Page 6 of Talk Nerdy To Me
His laughter tapers off when I just stare at him. “You’re serious,” he says like he’s surprised. “My hand is a normal temperature. I’m actually surprised it’s not cold. I’ve held about ten bottles of ice cold water since the last set ended.”
Definitely not cold. I’m weird, not numb.
I type in the code to arm the alarm, while he turns his head away to avoid seeing. That’s at least polite, but he’s still touching me.
When we finally reach the outside, his guiding hand falls away from my back. Oddly enough, a pang of disappointment strikes, and a sliver of cold works its way into the vacant spot. I ignore it while I lock up from the outside.
“Masters,” I murmur to myself, thinking of Base’s cousin Tag as I begin my trek through the mostly empty parking lot.
Maybe that’s why he laughs for no reason at all. Tag is an odd one. He constantly makes jokes I don’t understand, even though everyone else seems to laugh. I’ve decided they’re just being polite, so I try to laugh, too.
“Yes,” he drawls, though I have no idea why he’s saying yes or why he looks so amused.
I can’t tell if I’m the one making this situation awkward all on my own or if he’s intentionally piling on.
I unlock my car, and Base stops, letting his eyebrows cock up in surprise.
“That’s a very expensive car,” he says, stating something random and obvious, even seeming confused by it.
He is weird, see?
“Yes, it is,” I say, uncertain why he found it necessary to bring it up at all. Since he’s just staring, I try to guess the reason for his hesitation. “Is it somehow offending you?”
He gives me a look that I don’t understand, and then he decides against whatever he was about to say as he climbs in. It’s already after three in the morning now. I wish he’d stop dallying. I’m exhausted.
“How far are we going?” I ask him as I busy myself with all my pre-driving checks.
Again, his eyebrows cock up, and his eyes rake over my body. Why am I blushing right now? I can feel my cheeks burning. I’ve seen guys look at me like that before.
That look is usually only involved when there’s cleavage. I don’t have cleavage today.
Focus, Britt. Admittedly, he’s weird, but still has enough other qualities to make up for it. And girls don’t seem to mind weird guys as much as guys mind weird girls.
It’s one of those double-standards I find unreasonably unfair.
Reasons to avoid Base Masters start ticking off in my head like a checklist.
I don’t need to set myself up for utter failure.
The rejections are starting to become redundant.
Tria calls Base the forbidden unicorn.
From what I gather, it’s the guy no smart girl should try to catch because he’s too pretty and he’s a musician—her words. I don’t understand the link between a pretty musician and fabled horned creatures.
“Don’t I wish,” he says on a breath to himself, confusing me. But then he brings his eyes back up to meet mine. “Take a right on Jordan, and follow the beach until you see a house with every light on.”
I crank the car, mulling over his last bit about all the lights. “Are you scared of the dark?” I ask, delving into the depth of his weirdness.
He coughs on his laughter this time. He should get that seen about. That could be harmful. To laugh like that so often could possibly cause him to rupture something. For all he knows, they could be signs of repetitive seizures.
“No. My roommates don’t believe in sleep. We’re renting a place from Tag. He’s my cousin, and he’s the one who got me the audition for a regular gig at Silk a while back. How long have you worked there?”
Technically, this was my debut. I know everything about the club, but I’ve never worked there before.
“One day.”
“One day and you have the keys and a security code? You must have made one hell of an impression on Dane,” he says distractedly as he types something on his phone.
