Page 59 of Talk Nerdy To Me
Ash sighs heavily. “Tag is going to cash in like crazy when he finds out I’ve kept this from him.”
I’m going to have to assume cash in is now the new metaphor for kill me, given the context. They always say the guys are going to kill them when they’ve done something that will directly spark a feud. Obviously it’s a metaphor, since no bodily harm ever comes to them.
“Again, they won’t care about Base either,” I dutifully point out. “He doesn’t want my virginity, and he kissed me last night to show me that I wasn’t ready yet.”
“That makes…zero sense,” Tria says, and I sag in relief as I take a seat, no longer feeling like a complete idiot.
“He proved I was scared, and—”
“Of course you’re scared,” Rain says softly. “Any girl who says she wasn’t scared that first time was either really drunk or very disillusioned.”
Already, I’m relaxing. I thought this was going to be an issue only I had, since I seem to have so many of those.
“This is why we’ve insisted on you waiting for someone who would give a damn and help you ease into this without—”
Something loud cracks, and then the distinct sound of shattering follows. We all jerk our attention to the garage.
“You don’t think they’d actually kill him, do you?” Ash asks, leaning up as silence continues.
Tag starts quickly making his way toward the garage, his son trailing behind him as he skips.
In a few suspended breaths, riotous laughter starts wailing from the guys, and I relax again, even as all the other girls seem to tense.
“Everything okay, Dane?” Rain calls loudly.
“Fine. That was all Tommy. Not us.”
“Sorry!” Tommy yells.
The girls all finally relax and turn their attention back to me.
“So last night he kissed you again?” Harley asks me.
Rolling my eyes, I answer, “Yes. And the kiss was more…intense. We ended up progressing when we went to the bed. And I tensed when he started pulling off my underwear—”
“Oh sweet heavens, they’re going to kill him dead,” Ash quietly murmurs, covering her face with her free hand and covering her daughter’s ear that is facing me with her other hand.
The child coos, easily balanced in Ash’s lap, unable to truly understand the inappropriate conversation. I’m not sure I understand why she covers the one ear.
Shaking out of the distraction, I carry on, “But when I tensed, he stopped and gave me a very embarrassing lecture about how I wasn’t really ready.”
“Oh, he’s one of those,” Tria says on a sigh. “The ones with just enough experience to forget they used to be virgins.”
“It’s sad, though, since Base would be perfect. He’s not blowing through girls left and right, but he still gets his without being obnoxious about it,” Harley says, as though she knows him, even though she doesn’t.
“He’s a good guy. A really good guy who defied the odds by having a good head on his shoulders, despite his father and the stereotype that plagues musicians,” Ash says. “So I’m happy that he’ll be living for another day, but he really would have been someone I trusted with you.”
“So…he doesn’t want me at all?” I surmise, expecting relief for having the confusion cleared up, but experiencing a pang of disappointment instead.
“Oh, he definitely wants you,” Salem says.
The disappointment begins to war with hope, and I’m back to being really confused.
“But—”
Before I can finish that, I hear the sound of a car revving, even though it doesn’t sound like the owner should be revving it, given the whine it emits instead of the roar I’m accustomed to hearing.
The guys emerge with large grins, exiting the garage—all five Sterling men with Tag Masters. I never even spotted Dale before now.
