The Party Boy's Guide to Dating a Geek (Clumsy Cupids) (20 page)

weird to say it out loud. Ash could hardly believe

Fee was willing to take a chance on him.

Marge leaned across the table and put a hand on

Ash's arm. "It's about time, sugar," she said softly.

She gave him a squeeze before she turned over two

of the other coffee cups on the table. "Now, how's

he take his?"

"Extra caffeine and lots of sugar." Ash chuckled.

Marge laughed with him. "I'll go see if we have

any of that extra bold left."

Ty came in and sat down. He looked at the cups

and shook his head. He poured himself some

coffee and snagged two creamers from the stash.

Ash managed not to jump up and hug him. He was

still hurt by Ty's refusal to talk to him, but he was

glad Ty was there and at least trying.

"Thanks for coming," Ash said after he finished

stirring his coffee.

"I can't believe I'm doing this."

"Wait till you get to know him."

"Why bother?" Ty asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Ty took a sip of his coffee. "This is the longest

you've been with someone. And you haven't even

really been with him, have you?"

Ash's good mood evaporated under Ty's

negativity. "We're taking it slow. Getting to know

each other."

Ty looked over his cup at Ash before setting it

down. "I'm happy for you. You know that."

"But?"

"But he was kind of a jerk to you, and I don't

like that," Ty said. He cocked his head to one side

and shrugged. "You're my best friend."

Ash smiled and gave in to the urge to lean over

the table and give Ty a hug. "Thank you."

Ty sighed. "But."

Ash froze with his arms around Ty's neck. He

wasn't sure he wanted to hear what Ty was about

to say, but he had to listen. He sat back down and

put his hands on the table. "But what?"

"I'm worried."

"About me? Fee's really a great guy. Just wait.

You'll see." Ash relaxed a little. If that was what

had Ty on edge, he'd soon realize there was no

cause for concern.

"Yeah, I'm sure he is. But it's not really about

him. I mean it is, but it isn't." Ty stared at his cup.

"Okay," Ash said. He was really confused. He

took a deep breath. "What is it about then?"

"Ash, I love you, man. We've been through a lot

together."

"Ty, I …"

"It's not like that, dork."

Ash exhaled. "Then how is it?"

"Remember when you first came to the shop?"

"Yeah?"

"You were so gung-ho. Ready to take the world

by storm. You got me excited again."

"I was so scared. Tank was so intimidating."

"But then Joff came along and you were more

interested in closing time than tattooing."

"Joff was a long time ago." Ty didn't need to

remind Ash about the mess Joff had made of his

life.

"I'm just concerned, okay?"

Ash nodded. He couldn't really blame Ty for

being worried. Ash had become irresponsible

while he was with Joff and with Theo. He watched

Ty pour them both more coffee.

"I've been working with Tank a lot. I've added

twenty-three tats to my book," Ash said after Ty

put the pot down.

"That many?" Ty asked.

Ash nodded. "And I signed up for an accounting

class in the fall."

"Accounting?"

"One of us is going to have to do the books."

Ash took a sip from his cup and smiled at Ty. "We

both know you're shit at math."

Ty looked stunned. "I had no idea."

"We haven't had much time to talk lately."

"Sorry to drop this on you now."

"Fee is no Joff, Ty."

Ty looked at him for a minute. Ash smiled and

Ty nodded. "Now, when does SuperGeek get

here?" Ty asked.

Ash laughed and checked the clock on his

phone. "He should be here any minute. He had to

stop for gas."

"Being trapped in the car with you newlyweds

for an hour doesn't sound very fun to me." Ty

shook his head.

"It's not that bad."

"Please. You get all googily-eyed when you

think about him. You probably scribble his name

on that tablet all day long."

"Do not," Ash said with a laugh. He was glad

this hurdle had been cleared and things were on

their way back to normal with Ty.

The bell over the door rang, and Fee walked in.

Ash couldn't help but smile. He'd been a little

worried about how Fee would fit in with Ash's

peers, but those fears had been unfounded. Fee

was going to stand out, all right, but not for being

out of place. He was wearing relaxed fit jeans and

his usual high-tops, but he'd paired them with a

loose black vest over a tight gray V-neck T-shirt.

The neckline was stretched wide and showed off a

lot of his pretty, naturally tan skin and the elegant

collarbones Ash longed to trace with his tongue.

"There he is," Ash said. He licked his lips as

Fee hefted his bag higher on his shoulder, causing

his shirt to shift and reveal more of his smooth,

hairless chest.

Ty turned to the door and shook his head. "Well,

that explains a lot."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I'd wondered why you were all over him. Now

I see."

"It's not what you're thinking."

"So you're saying
that
," Ty waved his hand at

Fee, "had nothing to do with your full-scale blitz?"

"It's not just physical. He's a good guy."

Ty snorted. "Yeah. I can see that from here."

Fee walked up to the table and set his messenger

bag on the floor before he slid into the booth next

to Ash. He leaned toward Ash, and for a second,

Ash thought Fee was going to kiss him. Instead, he

sat back and smiled shyly.

"Hi," Fee said.

Ash scooted closer and put a hand on Fee's thigh

under the table. He grinned and gave Fee's leg a

squeeze. "Hi, yourself."

"Ugh," Ty said.

Ash raised his other hand and gestured across

the table. "Fee, this is my best friend, Tyson

Ashmore."

"It's nice to meet you, Tyson," Fee said.

"Yeah." Ty reached across the table to shake

Fee's hand. He glanced at Ash, then back to Fee.

"You, too. And call me Ty."

"Sure. Sorry I'm late."

"No worries," Ash said.

Marge came and set a carafe down in front of

Fee. "Extra bold, sugar. You boys want to order?"

Fee shrugged. "Is there time, or do we need to

hit the road?"

Ty looked at Ash and raised an eyebrow. "Can I

just get a side of bacon?"

Ash smiled. The order would give them enough

time to talk, but not too long in case it became

uncomfortable. Just enough time to break the ice

before the hour-long drive. "Same."

"Make it three," Fee said.

Marge nodded. "You got it. Be just a minute."

Ty adjusted his glasses and Fee pulled his off to

clean them. Ash had never noticed it before, but he

realized they both wore thick black frames, though

Ty's were more hipster-stylish, while Fee's were

old-school.

"I love his earlier stuff," Fee said with a nod

toward Ty.

"Huh?" Ty asked.

"Ozzy." Fee gestured to Ty's vintage Ozzy

Osbourne T-shirt. "I stayed away from the TV

show, though. I just couldn't handle watching him

like that."

"No kidding." Ty laughed. "I can't watch any of

those reality shows. You're better off watching any

of the cheesy creature features on SyFy."

"Hey,
Sharktopus
rocked."

"It so did. When it crawled out of the ocean and

grabbed the Frat boy?"

Ty and Fee started talking about movies and TV

shows Ash had never seen, and just like that, Fee

had won another of Ash's friends over.

9.3

"Why don't I drop you guys off here? I'll park

and meet you inside," Fee said as he pulled up in

front of the convention center hosting the event.

"That'd be great." Ash opened the door, slid

from his seat, and held it forward so Ty could

climb out. "We'll meet you inside."

"I'll be right back," Fee said.

"No, don't say that," Ty said. Fee laughed along

with Ty. Ash shook his head and closed the door.

He and Ty purchased their tickets and waited in

the lobby for Fee to join them.

"Well?" Ash asked. The tension was killing him.

It would really suck for Ash if Ty and Fee didn't

get along. He wasn't ready to give up either one of

them.

Ty sighed. "He seems like a decent guy."

"But?" Ash asked, trying not to be annoyed. It

seemed like everyone had a
but
for him when it

came to Fee. He didn't understand it, but Ash

supposed it shouldn't have surprised him that Ty

had yet another something to say about their

relationship. Ty had voiced his concerns before

Fee showed up at the diner, but Ash had thought

their easy conversations in the car had gone a long

way toward easing Ty's apprehension. Apparently,

he'd thought wrong. Ash mentally braced himself

for whatever Ty was going to say.

"But," Ty said with a shrug, "if he hurts you, I'll

kick his ass."

Relieved, Ash pulled Ty into a hug. "Thanks,

man. That means a lot."

Ty's expression was serious when he stepped

back. "I think he might be good for you."

Ash's eyes started to water. He thought Fee

might be good for him, too, but it felt nice to have

someone else recognize it, to hear it said out loud.

He could only hope it was the same for Fee.

"Dusty in here," he lied when Ty looked at him

oddly.

Fee walked up and put a hand on Ash's arm.

"Are you all right?"

Ash smiled and nodded. "Fine. Ready?" He

nodded toward the door.

"Where do I get my ticket?" Fee asked.

"My treat. Come on." Ash took Fee's hand and

pulled him toward the door.

Once inside, Fee stopped to look around. Most

of the hall had been sectioned off into booths, and

the back corner had a platform where the featured

artists worked in front of a small crowd.

"What do you think?" Ash asked.

Fee smiled. "It's like a comic-con except the

body paint is permanent."

Ty laughed. "I bet there's a lot of the same

crowd here, too. We get a lot of comic requests at

the shop."

"I can imagine. Donovan's got a Mighty Mouse

on his hip."

"Donovan?" Ash asked. He hoped the jealousy

coursing through his body didn't show in his voice,

but by the way Ty and Fee looked at him, he knew

it showed. "What? He hates me. And how low on

his hip?"

"Just about here," Fee said, pulling Ash in close

and running his hand down Ash's side. He stopped

along the hipbone and stroked his thumb in a

circle. Ash groaned, and Fee smiled at him. "You

don't have anything to worry about. Donovan's just

a friend. He's not interested anyway." Ash waited

for him to elaborate, but Fee took a step back and

turned left. "Do we start over there?"

"You can start wherever you like," Ty said. "I'm

going to go check in with Tank. I'll see you guys in

a bit." He looked around and then started down

one of the aisles on their right.

Fee went in the other direction. Ash watched

him walk away, still wondering exactly how Fee

had come to see Donovan's tattoo. He caught up

with Fee at the end of the row and followed as Fee

looked at the different booths. A couple of times,

Ash opened his mouth to point out Donovan's

obvious attraction, but Fee moved on, picking up

business cards as he walked. Ash shot him a look

when Fee pulled out his phone to take a photo of a

weird black and white square on the back of a

promo card.

"You have the card, so why bother taking a

picture?" Ash asked, momentarily distracted from

obsessing about Fee's history with Donovan.

"It's a QR code," Fee answered, as if that meant

anything to Ash.

"Okay, you lost me again. English?"

Fee laughed. "It's like a bar code. I use a

scanner app, and I can access more information

about the shop, or the artist, or whatever they've

coded into it. See?" He scanned the code again and

turned his phone around for Ash to see.

"How did they do that?"

"It's easy. There are websites out there where

you can create your own. It's free and easy, and

you can provide a lot more info this way."