The Trouble with Dating Sue (Grover Beach Team #6) Read Online Free PDF Page A

would have loved to catch a glimpse of her interacting with my brother, and lunch break was the only time of the day that Ethan and I were in the same room. Curiosity killed the cat, all right, but seeing them together could help me solve the to-be-gay-or-not-to-be-gay riddle about him.
    Well, no such luck. She wasn’t sitting at his table, and I didn’t see her for the rest of the day either.
    Since I didn’t have basketball practice on Wednesdays, I went home after seventh period, changed into black sweatpants, practiced some dunking in the backyard, and started doing homework an hour later. It wasn’t until I’d finished my English essay that I remembered the CD in my backpack. I hadn’t even taken a closer look when Susan had given it to me, so I was curious what she wanted Ethan to listen to and rummaged around between my books to find it.
    Volbeat . What the hell was that?
    I put the CD into my computer. Moments later, a few rocky chords blasted from the surround sound attached. A metal band. And they were actually good. If that was geek Sue’s taste in music, she had me just slightly impressed—again.
    The second song hadn’t finished when I heard my brother coming home from his newly found after-school activities, aka soccer practice. I paused the CD and headed out into the hallway. Leaning against the wall while he slipped out of his shoes and tossed his sweaty shirt into the laundry basket in the bathroom, I said, “Hey, E.T.”
    “Hi, bro,” he replied with as much interest as he had in turnips. Well, he didn’t yet know what stunning news awaited him.
    “Who’s Susan Miller?” There was just a hint of teasing in my voice.
    “A girl from school.”
    What? That was all? No looking up, no curiosity, no emotion whatsoever? He so wasn’t into this girl.
    “Wow. I thought you’d have a little more to tell about her.”
    Now he did look at me, head cocked, interest spiked just a little. “Why? Do you know her?”
    “Ran into her yesterday. And again today. Wild little thing, isn’t she?”
    “Maybe. I don’t know her that well.” He shrugged it off and that was that. Ethan actually passed me in the hall and went to his room.
    “Wait!” I shouted after him. “Don’t you want to know what she said?”
    His look more skeptical than nonchalant this time, he turned around once more. “ Should I want to know? Since she ran into you, I guess you’re hooking up with her now.”
    What the hell? “No, I’m not. I thought you were.”
    The next words he mumbled so low that I couldn’t be sure if I’d heard him right. “She stood me up.”
    “Well, she gave me her number today. Said I should pass it on to you.”
    There was a definite lift in his gloomy look. “Really?”
    “Yep. And she gave me a CD, too.”
    “Cool. Can I have it?”
    “Umm…in a little while. I started listening to it while you were gone, and I’d like to finish.” Ethan couldn’t help that. If he wanted the CD now, he would have to fight me for it, and I was simply the stronger brother. However, I wasn’t a complete asshole and added with a grin, “But I’ll turn up the volume extra loud so you can listen as well.”
    “Why did I know it would go something like that?” He laughed and went to get fresh clothes from his room to take with him to shower. When he came back, he asked, “Are you going to give me her number then?”
    “I have it on my phone. I’ll send it to you in a minute.”
    “Okay.” He slammed the bathroom door in my face, and three seconds later the sound of water raining down on the tub drifted out.
    I turned around, about to walk back to my room, but instead I faced a beaming, red-cheeked mom.
    “Is that true?” she whispered. “Is Ethan dating a girl?”
    Oh man, the mom ster was awake. “No, Mom, I don’t think he’s dating anyone. But that girl seems to be interested in him, and she told me to tell him to call her.”
    “Oh! At long last!” She clasped her fingers together, very