I Heart Geeks (16 page)

“So, did you have a good time?” she asked, huddling in her coat, hands in her pockets.

“Yeah, I did. Thanks again for inviting me.”

“Of course.”

How faultlessly polite of both of them, not that Jordan had been insincere. It had definitely been a once-in-a-lifetime experience for him. He racked his brains for a way to break the awkwardness as they walked on in silence. “So people had some interesting costumes, like that guy who won,” he finally said.

Mira glanced up at him for a second. “Yeah, it’s tough, actually. So many of Whedon’s characters are incredibly interesting, and yet their clothes tend to be somewhat mundane, because generally, they live in the real world.”

“I saw this one guy, he just had a nametag that said ‘God.’ Was that the Whedon take on religion or something?”

“No, that was—” Her answer was cut off by a gasping cry as she slid on the icy sidewalk beside him.

Jordan reached out automatically, catching her so she didn’t fall. With her pressed against him, the difference in their heights was even more obvious. He could feel the puff of her startled breath against his chest, at the opening of his coat.

“Oz,” Mira said after a moment.

“As in the Wizard of?” Jordan asked without thinking.

“No, sorry. The character.”

“Oh.” Jordan nodded, though he still wasn’t following. His brain finally caught up to their position, though, reminding him to let her go. He hesitated for a heartbeat with her watching him, then looped her arm through his to prevent further mishaps.

She looked away first, lowering her gaze to the street. They took a couple steps before she spoke again. “So Oz, he’s a werewolf from
Buffy
, and a guitar player. And kind of a genius. One Halloween, in the show, his costume is a nametag that—”

“Says ‘God,’” he finished with her, catching on. “That’s clever.” They’d reached their building, almost too soon. “What about your character, or costume?” Jordan asked, holding the door open for her. He doubted there was nothing more to it than those idiots’ claims from earlier.

Mira’s arm slipped out from the crook of his as she stepped inside. “Inara? She’s from
Firefly
, a dystopian series that literally involves space cowboys.”

“That sounds pretty cool.” And pretty odd, but he didn’t want to offend her. People had been intense with their adulation of all things Joss Whedon tonight, though when she spoke about the guy, Mira seemed more knowledgeable and appreciative than fanatical. When they reached her apartment, Jordan found himself wishing they lived on a higher floor.

Mira turned toward him, keys in hand. “Thanks again, for waiting for me.”

“No problem.” He should probably say good night, but instead, Jordan just stood there, looking at the curl of hair that had drifted forward, over her eyebrow; at her eyes, with the bit of gold around them; at the pinkness of her lips.

She was watching him too.

Jordan stepped forward, hesitated, then put his hands on her upper arms. All he could really feel was the padding of her coat sleeves, but then her chin tilted up, and her smile dropped to something more serious, and her lips parted just barely. A steadying breath later, Jordan bent to kiss her.

Mira smiled at the sunshine streaming through the crisp air as she stepped outside. She’d gotten plenty done in the morning hours at the store, even if her mind had all too frequently gone back to last night’s kiss, but the point was she could take a couple of hours off before helping Charlie close up tonight. She should have lunch and then go to the park. Or maybe she should grab a book and have lunch in the park.

Or, she could make a couple sandwiches and see if maybe Jordan wanted to have a picnic. Their kiss last night had been sweet, and soft. And wonderful. Of course, Jordan might already have plans today, but it wasn’t like there was any harm in asking, right?

It felt like it was going to be a good day, overall. Even her key sticking again only made Mira shake her head with a wry smile. She jiggled and tugged, finally getting the key to turn when the door down the hall opened.

“Oh, hey, Mira,” Lisa said, coming out of the apartment with Jordan behind her. “Quiet day at the store?”

“Yeah, um, hi,” Mira stammered, looking between the two as something in her chest constricted.

“Hi,” Jordan said with an easy smile that stilled the air for a heartbeat.

“You know, I actually have work I need to get done, so excuse me. Sorry.” Mira pushed the door to her apartment open, turning away from them. “Enjoy your afternoon,” she said, slipping inside.

The click of her door shutting held an unidentifiable finality. Mira dropped her purse and keys onto a side table and blew her breath out in a steady stream, then sank to the floor.

It shouldn’t have mattered, seeing him with Lisa. Mira’d known they’d hit it off when she’d introduced them, and she had seen them talking to each other at the store last night.

And either way, she had no claim to him. It wasn’t as though a kiss meant anything. For most people nowadays, even sex didn’t imply any sort of commitment or obligation.

Lisa simply had more in common with Jordan. Even their heights were better suited to each other’s. Mira should have been happy for her friend.

But in that moment, she just couldn’t be that good a person.

Bread, roast beef, maple-glazed chicken, mayo, tomatoes, pickles, mustard, cheese — Havarti and Swiss — lettuce, cucumbers.
Jordan repeated the list as he made his way down the street.
Plates, napkins, plastic knives.
Had he forgotten anything? The other bag held some iced teas and a couple bottles of water.

It wasn’t gourmet, but Jordan was relying on the cuteness of surprise. And well, technically, he didn’t know if she was free, so this was better than just bringing a couple of sandwiches that could wind up soggy.

Inside, a low murmur surrounded him, but Mira was nowhere to be seen. Jordan crossed the store, glancing up every aisle, but he still didn’t see her. He lingered by the Date a Book display, waiting for the cashier to finish ringing up a few customers.

“Can I help you?” the guy asked when Jordan approached.

“Is, well, is Mira around?”

The cashier hid his confusion almost instantly. “I’m sorry, is there a problem? I’d be happy to help you.”

“No, no. I just wanted to come say hi.”

“Oh.” The guy nodded blankly, then the words seemed to register. “Let me go check if she’s available.”

“Thanks,” Jordan said as much to himself as to the cashier’s receding back. He shifted both bags to one hand so he could tap his fingers on the counter more comfortably. Honestly, he was getting pretty hungry. He’d had a long day at work, and the slice of maple-glazed chicken he’d tried at the deli had gotten his appetite going.

“I’m sorry,” the cashier said, reappearing from between bookshelves, drawing Jordan away from their bookmark display. “She’s not.”

“Oh.” Lisa had told him that she worked every night the store was open, but maybe tonight was an exception. This was the downside of surprises, apparently.

“Can I recommend something for you? Or maybe you’d like to try one of our mystery books?”

“I’m still getting through my last one, but well, thanks anyway.”

The cashier offered him a tight-lipped smile, disappointed at the lack of a sale or maybe just tired of dealing with him.

“G’night,” Jordan said, turning away. He’d looked forward to seeing Mira again, but apparently the evening would be spent tinkering with his latest project instead. He was really close to getting the timing down, actually, so at least there was that.

Mira sighed, staring at the blocks of red in her spreadsheet, each one representing a discrepancy in their inventory counts. Some people stole—books, bookmarks, anything—there wasn’t much of a way around that, but the recent increase was disturbing.

A knock on the office door preceded the squeak that signified its opening.

“Charlie, we’re really going to need to talk about—” Mira cut herself off when she saw who’d opened the door.

“Brought you a mocha,” Lisa said, holding out a foam cup. They hadn’t spoken since running into each other last weekend, though that wasn’t too out of the ordinary with Mira’s work schedule.

“Thanks.” Mira half-rose from her chair to take the coffee, then plopped back down as Lisa leaned back against the doorjamb with her own drink. “What’s going on?” Mira asked in what was hopefully a sufficiently chipper tone.

Lisa’s eyes narrowed. “Just taking a break. Thought I’d come see you.”

“Oh, are you having a productive day?” Never, in all the time they’d known each other, had they had a conversation that was so unbearably stilted. Mira tilted the mocha to her mouth in a desperate attempt to restore normalcy with the kick of chocolaty coffee.

“It wasn’t what you think,” Lisa said, cutting straight through the hovering awkwardness.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Mira hadn’t seen Jordan since that run-in either, which was probably a good thing. She didn’t want to contemplate the potential development of his and Lisa’s relationship, and not seeing him in the halls had definitely helped that. On the other hand, she needed to snap out of it and be a decent friend. “How are things going with you two?”

“Oh come on.” Lisa straightened from the wall to take the two steps necessary for her long legs to cross Mira’s office. “You have to know I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“I don’t see it that way,” Mira said honestly, swiveling in her chair to keep Lisa in sight as she leaned against Mira’s desk. “I don’t have any kind of a claim here, and you guys seemed to get along.” And if that really wasn’t the case, why had Lisa been in his apartment?

“Okay, entirely rational and unemotional an approach as that is, all of us can see that you like him.”

All
of them
?

“Well, except Jordan himself,” Lisa clarified before Mira had a full-blown heart attack. “But for what it’s worth, he definitely seems to like you too.”

Mira sipped her mocha to postpone answering. “Oh, I doubt it,” she said eventually. “Anyway, tell me what’s been going on with you. How’s the research?”

“You know, I got a little sidetracked recently, but it’ll be fine.” She glanced at her watch. “Actually, do you want to go take a walk? You shouldn’t spend so much time in this windowless cubby.”

“You know I spend most of my time out in the store itself. And it is not that bad in here.” Or at least, she was usually too busy to notice how depressing the office was.

“Imagine if you were eight inches taller,” Lisa teased with her trademark smile. “Come on, humor me.”

“All right, okay.” Mira saved the spreadsheet and stood. “But if the owner happens to have spontaneously flown in from Brazil or wherever he is nowadays, you’ll have to tell him I put up much more of a fight.”

“Deal,” Lisa said, following her out.

Jordan glanced toward Kelsey to see if she was making any progress with the cashier. She seemed to have the young girl on board, or at the very least not objecting quite as vociferously as when they’d first come in. The store was otherwise empty, so it wasn’t like they were in anyone’s way at the moment.

He resettled his glasses on the bridge of his nose and squinted at the joint in front of him, then adjusted the angle.

“Oh, my goodness,” he heard Mira say.

Jordan shot up, nearly bumping into the robot. Her hair was pulled back today, revealing a dangling pair of sparkling earrings.

“What in the world is this?” she asked, looking more flabbergasted than impressed.

“He’s a—it’s a, well.” How had he forgotten all the words in the English language?

“How about you show her,” Lisa suggested with an amused smile.

“Right, yeah.” Jordan ran one hand through his hair, rounding his project, and flipped the power switch.

Lisa ushered Mira to a better viewing position. The robot—unimaginatively named “Jordan’s Book Robot 1”—came to life, reaching to his right to pick up a used book from the stack Jordan had provided. The left arm lifted the cover, gently opening the book. Light hit the top quarter of the inside cover, and Jordan snuck a glance at Mira, whose head had tilted slightly to one side as she watched JBR1’s progress. The light hit the final quarter of the right-hand page, and a delicately timed moment later, JBR1’s right “thumb” flipped the page, using the friction from a hidden wheel, and the left one lifted to clamp over the new page in a precise movement. The light sequence began again.
Perfect
.

“It’s…reading,” Mira commented, stepping closer.

“Cool,” the cashier said, joining them around the robot.

“Yeah. I thought he, well, or she, I guess, I thought this would be a good mascot, for your store,” Jordan explained.

Finally, Mira made eye contact with him. “You built this for the store?”

“With Lisa’s help,” Jordan told her.

“I think he built it for you,” Lisa said simultaneously.

“I thought, well, maybe you could focus on the idea that even a robot knows nothing can beat reading a real, physical book in your hands, like you said.”

“This is amazing.” Mira’s gaze fell back to JBR1, watching him “read.”

“He doesn’t process the information or anything. I mean, it’s just for show, but the stepper motor times the flip of the pages, and the cams work it so the lights show his progress down each page, so the visual is stronger, hopefully. And he’ll go through as many books as you give him, picking them up and setting them aside when he’s done. Oh, and the power source is rechargeable, of course, so you could just plug him right in.”

“I, wow, I really don’t know what to say,” Mira said breathlessly through a smile.

“Start with ‘thank you,’” Kelsey suggested.

“Oh, no, that’s fine,” Jordan started to say, but Mira cut him off.

“No, she’s right, sorry. Thank you. I can’t believe you built this, him.”

“It was fun,” Jordan said honestly. “The technology is pretty basic, compared to what’s out there nowadays, but designing it and getting the timing right, that was interesting. Plus,” he stepped toward to Mira, “I figured this might mean you don’t have to spend as much time coming up with marketing ideas, so we could maybe spend some more time together?” Hopefully his smile hid the nerves behind the question.