The Party Boy's Guide to Dating a Geek (Clumsy Cupids) (2 page)

splashing tequila all over Fee. As he moved over,

he put his hand down on a piece of glass. "Shit!"

The blood pooling in Fee's palm got Ash

moving. "Be careful."

Fee stared at Ash. "You think?" he asked as he

pulled the bandana off to wrap it around his hand.

His hair was cropped close on the sides and back,

but the top flopped around. Ash wondered if it was

as soft as it looked. Curls fell forward on Fee's

forehead as he glared at Ash.

"Oh, my gosh. I'm sorry. It just slipped."

Fee's wet T-shirt clung to his chest, and he

grabbed it with two fingers to pull it away from his

skin. "Great. Now I'm going to smell like a

distillery."

"I'm sorry," Ash said again. "I didn't mean to

drop it."

"Yeah. Thanks. That really helps." Sarcasm

dripped from Fee's voice as he got up and walked

away.

Ash sank to the floor and began to repack the

box when Mari came in with a couple of towels

and a broom.

"I got this. Go help him," Ash said as he

carefully picked up the bigger pieces of glass. He

couldn't understand what had happened. One

minute he was watching Fee working, and the next

the bottles were crashing to the floor.

"He's cleaning the cut." She knelt on the floor

and started mopping up the liquid that had spread

across the hardwood as Ash put the last intact

bottle in the box. "Those go in the dining room. I'll

finish up here."

"Okay," Ash said dully as he walked away.

"Would you mind bringing me back a bag?"

"You got it."

Ash set the box on the dining room table and

made his way to the kitchen. Fee was standing at

the sink washing out the cut on his hand. "It doesn't

look like it went too deep," he said without

looking at Ash.

"I
really
am sorry about it."

Fee turned around, and Ash could feel Fee's

eyes traveling up from his feet all the way to his

face, taking in every detail of his body along the

way. He fought the urge to shiver as goose bumps

broke out.

"It's all right. Accidents happen." Blood soaked

through the bandana as he stood there, and Ash's

stomach rolled a little. He swayed on his feet, and

Fee reached out to steady him. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. It's just sometimes blood gets to me." He

tried to chuckle, but it sounded weak to his own

ears. His gaze was fixed on the widening patch of

red in Fee's palm.

"You're the last person I'd expect to be

squeamish about a little blood."

Ash's eyes snapped up to Fee's face. "Why?"

"Aren't you a tattoo artist? With all those

needles, I'd expect you to have an iron

constitution." Fee smiled, a real smile this time,

instead of the polite ones Ash had been getting

before. Fee had cute little crinkles around his eyes

when he gave a genuine smile. Ash suddenly

wanted to see more of it.

"Well, I'm still apprenticing." For some reason,

little butterflies started fluttering in his stomach.

"But there's not a lot of bleeding with tattooing,

and I stay away from the piercing. Besides, that's

different," he added with a nod at Fee's hand.

"Sorry," Fee said as he turned around to run

more water over his hand. "But hey, with all that

alcohol, it probably won't get infected."

Ash laughed. He couldn't help it. Fee's laid-back

attitude helped put him at ease.

"Hey, here's a new shirt." Jack stopped short

and glanced between the two of them. His eyes

narrowed a bit as he looked at Ash. "What'd I

miss?"

"Nothing. I was just making sure he's all right."

Ash stepped around Fee to get a trash bag from the

box on the counter and turned around just in time to

see Fee strip out of the wet shirt. He couldn't

move, couldn't even breathe, as he stared at Fee's

body. Long and lean with a well-defined chest and

abdomen, Ash would have never guessed how tight

Fee's body was under that shirt.

Fee dropped the wet shirt in the sink and

reached over his head to stretch his back and

shoulders. The joints popped as the lines of his

body got longer, and the cut of the muscles seemed

deeper. Fee didn't have any hair on his chest, but

the definition of his abs made up its own treasure

trail to the waistband of his jeans where they

slipped a little lower on his hips. The red and blue

material peeked out again. Ash's fingers twitched,

wanting to reach out and pull the jeans down even

further to check for that logo.

Fee picked up a dish rag to wipe the tequila off

his body. The light reflected brightly along the path

the rag had taken, and Ash wanted nothing more

than to follow it. With his tongue. He had almost

taken a step forward when Fee's voice broke his

trance.

"Thanks, Jackson." Fee slipped on the shirt and

the show was over. "I'll go log into the router to

make sure it's up and running." He turned around

and left through the dining room side of the walk-

through kitchen. Ash smiled as Fee brushed his

hand out to push a couple of partially opened

drawers shut.

"Dude," Ash whispered. His eyes were fixed on

the spot Fee had just left. His breathing was still

shallow.

"What?" Jack asked.

"You've been holding out on me."

"What?" Ash turned his gaze to Jack. "You okay,

little brother? You look like you swallowed your

tongue."

"I think I did. Where have you been hiding

that
?"

"Oh, no. I know that look now."

"I'm serious. You've been with Mari for a year,

and this is the first time I've seen him?"

"Forget it. Come on. Boxes are calling," Jack

said, taking the garbage bag from Ash, trying to

guide him back to the front of the apartment and

away from the direction Fee had gone.

Ash stood firm. "What do you mean, forget it? Is

he straight?"

"I don't know what he is, all right? But it doesn't

matter. He's not your type."

"You don't know what my type is anymore.

Maybe I've changed."

"Fine. Then you're not his type, okay? Just drop

it."

"Why?" Ash asked, but Jack had already left. He

stood there for another minute. Fee had gone

toward the back bedroom, and he finally decided

to follow him. "How's your hand?"

Fee looked up over his glasses. With his hair

messed up from the bandana, and Jack's

Electricians Do it Until it Hertz
T-shirt stretched

tightly across his chest, Ash had to grab the

doorframe to keep from falling to his knees in front

of Fee. "Not bad. I've got the firewall up, the

ACLs set to allow access, and encryption in place.

All you have to do is know the password to get

in."

Please!
screamed Ash's mind. Or maybe

kissmenow!
was the password. He walked in to

look over Fee's shoulder. "Buttercup?"

"Yeah," Fee smiled. He pushed the chair back to

stand up, but Ash was crowding the space. If he

was going to stand, Ash wanted to feel that body

slide against his. "Uh, excuse me?"

"Oh, sorry," Ash said, taking a half a step

backwards. It allowed Fee a little room, but still

crowded close enough for Ash to feel the heat from

Fee's body as he stood.

Fee leaned backwards over the desk to move

past Ash. "I'd better go see if they need more boxes

brought in." He looked at his feet and started

toward the door.

"Wait," Ash called out. He looked around to

find an excuse to keep Fee from leaving. "Your

hand!" he nearly shouted.

Fee lifted it and looked at the makeshift bandage

still wrapped around it. "What about it?"

"We'd better check it again before you get back

out there. Wouldn't want any dirt to get in."
Yeah.

That was a reasonable excuse
, Ash thought. "I

think I saw some gauze in the bathroom."

Fee eyed him warily. "I thought you were afraid

of blood."

"It's not bleeding anymore, is it? Look, if you

want to lose your hand, that's fine. But how would

you work the mouse if you did?" Ash asked. Fee

raised his left hand and Ash laughed. "Fair enough.

Come on. I won't bite."

Unless you ask
, Ash thought.
Then I'd be happy

to make a meal out of you
.
He had to take a breath

to get his body and his mind back under the big

head's control. He reached out and carefully took

Fee's cut hand to lead him into the bathroom. He

rummaged in the boxes until he found the gauze, a

bottle of alcohol, and a tube of antiseptic cream.

"This may sting a little."

"I think I can handle it." Fee appeared more

amused than anything with Ash's behavior.

Ash shuddered as he unwrapped the bloody

bandana, and he turned his head away and closed

his eyes tight as he let it fall it into the sink.

"Yuck."

Fee chuckled, and Ash looked up at him. Fee

was biting his lip, trying to keep from laughing.

Ash glared and dumped the bottle of alcohol over

the cut, letting it splash into Fee's hand and down

the drain. Fee hissed and tried to pull away. Ash

held onto his hand, firmly but gently, being careful

to avoid the blood. Working at the shop, he'd been

through enough safety classes that phrases like

"blood-borne pathogens" and "infectious disease"

had become ingrained. He almost wished he had a

pair of gloves handy.

"Shh," Ash said as he leaned forward and blew

along the bloody line. Fee tried to tug his hand

away, but Ash held it still and blew on it again.

Finally, Fee's hand and arm relaxed in his. Ash

smiled and blotted the excess fluid off Fee's palm.

He picked up the tube of antiseptic and started to

open it, but Fee stepped back.

"Not that stuff."

"Come on. It won't hurt that bad," Ash said with

a smile. "I can kiss it and make it better when

we're finished."

"No," Fee said before turning around to go back

to the living room.

Ash watched Fee leave. A few seconds later, he

snapped back to reality. He tried to catch up to

Fee, but Jack stepped in front of him with a pizza

box in his hand.

"Let me by."

"What did I say?" Jack asked. He scowled at

Ash.

"I wasn't doing anything. I just wanted to help."

Ash held up the tube he was still holding.

Mari took it from his hand and read the label.

"Yeah. You can't put that on him." She walked past

Ash on her way to the kitchen.

Ash followed her, wondering for a minute if the

world was going crazy. "It's just for the cut."

"He's allergic. We slapped some on him at work

and his arm blistered. He was pissed." Mari

smiled as she pulled out a roll of paper towels and

tore some off before digging into the pizza.

"It wasn't funny," Fee said as he brought in

another box. "That stuff burns like hell."

"Sorry, I didn't know." Ash shrugged. "All you

had to do was say so."

Fee stared at his feet and his color deepened.

Ash realized Fee was blushing. He looked so

adorable with his cheeks all flushed. Ash decided

he wanted to learn every one of Fee's expressions.

"You didn't reopen it on that box, did you?" Ash

asked. "Let me see."

Fee shook his head and stepped back a little.

"It's fine."

Ash shared a look with Mari, but didn't push it.

Fee lifted the lid on the box and picked up a

slice of pizza. "There's only a few more boxes," he

said.

Jack followed him as Fee turned and walked

away.

"He doesn't like people fussing over him," Mari

said when they were alone. "You should see him at

work."

"Well, that sucks." Ash thought someone should

be fussing over Fee. Specifically, he should be

fussing over Fee's naked body.

Any further thoughts were stilled when Fee

came back in the room and deposited another

armload.

"You shouldn't be carrying so much with your

injury," Ash said as he rushed to catch up with Fee

and followed him out to the moving truck, darting