How to Date a Nerd (5 page)

I yank out my cell in the side pocket of my snug jeans, and slide it open to a text.

From Cody.

I miss u.

Gag me. He really needs to take the implied breakup hint. I don’t want to ever see that jackass ever again. I blow up my cheeks and let the air come out slowly as my fingers fly across my keyboard.

Stay the hell away from me.

There, if he doesn’t get the hint from that, he’s an idiot.

My phone buzzes.

Bitch.

Nope, not an idiot. Just a horny prick. Things have never been that way with any guy ever. And I don’t want him to look at me, or touch me, or anything. If he tries it again he’s losing a testicle.

Hands are suddenly on my shoulders and I jump back in the seat.

Missy giggles. “Sorry, hon, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I clutch my chest and try to laugh it off.

“Looks like you’ll need a few more minutes,” she says prodding my scalp. She plops the dryer back over my head and smiles. “I’ll make sure to wave in front of your face or something when I come back.”

“Ha ha.”

Ten minutes later, it’s like my face is on fire. Missy shuts off the dryer and the cold air hits me in a soothing wave of relief.

“Ooo!” she squeals. “It’s gonna look real pretty, Zoe.”

I nod and she leads me to the sink. I close my eyes and involuntarily moan as she washes my hair. Oh my gosh, this is the best part. Her fingers massage my scalp and the warmth of the water sends me into an intoxicating state of bliss. Ah yeah. No Sierra, no Cody, no persona. Just me in a luxurious bath.

Then a face snaps behind my eyes. I’m not alone in my paradise here, and I’m not sure if I’m happy or upset to see his dark eyes, his dark brown hair falling slightly in front of them, his boyish grin as he strokes my lips with his thumb, the muscles in his arms flexing as he moves his hand to wrap around the back of my neck, his long eyelashes brushing underneath his eyes as he closes them, his lips parting and coming closer…

The squeak of the water faucet jolts me back to the salon. My face is warm, actually my entire body is flushed, and I have to calm my breathing.

What is wrong with me?

“Did you enjoy that?” I look at Missy who is stifling a huge grin, and I gaze around the salon as I hear several sniggers. Hope is keeled over in a fit, wiping her eyes.

I don’t know if it’s possible to send all the blood in your body up to your face, but I’m sure that’s what happens to me.

“Um… yeah.” Oh man. How loud was I moaning?

“Come on.” Missy giggles and pulls me to the styling chair.

I plunge into an agonizing hour of being locked in the seat while several people whisper around me and steal amused glances in my direction. Hope keeps winking at me, and I’m ready to sock her perfect nose in.

That’s not even the worst part. Zak will not leave my thoughts, no matter how hard I try to shut the door on him. He’s just so… swoon! I wish I could give him a popular makeover like all those movies so we could be friends in public. But, knowing Zak, that totally wouldn’t fly. Besides, he wouldn’t be
Zak
anymore. And that would suck. Having two personas is tough business. Worth it, but it’s not for everybody.

I’m done before Hope, but I don’t have to wait long. We primp ourselves in the mirror, throwing out compliments to each other, though it seems pretty fake.

“Really, Zoe. You’re totally sexy as a redhead. Cody will be falling all over himself when he sees it.”

This is how distant my friends are from me. I haven’t said a word to him since last week, and no one has noticed.

“Yeah.”

She gives me a look. Oh right. I’m supposed to be agreeing or something.

“Looks like it’ll be a club night for me too.” I force a smile. “No way am I letting this hair go to waste.”

 “That’s what happens when you don’t use the cheap stuff.” Missy grins as she rings me up.

I roll my eyes and pay her, wishing I could afford to give her a bigger tip.

Hope links elbows with me and speed walks through the parking lot.

“What’s the rush?” I say as I try not to fall face-first on the asphalt. Heels aren’t good for walking, but they are rule number three.

“You’ll see.” She’s grinning from ear to ear, and I can’t help but reciprocate. I love it when Hope is like this. Like we’re really friends and she wouldn’t care if I suddenly spouted off
Dr. Who
trivia.

But she would, so I keep my mouth shut.

We hop in her car. (Cute sports car that looks like the one Sierra wrecked, only Hope’s is brand-new whereas I got mine from my grandma. Sigh. I miss my car.) Then she takes off toward my house. She’s the craziest driver in the world, I swear, so I close my eyes and pretend I’m traveling by Transport Tube.

“Okay, close your eyes!” Hope says, not noticing my lids are already clamped tight.

The car jerks to a stop and I hear Hope unbuckle. “Okay, you stay here and I’ll be right back.”

I give a fake impatient sigh but smile. I’m a sucker for surprises.

After a few minutes, my door opens and a hand wraps around my wrist, pulling me out.

“You can open your eyes now!”

Mom is out here in the driveway and shouts, “Ta da!”

I’m really trying to be happy about it. The car is shiny and it’s silver, which isn’t a bad color, but it’s old. Like, ‘Watch out! Old lady on the road!’ old. Compared to my cute sports car Sierra wrecked, this is a downgrade. And not good for my social status.

But Hope looks happy about it. So maybe it’s not as bad as I think.

I give Mom a forced smile. “For me?”

She nods so fast I think her head might jiggle off her neck. She hands me the key and I can’t hide my shaking hand.

Why am I such a brat? She bought me a car! I try to snap myself out of the bad attitude. It’s not her fault I humiliated myself with sex noises in front of twenty strangers. And definitely not her fault she gave birth to the devil. AKA, my sister.

I cozy into the driver’s seat as she bounces in next to me. Hope crawls in the backseat and squeals. The interior is nice, it’s clean, and who can’t love a new car? Now I’m squealing too. My smile isn’t forced anymore as I shove the key in the ignition.

Nothing.

I look down, trying to figure out what the crap I’m doing wrong. When I rest my hand on the shifter, my stomach drops.

“Um, Mom?”

“Yes?”

“You bought me a manual?”

She nods.

“Did it cross your mind I may not know how to drive this thing?”

“There’s no better way to learn.” She’s still smiling, and I’m trying real hard not to break down. I’m so not talented enough for this, and I can’t even imagine driving this thing to school without making a fool of myself. I blow up my cheeks and close my eyes.

Mom lets out a huge sigh. “Zoe, I’m sorry. I wish we could have gotten you a car you wanted, but this was the only one we could afford that wasn’t on its last leg.”

I stay quiet, imitating a blowfish.

“We’ll teach you how to drive it. It’s not hard.”

All the air I’ve been holding in my cheeks explodes out. “When? You and Dad are so busy. Hardly ever home.”

She seems to be struggling with the answer. I raise my eyebrows exaggerating my point.

“We’ll try to make ourselves more available, but I’m sure some of your friends know how to drive a stick.” She gazes back at Hope who shrugs.

I guffaw which is so unattractive, but I don’t care right now.

She ignores my dismissive laugh. “What about Keira?”

“No.”

“Does Cody know how?” Hope asks.

Ugh. “No.”

Mom sits biting her lip for a minute. Then a huge gasp of revelation fills the car.

“Zak! You can ask him. He drives that truck.”

I think I’m going to die. In fact I can feel the combustion starting in my gut.
Fake it, Zoe, fake it! Hope is in the backseat and she can’t know you even talk to him.
“Ew. No.”

“Why not?”

“We’re not friends, Mom.”

“Doesn’t he take you to school?”

Oh gosh. “Just that one time. I walk.”

“Well, it was just a suggestion,” she spits. Great, now she’s upset. “Be happy when your father gets home. He’s really excited about this, and he’s trying to say he’s sorry for yelling at you.”

She gets out of the car, leaving me feeling like the horrible person I am. I wish I could escape my company too.

“Um,” Hope stutters, “I’m gonna head out.”

I nod and try to push back my tears. Maybe pretending to be a bitch has made me into a real one.

“I’ll see you later.”

And she’s gone.

I crawl in the backseat and curl up, letting my styled hair fall over my face. The smell of the dye mixed with the fruity shampoo fills my nostrils, and I almost get high off it.

You know what sucks? I want to talk to Zak. I want to start spewing some nerdy crap and laugh and stuff. Hope is good to chill with but she’s not who I need to feel better right now.

Maybe I can ask him. I mean, it would make my parents happy. And Hope saw how I initially reacted so I could come up with some excuse if she found out.

I sit up and look at his house, stomach knotting with the idea of going over there. Do I really want to risk it? I could ask around school to see if anyone higher on the social ladder is available to teach me.

But do I really want that?

No.

I want him.

Sexy nerdboy.

My breath fogs up the car window as I huff. Why are stupid decisions like this hard?

I huff again.

Because I make them that way.

Chapter 5

Being smooth is not my thing.

If I blow any more air into my cheeks, they may pop. I can’t believe I’m actually going to do this. If anyone catches me driving Zak around, the rumors will zoom through the air about me hooking up with King of the Dorks. But I’ve got it all planned out.

Excuse number one, my parents are making me.

Excuse number two, I’m grounded from all my friends, so this was the only way I can learn.

Excuse number three, I’m sleep walking.

Now that I’ve got my social butt covered, I just gotta ask him. And this is what’s making my cheeks sore.

I’ve never asked Zak for anything before. Even when we were besties. He always offered so I never had to. And after I totally ditched him and treated him like he has a good case of dragonpox, I’m scared out of my mind.

What if he says no?

I let all the air out, my bangs fluttering across my forehead.
Zoe, just get this over with!

Another pumpkin imitation later, and I’m knocking on his door. I want to beeline for the bushes, but my legs feel like gummy worms.

The lock clicks and there he stands in his holey jeans and holding an Xbox controller, with a look that says I stunned the crap out of him.

“Uh, hey.” Smooth, Zoe, real smooth.

He doesn’t say anything. His mouth is doing that opening and closing thing like the clowns on a miniature golf course. He looks over my head and out to the street.

What do I do? Just walk away? Wave my hand in front of his face? Crap myself?

“What… what are you doing here?” His ears go red and the controller slips from his hand.

I hear a car go by behind me and BAM! All my insecurities rush into my thoughts. Even though Zak looks freaking amazing in his Yoshi shirt, I can’t be seen at
his
house.

Oh gosh.

“Can I come in?” The words are out so fast, and I don’t even wait for an answer. I squeeze past him and shut the door behind me.

He chuckles. “Yeah, I guess you can.”

I laugh a huge dorky and nervous laugh as I look around his house. Not much has changed since last time I was here. Well, physically. It wasn’t this awkward between me and him, but that’s totally my fault.

“So, uh…” he stutters as he picks up the controller he dropped. “You need something?”

“Yes, I…” I kink my neck to look behind him. “You stuck?”

“Huh?”

I point to the TV screen. “Minas Tirith. That’s a tough level, and it looks like you’re out of ammo.”

He smirks, and scratches the back of his neck with the controller before tossing it on the couch. “It’s been a while since I played it, and I can’t remember the code for infinite missiles. I was gonna go Google the code for it—”

“X, X, down, B.” Holy Hulk! I totally said that out loud.

Zak’s mouth pops open and his ears go red again. “I-I think you’re right.”

He picks the controller back up and enters in the code. The small
shink
sound lets him know he now has unlimited firepower.

“Nice!” He throws me that really sexy smile and I don’t believe it, but I’m moving to sit next to him.

“Y, up, Y, down makes it so one hit will kill them. May help you when you’re trying to get those ladders taken care of.” I wink, and he nudges me with his elbow.

And now I’ve lost my train of thought.

“Thanks,” he says, entering in the code. He sets the controller down and shifts so he’s angled toward me. I can’t take my eyes off his, even though they aren’t exactly looking at me. They’re so dark though. Like almost black so it’s like one giant pupil. And his dark brown hair is all flopped across his forehead. I want to reach up and feel how soft it is.

“Uh, Zo?”

Sigh.

“Yeah?”

“Did you need something?”

Oh right! I did come over here for a reason other than drooling over him.

“Yes, sorry. I was wondering… I mean I don’t know if you noticed, but my parents bought me a new car.”

“Cool.”

“It’s a manual, and I was hoping…” Hoping? Who the heck is talking here? I sound like a bumbling idiot. “Will you teach me how to drive it?”

His face loses all its color, and he wipes his palms on his jeans. After a few seconds he finally makes eye contact with me, giving me another sexy grin. “Tell you what. You beat this level for me, and I’ll teach you how to drive.”

The blinds are shut, and it looks like Zak’s mom is on duty tonight. It’s just me and him. And since I’ve already spouted off codes, playing the game won’t make me any more of a nerd. Besides, the geeky stuff seems to be getting me a lot more attention from him than my underwear dancing.