Page 9 of Nerdelicious
Jude turns into our conversation and kisses her on the side of the neck. “Why thank you, my dear.”
“Hot guys are usually dicks,” I say. “Present company excluded. And—” I cut myself off, flushing, not wanting to continue that train of thought. Hot guys don’t notice me. They definitely don’t want to make out with me, not when they could have someone better, hotter, less likely to bust out obscure movie quotes during intimate moments. I’m not exactly a catch. I’m perhaps better than average looking, but I don’t have a real job, and I’m only smart if you need someone for a trivia night.
Self-conscious, I shrug and turn away, examining the crowd. “I need someone like...” I tap a finger to my lips.
There are a few shirtless jocks standing in a cluster, but an equally impressive group of ladies surrounds them, all dressed in short shorts and barely-there tanks with silky hair and tanned skin. I’m like a pale ET in comparison.
Next to them, Beast hands one of the jocks a... is that a banana? My eyes roam over Beast’s impressive figure. Not happening. He’s too big and handsome and he doesn’t talk and it makes me nervous. Maybe because I can’t help filling the silence with pointless chatter, and I have nothing to talk about except fandoms and comics and random factoids passed down by my professor parents.
I move on.
My eyes lock with an unassuming figure in the middle of the crowd of players. His lips quirk when I don’t look away. He’s not too tall, on the slender side, with dark hair and a slightly rounded face.
Perfect.
I wait until we’ve broken eye contact and he’s distracted, talking to someone on the field beside him.
I point him out to Annabel. “Him.”
Her eyes follow my finger and then she frowns, her brows dipping in confusion. “Him? The kinda frumpy guy with the brown hair in the brown T-shirt?”
I nod. He won’t have high standards so I’ll have a chance. Plus, he’s probably a nice guy. He looks nice. He’s... smiling.
Jude gives Annabel one more kiss and whispers something in her ear that makes a flush spread over her cheeks. Then he steps away, megaphone in hand.
“Babies, prepare yourselves for our next event: the Battle of the Banana Hammocks!” Jude’s voice booms through the night.
“Okay.” Annabel nods. “We just have to get a big banana between your legs.”
“Seriously?”
“Follow my lead.” She drags me over to Jude and whispers something in his ear. He nods and winks at me.
Then we’re on the move, over to the group where my new potential lover is standing with his teammates.
“Hey y’all! We got one more player for your team this round.” She shoves me into the guy and I smash him in the side with an elbow.
“Sorry,” I mutter.
Annabel is still pushing at me and I swipe her away.
“It’s okay.” He smiles. He’s got all his teeth. And sure, maybe he could blend in with a tree stump, but I can work with that.
“This is Fred,” Annabel says. “She’s going first with the bananas.” And with that, Annabel flits away.
“I’m Dan,” he says.
“Perfect.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” I clap my hands and glance at my teammates. “So what are we doing?”
There are two others in the group, a tall, thin guy with a faint mustache and his girlfriend, a buxom brunette with a cheery smile and awesome red thick-framed glasses. Dan makes introductions, but I immediately forget both their names.
I’m a little nervous. What if this doesn’t work and I make a total fool of myself? It is rather my MO.
Beast appears in front of us, handing me a banana and a twine of rope.
