Nerd Loves Boy (Boy Meets Nerd #3)

Chapter 10

"So, what are you guys doing for Halloween tomorrow?" Austin asks.

"I'm not sure, actually," I reply taking another sip of my coffee. It's still a little too hot to drink but the cool breeze is helping a little to cool it down. Not to mention it feels like nice on my face, very refreshing.

"I saw Trish hanging up a few bats above your door the other day."

"Yeah, I think she just got tired of not having something up for Halloween," I shrug. "That or she just plans to keep it up until next Halloween to ward off anybody she doesn't like."

"I'm guessing I'd be the first person she targets," Austin laughs.

"Come on, she's warming up to you," I say touching his hand which feels warm compared to my ice cold fingers. I didn't think to bring any gloves with me to classes today but I forgot how quickly my hands can freeze if the temperature is below eighty.

"Yeah, speaking of which, tell her I appreciated the dead rubber rat she taped to my door," he says with a smile. "It really made me feel special."

"I promise I'll talk to her," I tell him. "I'm serious, though. She doesn't talk bad about you as much whenever I talk about you."

"You talk about me?" I blush from my hairline all the way down my neck and I don't think the breeze will do anything to cool my face down so instead I take a sip of my coffee, a little too big of a sip since my tongue and the insides of my cheeks starting burning. I swallow the coffee as quickly as possible and start coughing when a coffee grain gets stuck in my throat. Austin offers me his bottle of water and I take a few sips of it before finally feeling relief. I'm too embarrassed to look at him so I just focus on my hands that hold the coffee cup tightly, both trying to keep my fingers warm and because I feel like I want to crawl under a rock.

"You're cute when you're nervous," Austin says laughing a little.

"Gee, thanks," I reply still keeping my eyes on my hands.

"Hey, I mean it. It's kind of why I like you," he says. He takes one of my hands in his and the blush returns though this time not as severe. The warmth of his hand seeps into mine and my fingers feel a lot better than they did ten seconds ago.

"Kind of?" I ask raising an eyebrow at him. "Usually, a girl wants to hear that a guy likes her because she's pretty or smart or, I don't know, funny. Not because she chokes on a coffee grain and gets blisters on her tongue."

"Maybe I like cute, clever, and sarcastic more," he shrugs. "Any girl can have brains and crack a good joke every now and then. Ever think maybe I like the quiet ones? They're always the most interesting."

"And where did you get that from?" I ask curiously. "Some article from the Wall Street Journal?"

"I'm more of a Google News kind of guy," he replies. "And besides, you already know I think you're smart, funny, and pretty. But I don't think you know how much I like you yet."

"Yeah?" I ask. "And how can I find that out exactly? Make me ask on a scale of one to ten how much that is or just let me squirm for a bit?" I secretly hope it's a little bit more than either option but I keep my hopes down to a minimal. No need to get all excited about some dumb fantasy that only happens in the movies. Not today, Nicholas Sparks.

"I was thinking maybe you could be my date to this Halloween party some of my friends are throwing tomorrow night," he says. "Obviously, you have to come in costume but it's at the gymnasium behind the auditorium."

"I don't know," I hesitate. "I don't have a costume and I'll probably choose something dumb. I'm not exactly good at choosing a 'cool' costume."

"Who says you have to be cool?" he asks. "I'm going as a mad scientist. If that's now code for 'this guy is a loser' then I don't know what is."