“I—uh—no! I’m not saying that.” Ethan’s green eyes flashed under the porch light a moment before he lowered his gaze. His lashes brushed against his cheek for a moment and then those green eyes pierced mine. “I-I can’t.”
Huh? “You can’t?” Confused I tried to make sense of what he was telling me. “You can’t kiss me?”
“No.”
“Why?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.
Ethan’s eyes searched mine a moment and then the corner of his mouth lifted up in a lopsided grin. “Goodnight Emmalee Bradford.” He then took a step forward and I gasped as his slightly stubbled chin brushed past my jaw and his warm lips kissed me gently on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” he whispered in my ear, reminding me of the breakfast date he had arranged for us while at the theater.
“Okay.” I smiled. “I’ll be up bright and early. Thanks.”
“Bye.” Ethan gave a short salute with his hand and then was gone.
I watched his back as he jogged easily down the steps to his Jeep, before walking quietly into the house and locking the door.
After I said goodnight to my mom and stepdad, I walked into my room and turned on the light and gasped. There on my bed was Clementine snoring softy on a large satin pillow. She had a bright red bow around her collar. And under her paws was a note. Quickly I set my purse on my desk next to my laptop and carefully removed the white paper.
Dear Em,
Clem’s finally six weeks old. I hope you love her as much as we do.
She’s a real sweetheart. I had my mom bring her over while we were out to surprise you. So, Surprise!
Love,
Chase
Aww! I kneeled down on my knees and softly rubbed the bridge of her fuzzy nose. “You are the most cutest puppy in the whole world.” I rested my head next to hers on the pillow. “And I needed you today. How Chase knew I would need you, I have no idea, but man, you are welcome!”
Clementine opened one black eye and focused on me a moment before bringing her head up and opening her other eye. With a happy yap she was on all fours in an instant. I may not have gotten the kiss I wanted out of Ethan, but little Clementine sure made up for it. I was bestowed with sloppy puppy kisses all over my eyes, cheeks and chin as I scooped her in my arms and sat down on the bed. Her tiny tail thumped happily against my hand and I chuckled.
“If you’re this happy to see me when I come home
every day, I won’t need a silly guy to fall in love with anyway.” I crinkled her bow with my chin as I tucked her further into the crook of my neck. “I’ll just keep you forever and ever. How does that sound?”
Clementine gave one more tiny yap before burrowing farther on my shoulder and licking her thanks.
I chuckled again, “I love you, too!”
About twenty minutes later, just as I was tucking Clementine into her little doggy bed on the ground next to me my cell rang. Who’s calling me now? What time is it anyway?
“Hello?”
“Hey, Em. It’s Chase.”
“Oh, hi.”
“Just calling to see if you got Clem alright?”
I grinned, and plopped onto my bed. “Yeah, she’s asleep next to me. Thanks! She was an awesome surprise.”
Chase laughed quietly into my ear. “I’m glad you’re happy. And, hey—is it okay if Georgia and I come over tomorrow? She wanted to visit you and Clem?”
“Sure. Oh! But make sure you come in the afternoon, Ethan’s taking me to breakfast in the morning.”
“Really? You? He’s taking you to breakfast?”
What? Is that hard to believe? “Um, yeah.” I rolled my eyes, too bad Chase couldn’t see the effect. “He had a great time with me tonight; he wanted to see me again.”
“Are you sure about that?”
I snorted into the phone. “Are you really asking me if I can tell whether a guy is interested in me or not? As if I wouldn’t know. To answer your question, yes, I’m sure he had a good time.”
“I’m sure he had a good time too, just not with the girl you’re thinking.”
I sat up. “What is that supposed to mean?” I was beginning to get irritated.
“Haven’t you seen the way he looks at Cassidy when you’re not around?”
“Cassidy? As in Cassidy Hart?” Have you lost your senses? “There is no way Ethan Franklin has even looked twice at that girl. Why would he? She’s so quiet anyway. Besides, if he likes her, why would he even think about asking me out? Seriously Chase, you were not meant to be a matchmaker, so don’t quit your day job. Okay?”
He was quiet so long I wondered if he was still on the phone with me. Then just as I was beginning to feel anxious Chase let out a weary sigh. “Em, do me a favor and promise me you won’t fall for the guy, okay?”
“Why?”
“Just promise me.”
“Look, I’m not in love with him, if that’s what you mean.”
“Good.”
“But I’m not going to stop something if it happens.”
“Did he kiss you tonight?”
Did he kiss--? “Chase what is going on? Why do you care?”
“Did he kiss you?”
“I’m not going to tell y—!”
“Em?”
Ugh. Fine. “No. Okay. Are you happy now? He did not kiss me. Unless you call that half-peck he gave my cheek a kiss.”
“Hey, don’t get mad. Someone has to watch out for you now that Zack is gone.”
I fell back into my pillows in disgust. “Is that what this is all about? You trying to be my older brother?” Sheez. “Chase, I’m a big girl now. I don’t need an older brother.”
“So you keep saying, but I haven’t seen you prove that yet.”
“So now I gotta prove that I’m mature? You’re like four years older than me. Anything I do is going to seem immature.”
“Look, Em. There’s something about that guy that’s just not right. So sue me if I happened to be worried about you.”
“Once and for all, there is nothing wrong with Ethan Franklin!” I practically shouted in the phone. When will he ever let up?
“Shh! You don’t want to wake your whole house do you?”
Grrr. Much quieter I added, “Why don’t you like him anyway? Has he done anything to you? Huh?”
“No. He just seems like he’s hiding something, that’s all.”
Now I really wish he could see my rolling eyes. “Hiding something—?”
“Until I know what it is, I want you to be a bit leery of the guy.”
I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. “Anything else you wanted to add, Detective Anderson?”
“Alright,” his voice got a bit deeper on the phone. “For a girl who thinks she knows so much about relationships and people around her, she’s sure missing a rather large chunk of the picture.”
What in the--? “What is that supposed to mean?”
“You’re the expert on love. You figure it out.”
I jolted when the phone went dead in my ear.
Figure what out? Ugh. Why does it seem like Chase is constantly talking in riddles? Can’t the guy for once just say what he means and be done with it?
I leaned over and turned off my lamp before I crawled into my covers. In the dark I closed my eyes tightly and willed myself not to think about Chase’s dumb remarks and warnings. Instead I tried to focus on the perfect outfit to wow Ethan with the next day.
For crying out loud! Why does the guy gotta ruin everything? Now I’m gonna be looking all suspiciously at Ethan the whole time I’m with him! I punched my pillow a bit roughly and rolled over. Urk! If I lose sleep over this, I’m going to be ticked. And I know a certain dark-haired, blue-eyed guy that’ll definitely hear about it!
The next morning I was surprised to find, not only Ethan waiting for me at my door, but oddly enough Cassidy and her little sister were in the Jeep too.
So much for my outfit.
“Hey,” Ethan leaned over and whispered, “Sorry about bringing them along. Last night Carson opened his big mouth and practically invited Taylor and Chloe to hang with us. Well, Chloe’s sisters were in the room right there, soTaylor invited them too.”
Aww. That makes sense. “No problem. The more the merrier, right?” See, Ethan does like me, Chase!
Ethan wrapped his arm around me as we descended the porch steps. “I knew you’d understand. You’re awesome, Emma. You know that, right?”
I smiled flirtatiously up at him. “Know that I’m awesome? Of course I do. Who else would put up with you?”
He halted a moment and then laughed out loud. “You know, I think I really do like you. There’s something great about a girl who can pack a punch.”
“So you like someone who gives as good as they get?”
“Or better.” He chuckled. And then as we approached the Jeep he whispered, “It’s definitely much nicer to have a girl who actually talks.” And then with a glance at Claire through the window, he quickly amended, “Talks intelligently.”
I was ushered into the seat so fast and the door shut so quickly behind me, I didn’t have a chance to respond. But I have to say, I was pretty impressed that he found me intelligent and someone worth listening to. I mean, what girl wouldn’t get her head turned by something like that? Man, today is going to be amazing. I just know it.
“Hello, Emmalee! We’re so excited you’re coming too! Aren’t we Cass? Do you know where we’re going for breakfast? I like your outfit by the way—it’s cute! Ethan said it was a secret where we’re going, but I thought maybe he told you. Oh! You didn’t tell her? Oh! So it’s a surprise for you too, then? Well isn’t this going to be fun…”
On second thought I don’t think today is going to be that amazing after all!
Chapter 19
Can I have a picture?
I want Santa Claus to know exactly what to get me for Christmas.
“What!? Someone bought you a brand new camera—worth like a thousand dollars—and you don’t know who it was?” I blurted out to Cassidy over the restaurant table while Ethan and Claire were filling our drinks. “Are you kidding me?” Who would surprise someone with that kind of gift? Obviously someone who knew her well and had money to burn.
I guess I was a little louder than I should’ve been, because Cassidy turned beet red and ducked her head.
I lowered my voice. “But don’t you have an idea who it might be? I mean, my parents have never sp
ent that much on a camera for me. You must know who it is.”
She looked up at me smiled vaguely before answering, “No.”
I rolled my eyes at her short reply while she sipped her ice water. But then was surprised when she set the glass down and continued,
“I wish I did know, really. I mean, I would like to thank them, you know?”
I snorted. “Thank them? Good grief! I think I’d be kissing them if someone gave me a gift like that!”
Cassidy smiled uneasily and flicked her eyes around the room. I could tell she wasn’t comfortable with the idea of kissing whoever her benefactor was.
This is like a mystery! Who could it be?
“What has put that expression on your face?” Ethan asked me as he gently set my juice on the table.
I glanced up at Cassidy. She was smiling towards Claire as she approached chattering nonstop over the many different juices. I quickly leaned over and whispered,
“Someone secretly bought Cassidy a high end camera and left it at her house last night. It was there when she came home from the movie.”
“W-wow!” Ethan almost choked on his juice. “Are you kidding me?”
“No,” I whispered and caught a faint flush rise to Cassidy cheeks again. Maybe she can hear me. I lowered my voice. “Who in the world do you think would do that? Does she have a boyfriend?”
“I don’t kno-ow.” Ethan wiggled his eyebrows at me. And then he asked loud enough to be heard across the table, “Should we ask her?”
“No!” I waved my hand and shushed him. “Will you behave?”
“Why?” He lowered his voice again. “I think it’s a mystery that needs to be solved, don’t you?” Ethan glanced back over at Cassidy and I watched her turn her head quickly away.
Great. She can hear us. Ugh. When I caught Ethan’s eye again, I saw he was fully aware of the fact too. And he liked it! The punk.
“Will you knock it off? You’re embarrassing her!”
“You know who I think it was?”
I leaned in, forgetting all about Cassidy. “Who?” Oh my gosh! Who does he think it is?