The Party Boy's Guide to Dating a Geek (Clumsy Cupids) (18 page)

He followed Fee across the open-plan

apartment, past a small dining area, to the large,

well-equipped kitchen. Ash noted the black granite

countertops, stainless steel appliances, and cherry-

colored cabinets with brushed nickel fixtures and

let out a low, appreciative whistle. "Man, my

roommate would kill for a kitchen like this at our

place."

Fee looked around and nodded. "Yeah, it's nice.

I feel kind of bad sometimes for not using it. I'm

afraid I'm not much of a cook."

Ash smirked at him and bumped his shoulder.

"And yet you invited me over for dinner."

Fee flushed. "About that …"

"Yeah?"

"The Mexican food didn't happen. I tried to get

fancy and make
pozole rojo
, but somehow I

managed to wreck it." Fee stepped up to the range

and lifted the lid from one of the pots that rested on

the stovetop. "So instead we have … hot dogs."

Ash laughed. "No worries. I like hot dogs."

Fee's cheeks were dark, but he joined Ash in

laughing. "I even got all the trimmings for Chicago-

style, and as a side?" He pointed to the other pot.

"Mac 'n' cheese." Fee grinned. "You should be

impressed."

"I am beyond impressed. You can boil water

and squeeze cheese from a pouch. Very classy."

"You have no idea. It takes immense skill and

precision."

"Oh, yeah," Ash said, laughing. "Immense."

Fee elbowed him in the side. "What did you

bring for dessert?"

"Well, since you were
supposed
to be making

Mexican food," Ash teased, "I asked my roommate

to come up with something to go along with that.

He made mini churros and chocolate sauce."

"And watch that be the best part of the meal."

Fee chuckled. "I should've asked my mom to make

me a pot of
pozole
. Hers is amazing. I used to ask

her for it all the time when I was a kid."

"Maybe another time," Ash said. He hoped there

would be plenty of other dinners at Fee's apartment

in their future. "I've never had it homemade before.

I'd like to try it sometime. Everything is better that

way, it seems like."

"Very true. Well, are you hungry now? I can

start taking everything out."

"Yeah, I could eat. We can save the rest of the

tour for later. Can I help with anything?"

Fee opened the cabinet to his left and took out a

pair of plates. "Sure. You can grab the tray of

condiments from the fridge. There is mustard and

relish in there, too." He set the plates on the

counter and rifled through the drawer next to the

range, withdrawing a couple of forks and spoons.

"There isn't much more to the tour. Two bedrooms

back there. One I use as an office; the other is the

master. There's a guest bathroom also. First door

on the left."

"Got it." Ash tugged the refrigerator door open

and spotted the tray Fee had mentioned. It

contained most of the ingredients necessary for a

true, Chicago-style hot dog: chopped onions and

tomatoes, sport peppers, pickles. He grabbed it

and the bottle of mustard and jar of relish from a

shelf inside the door and carried them over to the

counter where Fee had just set a bag of poppy seed

buns.

For a moment, Ash eyed the onions dubiously.

Like any good Chicagoan he loved hot dogs a very

specific way. Onions were a must, always, but

never ketchup unless you wanted to risk the wrath

of the hot dog gods. However, there were other

things to consider this time around, outside of the

sanctity of the Chicago-style preparation. Such as

the kissing Ash hoped would ensue when they

were finished eating. Onion breath wasn't exactly

one of his kinks.

He could skip them. That was an option. Maybe

if he did, Fee would, and then he could take that as

a sign that Fee also wanted some kissing to

happen. Ash contemplated it, mouth twisting, as

Fee set a small container of celery salt on the

counter.

"Want me to steam the buns?" Fee asked.

"Never done it before, but I know the cart I go to

on my lunch break does that."

Ash shrugged and forced a smile. "Nah. Just

nuke them for a few seconds. Your secret will be

safe with me."

"Okay," Fee said, returning his smile with a

broad grin that made need coil tight in Ash's

stomach.
Goddamn
. It was all Ash could do not to

reach out and grab Fee, drag him in for a kiss, and

say to hell with dinner.

Yeah
, he decided.
Definitely no onions.

Ash's onion avoidance plan worked like a

charm. As soon as he skipped the onions (and

peppers) while preparing his hot dog, Fee did the

same. It felt a little sacrilegious to eat them that

way, but Ash couldn't bring himself to care.

They talked over dinner about everything and

nothing: the book club meeting, the desktop Fee

had built for Ash, the new designs Ash had drawn

on his tablet, what movie they might want to watch

after. Ash loved how comfortable it was between

them. Well, aside from the sexual tension, because

that was kind of driving him nuts. But talking was

easy in a way it hadn't been at the beginning, and

he was grateful for that.

Their banter continued through their meal and

into the cleanup. Once they were finished in the

kitchen, Fee led him back to the living room and

Ash dropped onto one side of the couch while Fee

powered everything on. Eventually they decided

on a British action-comedy neither of them had

seen before.

"Want me to warm up the sauce for the dessert?"

Ash asked.

Fee shook his head and chose the option to start

the movie. "I think I'm too full still. We can save it

for intermission."

Ash nodded and settled himself against the arm

of the couch. He tried to pay attention to the movie

—and it
was
funny—but what he really wanted to

do was lean into Fee's personal space and get,

well, personal.

Fee seemed caught up in the story, though, and

only occasionally turned to Ash to say something.

At first Ash tried to be surreptitious about

watching him, sneaking glances out of the corner of

his eye, but eventually he abandoned any attempt at

being covert. He openly watched Fee, his heart

squeezing every time Fee's face lit up with a laugh.

So beautiful.
Fee's smile, his eyes, his laugh, his

sweetness, just … everything. Ash couldn't look

away.

Finally, Fee seemed to sense he was being

watched. He turned to Ash, smiling over something

one of the character's had just said, but his smile

faded almost immediately as he took in the

expression on Ash's face.

The moment stretched long. Ash's pulse kicked

into high gear. His skin heated slowly. He scooted

closer to Fee and saw an answering flush start

working its way up Fee's neck, blood darkening

the light brown skin.

Ash edged even closer, cautious and slow, not

wanting to freak Fee out. He reached up to touch

Fee's cheek, craving that small, precious contact,

stubble and skin beneath his fingertips, but Fee

gave a sudden, awkward laugh and looked away.

"I'm going to warm up that chocolate," he said.

He grabbed the remote and paused the movie. "Be

right back."

Ash restrained a groan and thudded his head

against the back of the couch.
Fucking hell.
He

didn't give a crap about churros and chocolate

sauce. All he wanted was Fee—under him, on top

of him, the hows and wheres didn't matter. He

wanted grinding and kissing and, dammit, some

kind of touching, and if he didn't get those things in

the
very
near future, he was going to lose his ever-

loving mind.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths.

Ash blew out a puff of air and tried to focus on

getting his heart rate under control. Jesus. How

could he be so annoyed and turned on all at once?

Wanting Fee was frustrating, but recently Ash

couldn't even think of anyone else. What did that

make him? A sucker, apparently. He was waiting

for Fee, and in his heart, he knew he'd wait as long

as he had to, but he couldn't lie to himself and say

it wasn't aggravating. In the very least, he needed

to know where they stood.

"These look awesome," Fee said when he came

back. He leaned down to place a plate full of the

mini churros and a shallow bowl of melted

chocolate onto the ottoman in front of the couch.

The scent of the chocolate hit Ash's nostrils,

rich, dark, and sweet. This time he couldn't fight

his groan, especially at the mental image the smell

evoked—him licking the sauce off Fee's nipples,

his mouth, his collarbone, his throat. "Oh, God.

That smells amazing."

"It seriously does." Fee picked up a churro and

dipped it into the chocolate.

Ash watched with avid interest as Fee brought it

up to his mouth and took a bite. Chocolate,

cinnamon, and sugar glistened on his lips.

"Oh, God," Ash said again.

Fee turned to face him. "What is it?"

"Take another bite." Ash's voice was hoarse.

Fee just looked at him, his expression puzzled.

"Please."
Please, please, please.

After a few seconds, Fee's eyes darkened, and

Ash knew he understood. Fee didn't say anything

as he leaned over and dipped the pastry into the

sauce, but Ash noticed that his breathing had

picked up, his chest rising and falling faster. He

slid the rest of the pastry into his mouth, chewed

slowly, swallowed. Ash watched Fee's throat

work, watched his tongue dart out to catch a trickle

of chocolate that had dripped from the pastry onto

his chin.

Ash didn't think about it twice. He leaned

forward and added his tongue to the mix, licking at

the chocolate, tasting Fee, the sugar, cinnamon, and

underneath it all, a bit of heat from the ancho chile.

The combination made Ash moan. As if of their

own accord, his hands came up, fingers burrowing

into Fee's thick, dark hair. He kissed Fee, long,

slow, and deep, and moaned again when Fee's

arms encircled his waist and drew him closer. The

moan turned into a shudder when Fee suddenly

pushed him onto his back and followed him down.

Ash found himself sprawled against the couch

cushions, his thighs spread wide with Fee's lean

hips between them. "Yeah." He murmured the

word into Fee's mouth, arching up to meet the hot,

strong body above his. Fee was both broader and

taller than Ash and definitely more built. Not

dramatically so, not enough to make Ash feel

threatened or outmatched, but enough that Ash

imagined Fee could probably pick him up if he

wanted, maybe manhandle him a little. The thought

made him moan again, kiss Fee even deeper,

harder.

Fee's weight pressed down into him. Ash parted

his legs as far as he could and ground up with his

pelvis, rubbing himself shamelessly against the

hard length he could feel beneath the fly of Fee's

jeans. Within seconds, things got out of control.

The kiss went wild, mouths colliding, tongues

tangling and sliding together, slick and sultry and

wet. Fee's fingers were in Ash's hair, holding his

head still, gripping hard. His body moved over

Ash's like a wave, a smooth, undulating motion that

had heat pooling in Ash's groin and his balls

drawing up.

He drew Fee's lower lip into his mouth and

sucked. His hands slipped underneath the hem of

Fee's loose T-shirt, stroking warm, smooth skin

and flexing muscle. Fee's movements picked up,

gaining both speed and momentum, and he thrust

hard
.

Ash

jerked

his

mouth

away,

gasping

desperately, imagining how it would feel if Fee

were inside him, naked, sweaty, and slamming into

him instead of just against him. "Oh, shit." Ash

groaned, losing the last of his control to the picture

he'd painted in his head, his body straining,