Worth the Wait (Sexy Nerd Boys #1) (6 page)

Ethan

              I saunter into Abby and Lee’s apartment just after six o’clock, looking forward to having dinner with Abby like we’ve been doing for the past week.

              “Hey Bro,” Lee nods at me from the couch where she’s eating a sandwich and watching some bridal show. I don’t get how she watches that shit.

              “Where’s Red?” I ask, trying to keep too much disappointment from my voice. Lee narrows her eyes at me suspiciously. Clearly I’m not fooling her.

              “She’s at the gym. She does kickboxing and teaches a women’s self-defense class on Wednesday nights.” My mouth falls open in shock.

              “Are you kidding me?”

              “No, why?” Lee barely takes her eyes off of the television.

              “This I’ve got to see.”

I enter the gym and look around to see if I can spot Abby. My eyes fall on her quickly, she’s not exactly easy to miss. She’s in the corner beating the shit out of a punching bag.

Her long, auburn hair is pulled up into a messy ponytail, sweat is dripping down her face and body. She’s wearing a sports tank top that is clinging to her body in a ridiculously enticing way and her spandex pants are no better. I should probably see a therapist because I’m getting a massive hard on watching a girl kick the shit out of a punching bag. Her face is raw with emotion, her green eyes alight with unbridled rage. I can’t help but wonder who did this to her and if it has anything to do with the way she flinches away from being touched.

“Can I help you sir?” A middle aged man approaches me and asks. I pull my gaze away from Abby briefly and notice the man is staring me down with dislike. He must’ve seen the way I was looking at her.

“No, I found who I was looking for,” I nod in Abby’s direction and make a move to go toward her.

His hand reaches out and rests on my shoulder.

“A word of advice son. You don’t want to mess with that girl, she’ll eat you for breakfast,” He warns.

I let out a laugh.

“Yeah, I know,” I assure him, completely undeterred. I shrug off his hand and head towards Abby.

“Damn Red,” I say with a low whistle as I approach her.

She stops her assault on the bag and whips around to look at me, her mouth falling open in shock.

“What are you doing here?” She asks in surprise.

I shrug, not wanting to admit that when Lee told me Abby did kickboxing, and was at the gym right now, I couldn’t resist coming to see for myself.

“I got hungry and you weren’t at home cooking dinner,” I answer teasingly.

“Okay, bye.”  She waves her hands in a ‘shoo’ motion and turns back to her punching bag.

I don’t budge. After a few more minutes of taking her rage out on the bag she stops and turns to face me again.

“Can I help you with something?” She asks with annoyance.

“No, I’m just impressed,” I tell her honestly.

She stares at me for several seconds, clearly at a loss for words, which puts a smirk on my lips.

“And, honestly wondering how you could be so shit at rock climbing when you clearly know how to control your body.”

She gives me the finger in response and I laugh. I look down at her full pink lips and wonder just how badly she would kick my ass if I kissed her.
Whoa.
That thought did not belong in my head. Rule number one: no kissing.

Damn I need to get my head on straight. A strand of her hair falls into her face and I reach forward to tuck it behind her ear. She flinches and then swats my hand away before doing it herself. I tuck my hands into my pockets sheepishly, afraid if I don’t I’m going to try to touch her again and then I might be leaving here in a body bag.

“You do realize that you are a complete enigma don’t you?” I ask in amusement.

“How so?” She challenges.

“You don’t like to be touched and yet you love to cuddle. You are insecure and yet you can obviously kick major ass. And, you’re all prickly like a cactus but there’s this softness on the inside dying to be let free.”

She rolls her eyes at my explanation.

“I’ve got a self-defense class to teach,” She says and tries to skirt around me.

My eyebrows go up in surprise.

“Okay, I guess I’ll see you later, Red.” Something passes through her emerald eyes that almost looks like disappointment.

“Want to come over later and watch Doctor Who tonight?” She asks suddenly.

“It’s a date,” I agree.

Abby

              “Hey, don’t hog the popcorn.” I demand as Ethan holds the bowl just out of my reach with a playful smile.

              “You’ll have to ask nicely, Red.” He instructs in a sing song voice.

              “Give me the damn popcorn.” I gripe and try to climb over him to grab the bowl.

He leans back and holds it out of reach.

              “That wasn’t nice sweetheart, try again. This time without profanity.” Ethan’s eyes connect with mine. Suddenly, I’m aware of the fact that I’m pressed against him, our faces mere inches apart, in my attempt to get the popcorn. I search for the telltale signs of panic in my body from the contact and find none. He’s not grabbing me or forcing me to touch him, and I like the way it feels to have his body so close. His eyes fall on my lips and I get the feeling that he’s about to kiss me. This was probably his plan all along. And, part of me wants to let him. Maybe it would feel nice. Maybe I would actually like it. Maybe sex doesn’t have to be the stuff of nightmares.

              “Ahem.” I jump at the sudden sound. Lee is standing in the hallway to the living room looking between Ethan and me suspiciously. She glares at Ethan like she’s trying to communicate something to him through her eyes.

              “Um...maybe I’ll make another bowl of popcorn” He jumps up and makes his way to the kitchen.

              “Wow that was some death glare you gave him. You’ll have to teach me so I can get him to scamper away like that, too.” I joke.

Lee's eyes soften and she plops down next to me on the couch.

              “You guys have been spending a lot of time together the past few weeks. It seems like he comes over every night to see you.” There isn’t a question at all but the implication is clear. ‘What’s going on between the two of you?’

              “Yeah, we’re just friends Lee. It’s totally innocent.”

              Lee doesn’t look convinced.

              “You said yourself, he only does one night stands. If we had sex he wouldn’t be over here, right?”

              “That’s true.” Lee agrees. Her phone buzzes and she looks down to read a text.

              “How’s Nikki?” I ask in a would-be causal tone.

              “Fine, we should all hang out soon. Nikki and her sister can come over. You should get to know them. They’re really cool.”

              “Sounds good.” I agree.

              Ethan returns with a second bowl of popcorn and looks between Lee and the TV.

              “We’re watching the Lord of the Rings Lee, not really your kind of movie.”

              “Alright, I’m out of here. But you two kids keep it clean.” Lee winks at her brother as she disappears back into her bedroom.

Ethan

              I’m rousted from an absolutely fantastic dream of licking whipped cream off of Abby’s tits. I grumble angrily at Lee for loudly banging dishes around in my kitchen. I adjust my morning wood and stumble out of my room. I stop short when I see it isn’t Lee in my kitchen.

Abby is there in a pair of yoga pants and a loose fitting V-neck shirt that shows off a generous amount of cleavage. I can’t help but stare for an ungodly amount of time.

“Eyes front soldier,”  She snaps when she notices my gaze trained on her cleavage.

“Sorry,” I mumble with a yawn. “What are you doing?”

“Making breakfast and then I have a surprise for you. But, the thing is you need to go pack a bag for the weekend and not ask any questions because it’ll ruin the surprise.” She instructs.

“What?” I shake my messy hair out of my eyes, trying to clear the sleep fog from my brain. It almost sounded like Abby said she and I are going away together for the weekend.

“Please,” She shoots me those damn puppy dog eyes that I can’t say no to.

I grumble as I head back to my room to pack a bag. I want to ask if she and I are going somewhere alone for the weekend or if this is a group getaway with all of the girls plus me. The idea of it just being Abby and me twists my insides into excited knots.

I throw a few handfuls of clothes into my duffel bag and head back out to the kitchen. There’s a large stack of pancakes on the table. Abby sets a bottle of syrup out as well. A drip of syrup lingers on her finger from the cap and she brings her finger to her mouth to lick the offending syrup off. Dear god that is what wet dreams are made of.

To say that over the past few weeks I’ve become obsessed with Abby’s lips would be an understatement. I’ve never been tempted to break my strict ‘no kissing’ rule before, but with Abby...oh Abby. Some days all I can think about is that mouth; what would it taste like to kiss her? What do her lips feel like? Or my favorite; what is she going to say next and is it going to be funny, scathing, nerdy, or unintentionally sexy. I’m like a drug addict.

“Are you going to eat or just watch me eat?” She asks snapping me out of my fantasy about her mesmerizing mouth.

I fake a cough to cover my laugh and dig into my pancakes.

Abby

              “Are we there yet?” Ethan whines from the passenger seat.

              “My god you are such a child,” I gripe.

              “We’ve been in this car forever.”

              “We’ve been in the car for two hours. We still have three hours to go so relax and enjoy the scenery. We can play a game,” I suggest.

              “Or, we could talk and find out each other’s deepest secrets and dreams,” He jokes.

I try to shrug nonchalantly. I’ll tell him my dreams but he’s finding out about my secrets over my dead body.

“Okay, tell me about your childhood.”

“It sucked. Lee was the only thing that kept me sane. My parents are crazy and we got the hell out of there as soon as we could,” He says matter of factly.

“So I take it you’re not very religious then?”

“Hell no. How about your childhood?” He asks. I tense and keep my gaze firmly on the road.

“Sucked,” I respond.

He waits for elaboration but I don’t give him any.

“Alright, so we have shitty childhoods, let’s scratch that subject. How about the future? Do you think you’ll ever get married? Have kids?”

“I don’t know. I’m currently working on feeling comfortable with a man even touching me so I think that any plans for a husband and kids are probably a pipe dream.” I let out a self-deprecating laugh.

“You’ve slowly gotten comfortable with me touching you. So hope is not lost,” He points out in an optimistic manner.  

“That’s because you haven’t tried to rape me,” I say in a forced joking tone. As soon as the words are out of my mouth I wish I could put them back in. There’s a palpable shift in the energy in the car.

“What does that mean?” He asks carefully.

“Nothing, just a joke in poor taste,” I lie and force a smile.

I can feel his questioning gaze lingering on me. I hold my breath hoping he doesn’t press for more answers.

We pass the ‘Welcome to Texas’ sign and thank baby Jesus Ethan is distracted from my awkward comment. He furrows his brow, no doubt trying to figure out what we would be doing in Texas. Then his eyes light up as he realizes what the surprise is.

“Are we going to the Doctor Who convention?” He asks excitedly.

I nod enthusiastically.

“That’s so cool, I’ve always wanted to go to Who Con!” He’s like a kid on Christmas. Then his face falls. “I kind of wish I could’ve planned a costume though.”

“Well, I did plan costumes for us, I hope that’s not weird.” I blush at the sudden realization that it might have been presumptuous to plan his costume.

“As long as you didn’t pack me a skirt it’s fine,” He laughs.

“Oh man, now I wish I’d packed you a skirt.” I suddenly picture Ethan’s large, masculine frame shoved into a skirt and I snort out a laugh.

“So what are we dressing up as?”

I blush again as I think about the fact that I planned us a couples costume without really thinking about the fact that it might send some sort of message, like I have a creepy crush on him or something.

“Stop blushing and just tell me.”

“I’m Amy Pond and you are Rory as the Last Centurion,” I admit.

He’s quiet for a second and I chance a look over at him. He has a goofy smile playing on his lips that makes my stomach flip for some reason.

“Sounds good,” He clears his throat and shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “What made you pick that?”

“I just figured that with the red hair I’m sort of obligated to be Amy Pond. I thought it made sense to do costumes that kind of go together. And. the best way to be Rory is to be the Last Centurion. Rory the Roman is kind of a classic,” I explain awkwardly. Ugh, my stupidity is showing.

“Not that I believe in love or anything, but I always thought when Rory waited for 2000 years for Amy just to protect her, that’s pretty much the definition of love.” He admits. My frozen heart melts a little at his words. Who would have thought that the pervy womanizer would have such a romantic side?

“Maybe one day you’ll find a girl who’s worth the wait.” I feel his gaze on me when I say this. It lingers on my face for several moments before he clears his throat again.

“Maybe,” He says vaguely.

Ethan

We stop at a Motel 6 for the night to get some sleep before the Con tomorrow.

“Oh, crap,” Abby mutters as she steps into the room ahead of me. I crane my neck to see around her and immediately see what caused her pause. There’s only one bed.

“I said two beds. Let’s go back down and get a different room.” She complains, turning to leave the room.

I grab her arm to stop her. She tenses and inhales sharply at my grasp. I let her go immediately and can’t help but wonder about that ‘rape’ comment from earlier. A ball of lead forms in my stomach at the thought of someone hurting her.

“It’s not a big deal. We’ve fallen asleep cuddling on the couch, what’s the difference?” I argue.

She chews her bottom lip and looks between the bed and the door several times.

“I promise not to try anything,” I assure her with a laugh. This seems to make her feel better.

“Alright, but I swear if you try to grope me in my sleep or something I’m going to cut your balls off and feed them to you,” She threatens.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have such a way with words?” I tease, tossing both of our bags onto the floor by the bed. She gives me the finger to show her appreciation of my sarcasm and then she perches on the edge of the bed and pulls off her shoes.

“I’m hungry, you want to order a pizza?” She suggests.

“Pizza works for me,” I agree.

She pulls out her phone and places an order online and then reaches for her duffle bag and pulls out the box that she keeps under her bed at home.

“Never leave home without my pot stash,” She says when she catches me watching her.

“So is your costume for tomorrow over the top sexy like most girls like to wear when they dress up? Like Amy Pond if she were a stripper?” I ask, part of me hoping that it is so I can ogle her like a perv. There’s something wrong with me.

“You wish,” She retorts.

She has no idea how true that is.

“You know, it wouldn’t kill you to show a little skin,” I tease as I tug on the leg of her pants playfully.

She passes me the joint she just rolled and a lighter.

“Trust me, no one wants to see that,” She says glumly.

Is she crazy? Does she not see the way she turns heads everywhere she goes? Or how I practically drool all over her like a Neanderthal?

“Do not tell me you’re one of those girls who’s all ‘oh my legs are so fat’,” I mock in a high falsetto.

“No…” She takes the joint back from me forcefully to take a toke.

I wait patiently for her to elaborate, but she doesn’t. That seems to be her go to defense mechanism when she doesn’t want to talk about something.

“Good, because you’re fucking hot.”

Oh shit, I probably shouldn’t have said that. I blame the drugs.

“Hey, I told you before, no charm. That shit doesn’t work on me,” She warns, but I see a distinct smile playing at the corners of her lips.

“I wasn’t trying to charm you, just stating an objective fact. And, the fact is you are every guys, and probably many girls, wet dream.”

“Oh yeah, are you saying you’ve had dirty dreams about me?” She inquires.

Her voice is free of her usual combative tone, in fact it almost sounds like she’s flirting with me. I take a deep toke and hold the smoke in my lungs until it starts to burn, using this time to decide how to respond. Does she really want to know that I’m developing a preoccupation with her on a much more than friendly level?

She continues to stare at me waiting for an answer. I open my mouth to say...I’m actually not even sure what I’m going to say. And, I’m saved by the bell. Or the knock rather.

“That was quick,” I comment as I hop off the bed to answer the door. The teenage delivery boy looks between Abby and I and gets a face full of smoke from the room and winks at me. I laugh and pull out $10 to tip him.

I place the pizza box on the bed between us and we both dig in.

Abby

Lee: so should I be freaked out that you and my brother are away...alone together, for the weekend?

I chuckle at Lee's text message. She must have just gotten home and found the note I left on the fridge simply saying ‘Ethan and I are going to Texas, see you Sunday night’.

“What’s so funny?” Ethan asks through a mouthful of pizza.

“Lee just got the note I left for her. She’s worried that we’re alone together. But I don’t know if she’s worried that I’m going to kill you or that you’re going to fuck me.”

Abby: It’s all good, we’re just doing some nerdy shit you wouldn’t have been in to

Lee: Alright, just remember...don’t be a fool wrap his tool

Abby: Lol, ew. so not going there

Lee: Ok, but if you do...don’t be silly, protect his willy

Abby: seriously stop

Lee: I’m done now, but seriously...it’ll be sweeter if he wraps his peter.

I can’t stop laughing as Ethan takes my phone out of my hand to read the text’s Lee sent me.

“She is such a freak sometimes,” Ethan says with a fond smile and a shake of his head.

“I think it must be genetic,” I tease.

“You wound me.” Ethan covers his heart with mock hurt. He reaches for another slice of pizza and our hands touch. I tense involuntarily. He furrows his brow at the instinctive movement.

“Sorry, it’s not you,” I assure him bashfully.

“That’s good to know. You’re kind of a mystery to me the way you crave physical affection one minute and flinch at a small touch the next.”

“I know, it’s just...I have baggage,” I say with a shrug.

He waits for me to elaborate and when I don’t he lets out a frustrated huff.

“You can trust me. You can talk to me.”

“I don’t know what to say. My last boyfriend, he wasn’t so nice to me,” I try to play it off casually but Ethan’s eyes darken.

“He hurt you?” His voice is tense.

I shrug with feigned indifference.

“Where is he now?”

“Dead,” I answer simply.

“I’m sorry,” Ethan’s words are clearly more reflex than genuine because he still has a scowl on his face.   

“I’m not,” I reply honestly. “Now can we drop this subject already?”

“Sure,” Ethan nods and we both lapse into silence.