Fabulous Five 002 - The Trouble with Flirting Read Online Free

lip gloss and stood back
from the mirror, surveying herself with satisfaction.
    Luckily she was alone in the ladies' room, so she opened the
door a crack and peeked out. Scott was not in the order line anymore, which
meant he was probably back at the booth and wondering where she was. She could
see Shane. He had moved away from Laura McCall and her friends and was talking
to some guys. At least that much was going her way. But where was Garrett? She
pushed the door open a little bit farther and looked for him again. No luck.
Rats!
    Melanie took a deep breath and silently rehearsed the list
of rules for walking across a crowded room that she had learned in the modeling
class she and the rest of The Fabulous Five had taken last year. Then she
opened the door and stepped out.
    Bumpers was crowded, all right, and noisy. Kids were laughing
and shouting to each other, and over it all music blared from an antique
Wurlitzer jukebox. Melanie smiled to herself as she began weaving through the
tables and booths. She tried to act casual, stopping to say hello to Alexis
Duvall and waving to Mona Vaughn and Matt Zeboski, but every second she was on
the lookout for Garret. As soon as she spotted him, she would simply walk up to
his table, give him a dazzling smile, and then move on, leaving him love-struck
as he gazed after her. It always worked in soap operas on TV.
    But where was he? There wasn't an empty table in the place,
but try as she might, she couldn't spot him sitting at any of them. Just then
she looked toward the door. There he was, and his hand was on the knob. Oh ,
no. He's leaving! she wanted to shout, but instead she bit her lip. As she
watched, he opened the door and walked out without even so much as looking
back.
    "I blew it," she grumbled to herself. "While
I was hiding behind Katie and primping in the ladies' room, he was probably
looking everywhere for me, and what did I do? I missed my big chance."

CHAPTER 4
    Melanie went straight to her room when she got home from
Bumpers, leaning back against plump pillows on her bed and opening her notebook
to a clean sheet of paper. Then she began to write.
    Melanie Edwards
+
Garrett Boldt
    That looks nice, she thought. In fact, it looked terrific.
Still, she couldn't forget Shane and Scott, so she turned to another clean page
and started again.
    Melanie Edwards
+
Shane Arrington
     
    Melanie Edwards
+
Garrett Boldt
     
    Melanie Edwards
+
Scott Daly
    That looked even nicer. But which one did she really like
the best? What a choice, she thought, shaking her head. Shane was so interesting. How many boys had she ever met before who had hippie parents and
an iguana named Igor for a pet? None! And then there was Garrett. Wow! He was
just about as gorgeous as one guy could get, and he was an eighth-grader. It
was the first time someone older and more sophisticated had ever been
interested in her, and it was fun.
    But how could she ignore Scott Daly? She was so comfortable
around him, and she had thought for a long time that they would probably get
married someday. Melanie Daly, she wrote. That looked super. Melanie Elizabeth
Daly. Melanie Elizabeth Edwards Daly. Or how about, Melanie Edwards-Daly?
    Sighing, she closed her eyes and pictured how her name would
look if she married Shane or Garrett. Melanie Arrington, she thought, or
Melanie Boldt.
    Through her closed door she could hear the distant ring of
the phone. By the time her mother knocked softly on the door to say that the
call was for her, she was already naming the children. Garrett Boldt, Jr. Or
should it be Garrett Boldt, II?
    She pulled herself out of her daydream and went to the
phone. "Hello."
    "Hi, Melanie. This is Garrett Boldt."
    Melanie's hand started shaking and she almost dropped the
phone. She would know that husky, romantic voice anywhere.
    "Hi," she whispered, but then, remembering that
she had already said hello, she felt herself blush.
    "In case you're wondering, I got your phone number from
a girl sitting near