How to Date a Nerd (17 page)

He raises his eyebrows, his eyes totally laughing at me. I wish my legs didn’t feel like Jell-O, because I kind of want to get out of here.

So much for trying to be nice. This was such a bad idea. Mentally smacking myself in the forehead.

“I guess that would traumatize you.” Now his face has reddened.

“I didn’t see anything,” I say quickly. Could this conversation get any more uncomfortable? “I was just saying because, you know, I was drunk and you were—”

“Naked.” He’s laughing now.

Yes. The conversation could get more uncomfortable.

“How would you feel if you walked in on
me
naked?” What is wrong with my mouth today?

“Hmm…” He rubs his chin and attempts pervert eyes. It looks so funny I can’t help but burst out laughing.

“Shut up!” I smack his shoulder and he steps back. As if I could really rock him off his feet with that weak hit.

“Well, thanks,” he says, handing the toothbrush back, “and yeah, green is still my favorite color.”

“Good.” I walk past him, covering my heated face. I can’t believe I talked about his naked ass. Totally not what I had in mind for this… whatever this is.

“So, where did you want to eat?” I ask when we get back in the car and reverse out of the parking lot.

“You’re driving.”

Is that going to be his cop-out for making any decisions today?

“Well, do you want to go in somewhere? Or just grab something to eat in the car?”

“Up to you.”

Argh. I feel like this is one of those scenes with the bomb wires. And if I cut the wrong one, that’ll be it for my chances with dream nerdboy.

I know I should prove to him I’m okay with us being seen together—which I’m still not one-hundred percent sure I am okay with, and that sucks—but I really want to be alone with him. Great. Just
lovely!
Here I go with the battle of the Zoes.

“You okay?” he asks.

I nod. “Just hungry. Trying to decide what I want.”

“Be honest,” he says, putting his hand on mine and shifting into third.

Forcing back laughter at my transparency, I blow out my cheeks as I consider granting his request.

“Zo,” he prods.

“I don’t want to tell you.” That’s honest.

“Why not?” He shifts as we come to a stoplight, fully smiling now.

“Because you might get mad.”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, his smile disappears. “You don’t want to be seen with me.”

“No, no!” I blurt. Gosh, I don’t want him to think that even if it’s a tiny bit true. And I hate myself for admitting to that, but my freaky dream keeps coming back and haunting me. “That’s not what I meant. I don’t mind going someplace public like I promised, but it’s just…” There goes my voice evaporating like it always does when I get scared.

“The light’s green.”

I let off the clutch, jerking a little, but not stalling. “Sorry.”

“What were you saying?”

The engine revs really loud and he moves his hand from mine to my leg and pushes it down on the clutch. Then he quickly shifts with his other hand. The car quiets as the rpm’s drop.

“Wow, you’re good.” I smile trying not to drool over how hot that was.

“Pay attention, Zo.” He chuckles and I get my courage back.

“I want to be alone with you.”

He’s still leaning toward me, his eyes flick up to my face, and I totally want to meet his gaze, but I don’t want to crash the car.

“Why?”

“Because.”

A small puff of air hits my neck as he huffs. “Because why?”

“I’m not trying to avoid people. It’s just, I-I…” I let out a defeated sigh when I can’t explain without telling him exactly what I want, which is a chance for Geek Zoe to be herself without worrying over everything else. He totally helps me do that, when we’re…

“You just want to spend some time alone?”

Exactly. “Yes.”

He pauses and my face gets hot.

“Uh, yeah. That sounds okay.”

My stomach does a little ribbon dance as he agrees. “Okay, then you choose the food.”

His wide smile distracts my gaze for a second, and I have to snap it back to the road.

“Panda.”

Chapter 21

Always bring a compact when you go out to eat.

“Mmm.” Damn those uncontrollable moans, but the mandarin chicken from Panda is made by gods.

Zak leans back against the windshield of my car, rubbing his flat stomach and gazing at the surrounding trees. “I think I might explode.”

Even after stuffing himself silly, he’s so damn sexy. I smile and move the chicken into my cheek so I can talk. “Well, if you didn’t eat so fast, you probably wouldn’t have eaten so much. Did you even save me any chow mein?”

He pinches his fingers leaving a tiny bit of space between them. I laugh and continue chewing my food, letting the cool mountain air brush over my face. It’s lucky we live so close to spots like this, where we can escape the city and park on the side of the road, listening to the rapid water kissing rocks in the stream—smelling the pine and maple trees, and tasting the fruit filled air.

Totally like
Lord of the Rings
. Which is perfect for us.

After I finish my chicken and the two bites of chow mein he left me, I grab the bag with the fortune cookies in it. Hey!

“Did you eat yours already, cheater? You know it doesn’t come true until everyone has finished eating.”

“No.” He leans up on his elbows. “Did they only give us one?”

“Looks like it.” I pull it out and hand it to him. “You can have it.”

Smiling, he takes it from my hand, which surprises me. I expected us to argue over the stupid thing.

“This is perfect. Now it can be like a wishbone.” He bites off the wrapper and sticks one side of the cookie out to me.

“Cheesy,” I tease in a sing-song voice, but I take the other side and pull. It splits down the middle and the paper lodges in his half.

“That’s what you get for making fun of me.” Zak winks, sticking his piece of cookie in his mouth and pulling out the fortune.

I play with my own half, fingering the edges. We used to do this. All. The. Time. Split our cookies open and add silly crap on the end, always something to do with
Harry Potter
. Gosh, how could I have given up something so awesome? I totally ruined our friendship.

“Geez, I didn’t know you’d be so torn up about it.” He chuckles as he sticks the paper in between his fingers and holds it out to me.

Guess I’m transparent today.

“I don’t want the stupid fortune.” I shove his hand away, smirking. “I was just thinking.”

“About?”

“You.” Ugh. Here comes the word vomit.

“What about me?” He slides closer, pulling me down next to him on the windshield. His hands shake a little on my arm. “That I’m so incredibly sexy eating my cookie?” He sticks his tongue out so he can show me his “see food.”

“You caught me,” I say, shoving him. We laugh, our bodies moving in tune with each other. That totally gives me the good kind of chills.

When our amusement subsides, he wraps his arm around me. “Really, Zo. What were you thinking about?”

“What a crap friend I’ve been.”

I think I’ve pulled him up short. He doesn’t speak, but it looks like he wants to. I drop my eyes, knowing he can’t say anything reassuring without lying to me.

Clearing my throat of all the gook that suddenly appears there I say, “I’m sorry. I know you don’t believe me, but I
am
sorry for hurting you.”

He coughs and I glance at him from under my eyelashes. His head’s turned the other way.

“I’m starting to,” he says.

“Starting to what?”

He looks at me. “Believe you.”

I think I may pass out. His face moves closer and my heart pumps in my head. He reaches his other arm across my body, and tucks the fortune in my hand.

“You can have it,” he says softly, pressing his forehead against mine. “Friends like to share.” He smiles and it sends a torrent of electric shocks through my chest.

“We’re friends again?”

“Baby steps.”

It’s like I don’t have control over my body because kissing him is definitely not ”baby steps” and that’s exactly what I try to do. Apparently I have no self control.

My lips barely brush his before he pulls back, taking his sexy scent with him.

“Sorry,” I mumble, slapping my forehead. “I wasn’t thinking.”

He laughs and tucks me into his side. “It’s not that, Zo.”

“Then what?”

He pulls out a napkin and hands it to me. My heart falls from my head to my butt as he holds in his laughter.

“Are you kidding? I’ve had crap on my face this whole time and you haven’t said anything?”

He rolls over, barking out his amusement as I scrub my lips, my cheeks, even my eyebrows. I chuck my napkin at him and push him so hard he almost falls off the hood of my car.

“Whoa crap!”

I nudge him farther, giggling nonstop as I try to push him off. He puts his hands up in defense, but I clasp onto them, moving my legs on either side of his hips and pinning him down. We’re both laughing so hard, tears stream down my face, and he can’t seem to breathe.

And I love every frakking second of it. How long has it been since I’ve laughed like this?

Falling onto him, I move my hand to the empty Chinese box, wiping a finger across the side. I’ve got him now, ’cause he totally doesn’t notice. His expression actually gets really serious. His eyes search mine, then my lips, then my hair as he reaches up with a shaking hand to play with the strands that have fallen in my face.

I almost let him kiss me, but the urge to get him back wins out and as he leans in, I wipe mandarin sauce across his nose. Laughing like a mad woman, I roll off him, landing awkwardly on the ground, and try to lock myself safely in the car.

He catches my hips before I can get to the handle, spins me around and traps me against the door. I scream as he wiggles his nose all over my face.

“Stop! Stop! You win!” I say through yells and giggles. He’s laughing with me and I can’t believe how incredibly dorky we are… and how cute he looks even with sauce all over his face.

“Success.” He smiles and we stare at each other as we catch our breath. But my breathing only gets quicker, my heart rate going as fast as the tempo in the chicken dance song after it plays for a while.

“Zak?”

His eyes sparkle when I say his name. “Hmm?”

I don’t care we’re both a mess right now. All that swims through my brain is how happy he makes me. And how much I want him.
This
guy.

“Can friends kiss?”

He drops his smile. Crap. I can see the argument he has with himself behind his eyes now that I’m giving him the chance to think about it.

He pulls away, not answering me and grabs the rest of the napkins. Handing me a few and wiping his own face, he says, “You ready to get going?”

I nod, staring at the napkins in my hands. My limbs seem to have forgotten how to move. I should’ve let him kiss me instead of getting even. Darn competitive nature.

“It’s not that I don’t want to, Zo.” He takes the napkin from my palm and wipes my face for me. “I don’t think we can be friends that kiss. Didn’t work out so well last time.”

I nod again. He’s totally right. And I don’t want to be just his friend, but I don’t know how I’ll handle him as a boyfriend without disappointing him.

“Well, let’s go. Do you mind driving?” I ask as I gather up the trash on the hood and chuck it in a garbage can chained to a tree.

“No, you need practice.”

I grimace at him. “Fine. But you still have to shift for me.”

“You just want to hold my hand,” he says pointing a finger and smirking.

“Well, duh.”

I can’t believe this surprises him after I asked if he would kiss me. But his eyebrows disappear into his bangs and his mouth drops as he struggles to respond. Cute.

“Oh, well. Okay.” He blushes. “But you have to be the one to shift.”

“Deal.”

I go to open my door, and he yells like I’m about to run over a cat. “Wait!” He jogs to my side and lifts the handle, but the door doesn’t open. He tugs on it with both hands, wiggling it up and down like it’ll suddenly start working.

Laughing, I ask, “You having a bit of trouble there?”

He cocks his head, exaggerating the roll of his eyes. “Keys?”

I press my hand against my pocket. My flat pocket. My eyes pop and I peer into the car window and sure enough, they’re dangling from the ignition.

“Whoops.”

Chapter 22

I must be PMS-ing with all the mood swings.

Zak laughs and whips out his cell.

“What are you doing?”

“Calling Ariana.”

It’s like a fire-breathing dragon hatches in the pit of my stomach. “Why?”

“Calm down. She’s got my truck. She can pick us up and you can get the spare key from your house.” He pauses to look at me. “You do have a spare, right?”

“Yes,” I snap, folding my arms and leaning against my car. Why the hell does
Ariana
have
Zak’s
car? “We aren’t going to leave my car here though with the keys inside are we?”

He shakes his head and presses the phone to his ear. I try not to unleash the ravenous beast growing inside me as he talks to her.

“She’ll be here in a few minutes.” He shoves his phone back in his pocket.

“Great.” I knew I’d ruin the date by doing something stupid. Now I have to share Zak with Clingy Girl.

“Hey,” he says, shuffling his feet in the gravel. “She’s my friend.”

“Like me?” I raise a questioning eyebrow which I’m sure gets lost in translation, since I can’t do it right.

His hair flops around as he shakes his head at the dirt. “No one will ever be like you.”

Freaking Spiderman, I’m going to maul him if he keeps saying cheesy crap like that.

Sliding down the car door, I plant myself on the dirt road. Zak sits next to me, brushing my arm with his own.

“Can I ask you about your dad?” Wow. I have no idea where that came from. I just don’t want to think about Ariana being all buddy-buddy with him, and my uncontrollable tongue takes over.