The Party Boy's Guide to Dating a Geek (Clumsy Cupids) (13 page)

angled bangs out of his left eye. Ash watched as

they fell back into place, lying as if they'd never

even been touched. For a second, he was annoyed

enough to want to reach across the table and ruffle

the hell out of Carley's hair just to piss him off.

"Ash, I'm not trying to be a downer. Really. But

you and I were both there when the guy practically

bolted from the club.
After
a cheek kiss."

"So what?" Ash grumbled.

"That's a friend kiss, baby." Carley leaned back

in his seat with his coffee cup cradled between his

hands. "Besides, you guys are so different. He is

not of your little club-hopping, sex, drugs, and

bathroom blowjob world, okay?"

Ash stared at him, stung. "Damn. That's kind of

harsh, don't you think? Yeah, I like to go out, but

that's not all I do. It's not all I am."

Carley looked at him seriously. "Ash, I've

known you a long time, and in that time, the nights

when you were out clubbing far, far outnumber the

nights you spent at home. I'm not saying there's

anything wrong with that. I like to party, too. We

all do. But as much as I hate to use the cliché, you

and Fee are like black and white. I really do think

he tried for you tonight—honestly, I do—but I don't

think it's going to happen."

"But he did try," Ash pointed out. "You just

contradicted your whole argument. He tried. Why

would he do that if there wasn't any interest at all?

And he did build me that sweet ass computer."

"That's what he does for a living," Carley said.

"It's called being nice."

Jae, who had been listening to their

conversation in silence while he sipped his coffee,

set his cup down with a thoughtful look. "Both of

you might be right. There's only one way for you to

find out for sure, Ash. Back off. Maybe email him,

or text, say you had a good time, whatever. Then

leave him alone and see what happens. If he's

interested, he'll make the next move."

Carley nodded. "I agree."

Ash frowned down at his mug. Give up the

chase right when it seemed like Fee might finally

be starting to bend a little? He hated the idea. But

what if Carley was right? What if all Fee wanted

was friendship, if he wanted anything at all, and

Ash was just being a pushy bastard? He hated the

idea of that even more. "Yeah," he said finally,

leaning back when Marge appeared to deliver their

food. "Guess we'll see what happens."

6.2

The next morning he felt miserable. Taking Jae's

advice, Ash sent Fee an email thanking him for

coming out and saying he hoped Fee had a good

time. He kept it short and simple, only a couple of

lines, nothing suggestive, no invitations, no

pressure for anything more. Then he got dressed

and left for work and tried not to watch his phone

like a hawk the whole day through.

It didn't work. Anytime his phone buzzed, he

jumped, hoping for a response from Fee and

feeling disappointed time after time. It went on that

same way the following day and the one after that.

By the morning of day four, Ash had resigned

himself to the fact that Carley and Jae were right.

He didn't like it, but what could he do? Fee's

silence spoke volumes, and Ash had no choice but

to gracefully concede defeat. Thick-headed as Ash

might often be, he actually
could
take a hint.

And he was okay with it. After all, what did it

matter if they were over when they'd never even

gotten started in the first place? It didn't. End of

story.

Except Ash couldn't stop thinking about it. He

managed to push Fee and the entire situation out of

his head long enough to concentrate on designing

and inking a shoulder tat under Tank's watchful

eye, but after that … well, he went right back to

thinking about it. God, he was such a putz. Capital

P.

He was trudging the last couple of blocks home

after helping Ty close up the shop when his phone

buzzed. He ignored it at first, not rushing to check

it as he had been over the last few days—until it

happened again, and he realized he was getting an

actual call. Startled, Ash started digging around in

his pocket for his cell. Most of his friends were

texters, so he didn't get calls very often. When he

did, it was usually his parents or his brother, but

no one in his family would have been calling him

after 1AM.

Finally, Ash managed to drag the phone from his

pocket—damn those tight-ass skinny jeans anyway

—and then he almost dropped the thing in surprise

when he saw the name on the screen:
Fee.

Ash hurriedly slid his thumb across the bottom

of the screen to answer the call and lifted the

phone to his ear. "Hello?" he said, sounding a little

breathless from the sudden surge in his heart rate.

"Ash?" Fee's voice was soft, tentative. "Sorry, I

… I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No. No, I was just on my way home from the

shop, actually."

"I apologize for calling so late," Fee murmured.

"I would have waited until morning, but I thought

that might not be enough notice."

"It's okay," Ash said, his brows drawing

together in confusion. "Don't worry about it."

"There's a museum exhibit in town that I've been

wanting to see. I haven't had time before now, but

this is the last week before it moves on to Boston. I

know it's last minute, but I was wondering …

would you like to go see it with me?"

Ash would've liked to have said he hesitated,

that he took even a second to think it over after not

hearing from Fee for days on end, but his mouth

was already agreeing before his brain caught up.

"Yes!" he burst out. His cheeks went pink almost

immediately, and he spared a moment to be

grateful Fee wasn't there to see it. "I mean, yeah.

That sounds cool. I'm off tomorrow."

"Great," Fee said, and even though it was

probably at his expense, Ash was happy to hear the

obvious smile in his tone. "Would you like to get

some breakfast first? I can pick you up at eight, and

we can stop somewhere."

"Sure."

"Great," Fee repeated, and it was Ash's turn to

smile. "So, I'll see you in the morning then. Good

night."

"Yeah. See you then. Night." Ash disconnected,

locked his screen, and shoved his phone back into

his pocket, his grin broadening. Fee's call had

come out of nowhere, and Ash was undoubtedly

surprised by both the call and the invitation, but he

was also excited. Fee's contacting him lent some

plausibility to his theory that Fee was at least

mildly interested. Why else would he have called?

Ash still wondered why exactly it had taken Fee so

long, but that was something he could mull over

later. Right then he was too pumped to think about

it.

He did feel kind of ridiculous for being so

happy about an invitation to a museum, though. Ash

couldn't even remember the last time he'd gone to

one. Back in high school maybe, and he was pretty

sure it had been The Art Institute. Ash doubted that

was where he and Fee would be going. Fee didn't

really strike him as the artistic type. It would

probably be the Field Museum or possibly the

Shedd. Ash didn't really care as long as he got to

spend some alone time with Fee. True, he

would've preferred that alone time to happen in the

privacy of his bedroom, but at this point, he wasn't

about to be particular.

If Fee
was
attracted to him, they would get to

that point eventually. He hoped. Patience was a

virtue and all that other crap. Not one he possessed

much of outside of when he was tattooing, granted,

but he could work on that.

Baby steps, Ash
, he told himself as he reached

his apartment building and started inside
. Baby

steps.

6.3

The next morning, Fee was there exactly on

time. Ash felt a little flicker of guilt for being glad

that Carley had already left for work and Jae was

still asleep, but he didn't want to have to deal with

their questions until he actually had some answers.

Speculating hadn't gotten him anywhere, and it was

exhausting besides. He hoped by the end of the day

he'd know how Fee felt, one way or the other. He'd

been so sure before, at least of the physical

attraction, but he'd never dealt with someone who

might be sexually attracted to him, yet still fighting

the pull. Most people he knew were all about

instant gratification. When desire was mutual, why

fight it? But he supposed that was a rather shallow

way to look at things, wasn't it?

Fee greeted him with a shy smile when Ash slid

into the passenger seat. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," Ash returned. For only the

second time since Ash had met him, Fee was

wearing something other than a geeky, pun-

emblazoned graphic tee and baggy jeans. Instead,

he wore slim, dark-washed jeans and a rust-

colored, linen button-up that did amazing things for

his brown eyes and olive skin tone. He looked

sexy as hell, especially with his hair a little messy

and still damp from a recent shower and those

dark, thick-rimmed glasses framing his face. Ash

had never been a fan before, but on Fee, they

worked. Definitely worked. So much that if they

ever got around to having sex, Ash would probably

insist that Fee keep them on.

"Any place in particular you want to go?" Fee

asked as he pulled away from the curb.

"Well, there's Leroy's over by the shop, but I'm

good with wherever you want to go. It's hard to

mess up breakfast food, right?"

"True." Fee looked thoughtful for a moment.

"You know, I think I've been to Leroy's once, if I'm

remembering right. Red vinyl seats? Great

coffee?"

Ash grinned and nodded. "Yep. That's the

place."

"Let's go there then."

Leroy's seemed different during the day, more

hustle and bustle and less chill than Ash was used

to, but the coffee was amazing, as always, and the

food hot and delicious. He and Fee chatted for a

bit, mainly about work, the unbearable heat wave

that had descended on Chicago a few days before,

and a couple of upcoming albums they were both

looking forward to. Nothing serious or deep, but it

was comfortable, easy. Ash didn't bring up the

question weighing most heavily on his mind

because he wanted to keep it that way.

When they finished their food, they didn't linger.

Twenty minutes later Fee pulled his Jetta into the

Museum of Science and Industry's underground

parking garage. Ash grinned and shook his head at

himself, unsurprised but feeling slow for not

having guessed earlier. Of course this was the

museum Fee wanted to visit. Of course.

"What are you thinking?" Fee asked suddenly.

He'd just turned into a spot and cut the engine

before glancing sideways at Ash.

Ash looked over at him, still grinning. "I was

just thinking I should have known this was where

you would bring me."

Fee's expression changed from curiosity to

uncertainty. He chewed his lip for a second. "You

don't like it?"

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant," Ash said in a

rush, wanting to reassure him. "I've actually never

been. I just … I was thinking the Shedd or the

Field Museum at first, but this seems more your

style. I'm excited to check it out."

Relief washed over Fee's features, and he gave

Ash a hesitant smile. "I love this place. My mom

brought me here all the time when I was a kid. She

made it into a tradition. Coming here is what

sparked my interest in science and techy stuff. I

don't know if I'd even be in IT without this place

and my mom's encouragement."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. I actually wanted to be a pilot when I

was really young, thought I would go into the

Marines like my father. Make him proud. But then,

when I was fourteen, my mom bought me my first

iMac, and well … it was love, you know?"