The Party Boy's Guide to Dating a Geek (Clumsy Cupids) (14 page)

Ash nodded. "Yeah, I get that. I guess it was the

same way for me when I got my first sketchpad,

and then later when I discovered tattoos." He

paused for a moment, unsure if he should ask his

next question, but nosiness eventually won out.

"Why did you change your mind about the

Marines? You could have still done IT stuff for

them, right? I bet they would've loved to have

someone as smart as you."

Fee's expression shuttered. He turned back to

the steering wheel without answering and pulled

his keys from the ignition. "Let's go inside."

Before Ash could react, Fee was out of the car

and walking away. Cursing under his breath, Ash

unbuckled his seatbelt and rushed to catch up with

him. "Hey, wait up, man. It's cool if you don't want

to answer, okay? I wasn't trying to push. You don't

have to take off on me."

Fee sighed and slowed his steps. "I'm sorry. It's

a touchy subject. I don't even know why I

mentioned it."

"It's all right."

Fee shook his head and stopped mid-step. "It

isn't. I was rude, and I apologize."

Ash halted beside him. "Fee—"

"Look," Fee said with a sigh. "Let's just say

when I was fifteen I realized some things about

myself and figured out I wasn't meant to be a

soldier. The Marines were all my father ever

talked about. He felt like he was robbed of his

glory days, you see. He got injured in Desert Storm

when I was five. His knee had to be completely

rebuilt, but after months of physical therapy and

dozens of complications, he was eventually

discharged. He was only twenty-six at the time. He

wanted a son he could live through vicariously,

someone he could brag about to his family and

friends. What he got instead was me, and he's been

angry about it ever since."

"That sucks," Ash said. It didn't seem adequate,

nowhere near, but he wasn't sure what else to say.

"I'm sorry."

Fee moved his shoulders in what Ash assumed

was supposed to be a casual shrug, but it just came

off as stiff. "It does suck, but I've had a lifetime to

get used to it."

They were silent for a moment, standing

awkwardly next to the last car in their row. Even

in the dim lighting of the garage Ash could see the

tension that bracketed Fee's mouth. He wanted to

reach out and smooth those lines away. He resisted

the urge—barely—and settled for laying a

comforting hand on Fee's shoulder. "You know that

is his problem, right? My father isn't exactly

thrilled about my career choices either. Maybe it's

just a dad thing to give their sons grief."

Fee nodded and moved away from Ash's hand.

"Maybe it is."

He started walking again, and Ash followed,

restraining a sigh. They'd had such a good morning

so far, aside from the past few minutes. The

atmosphere had gone from comfortable to tense in

practically the blink of an eye. Ash just wanted to

be back where they were.
Dammit.

It took a while, but eventually things loosened

up. Fee hadn't been lying when he said he loved

the museum. He got happier and happier as they

moved from one exhibit to the next. Ash didn't

have much interest in most of what they looked at,

but he liked seeing Fee so animated. Even more

than that, he liked—no,
loved
—seeing Fee smile.

Frowning, he was gorgeous, but when he smiled,

Fee was so far beyond that, Ash couldn't quite put

it into words. It made his chest feel funny, though

—light and fluttery and maybe a little achy.

Ash didn't want to examine that sensation or

what it might mean too closely, so instead he

ignored it. Or tried to anyway. It got easier when

they reached the steampunk exhibit that Fee had

been looking forward to. Ash had to admit, it was

pretty cool. There were steam-powered devices of

all types, including antique motorcycles and cars,

and modern items that had been given steampunk

makeovers, like laptops and cell phones, TVs,

watches, guns, guitars, and even a few USB drives

and computer mice.

Ash couldn't even pretend to understand how

some of it might work, but from an aesthetic

standpoint, he loved it all. He took out his cell and

snapped pictures of the more visually interesting

pieces, his fingers itching for his tablet or even just

a sketchpad and his pencils. In his mind, he was

already putting together a few different tattoo

designs to add to his portfolio, one of which would

be a full-length sleeve that resembled the

clockwork arm he'd just seen with a few minor

tweaks and additions of his own.

"This is awesome," he murmured as he took

another shot of the arm from a different angle. "I

can't believe some of this stuff."

"It's amazing," Fee agreed. "I've been getting

into steampunk more and more lately. I'm glad I

found the time to come before they moved the

exhibit."

Ash nodded and grinned up at him. "Thanks for

bringing me. I would have totally missed it if it

wasn't for you."

Fee smiled back and then glanced around.

"Well, I think we've seen it all. You ready to head

out? I just want to see one more thing on the main

level."

"Sure," Ash said, tucking his phone back into his

pocket. "I can probably find stuff online if I need

more inspiration."

"Definitely. I can actually recommend a few

sites, if you want. Remind me later."

They headed down to the main level, where Fee

led the way to the genetics area.

"I've always liked the hatchery," Fee admitted

when they stopped in front of an incubator filled

with baby chicks. "I think because of my mom. She

thinks the chicks are cute."

Ash eyed a pair of little yellow fluffballs

snuggled sleepily together against the glass. "I can

see why."

Fee laughed softly. "Come on," he said. "I'm

getting thirsty."

He turned and started walking back in the

direction they had come from. Ash followed

silently, so wrapped up in thoughts of steampunk

gadgets and tattoos, he almost crashed into Fee

when Fee stopped abruptly.

Ash looked up and realized they were standing

in front of an exhibit about human DNA and the

genes responsible for eye and hair color.

"Did you know something like 90% of the

world's population has brown eyes?" Fee asked.

"Only about 8% have blue eyes, and I read an

article in the
New York Times
a few years back

that said blue eyes are becoming increasingly rare

in America, it being a recessive trait."

"Really?" Ash tilted his head back, surveying

the text and diagrams on the panels in front of him.

Most of it seemed like gibberish to him, what with

mentions of melanin and alleles and genotypes.

While he had some basic knowledge, he'd never

paid much attention to his science classes in

school. "Almost everyone in my family is blue

eyed."

Fee shrugged. "Well, you're Irish, right? That

would make sense if your family married mainly

within its own ethnicity. That's an area where blue

eyes are common. Yours are especially pretty,

though. I don't think I've ever seen blue eyes as

dark as yours before."

Ash turned to face Fee, smiling slyly. "You

noticed my eyes?"

Fee coughed, his cheeks flushing red. "I … well,

I … I mean, yes, I—" He broke off, clearly

nervous and more than a little embarrassed.

"They're beautiful. You know they are."

Ash didn't know what possessed him at that

moment—probably Fee blushing and stuttering and

looking so damned adorable—but he leaned up

and planted a spontaneous kiss right on Fee's

mouth. It was fast, more of a brushing of lips than

anything, and over in less than a second, but his

entire body reacted to that brief, light touch. God,

he wanted more, wanted to pull Fee's head down

and really lay one on him—teeth, tangling tongues,

and wet, slick heat. It wasn't the time, though, and

definitely not the place.

When he drew back, he expected Fee to look

panicked or at least more embarrassed, but all Fee

did was smile, soft and sweet and shy. That smile

nearly made Ash forget himself. He turned away

from Fee before he could give in to the temptation

to kiss him again.

"We should go," he said, in a voice that sounded

like he'd just swallowed a handful of gravel. "I'm

feeling thirsty now, too."

Fee didn't say anything, just started walking.

Ash carefully avoided looking at him until they

were back in the car, after the urge to climb Fee

and fuse their mouths together had passed.

He watched Fee's hands, elegant and long-

fingered, as Fee started the car and began backing

it out of their space. It took him only a second to

realize that was a bad idea, as it made him think

about how those hands might feel running over his

skin, gripping his ass, yanking his hair, spreading

his—

Ash's cock stirred beneath his fly, and he just

barely stifled a shudder.
Jesus Christ, stop

thinking about it!
If he didn't, he was going to be

rock-hard soon and unable to hide it in the jeans he

w ore.
Think of the chicks or something. Cute,

little, fluffy chicks. Baby chickens aren't hot.

"Are you free for the rest of the day?" Fee asked

suddenly.

Ash jerked in his seat, startled out of his

thoughts, which had somehow progressed from

innocent, sleeping chicks to an image of himself

straddling Fee while drawing a long, slender

feather down Fee's naked torso. "Huh? What was

that?"

Fee cast him a quick glance. "I asked if you're

free for the rest of the day."

It took Ash a second to pull himself together. He

cleared his throat. "Um, yeah."

"I was thinking maybe we could do lunch and hit

Grounds For Thought again. I need to pick up the

book selection for the next RTFS meeting."

"Oh." Ash shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The

mention of the RTFS book club and the

accompanying memories of how awkward the last

meeting had been were more than enough to make

his erection wane. "Yeah, that sounds good," he

added after a moment, not wanting Fee to think he

didn't want to hang out some more.

"Cool. You okay with Chinese for lunch? I

know a great little place a few blocks from the

bookstore."

"That'd be awesome. I can always go for

Chinese. I'm a fan."

"Me, too."

Ash grinned at him, the humiliating book club

incident forgotten as his hungry stomach latched

onto the idea of food. "I'll have to take you to my

favorite place sometime. They make a killer

Mongolian beef, and their pot stickers will change

your life, man. Swear to God."

Fee laughed softly and shot him a smile that

went straight to Ash's cock. "Okay then. It's a

date."

Ash almost groaned.
If only I could get a happy

ending to go along with it.

6.4

Lunch was followed by a long visit to Grounds

For Thought, where Fee showed Ash a few

steampunk novels, including the upcoming reading

selection,
Tinka's Tailored Soldier
. It sounded

interesting enough that Ash bought himself a copy

and said he'd consider coming to the next meeting,

which seemed to please Fee.

After the book store, they decided to stop for

frozen yogurt, which led to them wandering the

neighborhood while they enjoyed their sundaes and

the discovery of an obscure, little coffee shop

where a local band was preparing for their set.

Ash suggested they listen to a song or two, just

to test the waters, and Fee agreed. Two songs

turned into three, then four, and before Ash knew

it, the performance was over, and he realized he'd

had more fun hanging out with Fee that day than the

last dozen or so of his Deli's trips combined. Kind

of crazy when he considered the fact that he hadn't