"Jeez Mother!" Emma complained when she hung up the phone. "You're a bundle of sunshine. Why were you so rude to Zac?" she asked. "Don't give me any lip girl. You might be legal age, but I am still the mother in this house. And that was the fifth GUY who's called here this morning." her mother replied. "Alright, mom. I'll have the number changed, I'll put in your own line. I can afford it now. I won't see Danny till Monday, but I'll take care of it. And Zac isn't one of the rest of them. You'd like him, mom. He's sweet."  Emma told her mother. "I'll believe it when I see it.." her mother grumbled. "Help me get this house taken care of before you go out, please?" "Sure mom." Emma sighed. She'd be glad when she was finished with school and could work full time at a different job. She loved her mother dearly, but her bitterness over her father's departure and distaste for Emma's current line of work made her very difficult to live with. Granted, Emma didn't like what she did either, but it paid the tuition and helped her mother out with the bills with time left over to actually study and SLEEP. Except when Jenny needed her to fill in when the baby was sick. Emma sighed again when she finished helping her mother out. It was already five o'clock. She'd have just enough time to shower and change before she picked up Zac. She smiled as she showered, remembering how much she had enjoyed his company and his sense of humor the night before. She had never gotten so wrapped up in a conversation that she hadn't noticed the time before. And she couldn't believe that the sweet guy with warm brown eyes and gorgeous blonde hair was the same Zac she had thought was so little and cute just a few years ago. If she hadn't heard him play,she might STILL not realize who he was. That thought left her floored. He was a handsome, famous rock star and had been for most of his life. So why on earth would he bother spending time with her, who he only knew as the chick who lugged the garbage bin at the studio? He could pretty much have any model/actress/whatever you can do to be famous and constantly beautiful he wanted. She shook that thought from her head and finished up then went in to get dressed. She rubbed some glossing serum through her damp curls and shook her hair out, put on some black mascara and eyeliner and slicked her favorite pinkish lip gloss on her lips She put on some nice hip hugging jeans, her brown leather hikers and a light pink baby t-shirt, then threw on her brown leather jacket. She knew what could happen if she and Zac went out to a club or something and didn't want to deal with that when she really just wanted to get to KNOW him. Emma gathered up her things, took a last look in the mirror, ran her hand through her dark curls and gave them a shake, grabbed her keys and headed for the door. "And where do you think you're going without saying goodbye?" her mother asked, her hand on her hip. "I have a date, sort of...with Zac, remember?" Emma smiled. "Oh yeah..the sweet one.." her mother rolled her eyes. "Come on, Mom. He is. And I won't be out all night, I filled in for Jenny so I'm not workin' for Danny tonight. If he gives out my phone number again, I won't work for him at all. Lock up behind me. Love you." Emma kissed her mother's cheek. ."I'll believe that when I see it, too." her mother answered, sarcastically, but kissed her daughter's cheek anyway. "Please be careful, Emma. And wake me up when you come in." her mother softened. "Kay, Mom. Night." Emma smiled and closed the door, letting out her breath as she heard the deadbolt click behind her.

Zac got himself dressed, ran a brush through his hair and tied it back, grabbed his wallet, keys and ball cap and his brown leather jacket, then went to tell his parents he was leaving. "What are you and your brothers doing tonight?" his father asked. "I dunno what Ike and Tay are doing, I'm going out with a friend." he answered. "I have my cell phone though.." he added quickly. "What friend?" Walker wanted to know. "A giiirlll..." Ike answered for him, grinning. Zac shot him a dirty look as he came into the room. "I should have known," Walker chuckled. "So who is it? Lisa?" his father asked. Zac rolled his eyes and if looks could kill Ike would be six feet under. "Pshht..LISA.." Tay strode in, sticking his nose where it didn't belong. "Dad where have you been? Lisa's been long gone." Zac turned the same look on Taylor, who only grinned. "Zac? I really need to know who you're with, son.." his father began cautiously. Zac sighed. "I know Dad. If Beavis and Butthead hadn't opened their big mouths FIRST, I would have told you. Her name is Emma. I met her at the studio and she gave me a ride home last night. She's cool. Okay?" he asked, not caring what the answer was, he was keeping this date. "Okay. Your mother and I WOULD like to meet her though.." his father said as they walked toward the front of the house. Suddenly they heard a horn blow outside and all of them went to the window. Zac smiled when he saw Emma sitting on her car windowsill, looking toward the house. Her car was parked almost in the middle of the street, as if she just slammed on the brakes and stopped. He gave her a wave and looked at his father and brothers, then turned back to the window when he heard her voice carry from the street through the open window. "Hey Hanson! Move it Mister! I'm blocking traffic.." she smiled and waved. Ike and Tay looked at each other in amazement. Walker chuckled when Emma waved to him and his other two sons. "Tell her she HAS to come to the door next time Zac. Have fun, buddy. Looks like you got your hands full." He shook his head. Zac smiled thankfully at his father, gave his brothers a 'stuff-that-in-your-pipe-and-smoke-it' look, and strolled out the door. Tay and Ike watched in amazement as the pretty dark-haired girl gave Zac a huge breathtaking smile and slid into the driver's seat as he let himself in the passenger side. They saw her throw her head back and laugh, rev the engine and take off like a bat out of hell. "Holy shit.." Tay said as he and Ike exchanged amused glances, then went off to do their own thing.

"So, Em...where is this great place?" Zac asked, holding tightly to the handle fastened to the ceiling above his head. He sincerely hoped that Emma paid more attention to the traffic than she seemed to. "We'll be out of heavy traffic soon, Zac." she giggled. Zac actually bothered to take in the scenery they were zipping past, and realized they were headed for PCH 1. "The beach Em?" he grinned. "Well, sort of.." she smiled. "I wasn't in the mood to outrun all your adoring female fans, so I figured we could do...well you'll see. You'll like it..." She chuckled as he stared at her. "It's not a long trip, Hanson. Relax." "Oh I am..." he assured her. He only fully relaxed when she took the next exit and finally they were on the gorgeous stretch of highway that ran along the Pacific Ocean, heading north. He looked past her, out her window at the sun glistening off the water, and the waves crashing in the bay below them, as they talked about everything and nothing. "Hey, Em? We're not stopping in Malibu?" he asked figuring that was where they were headed. There were alot of cool hangouts along the beach and if they decided they didn't want to push through anymore crowds there was always the beach. "I wasn't planning on it. You're not in a huge hurry are you?" she replied. "Nah." he told her, "I just figured.." She smiled over at him. "It's another 40 minutes from here...do you mind?" she asked suddenly realizing his father may not apprecaite her dragging him the almost 2 hours to Santa Monica. An hour, MAYBE an hour and a half, the way she drove. "Not at all," he grinned. He was trying to contain his excitement when she pulled off the highway and turned into the parking, lot next to a huge pier. It was crowded, the sun was starting to set, and the thing seemed to glow. It was lined with lighted carnival rides, small shops and arcades and people of all shapes, sizes and colors. He pulled on his ballcap as they got out of the car and smiled at Emma, who was shrugging back into her leather jacket. "Here.." he said softly and helped her into it. He slipped his own jacket on, to protect him from the slight chill of the sea breeze. The smell of salt air mingled with the aroma of all the fast food cooking in the stands, along the beach end of the pier.

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