The Party Boy's Guide to Dating a Geek (Clumsy Cupids) (10 page)

Fee once the initial ice had been broken. Fee had

asked about the brightly colored tattoos that

decorated Ash's arms from shoulder to wrist. They

all meant something, from the opening notes to his

favorite Zeppelin song ("Kashmir"), to the cluster

of irises he'd gotten on his left upper-arm to honor

his cousin, who'd been named after the flowers and

died of leukemia when she was fifteen, and the

Byrne coat of arms, which took up most of his right

forearm and was a tribute to his ancestors and Irish

heritage. Fee listened to each story and said that he

was considering getting one someday, something to

represent his mother, who from the sound of his

voice, he clearly adored.

"I could design something for you if you

wanted," Ash offered.

Fee looked startled for a moment. "Really?"

"Of course. That's probably my favorite part of

the process, actually. I love it when people come

in with only a vague idea of what they want. It

gives me a bit of artistic freedom, while still

forcing me to work within the confines of
their

vision, you know? It's a challenge."

Fee nodded. "Yeah, I can see that."

Ash grinned at him. "I'd be happy to come up

with a few different designs. Just say when."

"I'd like that." Fee smiled shyly. "I'll let you

know."

4.4

Before Ash was entirely ready for the night to

be over, Fee was dropping him off. Ash couldn't

help the flicker of disappointment that ran through

him when Fee pulled to a stop in front of his

apartment building. The day had gone unexpectedly

well—way better than he'd even hoped—and he

was a little sad to see it come to an end.

"Thanks so much," he said as Fee opened the

trunk and withdrew the box that contained Ash's

new tablet. It wasn't top of the line, but if it could

do half the things Fee had told him about at the

store, Ash would be thrilled. They'd decided over

dinner that Fee would take the parts for the system

back to his place and build it there. "I really

appreciate this."

"It was no problem at all." Fee slammed the

trunk shut and leaned a hip against the car. "I'll

have your system ready within the next few days,

unless you need it before then."

Ash shook his head. "No, it's cool. I have my

old laptop and the tablet for now. Whenever is

good for you. Just text me when you want to make

plans to bring it over."

"Sure." After a moment's hesitation, Fee added,

"Well, thanks for dinner. I had a good time." He bit

his lip, and for a few seconds, it seemed like he

would say something else, but then he lifted his

hand in a wave and went back to the driver side

door.

"Good night," Ash called as Fee ducked inside.

Ash watched him drive away, but once Fee's car

had disappeared around the corner, he turned to

head inside. His neighborhood wasn't the worst in

Chicago by far, but there was no point in tempting

fate by standing around with something as valuable

as his tablet after dark. People had been mugged in

the area for a lot less.

The apartment was quiet when he entered,

which wasn't surprising. Jae was never home this

early. Carley normally would have been, but he

often had dinner with clients, so it wasn't unusual

to find him gone, too.

Ash exchanged his jeans and slim-fitting V-neck

for a faded Smashing Pumpkins T-shirt and a pair

of navy blue sweatpants and slumped down onto

his couch to open up the tablet. Naturally, he

tossed the directions aside and just started the

thing right up. He could figure it out as he went

along, and if he couldn't, well, he had the perfect

excuse to contact Fee, didn't he?

It made Ash almost ridiculously happy that he

would have an actual, valid excuse to reach out to

Fee without worrying about looking like some kind

of stalker. If the rest of it had to come slowly, so

be it. One thing Ash was certain of—whether or

not Fee was ready to admit it, he wanted Ash just

as much as Ash wanted him.

Chapter Five

(SKY)RIMMING A DRAGON IN

THE DUNGEON

Your geek may be into RPGs (role playing games). Now,

before you run off to get your Naughty School Boy

uniform, hold on. Role Playing means something very

different to you than it does to him. His RPGs or

MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing

games) will probably involve video games, headsets, and

a lot of yelling at strangers connected over a WAN (wide-

area network). There is also the possibility that his role

playing could involve wizards, dragons, or other fantasy

creatures. The kids wearing tights and having Nerf-sword

battles in the park may be your very geek enjoying his

own brand of role playing. Try to be understanding if his

look is vastly different from one day to the next. He and

his online buddies may be meeting up for some game

play. Given his lack of socialization, it is unlikely these

meet-ups will turn sexual in nature, so your relationship

with him is probably safe. If you are willing to take the

extra step, join him, he may take a saving throw. (Yes, the

die is supposed to have twelve sides; just go with it.)

5.1

"Check this out," Ash said, turning the tablet

around for Ty to see. He was still getting used to

drawing on it, but it definitely beat having to carry

around a pad and pencils all the time in case

inspiration struck. It was worth the investment.

Even with the new desktop, which Fee had

dropped off a couple days before, Ash liked

having something portable. "I can upload it and

print it out. We can get better stencils from it."

"Yeah, Ash. I know. I understood the first three

times you showed it to me, too."

"Sorry. It's just so cool."

"You've been doodling on that thing for an hour

now."

"Just getting the shading right."

"What you should be getting is the broom, or

Tank's going to have your ass when he gets back."

"Crap."

"That's about the size of it. You're lucky we've

been slow."

Ash chuckled. "If we'd been busy, I wouldn't

have even had time to dig it out of my bag."

"If you don't get those tools sterilized, Tank'll

fire your sorry ass."

Ash let out an exaggerated sigh and set the tablet

down. "Fine," he said as he lumbered to the back

to get the broom.

"Brat." Ty smacked Ash on the ass as he walked

by.

After he'd cleaned every surface, mopped the

floor, and updated the portfolios with the newest

printouts, Ash checked the clock. Tank had been

back for fifteen minutes, and it was still a half hour

until the evening rush. Plenty of time for Fee to

have gotten home from work and settled down for

the night.

"Tank, I'm going to take five." He waited for

Tank to nod before asking Ty to watch the counter

for a few minutes.

"Use the air freshener when you're done," Ty

said.

"Very funny. I'm just making a call," Ash said,

pulling out his phone as he walked away.

"Who are you calling that you can't do it from

here?"

"Uh, Fee?"

"The asshole?"

"He's not an asshole."

"How cute. After one date you're defending

him."

"It wasn't a date. He offered his expertise in an

area where I needed it."

"That's a lot of words to say 'date'."

Ash glared, but he could feel it came off as more

of a pout. "It wasn't a date."

"Whatever, dude. Go. Make your call."

Ash went to the storeroom-slash-office and shut

the door. He took a deep breath and closed his

eyes. "It's not a date. It's just hanging out. Come on,

Ash. You can do this," he mumbled, trying to psych

himself up to call Fee. "This is nuts." He opened

his eyes and dialed the number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Fee. How's it going?" he asked a lot more

casually then he felt.

"Ash?"

"Yeah." Ash's cheeks were burning. He shook

his head at himself. He was usually so cool and

collected around other hot guys. Something about

Fee leveled him to a gawky teenager too nervous

to even think clearly.

"What's up? Is there a problem with your

system?"

"No, everything's fine. I was just calling to thank

you again."

"No problem. I'm glad I could help you."

"Well, how about you let me buy you a drink to

show my appreciation."

"I don't know," Fee said.

"Just to hang out," Ash quickly added.

"Well," Fee said, and by the way he drew the

word out, Ash knew he had him.

"Come on. It'll be fun. I promise."

"The Ashley Byrne guarantee?" Fee asked with

a laugh.

Ash smiled even though he knew Fee couldn't

see it. "Your money back if you're not satisfied."

"I really shouldn't."

"You should. I insist. I owe you one."

Fee sighed. "Okay."

Ash smiled and pumped his fist in the air. He

turned around to find Tank standing in the

doorway, his head tilted and one eyebrow arched.

Ash ran his still-raised hand over his hair. "Deli's?

Delusions of Grandeur? Friday night?"

"Friday?" Fee's voice squeaked. "I don't know.

It's going to be packed, isn't it?"

"Don't worry. Me and a few of my friends will

get a table so we'll be away from the crowd." Ash

bit on his lip, waiting for Fee's answer. He knew

going out to a club on a Friday night might be too

much for a shy geek. Ash hoped he hadn't spooked

him.

After what seemed like forever, Fee sighed.

"Friday night. Delusions of Grandeur. What time?"

Ash smiled. "Can you hang on a sec?"

"Sure."

Ash covered the mouthpiece and turned to the

desk where Tank was working on his paperwork.

"Any way I can work a split on Friday? The

afternoon, then come back for closing?"

Tank's face didn't show any emotion as he stared

at Ash. "Fine. Be back here by midnight, and if

you're drunk, you're fired."

"No problem." Ash lifted the phone back to his

face. "How about eight?" Given how introverted

Fee was, Ash doubted he'd lure Fee out with the

late-night after party crowd he usually hung out

with.

"Eight's good. I'll see you there."

"Great. I look forward to it." Fee hung up and

Ash grinned at the phone. "Thanks, boss."

"Midnight, Cinderfella."

Ash laughed and went back to his counter, just

managing not to skip through the shop.

5.2

Ash checked the time on his phone again and

had to swallow a sigh. Fee was forty minutes late

and Ash was frustrated. Not that he could let

Carley know, of course. Fee already had so many

tick marks against him in Carley's book, Ash's last

ex was starting to look good by comparison.

"So tell me again why we're here for the early-

bird special," Carley said, adding to Ash's

irritation.

Ash glanced at the crowd on the dance floor,

checking to see if Fee had made it in yet. The club

was only half-f that early, and Fee definitely

would have stood out in the group of regulars. "I

want you guys to meet him," he said. Not that that

was working out too well for him. Jae had been

called into the restaurant at the last minute because

some other cook's car was somehow 'disabled'.

Ash suspected it had been booted by the police for

not paying his tickets. It was probably just sitting

in front of the guy's apartment building. Ty was

still at the shop working on a back piece. He said

he'd come by if he finished, but Ash didn't expect

him to show up either.

"I got that." Carley rolled his eyes. "But why so

early? It's practically daylight out there." He

looked around, but the only window was the one in

the door, and that was covered with black paint.

"What, you become a vampire and not tell

anyone? Sorry to intrude on everyone's life for

this."