Page 70 of Nerd Girl

My big revelation last night sat at the end of a jumbled knot of thoughts. Clear, but only after I unraveled everything around it. The idea of falling for someone again, someone I had as much fun with as I did Gage, was terrifying.

And almost as frightening, but in a different way, was the knowledge that if I told Gage yes, let’s be together, that I might miss out with Sawyer.

Which, honestly, was the most idiotic thought ever. Hadn’t I learned my lesson with Don and again with Travis? Even if I convinced myself the physical relationship with Gage was nothing more, that was actually the case with Sawyer. It was just sex. Bold, let’s-be-daring-and-dumb-because-you’re-hot sex. He was still here to destroy my business.

Sawyer and Gage took a long time to join me for two men who had less than an outfit’s worth of clothing to put on between them. Gage looked sheepish and Sawyer was stoic.

Sawyer took a seat at the kitchen table, acting like he belonged here as much as we did.

My feelings about that were more complicated than they should be.

Gage grabbed mugs and sugar out of the cupboard, then moved to the fridge for milk.

I kept my distance, leaning against the counter with my arms crossed. “I’m listening.” I tried to keep my voice cool, to make the words sincere. Did I succeed? Maybe not so much.

Gage looked me in the eye, then dumped milk and sugar in a mug, and added coffee on top, before handing me the entire thing with a spoon. Exactly the way I liked my coffee. Not that he ever got it wrong.

“Here’s the truth,” he said when I didn’t take a sip. “Sawyer has an idea to help you get back on your feet. I don’t know what it is because he wouldn’t tell me, and since you were busy, and we weren’t… we spent the night drinking and gaming instead.”

Coming from anyone else, coming from Sawyer, I wouldn’t buy it. From Gage, it made sense. He and I had done the same so often. But his story was missing one thing.

“Gaming and drinking and taking off your clothes,” I said.

“We were really drunk.” Sawyer finally spoke.

Gage poured himself coffee and set the pot on the table for Sawyer. “Not that drunk.”

“We were.” Sawyer mixed his own drink.

“Go with Sawyer’s version this time.” I felt tugs of both satisfaction and guilt when Gage winced.

He sank into a chair, watching me most of the time. “It was hate kissing,” Gage said.

Sawyer scoffed. “You liked it just fine.”

“But I still hate you.”

That didn’t seem to be the case. They were arguing the way I expected, but the edge was gone. I sighed, not sure what to say.

“Hear him out.” Gage sipped his drink. “If he can help you, it’s worth listening to, and if it’s a shit idea, it’s worth knowing as much so we can redouble our efforts to ignore him.”

Sawyer clenched his jaw.

I sipped my coffee. Yup—it was made perfectly. “I’m listening,” I repeated.

Sawyer sat up and put his mug aside. “Those parts that you machined for Kurt? I have a friend back home who owns a model store.”

“Like… Victoria’s Secret models?” Gage asked. “Can you buy those at a store? I suppose you’d know.”

I wanted to laugh and scowl at the same time. “As in, model planes and tanks?”

“Yes, thank you,” Sawyer said. “He also works with competition bot builders. He’s highly involved in his local scene. They always need custom parts, and have a hard time finding places to get them made. If you can produce what they need, you get their business, and they’ll tell their friends.”

Fuck me. That sounded like fun, like something I could do, and like something that wouldn’t destroy me. Was this actually good news? “What’s the catch?”

“You have to prove the parts can hold up in combat. They’ve had a lot of issues with that as well. Their suggestion is—my suggestion to them was—you build a bot and take it into battle.”

I stared at Sawyer in disbelief. The good kind. There was no way he was laying this opportunity out for me.

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