Down to Ash (#Dirtysexygeeks Book 2) by Melissa Blue Page B

piled with enough meat and vegetables that practically guaranteed to get all over the place, and then his personal laptop.
    Would Ash be on her computer, too?
    He'd slept around, dated, fell in and out of love, but his thoughts always went back to her. Ash was out of his reach—another constant and he should go on accordingly. There was no need for him to whine about it, but firm and constant reminders that touching her led to a certain death at Porter’s hands were encouraged.
    Shit .
    Prom night had been the first hard reminder. That jackass Owen she’d dated back then had grinned like an idiot for pictures, looking like “I'm so about to score.”
    Porter wanted to pound his face in. Wade had volunteered because Mrs. Hicks would have been so damn mad if Porter got his rented tux bloody. What were friends for, if not that?
    Victor hadn’t been able to take his gaze off Ash. She showed more skin than dress, and wore pink, white, and silver heels that made her legs go on forever. His teenage self didn't have his adult self-control, and after a while, his date had noticed his wandering eyes. She’d ended up leaving him later at the dance for drooling over a sophomore. After that, Victor got better at being covert.
    And now?
    What could he possibly do to make the endless ache for her go away that didn't include a lobotomy? Telling Porter and letting his friend kill him dead would do the trick, but outside of that...
    After a moment of consideration, he opened WoW. Following another second of frowning at his computer screen, he typed in AshThis into the “add a friend” section.
    Took her about two seconds to accept. So, he of course had to say in a chat:
    Armyof1: Didn't I just uninstall this game from your computer?
    AshThis: Personal laptop. And didn't you just say you weren't going to talk to me anymore?
    Armyof1: This isn't talking. This is gaming.
    AshThis: -blank stare-
    He laughed and could practically see her deadpan expression. Victor typed the beginning of a reply, and then stopped. What he was doing was dumb and reckless. He tried to dredge up his usual resolve, but he knew it was gone, just like he'd known after stepping into her office that his plans for ignoring her wouldn't work.
    Her scent, her voice, her humor—they all coaxed him around to the other side of the wall he'd built to keep his feelings in check. And then he'd seen the hurt in her gaze. Maybe the hurt had always been there but he'd deadened himself to her. Now he couldn't, not when he knew what she looked liked after having been mussed by his mouth and hands.
    What else was left? He hadn't tried being nice in twenty years, so he thought he'd give it a shot. At the very least, they could be cordial. Talking to her while in WoW was innocent. He didn't want to be a dick to her, and damn sure didn't want to be left alone with her again. This way was safe. He wouldn't see her, touch her, or do things he damn well shouldn't with her.
    Another message from her came in:
    AshThis: Any character you need to level?
    Armyof1: I've got a lvl 30 Druid that needs some love.
    AshThis: Sweet. 28 Warrior. Dungeon run? Wait a minute.
    He sat back and then his cell phone vibrated on the desk. He clicked the speaker button. “What do you want, Ash?” he asked in his version of nice.
    “I can't type messages and play at the same time. Not one of my super powers.”
    “What are they?”
    “What?”
    “Your super powers?”
    “I grew up with four overprotective, testosterone-laden brothers. I have a life outside of them that they know nothing about. When they get overzealous, I push them back. More importantly, I haven't killed any of them for getting overzealous. I'm sure there's more, but we're burning gaming time. ”
    Funny and brazen to her very core. If she'd said that to his face, Victor would have kissed her. “Just four, though?”
    “For the first five years I knew you, the only words you ever really said to me were, 'Where's Porter?'”
    As a