The Party Boy's Guide to Dating a Geek (Clumsy Cupids) (19 page)

struggling to get close, closer, his nails digging

into the skin of Fee's back. "
Yes
. C-coming."

It went on forever, his muscles tightening, dick

pumping cum into his briefs, ass clenching. He

would have killed to have something inside of him

at that moment—a toy, a finger, a tongue,
anything
.

The need was so strong, Ash cried out helplessly

into Fee's kiss, his fingers digging into Fee's hips,

urging Fee to keep moving even though it was

obvious Fee had already come, too. Ash wanted

more. More, more. But after a few seconds, Fee

lifted his head and pulled back.

Fee's face was red with exertion, his mouth

swollen and dark, and he looked … startled.

Surprised with himself, or maybe the situation,

Ash wasn't sure what, but that look made his

stomach clench with sudden dread.

Ash sat up and tugged down his T-shirt, acutely

aware of the cooling cum in his briefs. God. He

couldn't believe he'd actually come in his pants

like a damn teenager. He hadn't done that in
years
.

It was going to be a pain in the ass to clean up—

but he'd worry about that later, after he got to the

bottom of why Fee looked so spooked.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Fee's gaze dropped to his own lap, his fingers

fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. "I …"

Ash swallowed thickly, unsure if he wanted to

hear what Fee had to say, worried Fee might say

they were done, it had all been a mistake. But

while Ash was very many things, good and bad

both, one thing he could never be called was a

coward. "Tell me."

"I'm sorry," Fee whispered. "I got carried away.

I don't … I don't do this, okay? I've only been with

two guys, and I was with one of them for almost

four years. I know it probably sounds old

fashioned to you, or too traditional or uptight or …

I don't even know. But I've only had sex with the

guys I've been in relationships with. I don't hook

up. I don't go out looking to score. That's not how I

operate."

"Okay," Ash said slowly. "That's fine." And it

truly was. Ash wasn't about to pass judgment. He

wasn't in any position to do so. People had

different comfort levels, moved at different paces.

But there was one thing he had to know. "What are

we doing then, Fee? Is this just some casual thing?

Do you want us to be exclusive?"

"I …" Fee trailed off and swallowed, his

Adam's apple bobbing. "Is that what you want?"

"I want
you
," Ash answered, unable to be

anything but honest. "I'm willing to take things

slow, if that's what you need. I haven't been with

anyone else since the day I laid eyes on you. But if

you don't want to take this further, if you just want

to be friends or whatever, you need to tell me."

Finally, Fee looked up from his lap, finding and

holding Ash's gaze with his own. "I don't want you

to be with anyone else. I just … Mari has told me

stories. I need to be sure of you, okay? Maybe that

isn't fair, I don't know, but I can't go there with you

and then watch you walk away once you've gotten

what you wanted." Fee pressed a hand to his chest.

"I know myself, trust myself … but I have to know

I can trust you, too."

Ash blinked.
Okay, that hurt.
Really hurt. He

wanted to be pissed off about it, especially after

he'd just told Fee he hadn't been with anyone in a

couple of months. Since before Ash knew they

even had a chance, actually. But—and there was a

but, a big one—Ash also knew himself, his rep,

and the sorts of things Mari had probably heard

about him from Jackson. And possibly from his

own mouth one of the nights they'd all gotten drunk

together. He could imagine what Fee might be

thinking, and he couldn't blame Fee for being wary.

It still chafed, though. So he'd messed around a

whole hell of a lot. That didn't mean he wasn't

capable of being faithful.

"You can trust me," he told Fee. "I've never

fucked around on anyone. If we agree it's just me

and you, then that's it." Ash hesitated to say the

rest, but he had to press on. He had to know

exactly how Fee expected things to be between

them. "But, Fee, I have to be honest with you. I

love sex. A lot," he added, just so it was clear.

"Are you … I mean, are you saying we can't do

anything at all? Not this—" Ash gestured between

himself and Fee, "—or any other kind of touching

or sucking or
anything
?"

Fee snorted and laughed, then seemed even

more surprised by the laugh than he had been by

everything else. "No, I'm not saying that," he said,

shaking his head. "I think I panicked a little

because we hadn't talked about any of this, and I

didn't want you to assume we'd jump into full-out

sex right away, that we'd take what happened here

and move things to the bedroom, and … I'm not

ready to go there yet. I just—I'm okay with …

certain things. For now."

"All right." Ash could work with "certain

things." Anything Fee allowed was better than

nothing. "I'm not gonna push you. You tell me what

is or isn't okay, and we'll go from there."

Fee sighed, his relief obvious in the sound.

"Thank you, Ash. I'm sorry, I—"

"Don't worry about it. You have your reasons. I

respect that." Ash reached over and trailed a hand

down Fee's arm to tangle their fingers together. "In

case you couldn't tell, I really like you. I want this

to work."

Fee gave him a shy smile, which only served to

endear him to Ash even more after what they'd just

done. "I like you, too," he murmured. Then he

laughed softly. "I feel like a kid saying that, but it's

true. I wasn't sure what to make of you at first, but I

… I think we could have something, you know? I

don't want to spoil it or rush it. I want to let it take

its course and see what happens."

Ash nodded and leaned forward to kiss Fee

briefly. "Me, too." He dropped another kiss on

Fee's jaw and worked his way down to nuzzle

Fee's neck, smiling against the warm, soft skin.

"Now, do you think I could borrow some boxers

maybe? I'm feeling a little, um, sticky might be the

word. It would seriously suck to have to go home

like this."

"Yeah, it would." Fee laughed again, the sound

vibrating against Ash's lips. "I think I can help you

out with that. How do you feel about Superman? I

think you'd look good in red and blue."

Ash grinned. He'd been right about Fee's undies

that first day at Jackson's then. Good to know.

"You, sir," he said, pulling back so he could see

Fee's face, "are a man after my own heart. Take me

to your underwear stash."

Fee chuckled and got to his feet, tugging Ash up

behind him. "Come on. You have to promise to

return them, though. I'm very proud of my

collection."

Ash let Fee drag him along. He'd said it as a

joke, but he had a feeling Fee really was after his

heart—in the most literal sense of the phrase. It

sounded like what Fee wanted most when it came

to sex was for love to be involved. Ash had a

feeling that maybe, quite possibly in the not too

distant future, he might be able to grant Fee that

wish.

He didn't think it would take very long to fall for

a man like Fee.

Chapter Nine

HACKED TO BITS

Computer hackers are not scary Freddy Kruger/Jason

Voorhees types of people. The only thing being hacked

up is the security keeping him away from the online

information he wants. His skills may be particularly

strong behind a keyboard, but if you get him away from

his computer, he is probably very introverted and

guarded. Taking chances and circumventing security

protocols may come naturally, but leaving his lair and

venturing out IRL (in real life) more than likely makes him

very uncomfortable. If he's made an effort to take a step

forward, meet him halfway. Otherwise, he may feel

hacked and retreat to the safety of his shell (scripts).

9.1

Tuesday night at The Ink Tank was slow.

Weekends, it was busy with partiers wandering in

from the street, but walk-in traffic was light on

weekdays, and they only had a few appointments

booked. Ash would have asked for it off, but it

was the perfect night for observing Ty while he

worked on a new piece. Ty hoped to have it

completed in time for a tattoo convention Saturday.

Artists from all over the country would be there,

showcasing new work and techniques. Ash was

looking forward to meeting Mr. Orange, an artist

from Arizona he'd met online. What he wasn't

looking forward to was telling Ty that he'd invited

Fee to go with them. He waited for Ty to finish the

job and take pictures of the final tattoo before he

approached Ty's workspace.

"What have you done now?" Ty asked after Ash

wiped down his chair for the fifth time.

Ash jumped. "Nothing."

Ty sighed and looked up at him. "You only

hover when you've done something wrong. So spit

it out."

"Well," Ash hedged.

"Sometime today would be nice. I really need to

start on Joy's design." Ty pulled out a notebook

and flipped it open to a blank page. He inspected

the lead on his pencil, and then checked his notes.

"I may have kind of invited Fee to go to the

convention with us this weekend."

Ty closed his eyes and pulled off his glasses.

He started tapping his pencil against his sketchpad.

"Ty?"

Ty's jaw was clenched tight, and he pinched the

bridge of his nose. He didn't say anything, so Ash

went on. "He volunteered to drive us."

"Well, that's something."

"Please just give him a chance. You're going to

have to meet him sooner or later."

"Looks like I don't have any choice, do I?"

"Ty," Ash said. He hated to disappoint his

friend.

Ty started packing his gear. "Look, I know you

are hung up on him right now, so I'm not going to

say anything else."

"Please don't be angry."

"I'm not." Ty stared at Ash before picking up his

bag. "Tell Tank I'm going to head out. See you

later."

Ash watched him leave, feeling helpless. He'd

suspected Ty wouldn't be happy about hanging out

with Fee, and he'd been right, but things were

finally advancing with Fee. Fee was going to be

around a lot, and Ty was going to have to meet him

eventually.

"Fuck," he whispered.

9.2

Ash took their usual booth at Leroy's and waited

for Ty Saturday morning. The last couple of days

had been tense between them. On top of that, Ash

hadn't gotten a chance to see Fee, but they'd talked

every day. Fee told him to give Ty a little space,

that he'd come around. Easier said than done,

though. Ty had taken Wednesday off and he'd kept

his distance when he did come back. He left before

Ash Friday night and Ash wasn't sure if Ty was

still going to show Saturday morning.

Ash turned his cup over with a sigh, and Marge

appeared less than a minute later with a carafe of

coffee. "Mornin', hon," she said as she set a bowl

stacked high with half-and-half containers down on

the table.

"You're working late today," Ash commented.

"Felicia's out. Me and Nell are gonna fill her

shift."

"That sucks."

"Yeah, well, what are you gonna do?" she asked

with a shrug. "These orders ain't gonna place

themselves. Speaking of, you're in early. Or are

you really late? Hot night?"

Ash shook his head. "Nah, going to a

convention."

"The boys joining you?"

"Ty and Fee."
Maybe.

"Fee?" Marge raised an eyebrow. Fee had met

Ash there one night after work, and he was an

instant hit with Marge, completely overwhelming

her with his charm.

"Yeah. We're kind of, together, now?" It felt