The Party Boy's Guide to Dating a Geek (Clumsy Cupids) (21 page)

"Can you show me?"

"Of course," Fee said. They walked up the next

row. Ash stopped to chat with Mr. Orange and a

few of the other artists he'd met through The Ink

Tank while Fee kept walking, checking out booths

along the way. He smiled when Ash joined him at

the end of the row, and they browsed another aisle.

"So, how do you know?" Ash asked when they

paused to look through the T-shirts at one of the

corner booths. He didn't want to piss Fee off, but

no matter what Fee had said about Donovan

earlier, Ash couldn't seem to let the subject drop.

"About QR codes?" Fee shrugged. "Nerd thing, I

guess."

"No," Ash said slowly. He glanced sideways at

Fee. "That Donovan's not interested."

Fee's expression closed. "I just do." He started

walking away, and Ash had to move quickly to

catch up to him.

"Fee?"

"I know because he shot me down, okay?" Fee's

cheeks were flushed, and he looked embarrassed

when he turned to face Ash. He blinked and

avoided Ash's gaze.

Ash was stunned. "
He
shot
you
down?" he

asked. Fee nodded and blushed deeper. "The guy

who hates me for crashing your club, who glares

daggers at me every time I come near you.
He
shot

you down?" Ash laughed at the sheer insanity of

the idea.

"I'm glad you find it so funny," Fee said. He

walked away.

"Hey," Ash said softly as he grabbed Fee's arm.

He pulled Fee through one of the side doors and

pushed him over to the corner. "I'm not laughing at

you. I'm laughing at him."

"Why?"

"Why? Because he's a fucking moron, that's

why." Ash smiled at Fee, but Fee was still upset.

"How could he possibly resist?"

Fee shrugged. "It was a while ago, and we've

gotten past it."

"I honestly don't think he has. I've seen the way

he looks at you. And the way he looks at me."

"So?" Fee asked.

"So …" Ash really didn't want to say anything,

but he couldn't keep quiet. "I don't think he would

shoot you down again. If you were to ask him out."

He swallowed and waited for Fee to say

something. The moment stretched out, and Ash's

heart threatened to pound out of his chest. Did Fee

want
to be with Donovan? Ash knew it had to be a

possibility. Fee had a hell of a lot more in common

with Donovan. Every second Fee took to consider

it made Ash more anxious.

Fee looked around, but the area was deserted.

Finally, he put a hand on the side of Ash's neck and

tugged him close. "Why would I do something

stupid like that?"

"He's got the same interests as you. You don't

have to explain everything to him. He gets that

Inigo Montoya joke and I don't." Ash's head swam

as the list of pluses grew under his mental

'Donovan' column. What if Ash was just a passing

curiosity for Fee while he waited for someone

who was more compatible for him to come along?

Could Ash handle it if Fee decided there were too

many strikes against him?

Fee laughed. He glanced around again before he

leaned in for a kiss. "I know what movie we're

watching next time you come over," Fee said. He

took Ash's hand and squeezed. "Now, should we

continue?"

Ash was dizzy, from the kissing and from the

roller coaster of emotions he'd been on in the last

few minutes. He sighed and leaned his head

against Fee's chest and closed his eyes. Going

back inside was the last thing he wanted to do. "In

a minute."

"Okay," Fee said, putting his arms around Ash

and rubbing his hands up and down Ash's back.

After a few minutes, Ash's heart rate returned to

normal, and he stood up. "Ty's probably

wondering where we got off to."

"Nowhere. Yet," Fee said with a wicked look in

his eyes. Ash took a step away from Fee before he

did something crazy, like drag Fee off to the hotel

next door so they could rent a room for a few

hours. Fee leaned back against the wall and put his

hands up. "Sorry, I was just teasing."

"Oh, I get you're teasing." Ash's cock throbbed,

and he suspected being near Fee the rest of the day

without being able to touch him was going to kill

him. "Two can play that game." He closed the

space between them and rubbed his hand over

Fee's crotch. Fee moaned and bumped his head

against the wall. He clutched Ash's hips and

pumped his own hips hard.

"You don't play fair," Fee whispered.

"You have no idea." Ash chuckled as he stepped

away. "Ready to go back in?"

Fee glared at him, but he stood up straight and

nodded. His erection was noticeable in his pants.

Ash stared at it until Fee cleared his throat. "I

thought we were going."

Ash watched Fee walk back into the hall,

seemingly unworried about the hard bulge in his

pants.

"Oh, shit," Ash whispered. He started thinking

of health codes,
Star Wars
plots, anything to keep

his mind off how Fee looked, all hot and bothered

and hard. Ash's jeans were uncomfortably tight,

and the pressure against his cock was getting to

him. He couldn't believe how foolish Donovan had

been. "What an idiot," he mumbled.

Ash found Fee talking to Ty and Tank when he

went back into the show. They were all looking at

the screen on Fee's phone. Fee pointed to

something and Tank nodded. Ty glanced at Ash

and shook his head.

"Ash, did you know about these?" Tank asked.

"What? QR codes?" Ash guessed. Fee looked at

him and smiled.

"Yeah. Fee's been giving us some great ideas

here," Tank said.

Ty laughed, and Fee blushed, but Ash just

smiled. "He's got a lot of great ideas."

"I'd love to hear more sometime, but I've got a

meeting. Can you take over here?" Tank asked.

"Absolutely," Ash said as he joined Ty behind

the table.

"Couldn't wait till you got home?" Ty asked

under his breath.

"We were just talking."

"Sure you were."

Fee was flipping through the books on the table.

He stopped on one page and traced the image with

one finger. "That's mine," Ash said. Fee looked up

and smiled. He flipped a few more pages and

stopped on another one. He glanced up, and Ash

nodded. A woman looked over Fee's shoulder and

smiled.

"Is this yours?" she asked.

"Yes," Ash answered.

"How long did it take?"

"Eight hours. We went through three sittings to

get it finished."

"Did you design it?"

"He had an idea, but I fleshed it out," Ash said.

"In the end, he loved it."

She asked a few more questions and Fee moved

to the end of the table. More people came by to

browse, and Ash managed to book three

appointments for the next week and hand out

twelve more cards by the time Tank returned. He

clapped Ash on the back.

"Thanks, guys. You can cut out if you like. I

think I can handle it from here," Tank said.

"You sure?" Ash asked as he checked the time.

"It's still early."

"I'll stay and catch a ride with Tank," Ty said.

"If that's okay, boss."

"Fine by me."

"Are you sure?" Fee asked. "I don't like leaving

you here after we brought you."

"Don't worry, Boy Scout. I'll be fine."

"How did you know I was a Scout?" Fee asked.

"Didn't quite make it to Eagle, though."

"Lucky guess." Ty laughed. "Go, before I change

my mind."

"Thanks." Ash looked at Fee. "Ready?"

"If you are," Fee said as he stepped aside to let

Ash out from behind the table.

"I want to make one stop before we leave."

"Lead on." Fee smiled and followed Ash

through the crowd. Ash stopped by Mr. Orange's

booth to say goodbye. He glanced over his

shoulder and caught Fee checking out his ass as

they made their way toward the door. Fee grinned

and Ash put a little more swing in his step as they

exited the building.

"Who's back at the shop if you guys are here?"

Fee asked as they made their way to the car.

"Genie's running things, and Shanna and Lemmy

are there."

"So you don't need to work tonight?"

"Nope. I’m all yours."

Fee smiled. "How about some dinner?"

"Sounds great."

The ride back to the city went quickly. Fee

suggested a small Italian restaurant not far from

Ash's place.

"Thanks for coming today," Ash said after they

had put in their orders.

"I had fun. I had no idea how technical tattooing

was," Fee said. "I think most people just see the

finished product and judge the person. They don't

think about the artist."

Ash shrugged. "That's kind of the goal. If I've

done my job right, you'll remember the ink as an

extension of the person. It tells you something

about him. You won't think about me, slaving over

how to adapt the design to the body part."

Fee stared at Ash but didn't say anything.

"What?" Ash asked after a minute.

"You're not what I expected."

"Uh, thanks?"

"Sorry," Fee said, shaking his head. He reached

out and took Ash's hand over the table. "I didn't

mean it that way."

"I know you've heard stories."

"Yeah, I did. I'm glad they're not true."

Ash laughed bitterly. "Oh, they're probably

true." He could imagine the things Fee had heard

about him from Jack and Mari. Their orders

arrived, but Ash wasn't hungry anymore. He picked

at his food while Fee ate.

Fee swallowed a bite of spaghetti and wiped his

mouth. "So what?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"So what if they're true? That's not all you are.

They don't define you. And if that's all someone

sees when they look at you, their loss. My gain."

Fee took a big bite of bread and grinned, his

cheeks puffed out from the food.

Ash couldn't help but laugh, even as a part of

him wondered about Fee's seemingly casual

acceptance of his past, especially after their rocky

start. "You really think that?"

Fee shrugged as he finished chewing. "Yeah," he

said. "I misjudged you at first, and later I realized

how wrong it was for me to do that. I try not to be

that guy, you know? We all have history. It's who

you are and what you do now that's important to

me."

Ash blinked for a moment. Well, wasn't Fee full

of surprises? It felt good to be given the benefit of

the doubt, despite whatever Jack and Mari might

have told Fee. Ash wanted to reach across the

table and kiss him. Instead, he settled for a grin

that probably looked as goofy and lightheaded as

Fee's words had made him feel.

"What?" Fee asked.

"Nothing." Ash shook his head and dug into his

meal.

9.4

After dinner, Fee actually managed to find a

parking spot in front of Ash's building. He pulled

in and turned off the engine. Ash unbuckled his seat

belt and turned sideways to look at Fee.

"Wanna come up?" Ash asked.

"Well, I did find a parking spot."

"And I do have to return your underwear."

"True. I'd hate for you to get caught with them on

the L." Fee laughed and opened his door.

"Yes," Ash whispered. He hopped out and

bounced up the stairs to hold the door open for

Fee.

"Are your roommates in?" Fee asked when they

got to Ash's door.

"I don't know." Ash hoped they weren't. Fee

would feel obligated to stay in the living room and

chat with Carley or Jae if they were home. He was

hoping for some alone time with Fee. Ash opened

the door and sighed with relief that no one was

waiting up on him. "Looks like they're out."

Fee nodded and followed Ash down the

hallway. Ash was glad he'd picked up his clothes

and made his bed that morning. Once they were in

his room, Ash set his keys on the desk and put his

bag on the floor next to it.

"So, here they are," Ash said, holding out the

borrowed underwear. Fee reached over and took

Ash's hand. He pulled Ash into his arms and spun

them around to pin Ash against the door. The briefs

slipped from Ash's fingers as Fee stared at him.