It's All Geek to Me (Nerds & Geeks Book 3) (3 page)

When they reached the first hole, she picked a few leaves off the artificial turf. Someone had recently painted the brown cement mounds that dotted the area. Each had a hole in the center and anyone unlucky enough to hit a ball in there would end up with many extra strokes. A brick rim surrounded the green, which curved off to the left where the cup was located.

She looked over at Frazer. “If you want, I can give you some tips before we start.”

He surveyed the terrain. “Looks straightforward to me. Ladies first.”

“Okay.” Placing her lucky red ball on the rubber mat, she imagined it navigating cleanly through the obstacles and dropping neatly into the cup. Then she hit it sharply. The moment she did, the flat surface became a maze of bulges that snaked toward the hole as if gophers were tunneling under the artificial turf.

Frazer gasped. “What the hell?”

She ignored him and focused on her ball. Mentally she sent it rolling between the valleys while avoiding contact with the cement mounds. It stopped inches from the cup, and all the bulges deflated again. “I’ll just tap it in.”

“Yeah, go ahead.” Frazer had walked the perimeter and stood on the brick staring at the flat surface. “That was unexpected.”

“The owner used to work for Disney. He knows his pneumatics.”

“Obviously.”

“Want some tips, after all?”

“Nope.” Frazer adjusted his glasses. “I memorized how the snaky things ran before they deflated. I’ve got my trajectory.”

“But –”

“Seriously. I wasn’t kidding that I have an advantage in this game. It’s basic geometry with a little physics thrown in. Plus I factored in your speed and I need to send my ball down a fraction faster to get it in the cup. Thanks for going first.”

“You’re welcome. Good luck.”

“It’s not luck. It’s science.”

She just smiled. The ridges would inflate in a different pattern the next time, but he’d have to find that out the hard way.

“
S
on of a bucket
! The ridges were different!” Frazer stared at the yellow ball that had bounced around aimlessly and rolled backward until it lay at his feet. Once again the green surface was flat.

Dulcie stood on the brick border looking smug as hell with a sparkle in her eyes that plainly said
I told you so
.

“Okay, maybe I need some info, after all.” It pained him to admit it. “How many cycles in the program?”

“I don’t know.”

“You must know. You’ve played this course a million times.”

“And I’ve never figured out the pattern. Other people smarter than me have tried and failed, but you’re welcome to give it a shot.”

“I might.”

“But before you put too much effort into trying to predict the ridge patterns, you should know that Sherman, the owner, keeps the program a secret and switches it up whenever he’s bored and wants to mess with people.”

“Which means I might be able to figure out the pattern for tonight but tomorrow it would be different.”

“Yes.”

H
e rubbed
the back of his neck and gazed at her. “I’m amazed he’s still bringing in business. Don’t people get frustrated?”

“They do if they approach it seriously. But if they decide to play for the heck of it they usually score fairly well. The looser they are the better.”

“So the best way to play this course is drunk.”

“That’s one solution.”

“Is that how you’ve broken par so many times? You get smashed first?”

“No. I have a secret weapon.”

“I’ll bet it’s the password to Sherman’s computer.”

“Nope. That would be cheating. Actually, I pretend I’m Yoda.”

“Yoda from
Star Wars
?”

“No, Yoda my next-door neighbor.” She laughed. “Yes, from
Star Wars
. There’s only one Yoda and I’ve loved him ever since I was a kid. The first time I played this golf course I was twelve. When I saw how hard it was, I thought
what would Yoda do
?”

He stared at her in fascination. There was a lot more to Dulcie than he’d ever imagined. “Are you saying you just think the ball into the cup?”

“Pretty much.”

“There’s no logical reason why that should work.”

That got her attention. “Are you telling me you don’t believe in the Force?”

Oh, boy. He was about to say something sacrilegious. “No, I don’t.”

“No? But I’ve heard you guys talk endlessly about those movies. You love them!”

“I love the movies, but they’re fantasy. I was raised by an astrophysicist and an engineer. Science is like a religion in our family. There’s nothing scientific about the Force.”

“Frazer Krause, I’m flabbergasted! My sisters don’t believe, either, but I thought you of all people would.”

“Sorry.” She looked so disappointed that he almost wished he’d lied to her. “But I’ll go with your staying loose philosophy. That makes sense to me. I’ll try that with my next shot.”

“Okay.”

He felt as if he’d just killed Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Maybe the Tooth Fairy, too. “Listen, if thinking about Yoda works for you, then you should do it. Staying positive is always a good thing.”

Her jaw firmed. “It doesn’t just work for me. It plain works, whether you believe it or not.”

“Yeah, well . . .” He didn’t want to argue with her, especially not about this. He had a hunch his buddies, despite being computer nerds, entertained the possibility of the Force being real under certain circumstances. He’d never been able to.

He did his best to stay loose for the next swing and managed to finish the hole in four counting his first abortive stroke. He didn’t do any better on the next one, or the one after that. But Dulcie got a hole in one and a gopher popped out of the ground to chatter at her. He yelped in surprise, which made her laugh.

He liked hearing her laughter. He liked watching her play, too. She did a butt wiggle before each shot and he looked forward to that. He also got a huge kick out of her reaction whenever the gopher appeared, which was quite a bit since she was so damned good at this fiendish game. The gopher would pop up, she’d giggle, and then she’d perform a short victory dance on the brick edging.

Because the edging was narrow and she was wearing her TGIF shoes, he always positioned himself nearby in case she lost her balance. He kind of wished she would. Then he’d have an excuse to touch her.

The longer they played, the more he wanted that excuse. On the fourteenth hole, he got his wish. In the middle of her victory dance she stumbled and he was right there to grab her arm. In order to steady her he took hold of her other arm, too, and there they were, face-to-face, looking into each other’s eyes.

Maybe gazing into Dulcie’s eyes would work better than a six-pack of beer. The warmth and interest he saw in their gray depths was giving him quite a buzz.

“Guess you were right about the shoes,” she murmured.

“I like the dance, though.” His attention drifted to her mouth, so plump and tempting. If he could get slightly drunk staring into her eyes he’d probably be high as a kite if he kissed her.

“Just being silly.”

“I know.” Heart pounding, he leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. They were like velvet. He considered settling in, but maybe he should check to see how she was reacting to the idea. He lifted his head and looked at her.

Her eyes were closed and she was holding her breath.

He couldn’t tell if she was enthralled or horrified. “Dulcie?”

Slowly she opened her eyes and sighed. Then she gave him a gentle smile. “Thanks for catching me.”

“Anytime.”
How about the kiss? Any thoughts on that?

Gazing up at him, she drew in a shaky breath. “We should move along. They’ll be wanting to close the course.”

“Right.” So maybe she hadn’t been particularly excited about the prospect of a lip-lock. He could take a hint.

“That kiss was a nice start, though.” She gave him a quick peck on the mouth before backing away. “You’re up.”

The buzz was back. He hit the ball without thinking about it and got a hole-in-one. Up popped the gopher.

“Woo-hoo!” Dulcie pranced around on the bricks. “Let’s see your victory moves!”

He wasn’t much of a dancer but he couldn’t disappoint a woman who’d said his kiss was a nice start. Hopping up on the brick edging, he did a stomp and wiggle thing that probably looked dorky but she seemed to love it.

She loved it so much, in fact, that she came over, threw her arms around him, and gave him another kiss, this one just as quick as the last but with a lot more enthusiasm. “Well done, Fraze.”

“Thanks.” He debated whether to protest the
Fraze
nickname that she’d obviously picked up from Tug. Nobody had ever called him that, not even Rylan. Rylan’s name shortened to Ry wasn’t bad, but Fraze sounded as if he’d been named by a grammar teacher. In the end he decided that having her continue to kiss him was more important than what she called him.

Hole Fifteen was where the lights were out, making a difficult task an impossible one. He turned to Dulcie. “Should we just skip it?”

“Heck, no. This is a perfect chance for me to demonstrate my method. I can barely see, but I’ll still get a decent score. See if I don’t.” She leaned over to put her ball down.

He was standing behind her at the time, and yeah, he might have moaned a little when presented with an excellent view of her rounded ass. Her inviting curves were way more interesting than pneumatic gopher tunnels.

She turned around. “Did you say something?”

“Nope. I think my stomach growled.”

“Are you hungry? We could stop for something on the way home.”

“Sure.” He managed not to make some cheesy remark about being hungry, but not for food. She deserved better than that.

“Then we will.” She executed her butt wiggle as she addressed the ball. “Watch this, oh, ye of little faith.”

He was watching, all right, watching and wondering if she’d invite him in when he drove her home. So much for his earlier mindset that this weekend was about business. He’d kissed her once and she’d kissed him back twice. At some point during the evening they’d edged past business and were encroaching on pleasure territory.

“Let’s go see how I did. Got your flashlight app?”

“Right here.” He directed the beam at the cup, and there was her red ball only about six inches away. “Not bad.”

She tapped it in. “I’d like to see you do better.”

“I might if you give me a kiss for luck.”

“Sure thing.” She handed him her putter. “Hold this.”

He took it, which left him with one in each hand as she cradled his face and stood on tiptoe. He’d thought she was worried about finishing up the round quickly so the cleaning crew could come through, but that wasn’t the message he got once she initiated this good luck kiss.

First of all, her mouth was slightly open. Second of all, she lingered, moving her lips over his in a decidedly seductive way. Third of all, she slipped her tongue inside his mouth.

He groaned and would have pulled her close, but he was holding a putter in each hand. She might have planned that.

In any case, she took her time giving him a moist and blatantly suggestive kiss before pulling back. Her breathing was a little unsteady as she stepped away. “May the Force be with you.”

He wasn’t sure if he had the Force on his side or not, but he sure as hell wasn’t thinking about his golf game anymore. Positioning his yellow ball on the mat, he drew back his putter and smacked that ball into the void. Three seconds later the chattering gopher announced that he’d made a hole-in-one.

When he walked up to retrieve his ball, she was there ready to give him a hug. “Are you a believer, now?”

This time he had one arm free, so he pulled her close. “I believe in you, Dulcie.”

“That’s good enough.”

They finished up the round and turned in their equipment. The pinball machines didn’t have the same appeal now that he was thinking about kissing Dulcie some more, but she seemed to have her heart set on giving him a chance to play. He changed some bills for coins because whatever Dulcie wanted tonight, Dulcie would get.

She motioned him toward the machines. “I’ll hold your jacket.”

“Aren’t you going to play?”

“I will, but you go first. I want to watch.”

“All right.” He couldn’t very well say he’d rather leave so they could make out. Besides, the machines were primo and he made a mental note to come back here sometime with the BMUS guys. Video games were awesome but this was so much more visceral. He chose one of his favorites, rolled back his sleeves, and dropped in some coins.

The machine came on and he launched the first ball. God, this was fun. He wrestled the machine to get the ball to go where he wanted it. A player had to use some muscle to win this game and he’d always loved that.

He finished with a decent score and turned to her, breathing hard. “Ready to play?”

“Okay.” She handed him his jacket and proceeded to lose spectacularly. Turning to him with a smile, she shrugged. “Done.”

“You’re not into pinball. You did this for me so I wouldn’t feel too bad about the golf game.”

“Kind of. Do you feel bad about the golf game?”

“No, but your friend Sherman intrigues me. There has to be a way to beat his system. I just haven’t figured it out yet.” He put on his jacket.

“I’d be happy to wait if you want to play another machine.”

He smiled and shook his head. “Another time. It’s late.”

“And you’re hungry.”

He wasn’t, but if getting something to eat would mean spending more time with her, he’d go along with the idea. “Where’s a good place to go around here?”

“I know a cute little diner that’s not too far. We could use the app on the food.”

“Sounds good.” He held the door for her and they walked out into the cool night air.

“Or we could go see what I have in my refrigerator and use the app on that.”

That suggestion brought him to a complete stop. Maybe she was only inviting him to her place for a bite to eat. Or . . . the other possibility sent heat straight to his groin.

Turning to face him, she placed both hands on his chest and looked into his eyes. “Your heart’s beating really fast.”

“Yeah.” He rested his hands loosely on her shoulders because he wasn’t sure where she was going with this and he didn’t want to make assumptions. “You tend to have that effect on me.”

“You have that effect on me, too.” Reaching for his right hand, she placed it in exactly the same spot where he’d hung the donkey tail. “Can you tell?”

His fingers closed over her soft breast. Suddenly he wanted her so much that he didn’t trust himself not to do something rash like pushing her up against his car and shoving both hands under her sweater while he kissed the daylights out of her. He swallowed. “Dulcie . . .”

“Am I moving too fast for you?”

“No.” Lust clogged his throat and made him sound like a frog.

“Then would you like to come home with me?”

“God, yes.”