The Party Boy's Guide to Dating a Geek (Clumsy Cupids) (16 page)

been hooked by chapter two.

"So you're already ahead of last time."

"Well, this one was more interesting than some

weird space mythology," Ash shot back.

"Sacrilege," Fee said with laugh.

Ash loved when Fee opened up like this. "I don't

know. I don't think Donovan would approve."

Fee's voice got serious. "Well, it's not his call,

is it?"

"I'll think about it."

"Okay. Have a good night, Ash."

"You too, Fee." Ash hung up, thinking about the

jealousy he felt when he heard Fee had company.

He wasn't at all sure he liked the idea of Donovan

hanging out at Fee's all night, and he knew he liked

the idea of Fee getting physical with anyone else

even less.
Then he wondered if Fee felt the same

way about him. Would Fee have had the same kind

of crazy reaction if Ash had actually gone out and

hooked up with someone?

He had to figure out what they were doing, and

fast. If they were dating, if Fee expected Ash to

just bide his time and wait for him, he'd appreciate

Fee letting him know, just so he didn't do

something stupid. He'd come very close to going

trolling that night. It was sheer dumb luck the

ladies had stopped in and distracted him.

Ash knew exclusivity was what Fee would

want, what he would expect from Ash, even

without discussing it. And Ash could pretend that

he was still interested in quick, hot, and steamy all

he wanted, but deep down, he knew he'd been

hooked from the moment he saw Fee.

Fuck.

7.2

Was the bookstore this stuffy last time? Ash

couldn't remember, but the way people were

staring at him lent an air of menace to the room.

He'd tried dressing down from last time, but he

could tell it didn't help. He wore the same black

slacks, but he'd left the vest at home and opted for

a blue-striped shirt and his black high-tops.

Most of his tattoos were covered, and the one

across his chest barely peeked out from the open

collar. Maybe next time he should just wear his

usual tattoo-baring, skin-tight clothes. At least he'd

feel more like himself.
If there was a next time
, he

reminded himself. The way Donovan and Rob

were watching him, like he was a fly in their soup,

had him halfway convinced to leave.

When Fee showed up, Donovan pulled him

aside immediately, literally pulling him into a

conversation on the opposite side of the room from

Ash. Not that Ash minded looking at Fee's back.

Especially with the cut of his jeans and the way the

crisp denim hugged his hips and framed his ass.

They weren't tight, but they weren't the baggy ones

he'd grown used to seeing on Fee.

Fee started to look around the room, and Ash

stood up straight, but Donovan took a step to the

right and dragged Fee into another conversation.

Donovan glanced at Ash as Fee spoke, and Ash

noticed he'd shaved, probably just before coming

that night, judging by the red bumps on his neck.

He'd also combed his shaggy blond hair, but he

was still wearing the loose T-shirt and cargo

shorts Ash had come to associate with him. Ash's

gaze stopped on the front of Donovan's shirt. He

wore one of those weird "Inigo Montoya" shirts

Fee had on the day they met. Ash didn't like that

Donovan was in on whatever that joke meant, but

he still didn't get it.
He'd have to ask Fee about that

next time they had a minute.

The quick once-over he was giving Donovan

stopped when Ash noticed the tear on the right side

of the T-shirt. Fee had gotten it caught on the

doorknob of Jack's apartment while he lugged

boxes. He scowled at the rip, realizing that

Donovan didn't have a shirt like Fee's, he was

actually

wearing
Fee's
shirt. Jealousy ripped

through him again, and Ash wondered what exactly

had been going on in Fee's apartment while he'd

been at work the previous night. He looked up and

Donovan smirked at him. The look was pure

contempt with a side of condescension and a

splash of victory. Donovan even nodded at him in

a "yeah, that's right" kind of way.

Ash was about to start over there and get to the

bottom of shirt-gate when a hand landed on his

elbow. He turned to find the redheaded girl who

had defended him at the last meeting standing next

to him.

"Hi, Ash, was it?" She smiled at him.

"Yes, Ash Byrne." He shook her hand.

She cocked an eyebrow, and Ash half expected

the same product-of-your-last-name schtick Fee

had given him, but she just smiled wider. "I'm

Gwen. Nice to meet you."

Her easy-going demeanor helped calm Ash a

little, but he still wanted to go grab Fee and plant a

kiss on him in front of the entire room, to stake his

claim before Donovan could worm his way into

Fee's affections. It was stupid, and he knew it, but

he couldn't help his feelings.

"He's laying it on thick tonight," Gwen said.

"What?" Ash hoped his voice didn't sound as

shaky as he felt.

"Donovan. I guess he thought Fee would always

be there, provided he ever got his head out of his

ass and admitted that maybe he liked Fee that

way."

Ash looked at Gwen. "Everyone
knows
?"

"No, and maybe I'm wrong. I mean, it's obvious

he feels close to Fee, and maybe it's just in a

geeks-banding-together

kind

of

way,

but

something's got him stepping up his game." Gwen

gave Ash a shrug. "Maybe he's just competitive."

Competition Ash could handle, but it wasn't as if

Ash could really do anything in front of everybody

anyway, no matter how much he wanted to.

Besides, Fee was one of the leaders of the book

club, and Ash respected him enough not to

embarrass him in front of the group. He pulled the

night's book out of his bag. "So, do we have you to

thank for this one?"

Gwen chuckled. "No, that was Emma's doing."

Ash looked around and spotted the small

brunette from the last meeting. "She love

romances?"

"No, she's in a writing group with the author."

"Really? Does she write, too?"

"Yep." Gwen waved Emma over, but Fee called

the meeting to order before Ash could talk to her.

Everyone sat down, and Donovan started the

discussion.

"Today we're going to talk about
Tinka's

Tailored Soldier
by Charles Kean. I'm assuming

everyone here read it?" he asked, staring at Ash to

single him out.

"Well, I see some new faces, so even if you're

just here to test the waters, welcome. I hope you'll

enjoy the discussion, even if you haven't gotten to

pick the book up yet," Fee said as he looked

around the table. He paused when he found Ash,

sitting between Emma and Gwen, before moving

around to smile at a couple of new guys sitting at

the end of the table.

"Damn, I wish he'd look at me that way," Emma

whispered.

"No kidding," Gwen said, elbowing Ash in the

side. Ash's cheeks flushed and burned with the

effort of controlling his smile.

"Ash, what did you think of the Professor's

actions after that visit from Justice and

Vengeance?" Donovan asked.

"I think he was scared shit—uh, witless. He did

the only thing he felt like he could do."

"It's okay. We're grown-ups. You can say shit

here," Gwen said, getting a laugh from everyone.

Donovan snorted. "He had other options," he

said. Ash knew Donovan was baiting him,

speaking in generalities because he suspected Ash

hadn't read the book. Disappointing him was going

to be fun.

"Well, they did set fire to his business. They had

to expect some type of reaction. Sending

DeathRanger had always been his go-to play, and

it had always worked before. How was the

Professor to know DeathRanger had grown an

actual feeling or two? Hired guns aren't supposed

to have emotions."

"What about the women?"

Ash shrugged. "What about them?"

"Don't you think it was a bit stereotypical that

the women were all hookers?"

"Nope," Ash said. Donovan shook his head so

Ash went on. "First of all, it was mostly set in a

brothel. What would you expect? Nurses and

nuns?"

Donovan glared at Ash. "No, but Kean could

have easily set it someplace else."

"But he didn't. And why should he? It was a

viable source of income for these women. I thought

he did a great job of making them kick-ass without

putting them down."

"What about the way the Professor kept them

captive, like slaves?" Rob asked.

"He was an asshole. Pure and simple. We saw

that other brothels operated on the up-and-up. The

Professor took it to the extreme and catered to a

sick clientele. Smart business. Shitty ethics."

"Smart business? How can you say that? He was

a twisted bastard."

"You're absolutely right. He was a sick bastard.

But the real question is, was he simply exploiting a

market, or did he get off on it? We know he had

hallways behind the rooms where he could watch.

I thought the Professor hated what was going on,

but loved the money and power he was getting for

it more. He certainly wasn't above blackmailing

the Regent-Mayor to get his permits."

"Absolutely," Gwen said, nodding her head.

Ash turned to her. "I'd even argue that he didn't

care about anything
but
money and power, and if

he could have made more in a legit way, he would

have gone for it. He just took the easiest route to

get what he wanted."

Donovan stared at Ash as if he'd grown another

head, but Fee just smiled. "Good thoughts, Ash.

Does anyone else have thoughts on the subject?"

The rest of the evening flew by as the group

discussed everything from the significance of the

blue curtains in Tinka's room, the cut of

DeathRanger's uniform and the way he melted

down his service medals for ammo, to the romance

when Tinka finally rescued herself and took

DeathRanger with her after sending the Professor

and the Regent-Mayor to meet their makers.

They were debating the possibility of sequels

for Justice and Vengeance each getting their

happily-ever-afters when the café clerk announced

last call. The meeting broke up, and Fee started

helping her collect cups.

"Sorry," Fee said. "We got carried away

tonight."

"I'll say. You guys haven't been this animated in

months. Guess your new blood helped." She

nodded at Ash.

"Maybe. He can be very helpful," Fee said. The

look he shot Ash was unmistakable, and it had

Ash's slacks feeling tighter.

Ash tried to distract himself from those thoughts

by helping Gwen and Emma clear the rest of the

table.

"So, Emma," Ash started. She stared at him with

wide eyes.

"Yes?"

"Why aren't we reading your stuff?"

"Oh, uh, I don't think the group would like it

much."

"Nonsense."

"Besides, I'd be too embarrassed. Can you

imagine sitting and listening to a group that hated

your work?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Ash said. Every

so often they had an unhappy customer at The Ink

Tank. When it did happen, Tank would try to bend

over backwards to fix the tattoo, but there was just

no pleasing some people.

"Oh? What do you do?"

"Ash is a tattoo artist," Fee said from behind

him.

"You do body graffiti?" Gwen asked.

"Well, I'm still an apprentice now. But I am

working on my portfolio."

"That's so awesome," Emma said. "I'd like to get

something for my book, but I don't know what."

"Maybe I can help design something for you. Or

at least give you some suggestions. What's it

about?"

"Well," she started, dragging out the word like

she really didn't want to talk about it.

"Hey, it's okay. You don't have to tell me if

you're not comfortable." Ash put a hand on her

arm, and Gwen put her arm around Emma's