The Party Boy's Guide to Dating a Geek (Clumsy Cupids) (25 page)

you doing with him?"

"Nothing. And I'm not
with
him. He's just a

body. You know that better than anyone."

"You should stay away from him."

"Like you did?"

"Yeah. And look where it got me. He feels free

to paw me anytime. And now Fee's pissed."

"Well, we can't have that." Ty turned to look out

the windows. Ash flinched at the bitterness in Ty's

voice. His night just kept getting worse by the

second. Ty put his hand over Ash's and squeezed.

"Ash, thanks for your concern, but I'm a big boy."

"I know that. But he's a jerkoff, and not the good

kind," Ash said with a nod toward the door. "I just

don't want you to get hurt."

"Look, I'm glad you're happy, but some of us

haven't been so lucky. Some of us still have to rely

on groping in the dark." Ty shook his head. He

looked so sad and vulnerable, Ash was about to

pull him into a hug, but Ty patted him on the back.

"Come on. They're waiting."

Ty started toward their table, but Ash waited for

a second, still a little shaken from what happened

with Gil. He looked at his friends. Fee was talking

with Carley and Jae, but his anger was still evident

in his expression. Ty sat down across from Fee.

His shoulders were slumped, and he slouched

against his chair. Fee poured a cup of coffee and

gave Ty a smile as he slid it across the table to

him.

"Get on over there," Marge said as she stopped

next to Ash. She nudged him with an elbow and

held a fresh pot of coffee out to him. "Drop this off

while you're at it."

"Yes, ma'am." He walked over and set the

carafe down.

Fee looked up at him, and Ash was suddenly

afraid to say anything. Fee seemed calmer than he

had been, but he still didn't smile. He stared at Ash

for a second before he nodded and scooted over in

the booth to make room for Ash. "Hey," Fee said

as Ash sat.

"Hey."

The tension in Fee's face was unmistakable up

close. Ash wished he knew what to say, but he was

at a loss. He was angry, too. At Gil, for illustrating

just how different Ash and Fee were again. At

himself, for having been so fast and loose before

that going slow was driving him crazy now. He

was even mad at Fee for being so damn quiet and

withdrawn. Ash didn't know how to smooth this

over. He had a past. So what? Everyone did. He

was so busy sulking, he didn't notice the coffee cup

that seemed to have materialized in front of him.

He blinked at Fee, who gave him a little smile.

"You worry too much," Fee leaned in to

whisper.

Ash laughed. "That's not something I've ever

been accused of before." He bit his lip and looked

at Fee. "Are we all right?"

"Yeah, we're good," Fee said as he squeezed

Ash's hand.

Ash relaxed, but he still felt uneasy after the

confrontation. Every time the bell rang over the

door, he glanced up to make sure it wasn't Gil

coming back for another try. Marge took their

orders, but Ash wasn't hungry. He picked at his

food and wondered just how many little scenes

like that it would take before Fee finally realized

Ash wasn't worth the trouble. Fee elbowed him in

the side, breaking Ash out of his brooding.

"Huh?" Ash asked. Everyone was looking at

him, expecting him to answer whatever question

he'd missed.

"I asked about the platform you talked about

earlier," Ty said.

"And I asked if you had bought those boots you

were looking at," Carley said.

"Leave it to you to immediately think platform

shoes." Ash shook his head. "No, it's for our shop."

Ash could feel his face heating up. Talking about

their dreams was one thing. That left them in the

realm of 'someday,' and everyone could do

something 'someday.' Actually making plans made

them feel more real.

Fee chuckled. "So how big of a platform are you

talking? Big enough so people can watch you guys

work?"

"Up on stage? With spotlights? Now inking,

Ashley Byrne-Byrne-Byrne." Jae let the last bit

trail off in a mock echo.

Ash tossed a balled-up napkin at Jae and

laughed. He was afraid to talk about the work he'd

been doing, almost like saying it out loud would

jinx it somehow. "It's nothing. Just some papers for

class."

Jae pushed his cup out of the way so he could

lean forward on his elbows. "How's that going?"

"Great. I'm almost done with the accounting

class, and I signed up for a management course."

"Cool," Fee said.

Ash nodded. "I think it will be. It starts next

month, after this one is finished. Maybe by the time

I'm done, we'll have some idea of what we're

doing, right, Ty?"

"Can't wait, bro." Ty tipped his cup toward Ash

and smiled. "Bring it on."

"If you guys have a name for the shop, you

should register your domain. Maybe park a splash

screen or an FAQ until you get your website built,"

Fee said.

Ash smiled and nodded at Fee. "I have no idea

what you just said."

Ty snorted. "Sure, that's simple enough. Except,

oh yeah, neither of us knows anything about

building websites, and we can't afford to hire

someone who does."

"I can help you out. If you want, that is." Fee

looked between Ash and Ty. No one said anything,

and Fee started tapping the side of his glass with

his fingers. "Or I can just shut up now."

"No, that's great. You'd do that for us?" Ty

asked.

Fee shrugged. "It's pretty easy to do a simple,

flat page. I can put something together to get you

started in a couple of days."

"That'd be great," Ash said. "And it's no hurry."

"Like I said, it won't be anything too flashy yet,

but I can probably have something by Sunday. If

you want to come over?"

"That works for me," Ash said.

11.2

The rest of the week went by slowly for Ash.

Things were still a little tense between him and

Ty. Ash hated thinking of Ty hooking up with Gil,

but like Ty said, he was a big boy. There was

nothing Ash could do. Ash understood the desire to

blow off a little steam, and he didn't want to

begrudge Ty's needs, but Gil had crossed the line.

He was worried for Ty.

Ash also hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Fee

since Wednesday night. They'd texted every day,

but Ash had been busy with classwork and helping

Tank around the shop. But not hearing Fee's voice

every day made him anxious. It didn't help matters

that Fee had been working with Donovan on some

RTFS club planning. Knowing their history made

Ash nervous about the time Donovan got to spend

with Fee. To take his mind off it, he assisted Tank

in working on a cover-up piece.

Ash studied the original artwork and made

suggestions for a new design that would

incorporate the parts the customer liked in her

original tattoo, but also showed how her

personality had changed. In the end, she had been

so pleased with their work, she requested a new

design from Ash and scheduled an appointment for

the next week.

Fee's innate sense of timing had Ash nearly

jumping off the couch to answer his phone when it

buzzed Sunday afternoon. Ash's nerves were

frayed and he was bouncing off the walls.

"Hey there." Ash tried for casual, but he was

sure it fell short.

"Hey yourself," Fee said. His voice was low

and seductive, and it made the hair on Ash's neck

stand up. "I hope you're hungry."

"More than you know," Ash answered.

"Good. Mom sent me home with a pot of her

pozole rojo
. I'm heating it up if you want to come

over for an early dinner."

"Sounds good. When?"

"Anytime you're ready."

He'd been past ready for some time now, and

everything Fee said Ash found some way to hear

as a come-on. He cleared his throat. "I can be there

in an hour."

"Great. I'll get it on."

Ash groaned as his mind took him there yet

again and his cock throbbed in his jeans. "See you

then." He hung up before Fee could say anything

else his brain could turn into foreplay.

He showered, changed his clothes, and put a

few condoms in his wallet, figuring they would go

unused but unwilling to give up hope. If Fee

decided he was ready, Ash was going to be

prepared. He eyed his toothbrush, thinking about

the rich pork dish Fee was fixing. From the recipe

Jae had shown him, Ash figured they'd both have

garlicky, onion breath before they finished eating.

He stuck a tin of Altoids in his pocket and grabbed

his keys.

Fee didn't answer when he knocked, so Ash

called him from outside the apartment door. Music

thumped in the background when Fee picked up.

"Hey, you on your way?"

"I'm outside your door."

"What? Hang on."

Ash heard footsteps on the other side of the door

before it opened. Fee stood there, wearing a T-

shirt and sweatpants, and nothing else.

He's even got sexy feet,
Ash thought. Fee's hair

was wet and hung in loose curls around his head.

He still held his phone to his ear, and he ran one

hand over his hair to smooth the curls out as he

smiled at Ash.

"Oh, hi. Come on in," Fee said into the phone.

Ash smirked at him, and Fee blushed. He hung up

and moved to let Ash in. "Sorry. I was watching

the food and got caught up."

"No problem. Smells great." Ash followed Fee

to the kitchen, switching his stare between Fee's

ass and his feet the whole way. "Anything I can

do?"

Fee stirred the pot and looked around the area.

"Can you hand me those?" He pointed at a stack of

tortillas at the end of the counter. Fee pulled a

paper towel off the roll and soaked it under the

faucet, then wrapped the tortillas in it. He set the

bundle in the microwave and set it for fifteen

seconds. "Steaming them," he said with a smile.

"So, you've picked up some skills since last

time," Ash said. The microwave dinged.

"Ancient mom secret."

"Anything else I can help with?" Ash needed to

keep busy, otherwise he was sure he'd try to pin

Fee to the counter, and they'd never eat.

"I think everything is ready. Bowls are just

above your head."

Fee dished out some of the food, then sprinkled

cilantro and onion over the top and finished the

dish with a squeeze of lime. Ash kicked off his

shoes and joined Fee in the living room. Some

low-budget monster movie with crappy graphics

was on the TV, but Fee had the sound muted while

they ate. Strange music played from an iPod

docked next to the television. A mixture of

industrial and folk with an underlying dance beat.

It wasn't like anything Ash had ever heard before.

"What is this we're listening to?" he asked.

"Don't like it?"

"I'm not sure. I do, but I don't. Does that make

sense?"

"Yeah," Fee chuckled. "It's a steampunk radio

show."

The music changed and Ash listened for a few

minutes. "It kind of grows on you."

"They do a whole big stage thing and everyone

dresses up. They're doing one on Halloween, if

you want to go."

"Dress up? Like how?"

Fee shrugged. "Like steampunk. Mostly tailored

suits and stuff. The women wear corsets and all

these skirts and ruffles." He stood and took the

dishes to the kitchen. Ash followed, popping a

couple of Altoids into his mouth. Fee turned

around and caught him before he could put the tin

away. Ash grinned and held it out. Fee shook his

head, but took two.
Score!
Ash thought.

"You, in a suit? I'm so there," Ash said. "I'll

have to find something to wear."

"I can show you some websites if you like."

"No, I'll be fine."

"Well, let me show you what I have for your

website while you're here, at least."

"Already?" Ash didn't know what went into

designing a website, but he was surprised to hear