The Party Boy's Guide to Dating a Geek (Clumsy Cupids) (8 page)

his eyes off Fee's abs. The defined muscles

tightened and relaxed as he laughed and flicked

water at the other guys. Jack jumped up from

behind them and tackled Fee. They both fell into

the water with a huge splash.

"Hey, Ash. What brings you over?" Mari asked.

He coughed in surprise because he hadn't seen her

get up and walk over to him.

"Oh, hey Mari. Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt

anything."

"Uh-huh," she grunted.

Ash's gaze was stuck on Fee wrestling with Jack

in the pool. "Really."

"Yeah. I'm totally buying that." She chuckled and

bumped against his shoulder.

"Well," Ash hedged, searching for an excuse. "I

was wondering if you could give me some

advice."

"About?"

Ash faced Mari. "I want to buy a new

computer."

"Really."

"Yeah. I need something for my work."

"What did you have in mind?" Fee asked from

behind him.

All kinds of things ran through Ash's mind just

then. Naked things having nothing to do with

computers. With Fee standing next to him, wearing

only a pair of soaking wet shorts that clung to his

hips and thighs as the water dripped from his body,

Ash could barely remember his own name.

Ash cleared his throat. "Oh, hi," he said.

Fee used a towel to wipe his torso, and Ash had

never wished to be a piece of fabric more in his

life. "So, what were you thinking of getting?"

"I …"

"Windows, Mac? Linux?"

"I'm not sure."

"What about configuration? What kind of

memory and CPU do you need?"

"I." Ash felt his cheeks burning. He fought the

urge to pull at his collar as Fee asked him more

questions.

"How about an Android tablet? Or an iPad?"

"I haven't really thought that much about it," Ash

said. In fact, he hadn't thought
anything
about it. It

was just the first thing that popped into his head

when Mari asked why he was there. "I guess I'd

better forget about it for now. I'll ask Mari some

other time." He shrugged, hoping Fee would take

the hint and drop the inquisition.

"Sorry,

I

didn't

mean

to

make

you

uncomfortable." Fee turned to walk away.

"Wait," Ash said. "I'm sorry. You didn't."

Fee stopped and smiled, and Ash decided he

could get used to seeing that.

"I was just caught off guard," Ash continued.

"That's all. I didn't mean for you to take time away

from your party."

It was Fee's turn to shrug. "It was breaking up

anyway. Just down to a couple of guys who had a

few too many to leave yet." He nodded to the guys

still in the water and Jack nodded back. Fee

motioned toward the table with his cake, and Ash

followed him as he led the way. The older lady

was checking her cell phone as they approached.

"Ash, this is my mom, Pilar."

"Oh." Ash wiped his hand on his leg and then

held it out. "I'm Ash. Jack's brother. It's nice to

meet you."

She stood up and flicked a glance at Fee before

smiling at Ash. "It's nice to meet you." She shook

his hand and turned her attention back to Fee. "I'm

sorry,
mijo
. I really need to go. He's called three

times already."

Fee's expression closed. "Okay. Thanks for

coming." He hugged her. She only came up to his

chin, and Fee bent down to kiss her cheek. She

whispered in Fee's ear, and Ash tried not to listen,

but it was unavoidable at the close range.

"Just give him a little more time. He'll come

around." She stepped back and put her hands on his

cheeks. "He will."

Fee put his hands over hers and nodded. "I love

you, Mom," he said before giving her a kiss to her

forehead.

Ash shifted his balance between his feet as he

stood there. His family hugged on holidays and

special occasions, but they'd never been the

touchy-feely type. There wasn't any question of

love in his family; they just rarely showed it

physically. Seeing Fee's closeness with his mother

made Ash oddly nervous. Fee must have noticed

because he took another step back and looked at

Ash.

"I'll be right back," Fee said.

Ash nodded and sat at the table. He admired

Fee's ass as he walked his mother out. Mari

stepped up and bumped his arm. "Take a breath

before you pass out."

"Sorry. I shouldn't have come."

"Like you would have stayed away." Mari

laughed.

"This was a mistake," Ash said, shaking his

head. "I think I should leave."

"Don't be silly. You're here now, so you might

as well have some cake." Mari cut a piece out of

the middle and pushed the plate toward Ash. He

took a bite and leaned back in his chair.

Fee walked back in through the gate and stopped

when the guys from the pool walked up. Jack was

standing behind them, one arm around each of

them. They exchanged some words and Fee

nodded. He shook their hands, and Jack looked

over to Mari.

She sighed. "We'll be back in a bit. Can you

keep an eye on things here for us?"

"Uh, sure?"

"Thanks." She jogged to catch up with the guys,

stopping to give Fee a hug before leaving. Fee

smiled and came over to take Mari's seat at the

table.

"Jack's driving them home in their car, and she's

going to follow in his truck," Fee said.

"Oh." Ash said, glancing back at the gate. Now

that he was alone with Fee, he felt shy. "Happy

birthday."

"Thanks." Fee appeared just as nervous as Ash.

He nibbled on his bottom lip. Ash wanted to say

something to break the ice, but he couldn't seem to

come up with anything clever. Fee exhaled and

looked at Ash through his bangs. "Thanks for

stopping by. It's good to see you again."

"It is?" Ash asked. His heart jumped. "I thought

you'd be pissed."

"Why?" Fee's eyebrows knitted together.

"You didn't seem to like me very much at your

book club meeting."

Fee shrugged. "It was a bad night for everyone

involved."

"I was kind of an asshole, just showing up like

that."

"And Donovan gave it right back to you."

"Still. I shouldn't have crashed your club," Ash

offered.

Fee looked around and cleared his throat. "So,

are you really interested in buying a new

computer?"

"Yeah. Kind of, anyway. I need to get my

portfolio organized."

"Cool. Do you design on it, too?"

Ash shook his head. "No, I've only worked

freehand."

"What about a tablet with a drawing program?

You can carry it with you and upload your designs

when you get home."

"I hadn't thought about that."

"Just a suggestion." Fee nibbled on his lip again.

Ash reached into the cooler to keep himself

from grabbing Fee and doing a little nibbling

himself. "Aren't they super-expensive?"

Fee shrugged. "Depends on what you get. If you

like, I can help you find something in your budget."

"That'd be great," Ash said. He'd agree to watch

Fee type the phone book if it meant spending more

time with him.

"So what's after the apprenticeship?" Fee asked.

"Huh?"

"Jack said you're nearly through with it. What

happens next?"

"Oh. Ty and I are going to open a shop. We've

got some money saved, but it's probably going to

take a while. Until then, Tank says we can stay on

at The Ink Tank."

"That's cool."

"What about you?" Ash asked. "Is there some

next step in the IT world?"

"Nah, just another job. Building more servers. I

do it so I can keep playing with the latest and

greatest toys," Fee said with a smile. "Don't tell

my boss," he added in a whisper.

Ash laughed. "Promise."

The smile he got from Fee had him mentally

checking his calendar to figure out his next day off.

He was about to suggest a date for computer

shopping when Fee's cell phone rang, playing the

Darth Vader theme music. Fee checked it and

frowned. "I need to take this."

"Oh, go ahead. I'll just take care of this stuff."

Ash started clearing the table.

"It was nice talking to you," Fee said, putting his

hand out.

Ash shook it. "You, too," he said. "And thanks

for the suggestion."

Fee jumped when his phone rang again.

"Go take that, and have a great weekend."

Fee nodded and smiled. "I'll talk to you later,"

he said as he walked away.

Ash stared after him and realized it was nice

talking to Fee. He'd been hot for Fee's body

before, but he managed to forget about that for a

few minutes while they talked.
Imagine that,
Ash

thought.
Fee may have a personality after all.

Chapter Four

A TORRENT OF

MISUNDERSTANDING

Torrent sites, or P2P (Peer-to-Peer Networking) sites, are

file-sharing mechanisms. There are some legitimate sites

using torrents to distribute legally obtained programs, but

these sites are the choice of software pirates. If your geek

is heavily involved in Peer-to-Peer Networking, you will

need to decide how much of him you want to share. If he's

illegally sharing software, you may wind up sharing a

court case with him, or you may have to share him with

the rest of Cellblock C. Your own peer network may also

condemn him as unworthy of you.

4.1

Someone was jackhammering on his skull. At

least that was what it felt like to Ash when he

rolled out of bed on Wednesday morning. His

temples throbbed, and the tiniest noises seemed

amplified by a hundred times. He staggered to his

feet, cringing away from the sunlight streaming in

through the blinds he'd forgotten to close the night

before.

God, he hadn't been this hungover in a
long

time. The only reason he'd been able to rouse

himself before noon was that he had an early shift

at The Ink Tank, and he couldn't be late or Tank

would can his ass. Tank wouldn't be very happy

about his showing up still suffering from the

aftereffects of his night either, but Ash hoped a

shower and a couple of ibuprofen would make him

feel—and look—a bit more human and less like

one of the walking dead.

Damn. Why, oh, why did he continue to do these

things to himself? He'd sat at Deli's with Tyson,

irritable as all hell and unable to keep himself

from dwelling on the fact that three days had

passed without any contact from Fee. Ash had

thought that after their little moment at Fee's party

he'd finally get at least a text or maybe an email.

Instead, nothing but radio silence.

He got it. He did. He'd ruined his chances by

being pushy. Of course, getting it didn't mean

liking
it. He'd vented about it to Tyson for

probably an hour, until Ty, apparently bored of the

entire subject, had asked him why he didn't just

take up one of the many guys at Deli's who would

have bent over backward for a chance at Ash—or,

rather, a chance to bend
him
over. But Ash didn't

want any of them. Because he couldn't stop

thinking about Fee, who was quite obviously not

suffering from the same problem.

Ash didn't know why it bothered him so much, if

it was just the whole thrill of the chase thing or

what. He'd never actually had to chase before.

Usually he was the one turning down offers, and

when he made an offer himself, well, he didn't like

to brag, but he had an above average success rate.

So maybe that was it. Being shot down had only

made him want to try harder. It was pride, ego,

competitiveness, whatever drove people to want to

win. That was it. Had to be. Except … it wasn't

just about getting into Fee's pants. Ash wanted to

get to know Fee, wanted to see him smile again, to

know who Fee's mom had been referring to on

Saturday when she'd said "he'll come around."