Free Emmalee by Jenni James Page B

crossed one leg over the
other and willed my foot not to bounce in irritation.  “Look. 
I don’t have anything against the guy, okay?”
               
“So why are you acting weird?”
               
“Because, believe it or not, sometimes you bug me.” 
               
“Do I bug you because I talked to Martin?  Or, do I bug
you because I act like a Viking?”
    “Ugh!”  I leaned
forward with my elbows on my knees and put my hands over my face.
               
“There’s that grunt again.”
               
I chuckled and shook my head.  My voice was muffled when I
warned, “Chase, you really know how to push a girl.”
               
“I hope so.” He chuckled.
               
I sighed and sat up.  “Okay, you want me to be straight
with you?  Fine.  Hannah, did get asked out by Martin
today, all right?”
               
“Really?”
               
“Yes.  And no thanks to you, she rejected him.”
               
“What?  Why?”  He looked shocked.
               
I’ve had enough.
  I put my hands on my knees and
stood up.  Chase quickly copied me.  We had a small ornate
coffee table between us.  “You really shouldn’t try
to set people up, you’re not that good at it.  Believe
me.  Hannah happens to like someone else, that’s why she
said no.”  I put one hand up.  “And before you
ask if I’m sure, yes, I am.  I saw the email she wrote to
him.” 
               
“Emma,” he croaked. 
               
My eyes flew to his not sure what to make of the emotion he seemed to
barely control.  I couldn’t tell if he was angry, or sad,
or frustrated, or— “What?” I asked.
               
“Y-you wrote it, didn’t you?  That email.  You
were there.  You wrote it.”
               
“I-I—”
               
“You know what?  I don’t care.  You-you, go and
do whatever juvenile
high school
thing it is you want to
do.  But, you better watch out and be aware of the pitfalls that
come from messing with people’s lives.”
               
Me, messing with people’s lives? 
“Whatever! 
What about you?” 
               
“Emmalee.  You may think you know it all now, but you
don’t.  You can’t—you’re just—”
All at once Chase stopped.  His gaze wearily traced my angry
features in silence.  He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep
breath.  When he opened them again they were a deep sad grey. 
“I’m sorry to hear that Hannah told Martin no.” 
He looked down—shaking his head briefly—before bringing
his eyes back to mine.  “I hope he’ll be okay.”
               
Frozen in place by the intensity of his gaze, I whispered, “So
do I.” 
               
Chase grinned ruefully and brought his hands down to catch my
fingers.  “I have something to say and I don’t want
you to take it the wrong way.”  He squeezed my hands and
gently swayed them.
               
What?
               
“I don’t know for certain, but I’m pretty sure
you’re thinking Elton and Hannah are going to hit it off. 
Well, if that’s the case, I don’t want you to get your
hopes up.  The Bloomfields are known for being—uh,
selective when it comes to girlfriends.  Believe me, I grew up
with Elton’s older brother, it wasn’t pretty.”
               
Just when I thought Chase is acting decent for a moment he’s
gotta go and blow it.
  I pulled my hands away from him and
folded my arms.  “If I
was
thinking of Hannah and
Elton getting together, then I would’ve been worried about your
warning, but, since I’m not, I—”
    Chase leaned over and kissed me on
the cheek, surprising me into silence as he whispered.  “Good
bye, Em.”
               
What?
  “You-you’re going home?”
               
 “Yeah, I don’t want