Page 68 of Nerdy or Nice
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what?"
"What you heard from Jeff. Youdoknow, it would've spared us some trouble, right?"
"Not really." I winced at the memory. "I mean, at the time, it seemed more likely tocausetrouble."
"For who?"
I was almost too embarrassed to say, but I didn't want to lie about it either, so I told Drake the simple truth. "For, um, the wizard, actually."
Chapter 40
Drake
So, she'd kept silent for Jeff.Her answer wasn't a surprise. On the way over here, I'd pretty much pieced it together on my own. But now, hearing it from Gwen's own lips, it made me smile and shake my head at the same time.
With a trembling laugh, she asked, "What'sthatlook for?"
My voice softened. "Did you ever think of looking out for yourself?"
"What do you mean?"
"You could've told me what he said. Sure, I would have been ticked, but me and Jeff – we've been friends for a while. It's not like I would've killed the guy."
"Yeah, but you didn't see his face." Her tone became earnest. "He reallydidlook terrified."
This wasn't hard to believe. He'd looked terrified at the pub, too. But he'd told me, anyway. He'dalsoexplained that he'd called my cell phone only minutes after his talk with Gwen, but I hadn't answered in spite of him calling me several times.
By the time I'd called him back, he'd lost his nerve. Instead of telling me that he'd approached Gwen on his own, he'd spent most of our conversation talking about a hot elfish archer he'd met at the hotel's Dragonworld Expo.
But to the guy's credit, he'd regained his courage only a day later and had just told me the whole story over drinks.
As for myself, I'd never been so happy to hear bad news. After Jeff's confession,I'd bolted across the street faster than Santa's reindeer on Christmas Eve.
On the other side of the counter, Gwen was chewing on her bottom lip. "And I mean, after seeing you get arrested, I could see where he'd be at least alittlescared."
I studied her face. "Of me."
Gwen gave a hesitant nod, and her sudden nervousness was a good reminder that yesterday,shehad been scared, too.
As for myself, I'd been pretty damn insulted until tonight, when Jeff had started talking. "So that's why you asked the jail question?"
"Yes, actually." She winced. "So,didyou? I mean, ever spend time in jail?"
I smiled. "No. I told you the truth yesterday."
"But what about the arrest thing?"
"Now that's alongerstory," I said. "But here's the short version. I've always been interested in computers, you know? And one night in seventh grade, I'm spending the night at Jeff's, and we're both on our laptops. He's playing some dungeon-crawler game, and I'm messing around with some stuff I shouldn't be."
"You mean like…" She lowered her voice. "Porn?"
I laughed. "No. Like a government database."
"Seriously? Which one?"
I grimaced. "One you're not supposed to bust into, I can tell youthat."
