How to Date a Nerd by Cassie Mae Page A

trivia session, and any fight we may have just had would be long forgotten. I shuffle my feet in the entryway, trying to shut off the thing in my nose that allows me to smell. But that just makes me sneeze.
    “Bless you.”
    Zak takes his time going down the stairs, like he’s afraid I’m going to suddenly bite him or something.
    Yeah, I don’t blame him.
    “Thanks.”
    “What do you want?”
    He seems to ask that a lot. And I never give him an honest answer.
    “Uh, here,” I say, holding his jeans out.
    He cocks his eyebrow in that awesome sexy way and takes them.
    “You washed them already?”
    Crap. “No, sorry.”
    He shrugs and tosses them down the hall toward the laundry room.
    “That all?” He tucks his hands in his back pockets, his plaid overshirt opening to reveal his Team Fred and George T-shirt.
    My mouth fires off without me thinking. “Did you wear that shirt to school today?”
    “Yeah.” He pulls his hands out of his pockets and folds his arms, covering the words. “Is that all you want?”
    Throwing him a sheepish grin, I pull up my hoodie so he can see my shirt. I’m ready for his mouth to upturn in that irresistible smile, but instead he goes blood-orange red and tugs my sweater back down.
    “If you don’t need anything else, I’ve got a lot of stuff to do.”
    “Zak, I…”
    “You can save it.”
    I startle back from his tone. “Save what?”
    “Whatever you want to say. It doesn’t matter.”
    “Why do you say that?” I’m trying to keep the hurt out of my voice, but I don’t know how successful I am.
    He glares at me, like I should be smart enough to figure it out. “I really do have a lot of crap to do.” He rubs his eyes with his forefinger and thumb. “So, if that’s all you want, you should go.”
    “I-I’m sorry,” I sputter.
    He shakes his head. “I don’t want to hear it, Zo.”
    I’m chipping at him. He used the nickname.
    “It’s not like that with me and Hunter. I… he wanted… I can’t…” Argh! I can’t get the words out because I don’t know what the right ones are.
    “You think I’m upset because some guy was all over you?”
    I nod—lying to him. Again. I know it’s much deeper than that.
    “Guys are always all over you. At least the ones you talk to.”
    I’m not sure what to say. He’s right, so I can’t argue. So I say the only thing I can. “I’m sorry.”
    He sighs, dropping his hands back into his pockets. “Don’t worry about it. Like I said yesterday, it’s not like we’re friends or anything.”
    I really wish he’d stop saying that.
    “Will you still give me a driving lesson today?” I know I’m pushing his limits. But I can’t help myself. I want to spend time with him. I have to do something to clean up the mess I made, even though I’ll probably end up making it worse.
    But it’s like I’m addicted to him or something.
    “I don’t know.”
    I gulp, and dig up the courage to say something I haven’t in a long time. “Please?”
    Zak raises his eyebrow again, probably surprised I asked nicely. He seems to argue with himself, chomping his teeth and running his hands through his feathery hair, interlocking his fingers behind his neck. I play with my ring underneath the pocket of my hoodie, trying really hard not to blow out my cheeks as I wait.
    Finally he opens the door and steps outside. “Let’s go. But it’s gonna be a short lesson today.”
    I nod, forcing back the wide smile that wants to glue itself on my face as I follow him to my car. “Thanks.”
    Zak doesn’t open my door for me, but it sure looks like he wants to. He stops halfway up the drive and stares at the car like it’s giving him a pop quiz. Then he slumps his shoulders and climbs into the passenger seat.
    Guess I’m not as forgiven as I thought.
    I strap the seatbelt on, my hands shaking like the paint mixer again. Zak’s not paying attention to me though. He’s picking at the stray fabric on his holey jeans, not a word passing