Page 10 of Beauty and the Nerd
“Who said they’d be stolen hmm?”
He lowered his lips to her neck brushing her long dark hair aside making her tingle from head to toe.
“That’s when they’re the sweetest, just like you, baby,” he stated, before claiming her lips letting it linger between them.
“Holy hell.” They heard the shocked comment and Emma turned spying Megan in the doorway, thankfully alone but with her jaw almost to the floor.
“Meg, I wasn’t expecting you quite this early,” she said as Ben reluctantly let her go, moving to the stove to get the food before it burnt.
“I can pretty much tell that,” Megan stated, watching Ben with wonder. “I just…wow that wastotallynotwhat I was expecting to find.”
“Do you want me to give you two a few minutes?” Ben asked, brushing the hair from her face after turning the burner down on the chicken.
“Do you mind?” she asked, and he shook his head no. “Thank you, it shouldn’t take too long.”
“I’ll just run up to your room and grab my things, have them ready, so your mom doesn’t think we’ve spent all night up there,” he teased putting a light color in her cheeks as he kissed her nose before moving out of the room leaving her with Megan.
“Wow,” Megan said taking a bottle of water from the fridge before sitting down on a stool watching Emma. “I mean like,wow…that…”
“He’s amazing, especially to me.” Emma moved over to cut the grapes for the salad, needing to do something with her hands. Megan took the knife from her and tossed her the walnuts to crunch up instead.
“I can see that; I mean it’s totally what you deserve.”
“You’re okay with this then?”
“If that’s what he’s like with you, then yes, I’m really okay with it. Still surprised to all get out that you’d go for him, but really, really okay with it,” Megan said letting her relax. “I just…how on earth did the two of you get together? I mean, did you even know his name before this year?”
“Yeah, I knew his name, knew he was super smart, but before this summer, no, I didn’t really know him. That changed this summer. When I told you all I was going to visit my grandparents,” she said, sending Megan’s brow up a bit oncemore, “I was actually attending a summer seminar in New York. It was at NYU, and we were housed in dorms there for the six-week session. I’d won a spot based on a short-story submission and analysis on a lit piece. It was day two and I went with a couple girls to a study group. I walked into the room and there was Ben.”
“Holy crap girl. I take it he was just as surprised to see you as you were to see him?” Megan asked, and she nodded. “So, what, you two started hooking up while you were there since you already kind of knew him? Because that’s really not you Em.”
“No, we didn’t even kiss while there. We hung out and talked—several times all night about all kinds of things. I knew I wanted more with him when we left, and we saw each other a few times before school started to just hang out, discuss some of the books we read after leaving there. I stopped by the tutor center about three weeks into the semester because I’d missed talking with him, really talking with him, being near him—a lot. I was able to get him as my tutor because he was the only one helping with English Lit and I still have that learning plan on file for the use of music,” she said, and Megan nodded already aware of it even if the rest of the squad wasn’t. “With that Mrs. Johnson allowed us to not have to stay in the actual tutor center during the time. We’d hang out together, go over stuff, and argue over some of our opinions regarding the lit homework. That first day though, he saw my journal, asked if I was writing anything new and I let him read it. It was just the beginning of a piece, with a mostly hidden meaning about what I felt for him. I hoped he’d get it, understand the meaning after this summer, because I added a couple things into that we’d done in a subtle way without just outright saying, hey, I like you in a more than friends way. I knew if he did and didn’t feel the same that at least I would only be personally humiliated and not publicly, and if he didn’t then I didn’t have to own up to it yet.”
“But I take it he felt the same? I mean really who wouldn’t with you Emma?”
“Bryce, Grant, Justin, Eric, David…” She listed off the losers that she’d dated the last few years.
“But he’s not exactly in the same class as them, you know that, right?” Megan questioned her gently, as her brows lifted together.
“Because Ben wears glasses, has the world’s worst haircut, dresses like a geek, mixing preppy and nerdy together without a care?” Emma saw the relief on her friend’s face at the statement. “I don’t care about any of that because when I’m with him, I’m just happy. He makes me smile. Makes me laugh. Makes me feel incredibly special and smart. He makes me see me—the girl that’s been stuck behind the façade, the girl who’s only popular because of her looks, who was too afraid to take a chance. For so long, I was just a pretty face that everyone called dumb. I believed it because my grades weren’t good, and I didn’t know there was actually something in my brain wired differently than everyone else that literally made me feel like I couldn’t breathe while taking a test or studying in silence. Ben is sweet and charming, a complete gentleman, and the boydefinitelyknows how to kiss. To borrow your favorite phrase, I mean wow, he makes my toes curl.”
That brought a laughing grin to Megan’s lips, but she couldn’t help it. It was the utter truth.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy and if he’s what you really want then I’m glad for you Emma. I just don’t know how the others will react if they find out about you all, especially if Carter knows you’re sleeping together,” Megan warned putting a light blush in her cheeks.
“We’re not sleeping together,” Ben said moving back into the room to help her finish dinner. He pressed a kiss to her templebefore sitting her down on a stool. “I’ve got this Em; you need to stop using your arm so much.”
“Wait, you’renotsleeping together? Because based on what I walked in on, it definitely makes me think the two of you are far closer than most couples our age,” Megan added, looking between them in surprise.
“No, I’m still a virgin unlikesomepeople,” Emma said meeting Ben’s gaze.
“It’s not going to happen again,” he stated, as Megan’s jaw dropped again.
“I heard her invite you out with her tonight. She still wants you and I don’t like you talking to her so much.”
“You’re adorable when you’re jealous, Em,” Ben mused giving her a soft kiss again. “You don’t have to be though, I promise.”
“Hold up, you’re jealous of who?” Megan asked.
