Page 9 of Storm Bound
“I’ll have veggie spring rolls and duck noodles with sweet and sour sauce. And you can bring it all at the same time. We’ve got a bus to catch. And can I have a sweet tea and bottled water?”
“I’ll have what he’s having,” I said when the server turned to me.
“Are… are you sure? You don’t have to get the same as me to impress me or anything,” he said.
I laughed.
“Uhm… I love spring rolls, noodles, duck, and sweet and sour. I’m not trying to impress you, but extra points if it does,” I said. “That will be all, thanks.”
The server bowed and walked off, leaving us alone again.
“Fine. If you don’t want to impress me, I’ll pretend I’m not.” Charlie smirked.
“Playing hard to get. I like it,” I said, all serious and frowning.
What was happening to me? I was never really this forward with anyone I liked. Or anyone, period. Why was I Mr. Flirt all of a sudden?
We settled down and our drinks were served shortly after.
“I’m curious. If you’re a Hearty, are you, like, a fan of anything else?”
He was so cute asking that question and the fact he thought I was a Hearty from the very brief conversation about Cursed Hearts. He didn’t know the truth of my nerdiness just yet.
The question that lay ahead of me now, though, was whether I kept my geek level to myself or if I was willing to share it with him and risk getting laughed at.
Well, the majority of the journey was done now, and I could always sit far away from him if he ended up being a dick about it.
I was sure he wouldn’t, but you never knew.
“Oh boy, I hope you’re ready. First of all, I’m not a Hearty, I’mTheHearty. I, like, admin in several Hearty forums, and Nolan Rhodes and Ian Johnson Warren know me by my first name. I also do a lot of Hearty cosplay, and I’m president of the Hearty Foundation,” I said all in one breath, and when I finished, I allowed myself another, waiting for Charlie’s reaction.
He was staring at me with an open mouth and shock in his eyes.
“I know. I’m a geek,” I added, sinking further into my chair.
That seemed to bring him out of his daze.
“Oh my God, no. Are you kidding? I’m a big Hearty fan. I’m not judging. I’m in awe. I didn’t think you’d be such a big fan. And I’m jealous that you know Nolan and Ian, but I won’t dwell on that. Have you been to any cons recently? I’m also a big superhero geek, so I tend to go to Super Con as well, but I haven’t had the chance to meet Ian and Nolan yet. I’ll tell you what, though. My brother’s boyfriend is Detective Strong, and my brother is going to be playing Death Knight, so you can imagine how much I geeked out when I found out.”
Now it was my turn to be shocked. And again, he proved me right. It was so easy talking to him, being with him. I hadn’t felt this accepted in real life in a long while.
So we spent the rest of the hour semi-eating and nerding out over comic books, superheroes, Caleb and Wade, and the fact that his brother was Leo Karras, and before we knew it, the check was on the table, and we were both reaching out for it.
“Let me,” I said.
“No chance. I’ll pay,” he said.
“You don’t have to.”
“And you do because you’re older than me? Uhm, I don’t think so. It’s my treat.”
He handed the waiter his card, and that was that. The waiter put down a tray of fortune cookies and left to swipe the card.
“Thanks,” I said. “I’ll get it next time.”
“Maybe you will. Maybe you won’t,” he replied with a smirk and reached out for his fortune cookie.
So, he wanted to meet me again. I hadn’t been away from Chicago for a day and things were already looking up.
