Page 53 of Talk Nerdy To Me
Chapter 18
BRITT
Okay, so I’ve established the fact Base is weird, but he’s being weirder than usual. And much quieter.
He said nothing on the way home, and now that we’ve eaten—in complete silence—he’s gone to his room to work on music. Something…he doesn’t usually do if I’m here.
Now where exactly did this conflict come from? It’s springing up like weeds around us tonight.
Tonight, instead of playing music, he’s just listening to it. Loudly.
I’m curled up on my bed, watching a movie I have no interest in. I showered, brushed my teeth, shaved my legs…essentially anything to kill time, since I’m not used to having so much of it.
My paper is staring at me from across the room—the unfinished first draft. But I’m not in the mood to write about sex. It’s becoming ever-so-clear that I might remain a virgin.
I’m way ahead on my job, per the latest usual, so I’m metaphorically twiddling my fingers as I await the next task.
Restless, I finally throw the covers back, needing answers to why he’s being like this.
Since the music is still playing, I decide I’m not interrupting anything and open the door.
I realize too late I should have knocked, because this is his private space I’ve just thoughtlessly invaded.
My entire body freezes again. He’s only in his boxers, eyes closed as he lies on his bed with his hands behind his head. Words get forgotten, along with my reason for bursting in without knocking, as I stare like an idiot.
“Hey,” he says, causing my eyes to snap up as he leans over and cuts the music off, using his phone. “Everything okay?” he asks.
Oh, yeah. That’s why I’m in here.
Shaking my head, I take a deep breath and prepare to ease into the gentle confrontation necessary to move forward. “You’re mad at me about something,” I state cautiously. “But I don’t know what I did wrong, and—”
“I’m not even a little bit mad at you, Britt,” he interrupts, gaze hesitating on my legs.
Feeling slightly less certain that he’s angry now, my thoughts abruptly jump back to the fact he’s only wearing his boxers.
“I am, however, irritated at myself, because I’m making a simple situation very messy without any benefits,” he goes on…but I don’t comprehend his meaning. At all.
He’s being purposely vague.
He steps directly in front of me, and his arms move to the wall as he slowly and casually cages me in. My head falls back so I can meet his eyes as he stares down at me with a look I can’t decipher.
“Ask me for something else,” he says softly, confusing me as he presses his body even closer.
My gaze lingers on his lips. My attention is once again snagged by that hoop in his lip, even as I try to focus on the situation at hand.
“I don’t understand you’re meaning,” I tell him very distractedly, still staring at his lips.
He smirks. “Ask for something else. I can’t be the asshole who took your virginity and gave you nothing else in return. But I also don’t want it in your head that I rejected you based on your standard of rejection.”
Blinking, I look up, confused. Maybe it’s the phrasing he’s taking personally.
Just as I open my mouth, he says, “So help me, Britt, if you start pointing out that it was a rejection, I’m going to make a really big mistake. So ask for something else. I swear I won’t reject it.”
I heave out a very frustrated breath. Surely he’d be confusing to anyone and not just me.
My eyes flick to his lips again, and I consider it. In all actuality, I only have one goal. But…
“I want to know what it feels like to kiss you when you’re wearing that,” I say before I can think about it too much, my finger lifting to run across the hoop.
