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“Only since last spring, when I took my first class with Denning. But I’ve been practicing a lot, just so he’ll come by and exclaim about how expressive my paintings are.” She chuckled. “I think expressive is code for tries hard but not very talented.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. I think you’ve got talent.”
“Well, I’m not as good as you. You’re amazing! Have you ever tried to sell anything?”
“No way. I’m not that good. And really, I only paint for myself.”
“You must be pretty awesome to get Denning’s attention your first night. Several girls were giving you dirty looks. Better watch out they don’t slip some poison in your water bottle. Especially the way he was cozying up to you, like he wanted to see more than artwork.”
Emily’s cheeks burned furiously. “Grace, he wasn’t—“
“Settle down—I’m kidding. I forget you don’t know me that well yet. Our family teases all the time. But just for curiosity’s sake… Are you and Spencer really friends?”
“Is this question an example of you teasing me again?”
“Oh, no. I really want to know the answer because I’m nosey. So, are you friends? Really?”
“Of course we’re friends.”
“No, I mean are you only friends?”
“We’re only friends. Neither one of us wants to date anyone right now.” That was true, wasn’t it?
“Really? Spencer said he didn’t want to date anyone?”
“That’s what he told me. Why? Is he dating someone else?”
“That’s just it—I can’t figure him out. He’s with girls all the time. But when he’s around the family, he never lets us in on who he’s actually dating. I’m itching to know what he’s really up to. You two seem pretty close, so I thought you might be secretly dating.”
She opened her mouth to deny the statement, but Grace cut her off before she could protest.
“No, it’s okay. I believe you. But you still might be an inside source. I was hoping you could find out who he’s datin
g. I’m pretty sure one girl’s really after him, but I don’t know if the feeling’s mutual.”
“Really? How do you know?”
Grace looked around as if someone walking beside them might be listening. “He forgot his cell phone at the house last night. And during the two hours before he came back for it, he got about ten phone calls from some girl named Becca.” She smiled smugly.
She tried to keep her face neutral. Becca? Why was she surprised? She’d seen how aggressively Becca had pursued Spencer on the hike. He’d said they weren’t dating, and claimed they were only friends from the hiking club. And Becca had been so friendly to her, even calling her Saturday night to ask her to go to Jazzercise this Thursday. Could she have an ulterior motive? Now she thought about it, she remembered Becca asking a lot of questions about how she knew Spencer. Maybe it was a good thing she was cancelling the jazzercise with Becca.
“I know Becca,” she said carefully. “But I didn’t realize they were dating.”
“Honestly, I don’t know for sure, but he’s acting different. He usually talks about a ton of different girls, claiming all of them are friends. But recently, he quit talking about any girls at all.” She arched her eyebrows. “That’s why I know he’s hiding something.”
“Or maybe he isn’t hiding anything. Maybe he got really busy—he told me he didn’t have time to date anyone right now.”
“Yeah, right,” Grace scoffed. “Spencer claiming he doesn’t have time to date? He always has time for girls. I don’t know why he said that to you, but he knows better than to say something like that to me. I’d call him out in a second.” She looked more determined than ever. “I’m gonna figure this out if it kills me.”
“Well, let me know what you find out. I’m curious, too.”
“Truthfully, I was hoping it was you. Why don’t you want to date anyone right now, anyway? You’re finished with school. You should have plenty of time to date.”
“It’s just... I don’t really like to talk about it.”
“Oh, well sorry to pry.” Grace was quiet for a moment before busting out laughing. “No, that’s not true. I love to pry. What happened? You’ll feel better if you tell me. And I won’t tell anyone—I’m great at keeping secrets.”
“No really. It’s embarrassing. I can’t tell you.”
