The Party Boy's Guide to Dating a Geek (Clumsy Cupids) by Xara X. Piper;Xanakas Vaughn Page B

laughed. As mortified as he was by
    the topic, he had to admit that it worked to break
    the ice. Fee was laughing along with them, and
    Carley seemed to defrost a little, too. "And what
    about your bad habits?"
    "Mine?" Carley put a hand to his chest and
    blinked. "I have no bad habits."
    "Oh yeah? Then why do I keep tripping over
    your shoes on the way to the bathroom? And why
    does Jae yell about the dishes you leave in the sink
    all the time?"
    Carley smoothed a hand over his hair and
    sniffed. "Gremlins."
    Fee snorted at that. "Mogwai," he said in a
    squeaky voice.
    Carley giggled. "I love that movie! Gizmo was
    so cute."
    "So was Zach Galligan," Fee said quietly, as if
    he were afraid to admit it out loud. He looked up
    and Carley grabbed his arm.
    "Oh my God, he so was. All those curls. I just
    wanna run my fingers through them. I remember
    one night in high school, I dragged my friends over
    for a Gremlins/Waxworks marathon. We stayed up
    all night watching all four movies until sunrise,"
    Carley said. "In retrospect, I don't think the other
    guys appreciated him as much as I did."
    "Well, at least they had Phoebe Cates." Fee
    tipped his bottle.
    "All hail Phoebe," Carley said with a laugh. He
    and Fee both took a sip from their beers.
    "Waxwork, though? How did you manage to find
    out about that one?" Fee asked.
    "Crazy aunt. She made sure my film education
    was well-rounded. She must have had a thousand
    DVDs. All from the '80s and '90s. Some of the
    weirdest shit you've ever seen. How about you?"
    Fee's smile faded. "I wasn't the jock my dad
    wanted, so I spent a lot of time in my room with
    the web for company."
    "Is that what got you interested in computers?"
    Ash asked.
    Fee shrugged. "Part of it. They're just something
    that I picked up easily."
    Ash snorted. "Easy for you. I'm a moron."
    "Stop that. You're not a moron," Fee said.
    "I am compared to you."
    "I don't know the first thing about tattoos."
    Ash shrugged. "What's there to know? And
    what's that got to do with computers?"
    "You know art and ink, I know ones and zeros.
    Neither of us is stupid. We're just different smart."
    Ash and Carley stared at Fee until the music
    changed. Fee shifted nervously in his chair.
    "Wanna dance?" Ash asked.
    Fee's eyes went wide, and he glanced at Carley.
    "Uh, sure?" He stood up and Ash grabbed his hand
    to drag him to the edge of the dance floor. Fee
    looked like a deer trapped in headlights. Ash put
    his hands on Fee's hips and pulled him close.
    "Just follow my lead."
    Fee nodded and started moving. The beat was
    fast, and Fee was a better dancer than Ash
    expected. He easily kept up with the rhythm, and
    they gathered more than a little attention. Three
    different guys danced closer and closer, nearly
    crowding Ash out. Fee kept his eyes shut, moving
    along with the beat, hardly noticing the press of
    bodies. Ash did notice, though, especially when
    Gil made his way over. Gil stood in front of Fee,
    watching him dance. The sparkly pop song
    changed to a stronger, thumping bass, and Fee
    opened his eyes. Ash saw fear flicker across Fee's
    face before he looked down at the floor.
    "Excuse me," Fee mumbled as he turned away.
    He looked around, obviously searching for their
    table.
    Ash stepped in front of Fee. "I'm right here."
    Fee nodded and his body relaxed. He started
    toward the table, but Ash stopped him. Fee looked
    at him, and Ash took a couple more steps into
    Fee's space, forcing him to step back in time with
    the music. Fee smiled and moved forward. Ash
    laughed and followed Fee's lead to the center of
    the floor.
    Fee never took his eyes off Ash's as they
    danced. The thumping music combined with the
    heat of Fee's stare had Ash lightheaded. He turned
    around and leaned back into Fee, moving Fee's
    hands down to his hips. Fee leaned down and
    trailed his lips along Ash's temple as he pumped
    his hips along with the music. Ash felt Fee getting
    hard as they danced. He sighed and closed his
    eyes, glad he