Free Serial Hottie by Kelly Oram Page A

didn’t know what to think of Seth, but one thing was certain: there was no way in H-E-double-hockey-sticks that I was going to spend the day alone with him. My car was just going to have to wait.
    I went downstairs to try and explain the bad news to my mom, but I stopped in the hall when I heard her and Angela talking about me. “I don’t get it,” Angela said. “They were just talking and Seth was being so sweet. Then all the sudden Ellie freaked out and made us leave. She didn’t say a single word the whole way home.”
    “Well Ang, sweetheart,”—I could hear the sympathy in Mom’s voice as well as a sense of astonishment—”she was probably just scared.”
    Thank you! I was so relieved that someone else understood how creepy Seth is. But then mom said, “Ellie’s not used to boys the way you are.”
    “All she ever hangs out with is boys!”
    “But none of them has ever paid her that kind of attention before. The J’s, they’re good kids, but they treat Ellie like one of them. Could you see any of them asking her on a date, or trying to kiss her?”
    Angela snorted. “Ew.”
    I couldn’t believe my mom and my sister were having this conversation about me, but at least Angela and I were on the same page with that thought. Going out with the J’s? Ew, ew, and ew!
    Mom continued, “So if Seth really likes Ellie, can’t you understand how she might be very confused right now? Puberty is a very difficult thing. Not everyone adapts to it as naturally as you did.”
    “Gross, mom, I can’t believe you just said the word puberty.”
    “Well, what else am I supposed to call it?”
    “Um, nothing. We are so done with this conversation. And you know what? Maybe you shouldn’t say anything to Ellie. I’ll help her with Seth.”
    Hearing a chair scoot back from the table, I started to creep back up the stairs, but I still heard my mom’s stern reply. “Angela?”
    “What?”
    “You leave your sister alone.”
    “But Mom, you didn’t see her. She needs help.”
    “Stay out of it!” Mom said again. “I’m sure she’ll ask for your advice when she’s ready for it.”
    Ha! And monkeys might fly out of my butt, too.
    I waited in my room until I heard Angela turn the shower on in the bathroom and then went downstairs to face my mom. Thankfully she didn’t say anything when I walked in the kitchen. She just sipped her coffee while I grabbed a bowl of Cocoa Puffs. When she finally did speak she didn’t breathe a word about the party.
    “So, any idea what kind of car you want?”
    “I doubt I’ll have many options with only four thousand dollars to work with,” I said, finding the perfect segue into cancelling my plans for the day without bringing up Seth. “Maybe I should just wait until the end of the summer when I’ve saved a little more.”
    “You’d be surprised, Ellie. Remember Genevieve from the hotel? Her husband Frank runs the Livonia Ford dealership and he said he had a few great deals right now. I told him how hard you’ve been saving and he’s excited for you to come down today.”
    Crap! Not that I’m not grateful for my mom’s attempt to get me a deal despite our family’s lack of motor vehicle connections—Mom doesn’t work for a car company either, as helpful as that would be right now. She’s the front desk manager for the Dearborn Marriott Hotel—but how was I supposed to get out of going now?
    “Hey Mom? If you know this guy, why don’t you go with me today?”
    My mom studied me then in a way I’d never seen her look at me before. It took her a long time to reply. “Oh, honey,” she said, sighing. “That is going to take all day and I’ve got a whole list of things I need to get done.”
    “But I’m just a kid. Don’t you think I should have an adult with me for something like buying a car?”
    “You’re paying cash, so you won’t need me to sign any papers and you know more about cars than I do.”
    “But—”
    “You’re about to turn sixteen.