Misunderstood: In Love with the Nerd (The Miss Series Book 2) (11 page)

She studied him not pleased in the least.  Why, she wasn’t sure.  Other than she felt an overwhelming sense of relief.  Why she would care for his sexual preference should be of no concern to her.  But it did.

“Well, I’m glad to hear it.”  After all, he really was a wonderful kisser.  Looking back at his face, she told him, “I hope you don’t get any stupid ideas from that kiss.”

A rigid expression entered his eyes.  “No concerns there.”

“Good.”  An unexpected discomfort settled between them.  “I was only trying to help you out.  I thought you needed the practice.”

His jaw clenched.  “I didn’t.”

“I know.”  If anything, he could probably teach her a thing or two.  “Not to worry, it won’t happen again.”

He stared at her for the longest time before finally sighing heavily and giving his glasses a shove up his nose.  “I’ve got to get back to the Institute.”

Her eyes shot to his face.  He was mad at her.  She hated when he was mad at her.  “Daniel, I’m sorry.  About everything.”

Again he paused and watched her for the longest time, until he at last said, “I know you are.”

But there was something in the way he spoke that made her wonder if he didn’t either want or appreciate her apology.  She would never admit it to either him or herself but she had no regrets over their shared kiss.  But to admit as much would risk the fear of wanting more.  Or worse, have it mean something more.

* * *

“What do you mean Patrick is coming too?” Sonya stared in disbelief at her friend.

Maura gave a helpless shrug.  “I really want him there.”

“But it’s supposed to be an all girl’s weekend.”  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“We’ve never stated that,” Maura said.

“I thought it was assumed,” Sonya grumbled in response, then glanced over at Audrey who remained silent.  She wasn’t being much help.  “Are you able to join us?”

The blonde gave a short shake of her head.  “I wasn’t able to get the time free.  It’s the long weekend and Tristan is already short staffed.”

She sighed.  Audrey had seniority over Sonya but when she accepted Tristan’s job offer she reserved the first long weekend in May.  It was an annual tradition.  She and Maura always spent the long weekend in a tiny rented cottage along the beach in the popular tourist town of Grand Bend.  The place was famous for its sand dunes and beaches that went for miles.  During the summer and especially on long weekends, the vacation spot became a bustling hamlet.  The type of tourists it attracted consisted mostly of young millennials.

During the peak of its season, the place would be entirely loitered with young and firm bodies, exactly why Sonya enjoyed going.  The weekend would consist of drinking, flirting, and shopping.  Male escorts would surely put a damper on their fun.

Without Audrey’s company meant Sonya would be spending the majority of the weekend in boredom.  “I could talk to Tristan, see if he’ll give you the weekend off?”

“That’s all right,” the younger girl said as she lifted her coffee to her mouth.  “I really don’t mind.”

Sonya sighed again.  She had been so looking forward to the first long weekend of the summer.  Granted, it was usually pretty cold but she didn’t care.  There were so few pleasures she truthfully enjoyed in life.  This was one of them.

For some reason she caught herself thinking of Daniel.  She wondered what his plans were for the long weekend.  Thinking back to the previous year, she couldn’t for the life of her remember how he had spent it or if he had done anything at all.  Knowing Daniel, the latter seemed more likely.

“Sonya.”  Maura caught her attention.  “I don’t mean to put a damper on our holiday, but this really means a lot to me.  I think Patrick may be the one.”

“The one for what?”

Her friend’s face made a mug.  “You know, the one.”

She glanced at Audrey who was beaming at their mutual friend.  When she needed the girl on her side, where was she?  Taking a deep breath she glanced over at the raven-haired Maura.  “For certain?”

“I think so.”  Her voice began to lift with excitement.  “The idea of spending the entire weekend with him is leaving me feeling giddy.”

Sonya frowned heavily.  “Giddy?”

For pity’s sake, Patrick’s influence was already beginning to rub off on her friend.  “Fine.  But you do realize it’s only a two bedroom cottage.”

A wicked gleam lit her friend’s eye.  “I’m sure that won’t be a problem.  We don’t need an extra room.”

“I wasn’t referring to that.”  She pushed her cold coffee aside and dug into her purse for the correct change.  “It’s a small cottage and I would prefer not being kept awake all night long.”

It was bad enough that she didn’t have a man to fulfill her raging hormones.  That was all she needed, a live sex show in the next room.

Her mind once again drifted to thoughts of Daniel.  Angrily, she pushed them aside and leaped to her feet.  He, himself, had told her he was not interested in a one-night stand with any woman.  She doubted he would approve of such an immoral notion.

* * *

Daniel sat in the computer lab with machines buzzing all around him.  He really ought to keep focused.  It wouldn’t do him any good to mess up and have to start all over again.  But he couldn’t keep his mind on the modules in front of him.  It kept drifting back to the other night when he shared that kiss with Sonya.  He hadn’t seen her since.  More than likely she was avoiding him.

Admittedly, it frightened him.  He had feared this for the past year.  Not the opportunity to hold her in his arms and partake in the most passionate kiss he ever experienced, but her reaction to it.  He knew Sonya’s puzzling dislike for the opposite sex.

Sure she boasted about how she delighted in their presence and took satisfaction in their desire, but once she was done with them she cast them aside as if they were a pair of well-worn socks.  She took more gratification from keeping a silly pair of underpants.

He was never able to get close enough to delve deep inside her mind.  She would never have allowed it.  Instead, all he was able to do was sit at a safe distance and not appear a threat.  The other night, as he held her in his arms and released pent-up emotions he had held in check for so long, he became a threat.  She was reminded that he was a member of the opposite sex.  There was no turning back the clock, no erasing the memory from her mind, she would re-evaluate their relationship and more than likely toss it aside.  Probably already had.  He just hadn’t received his notice.

The door to the lab opened and Jamie stuck in his head.  “I’m headed for lunch.  Want to join me?”

Blinking hard from staring at the computer screen for so long and pulling his mind out of his dark reverie, he nodded his head and followed the intern out of the Institute.  There was no sense worrying about it until the time came when Sonya deemed their friendship was over.  Until then, he would take whatever she was willing to give.

* * *

Sonya exited the deli shop and was hit by a blast of cold wind.  The few free strands of hair that had escaped her loose bun, flew about her face.  Lord it was still so cold and she wished the warm weather would hurry up and arrive already.  She had packed away most of her winter garments and didn’t fancy the idea of digging them back out.

About to make a dash down the street toward Tristan’s bar, she came to an abrupt halt when she noticed Daniel and his intern, Jamie, approach.  She froze at the unexpected wave of heat that disabled her at the sight of him.  “Daniel.”

Both men came to a halt in front of her, blocking her exit.

“Sonya,” he returned her greeting but said nothing else.

She was a tall woman and easily matched their height, but she felt an overwhelming sense of being dwarfed.  Jamie offered her a brief smile then shifted his glance between the silent duo.  He looked all at once uncomfortable before he abruptly excused himself, telling Daniel he would find them a table inside.

Left alone, Sonya’s eyes danced around her surroundings trying not to allow her eyes to linger on his person.  Which was hard-pressed to do.  He appeared rather rugged looking in a stylish lambskin jacket and casual khaki pants.  She hadn’t even realized he owned a leather coat.  He obviously had a thing for the expensive material.

She suddenly wondered what he would look like under that jacket and the shirt beneath that.  She couldn’t allow her mind to stray dangerously in that direction.

Groaning, she tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear and told herself she needed a man soon or she would scare poor Daniel away.

“How are you doing?”  They both asked in unison.

She grinned. 

He smiled. 

Their eyes met, and for the first time she noticed the unusual color of his.  Neither blue nor grey, they reminded her of a piece of metal or tin and, contrary to what she thought before, there was a definite hint of glimmer to them.  Probably a result of his glasses.  She idly took note of how low they sat on the bridge of his nose and itched to reach up and push them into place.

As if reading her mind, he did just that then shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat.  The weather was cooler than usual for this time of year.  By this time, winter garments had been exchanged for summer clothes.  However, he still wore a long sleeve sweater under the lambskin coat. 

A breeze swept through the small alcove where they stood and ran its icy finger along her bare arms.  Unlike Daniel, she was eager for the warmer weather and refused to put another heavy item of clothing on.  However, it was days like today that she almost wished she had.  Or at the least, brought a jacket.

“Are you cold?”

She gave an unconscious nod and ran her hands over the goose bumps on her arms.  Then started when she saw him reach up and begin to unzip his coat.  “What are you doing?”

“Loaning you my coat.”  He had finished unzipping it and was shrugging his arms out of the sleeves before she thought to protest.

“You don’t need to do that.”  Her eyes became agitated.

“The hypothalamus in your brain hasn’t delivered impulses to your skin.”  At her frown, he gestured to her goose bumps.  “The hairs on your arm are still lying flat.  They trap more heat when they stand on end.”

“Oh.  I didn’t know that.  I thought it would be the other way around.”

“A common misconception.”

“Won’t you need it?”

He gestured toward his sweater.  “I’ll be perfectly warm.”

She reached out to take the jacket without really being aware.  She could do for the warmth.  It was bigger than she thought when she shrugged into it, as it fit him to a tee, however on her it hung large and loose.  She grinned up at him as the sleeves slipped below her fingertips.  He grinned in response.  Her insides did something unusual.  Maybe her lunch didn’t sit very well.  Involuntarily, her hand clapped over her stomach to quell the feeling.

Daniel noticed.  “Did you get something to eat?”

She gave him a lame nod.

He eyed her closer.  “Are you all right?”

Again she nodded.

Satisfied she wasn’t going to say anything further, he nodded as well then glanced inside the deli where Jamie waited.  “I suppose I should get going.  I’ll see you around.”

“Of course.”  She regained her senses, giving herself a mental slap across the face.  What was wrong with her?  Just because the feel of his lingering warmth in the soft material of his coat felt like an intimate touch to her overly sensitive skin, didn’t mean she couldn’t become immune to the feeling.  “I’ll have to return your coat.”

“Right.”  He stared down at her, then unexpectedly reached out and drew the lapels together around her neck.  His eyes met hers momentarily, before explaining, “There’s a closure in the storm flap.”

She didn’t move.  As he worked on the collar she could feel his fingers gently brushing the underside of her jaw.  They left tiny sensations along her skin.  She had an uncanny urge to turn toward his touch and place her lips against his hand.  Closing her eyes, she forced the image from her mind.  The other night she had thought bestowing a mere kiss on Daniel would have been harmless.  However, she had discovered quickly that it wasn’t.  She certainly could not allow that to happen again.

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

She slowly opened her eyes, not wanting to release the image quite so soon.  Then giving a shaky grin, she said, “Yeah, just don’t order the tuna salad.”

He smiled and his eyes seemed to absorb her as she stood engulfed in his large jacket.  An overwhelming urge to draw him close and kiss him senseless had her taking a step back.

“I have some left over beef stew, did you want to come by and help me finish it tonight?”

Yes, that sounded safe and friendly and harmless.  Exactly where her relationship with Daniel ought to be.  He was not her type.  He could never be her type.  Women like her never got men like Daniel.  He was smart, educated, and decent.  She was an almost-thirty-year-old college drop-out who couldn’t get her life together if she was given a step-by-step manual.