Page 22 of Nerdy or Nice
By now, Clint had reached the spot where Drake was standing. "See?" he said, giving Drake an elbow to the ribs. "You play your cards right, and next time, she'll bring you flowersandcandy."
I jumped to my feet. "Oh, come on! I've already said a million times that it's only a plant. It just has Christmassy growths, that's all."
"You mean the red flowers?" Clint laughed. "Looks like roses tome."
I made a sound of exasperation. "Yeah, well next time I'll go for the bread."
"Hey, don't forget the milk," Clint said as he sauntered out of the room with Tango sauntering in his wake.
My lips twitched with reluctant amusement as I stared after both of them.No wonder they'd made my aunt crazy.
And Clint wasn't even done. Soon, his voice carried back from who-knows-where. "Hey Drake!"
Drake called back, "Yeah?"
"I like her. She's a good sport – better than thelastgirl who showed up with flowers."
Chapter 13
Gwen
I turned to stare at Drake ashestared toward the sound of his grandfather's voice. He looked disgruntled and maybe a little embarrassed as he called out, "Thanks, Gramps!"
He looked so boyish in his response that I might've laughed if only I weren't struggling with some disgruntlement of my own.
Just how many girls were bringing Drake flowers, anyway?
Withhislevel of hotness, it was probably a lot.
Were they bringing him candy, too?
I'd known Drake for only a week, and I was still trying to figure him out. In the beginning, I'd had him pegged as a cocky pretty-boy who was high off his good looks.Then, I'd had him pegged as a basement-dwelling mooch.
Now, I didn't know what to think.
A summa from U & M?Assuming this was true, Drake was something else entirely. What that something was, I could only guess. But Ididknow that I had definitely misjudged him. And now, I was wishing for a time-machine so I could rewind the calendar and start over, beginning with that unfortunate moment when I'd neglected to share my name.
What must he think of me?
When Drake turned back and saw me staring, he said, "Sorry about that."
He had nothing to be sorry for. "About what?" I asked.
"All of it. Especially the cracks about the flowers. But if it makes you feel any better, he only teases people he likes."
For some reason, I was stupidly flattered, especially when I considered what Drake's grandfather had said at the very end. With a nervous laugh, I said, "So that last girl, I'm guessing she wasn't teased, huh?"
Drake's face went utterly blank. "No."
The change in his expression was so swift, it caught me off guard. "Oh. Sorry. I'm guessing that's a sore spot?"Damn it.If itwas, why was I poking at it?
He shrugged. "No sorenesshere." And yet, his expression didn't change.
And now I felt stupid. "You know what? Forget I asked."
At this, Drake gave me a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Deal. On one condition."
"What's that?"
