FW: In exchange for a date?
VM: In exchange for a date.
Val didn’t need an article to remind her of one of the most significant days in her life—the day she caught Dane. Their relationship could have very easily ended before it started.
When he offered to tutor her, she snorted. “But only if I go out with you? No offense, but no thanks.”
“Just one date.” He whispered it, and she nearly took pity on his pitiful self, but she had zero interest in him sexually, romantically, or otherwise. Still, she figured she could always use a nerd.
“I’m Val.” She held out her hand. He wiped his on his knee before shaking hers. She closed her eyes in embarrassment for him. “Look. I’ll accept your trade. You help me with this homework, and I’ll go get coffee with you.” At the hope blooming on his face, she added, “But it’s not a date. Just coffee.” His mouth rounded, like he was about to try to bargain, but she held up a hand. He didn’t have a very strong position, and she did. “It will buy you some credibility to be seen out with a girl. You can’t ask for much more than that.”
Dane walked a half a step behind her as they headed to the coffee shop. Maybe he feared she might run away if he lost sight of her.
She stopped dead and faced him. “If you want a girl’s respect, you need to believe you deserve it.”
He swallowed. “Okay.”
“And what’s with your shirt?Wanna play with me?I don’t get it.”
His eyebrow dipped. “It’s a joystick. Haven’t you ever played a video game?” That was the first time he’d struck a tone of confidence since they’d left the classroom. It bordered on arrogance, and she liked it. So she teased him.
“You mean likeSolitaire?”
He groaned. “No. LikeDiabloorHalf-Life.”
It was too easy. Like shooting nerds in a barrel. “And those require a joystick?”
“No.” He sighed heavily. “They’re PC games.”
She continued to needle him the rest of the way to the coffee shop, and he told her about the different games he liked to play. She didn’t pay much attention but faked enough interest to keep him talking. When they reached the door, she stood by, waiting for him to open it for her. He registered where they were and blinked. “I could show you sometime. Do you want to come back to my place?”
She opened the door for herself and walked up to the counter to order. As soon as they sat down, she explained how things were going to be.
“Here’s the deal. I need help with the programming class. You need help with,” she waved in his general direction, “everything. If you’ll tutor me, I’ll try to fix you up enough that you can get a date without resorting to bargaining or seducing people with video games.”
“I can get dates.”
“And sex?”
He slumped in his chair and pursed his lips. “What do you propose?”
“First, sit up straight and master your expression. You look like a sullen teenager.”
He glared for a heartbeat but then obeyed her command. “Okay. What else?”
She sucked on her lip, regarding him. “I don’t know if it’s possible, but I’m willing to wager if we get you a new wardrobe and work on your appearance . . . and find you a non-nerd topic you can talk about as passionately as you do your nerd things, you might be able to get a girl to your room without all the tricks.”
He leaned as far forward as the table would allow and whispered, “What if I just want to get laid?”
She laughed. “Oh, you want me to work miracles.”
He cocked his head now with one eyebrow raised. “And you want what grade in your computer class?”
Oh, yes, she might like him after all. “Touché.” She looked at him for a minute. “We’ll need to throw in some gym time, too. But—” He had a decent build, and with work, he might even become attractive. “—if you do everything I ask and help me get an A in programming, I’ll do my damndest to get you laid. Deal?”
“What if you get an A, but I don’t get laid?”
She ran a tongue across her lip, thinking. “If you haven’t gotten laid by New Year’s Eve, I’ll sleep with you myself.”
