Chapter 17

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Thinking about uploading twice in one day! BOOM, BABY! Yeah... it's cause I'm sick, but don't complain. *puppy eyes* So, please vote EXTRA and comment EXTRA because I'm doing this for YOU despite my headache. Oh yeah, like the plot twist in the last chappie?

 Chapter 17~

 (Geek's PoV)

 "Your house?" Ainsley repeated.

 "Yes. I have to at least put a shirt on, you know," I said dryly. I started the car and felt her eyes boring a hole into my shoulder, but I ignored it.

 "Whatever. What's this meeting about?" she asked, settling her jacket over her legs.

 "You cold?" I asked, trying to distract her. We pulled out of her driveway and onto the road, and I felt an almost crushing relief to be out of her house, happy she had forced herself into the meeting instead of staying there alone.

 "No," she lied. I could hear her teeth chattering, and I'll admit that it was pretty cold in the car. Instead of responding to her, I turned the heat on. She noticed and once again, her eyes were on me. I kept my face straight, unable to look at her and be able to focus on the road at the same time. She was too beautiful.

 "So, what's the meeting about again?" she persisted. I nearly laughed at her nosiness.

 "I'm crossing my fingers it's a promotion," I lied easily. She nodded, making a wave of pineapple travel to my nose. I nearly lost it right there, and had to battle the urge to pull over onto the shoulder and kiss her senseless.

 I cleared my throat.

 "Oh. So, where do you work?" she asked, fiddling with the buttons on her peacoat.

 "Err, I work with a... construction company."

 "Seriously?"

 "Yeah. Moves around a lot, good work, good pay, you know. Saving for college," I lied again. It made me feel weird that she couldn't tell that I was lying like I could when she did. I wanted her to scream at me that I was a liar so I could have a chance to tell her the truth.

 "That's... different." She managed to answer. I shrugged and focused on driving on the highway without speeding.

 "Yeah."

~

 We arrived at my apartment complex that I was currently renting for this job. It was extremely modern and fancy, crisp and clean since I wasn't home much, and Boss had hired me a chef and a cleaning lady. I swallowed nervously, wondering what she was thinking.

 "An apartment? You and your family live here?" she asked confusedly. Oh shit! I forgot about my "parents". And our damned Dalmatian.

 "Uh, no. It's our... city house...?" I offered. She hmm-ed, looking out the window, despite the drizzling rain.

 "I just need to throw on a shirt and stuff," I said quickly as I pulled into the driveway.

 "Okay," she agreed without hesitating. She pushed the door open and pointed her umbrella in front of her, quickly opening it up before the rain could ruin her satin dress. I heard her heels meet the concrete, and she gracefully slid on her jacket.

 "Don't mind if I go in, do you?" she asked, leaning down to look at me. I swallowed and realized I was still sitting in my seat with the belt still buckled. She smirked as if she knew I had been watching her.

 "Um, no, not at all. My parents aren't here, though, they're at the country house, as well as Spot." Spot? Spot the Dalmatian. Seriously? How dumb could I get?

 "Ah, I see," she smiled mischievously and closed the door. I threw off my seat belt and nearly sprang out of the door. She was already strutting up to the apartment entrance, and I was mesmerized by the way she moved as she walked.

 "Coming?" she asked, looking at me over her shoulder. I almost choked on my own spit when I saw how her hair framed her face. "It is your apartment after all," she snickered.

 I smiled and rolled my eyes, jogging to catch up with her. We entered the lobby and I took her wrist, leading her to the elevator. It felt so de ja vu, because the last time we were in an elevator she had been seeing me as myself, not as a Geek, and had been subconsciously rubbing my bicep with her thumb. At the thought, I shivered a little, making her tilt her head and look at me assessingly.

 "Cold?" she snickered. I scoffed.

 "I'm too manly to be cold," I joked, wanting to hear her laugh. She did and I wanted to pull her into my arms and ask her to never stop laughing.

 "You? Manly? That's like me saying I'm a girly girl who can't kick someone's ass!" she spluttered, her tinkly laugh turning into a full-out guffawing fit. I rolled my eyes, pretending to be irked at her comment, when really I just wanted to laugh with her.

 "Sure it is," I muttered crossly. We arrived at my floor and I cursed when she asked when we were supposed to be there.

 "In like ten minutes." I unlocked the door to my penthouse and ran inside, practically sprinting down the hall to the master bedroom. I began rifling through my entire temporary closet, frustrated when I couldn't find something good enough to wear to the meeting. These were all just high school clothing!

 I groaned in frustration and slapped a hand on my forehead, when a dark brown dress shirt was thrust in front of my face. I looked up to see Ainsley pursing her lips, and flickering her eyes between me and the shirt.

 "It'll do, go put it on."

 "Uh, thanks?" She waved a hand.

 "Yeah, whatever." I grinned at her and unzipped my jacket as I ran into the master bathroom, unbuttoning the buttons as quickly as my fingers could move. Once I was dressed, I brushed my teeth and ruffled my hair messily also putting on some cologne that was there.

 Done.

 "Ready?" I called out, thrusting my arms through the black dress jacket and buttoning it in the middle.

 "Here's a tie I found," Ainsley said, appearing in front of me. She handed me the tie and I looked at her helplessly.

 "You don't know how to tie a tie," she said flatly, arching a perfect brow. I grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of my neck. She ducked her head, shaking it, but I saw the hint of her smile.

 "Look up," she ordered, snapping her fingers. I did as she said and stood still as she tied a knot in the tie, adjusting it so it didn't choke me. I patted it down against my neck and coughed.

 "Thanks."

 "Whatever."

 "Ready?" She arched her brow again.

 "If I remember correctly, it was you that needed to stop here to get ready, was it not?"

 "Yeah, yeah, smart aleck. Let's go," I grumped, shooing her out the door and back down to the car. We were soon on our way.

~

 "Can you turn on the music?" I asked, tempted to kiss her again as she twirled some hair around her slim index finger, sending another wave of pineapple freshness my way.

 "This button?"

 "N-" She flicked it, turning on the air conditioning, full blast.

 "Eek!" she shrieked, lunging at the knob and turning it off.

 "Not that one."

 "I figured that out," she said dryly.

 "It's the first button," I told her. She nodded and turned it on, allowing jazz to fill the car.

 "You listen to jazz?" she asked. I fought a blush.

 "Um... yeah. Dirty little secret, you know?"

 She laughed. "You've got a dirty little secret? Wow, I'm shocked. I thought geeks were supposed to be good boys?"

 "Stereotyping now?"

 "It's still true."

 "Is it?" I asked, challengingly.

 "Yep," she said, popping the 'p'.

 "I-"

 "Is that where we're supposed to be?" she asked, pointing out the window at the cafe Swing. I nodded and swerved into a parking spot.

 "You do know we're ten minutes late, right?" she asked.

 "Shit!" I muttered, jumping out of the door and slamming it. I ran around the front to her side and opened the door up for her. She popped the umbrella, letting it protect her from the relentless rain, and stepped out of my car gracefully. She winked.

 "Why thank you, fake boyfriend." My heart did an extra thump as the word boyfriend slipped from her lips.

 "You're welcome, fake girlfriend." She smirked and began strutting to the cafe door, with me in pursuit.

 Here we go.

~

 (Ainsley's PoV)

 We entered the lounge of the cafe, deep jazz from a live band filling the place with life. A blonde, curly haired waitress, dressed in black, approached us.

 "Hi, I'm May and I'll be your server this afternoon. Do you have reservations?"

 "Yes. I'm-"

 "They're with me," a deep voice said. I turned my neck to look at him, and my eyes nearly popped out of my head.

 He's gorgeous.

 Dark black hair that was ruffled and perfect and silky and... delicious. Startlingly dark blue eyes, almost black, with a face that models would kill for. Who the hell was he? And why on earth did he work for a construction company and not a modeling company?

 "Nathan," Mystery Man greeted Geek with those manly handshakes where they embrace each other with one hand and slap each other on the back.

 "Carl," Geek responded. He smiled and I stared at 'Carl' in awe. Carl stood back and met my eyes, causing a blush to creep up my neck and into my cheeks. The waitress finally snapped out of staring at Carl, and gathered three menus.

 "Table for three?" she asked sweetly.

 "Yes," Carl nodded, looking at me. I averted my gaze, full-on blushing, and fiddled with my umbrella.

 "Follow me," May, the waitress, said and began strutting throught the restaurant, adding a wide swing to her strut. We followed, Geek in front of me, and Carl purposely slowing down to walk beside me. I felt his hand on my lower back and he pulled out my chair for me, kissing my hand when I sat down. I burned hot red, and pulled my hand away.

 I didn't notice Geek's incredulous gaze.

 "Here you are, can I get anything started for you?" May asked. Carl took a seat, as did Geek.

 "What would the lady like?" he asked, piercing gaze transfixed on me.

 "Oh, a lemonade?" I asked. She nodded and scribbled it down before looking up at the guys.

 "And for you both?"

 "Can I get a water?" Carl asked. She nodded and looked at Geek, who pushed his glasses up with a frown.

 "Same, please."

 "Of course. I'll be right back," she promised, walking away.

 "So, who is the lovely lady?" Carl asked Geek, smiling at me warmly. I felt all tingly and bit my lip.

 "This is my girlfri-" I subtly kicked him in the shin, telling him not to say it. "-Ainsley. This is Ainsley. Ainsley, this is my friend and... Boss, Carl," he introduced us. I smiled at Carl and held out my hand. He took it gently, but gave it a firm shake, asserting his dominance. I discreetly let my eyes watch his biceps flex beneath his sleeves.

 "Hello, gorgeous Ainsley. You are quite the beauty," he smiled. I blushed and withdrew my hand, not hearing Geek's almost inaudible growl of a warning.

 "Thanks," I whispered.

 "So," Geek said loudly. "What did you want to meet for, Carl?"

 "Well, our-" His cell phone rang, and he made a face, holding his finger up.

 "I'm afraid I must take this, and I apologize for my rudeness. One moment," he excused himself and walked away a few yards. I watched him walk away, marveling over his backside. A large hand clamped over my wrist, and gently yanked me up.

 "Wh-"

 "Come with me," Geek growled. I shut my mouth and obeyed, trying to match his fast stride. He led me over to the hall where the bathrooms were and pushed me up against a wall.

 "What do you think you're doing?" he growled angrily. My eyes widened.

 "What do you mean?"

 "What do I mean? What do I mean?" he asked harshly, laughing humorlessly. "I mean you need to stop flirting with him! The blushing? Needs to stop. The eye flirting? Needs to stop. Did you 'magically' forget that we're boyfriend and girlfriend?" he demanded, his face livid. I bristled up.

 "Excuse me? I can do whatever I want! Did you 'magically' forget that when I asked you to be my FAKE boyfriend it was during school and the reason I gave you was for the boys at the high school to stop harassing me? When we're out in public, I'm not your fake girlfriend!" I hissed, angry that he was upset for no reason.

 He slammed his fist against the wall, running a hand over his face, and I jumped at his sudden outburst of violence.

 "Fine, but stop flirting with him. I work with him, and he's not your type," Geek spat.

 "You don't know my type!"

 "You told me, remember? And he's not your type!"

 "Stop acting like my overprotective father!" I yanked my wrist away from him and stomped angrily back to our table. The nerve! He could not tell me what to do, he wasn't even my real boyfriend! Nor was he even my friend!

 "Sorry, it was rather important," Carl excused himself again, and sat down. I pasted on a friendly smile.

 "No, no, I understand," I laughed politely. He flashed me a dazzling smile.

 "So, where did our Nate go?"

 "Right here," Geek grumbled, sitting down in his chair. I shot him an icy glare and he glared fire right back.

 "So, let's talk about business..." Carl started. I perked up, wanting to know what this was really about.

 "Here you are!" May chirped, serving us our drinks and making sure to bend over much more dramatically than need be in front of Carl.

 "Are y'all ready to order?" she asked.

 "Not quite, love," Carl said, flashing her a quick smile before sliding his blue eyes over to me.

 "All right," May chirped, walking away with her head in the clouds. Geek and I made sure not to make eye contact, and I was surprised that Carl hadn't noticed the tension yet.

 "So, business. Uh... we located the site we're going to continue working on, that we gave up a few months ago. It's going to be on fire, and it's going to be intense. We need you to work more even though you're still in school," Carl spoke rapidly. I watched him talk to Geek, sipping my lemonade.

 The lunch dragged on, and we ordered. Despite what Geek said, I continued flirting with Carl. Not because he told me not to, simply because it was fun to listen to him flatter me.

 "All right, I think we're done here. I will call you if something new comes up," Carl said, standing up. Geek and I stood up too, and Carl came over and kissed my hand, looking into my eyes as he did so.

 "It was a pleasure meeting you, Ainsley," he said lowly. I smiled demurely and withdrew my hand slowly.

 "It was nice meeting you too," I smiled. I could feel the angry waves rolling off of Geek as we parted ways with Carl, and walked back to his car. He jerkily opened the door to his car for me, and I got in silently, closing it. He stormed over to his side of the car, and got in. I waited as he started the car, staring out the window at the pouring rain, feeling quite grumpy.

~

 It was ten minutes into the drive home, and the tension was unbearable. Finally, he snapped.

 "What the hell was that?" he demanded. I whipped my head around to glare at him. As I opened my mouth to speak he cut me off.

 "And don't even THINK about asking me what I mean, because you damn well know what I mean."

 "Why are you overreacting? You're acting like my bitchy ex-best friends!" I yelled.

 "You're acting like you're eager to be one of his conquests! He's not all charms and smiles, Ainsley! Do you even know how old he is?" Geek demanded. I gritted my teeth, tears of anger threatening to spill over.

 "Why does this even MATTER to you? It was just flirting!" I screamed. I was frustrated with him beyond belief. How dare he tell me what I can and can't do? He didn't have that right.

 Suddenly, our car swerved and Geek pulled over onto the shoulder. He parked the car and ripped off his seat belt, glaring at me, absolutely furious.

 "You want to know why it matters?" he asked chillingly.

 "Why?" I spat.

 "Because... because..." he stuttered, tripping over his words. Before I could say anything, he leaned across his seat and grabbed my face, smashing his mouth down on mine.

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*WHOOOOO! I did not expect any of this to happen, but why not? So... yeah! Plot twists! What do you think? Do you want Ainsley to give in and realize her feelings for Geek? Or do you want her to continue struggling with her pride? Do you think Geek was adorable being jealous?

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