Page 137 of Talk Nerdy To Me
Chapter 36
3 months later…
BRITT
“I still don’t see why you had to cut holes in the boobs of the Girl Boss shirt,” Harley is stating in a tone can only be labeled as exasperation, while Bo helps me lay out the leather strips.
“She’s teaching me to pattern, and I’m breaking it down into pieces so that it’s easier to recreate on my own. It’s how I learn things,” I remind her. “And it’s one of my least favorite shirts.”
“I bought you that shirt,” Harley reminds me.
Bo coughs over a laugh. Why do people think that disguises the laughter?
Harley shoots her a look before returning her attention to me.
“I know you bought it for me exactly one year and fourteen days ago. I still had a hymen back then. I’m a woman now. And I’ve never been anyone’s boss.”
“Shocking, considering you’re sporting elf ears like it’s a life choice and wearing a shirt with holes for boobs. Nice bra, though,” Bora—Bo’s twin—says from the corner as she idly flips through her phone. “There really is a market for this real-life game clothing design. Nerds pay good money for authentic—”
“Our plate is too full to add a new line right now,” Bo interrupts.
Harley groans. “It’s supposed to be an empowering message, Britt. It’s not literal,” she says as Bora and Bo argue about adopting a new line.
“I think a more appropriate title for me would be Woman Boss In Training,” I add.
Harley opens her mouth, but Bora walks by, her eyes back on her phone, as she says, “I’m going to go see if that’s trademarked, and if not, I’m stealing it.”
Bo rolls her eyes, and Harley shakes her head as I wiggle out of my shorts, preparing to try on the skirt I’ve deconstructed.
“They’re in here,” Bora says as she swings open the door, her eyes wide and her smile huge as she does so. “I found something pretty,” she adds as…my stomach jumps up to my throat.
Base Masters.
Base…Masters.
He steps through the doorway in a pair of faded, worn jeans and a black T-shirt with some sports logo on it. My mind can’t even process enough to absorb all the details, because it’s Base Masters.
Why is he here? Is he here for me?
I get a little dizzy.
His dark hair is a little shorter, but his smile is just as cocky as I remember it. However, his smile is trained on Bo instead of me.
“Hey, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute,” he says as I completely freeze in place, irrationally hoping against all odds he does not notice me.
“Of course,” Bo says like she’s confused, darting a worried look over at me.
I wish I could have asked her not to do that. Her gaze causes his to follow, and his smile slowly spreads when his eyes land on me. He completely turns his body, and I sense there’s a deliberateness to the way he lets his gaze drop and really take in the rather inconvenient way I’m exposed.
“Hey, Britt,” he says so casually.
It’s hard to pretend that the last time we saw each other I wasn’t walking away in tears as I ran away for three weeks to grieve a healthy amount of time in private, while simultaneously being helpful to Harley.
“Hi.” It’s the only word that will leave my lips, and it’s as flat as I can keep it.
He glances from me to the strips of leather and back to me.
“Learning to make your own costumes by hand?” he guesses too easily, given the severe lack of details he has.
