Boy Meets Nerd Part 8

Em tossed her roommate an irritated glare. "Thanks for getting me in trouble."

Jess bit her lip like she was holding back a smile. "Sorry." She didn't look sorry.

"I'll pay her back. And I'm really close to a new prime number. I can practically feel it."

"You have feelings?" Jess said, eyes twinkling.

It was a common misconception. Her hyperfocus on work and introverted nature sometimes made her seem a little...robotic. But it wasn't true. Jess knew that. "Nope," she answered. "Aren't you worried about rooming with a sociopath?" She mustered up a creepy look but Jess only laughed.

"Weirdo."

"You two fight like sisters," her grandma said, walking in with a steaming crock pot. She placed it on the table then stuck a giant spoon in it. "Speaking of which, how's Paige?"

Jess dug in first. Despite promising not to eat much, she dumped a heaping spoonful of the meat and potatoes onto her plate.

"I don't know," Em answered. "She never calls. She turned out more like my mom. Lucky for me because it got her off my back quicker." Chuckling, she dished out a portion of stew onto her plate. "I should check in I guess. I just get the feeling Paige doesn't really care. In high school she barely acknowledged she knew me, let alone that I was her sister."

"That's rude!" Jess protested around a mouthful of food.

She shrugged. "I don't blame her. She had the chance to be popular. Why ruin it cause of me?"

"Family is all you have in this world. The people who are supposed to be loyal and stick by you no matter what. If not for love, at least for obligation. n.o.body deserves to be alone." She stuck her fork into another bite a food. "Especially when it comes to siblings. Who's gonna plan your parents funeral with you? And split up their a.s.sets and stuff?"

Emerson grimaced. "That's morbid, Jess."

"But it's true. Siblings should stick together. I wish I had one."

For a time, right around middle school, Emerson had wished she'd been an only child. Her mother was at the very end of her patience regarding Em's willingness to follow her interests. Paige had been brainwashed by then. Or maybe she truly liked the prissy pageant stuff. Either way, her mother constantly compared the two and tried using Paige to get Emerson in line. Look at your sister. Why can't you be more like her?

Some kids may have felt ashamed or resentful, but even at a young age, Emerson knew who she was, and who she wasn't.

"Does your sister have the same gift as you?" Jess asked. "Is she really smart too?"

"In a way. She's smart but not as obsessed as I am. She's good at science like my dad. Maybe she'll take over his podiatry business and make both parents proud. Then I'll be off the hook."

Her grandma frowned at her. "They're proud of you. They just don't show it very well."

"I think the biggest thing I could do right now to please my mother is get knocked up. Giving her grandchildren would be my greatest accomplishment."

"Do you want kids?" Jess asked.

She furrowed her brow. "I don't know. I haven't given it much thought. Maybe if I found a new prime number "

Jess and Bea both laughed.

"What?"

Jess shook her head. "It always comes back to numbers with you."

"I'll never be happy until I meet my goal. But maybe after then, if I found the right person, I would entertain the idea of kids. I mean, it would be kinda fun to pa.s.s along my love of math."

"Yeah," Jess agreed. "And that brain of yours."

That was a good point, but she knew enough not to say it. She was learning to keep those thoughts to herself.

"First she needs a boyfriend," her grandma said. "Maybe you should try one of those online dating sites. Mate finder dot com or something."

Was it an obligation for every grandma to be a nosy matchmaker? Emerson sighed and thought through ways to get out of this conversation.

Jess and Bea discussed what her profile should look like and the types of guys she should try to attract. It would be just like them to set up an account for her. Soon she'd be getting emails with the subject line Math makes me hot, baby and I'd love to hack my way into your pants.

In a fit of desperation, she blurted, "Jonah wants to meet for coffee."

They stopped talking and looked at her.

Jess grimaced. "The jerk who ditched you for NASA?"

"The job didn't work out," she answered, ignoring her grandma's tsk of disapproval. "He's back and says he misses me."

"I say don't do it." Jess put up a finger to ward off a disagreement. "Unless, you're only using him to get back on your feet in the dating world. He could be like your practice dummy."

"That's cruel," she replied. "And weird." Only Jess would think of something so ridiculous as a practice dummy for dating. Did a girl even need practice? Could one get rusty at going out for coffee and making small talk? Inwardly, she laughed. As if she'd ever be good at small talk. If that was what it took to find a husband, she was screwed.

Bea and Jess were plotting again. "I tried to convince her to come to the dark side but she insists she's straight," Jess explained.

"You don't think she is?" her grandma asked.

Jess's eyes glimmered. "It's a sliding scale. Everyone has the potential to be bi. Some are just more open to the possibility than others." She winked at Em.

Bea laughed out loud. "You should bring her around more often," she told Em, pointing to Jess with her fork. "I like her."

Emerson shook her head emphatically. "No online dating sites. And no setting me up either! You two are a menace to a girl's work life."

Prime numbers. No boyfriends. Or girlfriends either. It was probably creepy to say numbers were the love of her life, even if it was true. Another sentiment to keep only in her mind. She was collecting a lot of those.

Chapter 10.

The comforting scent of her favorite coffee swept over her as she walked into Starbucks. Emerson did a brief scan of the shop, looking for Jonah's lanky frame. She spotted him in the far corner, sitting with his back to her.

She skipped the line and went straight to Jonah's table. He was staring down at his phone, like every other person under the age of fifty. Brown hair fell across his forehead. Pale skin said he hadn't seen the light of day much either. He looked exactly the same as he did five months ago. She even recognized the green flannel s.h.i.+rt.

"Hey," she said, placing her bag on the table. She didn't believe in purses. They were too prissy for her purposes. She carried a messenger bag instead, that almost always contained her netbook.

Jonah looked up at her and smiled. To her surprise, he got up from his seat and hugged her. Stiffly, she accepted the hug, leaving her arms at her sides. It felt awkward. He'd never been one for PDA or random acts of affection. In fact, a relations.h.i.+p with Jonah felt a little like an arranged marriage. It served a purpose, but there was no pa.s.sion. Not that Em knew anything about pa.s.sion. At least not when it came to things other than numbers.

When he released her, he smiled again. Two smiles in a row. Impressive. When they'd been together, smiles had come few and far between. Always precise, always reserved, he wasn't a carefree smiler. Not like Levi.

His wide grin popped in her mind, surprising her. What was he doing there?

"Sit down," Jonah said, motioning to the spot across from him. There was a cup already sitting there. "I got your coffee already. Try it. Let's see if I remembered right."

Brows raised, she sat then sniffed the contents of the cup. Jonah had never been the romantic type. She'd be surprised if he remembered her order, especially after all these months of not seeming to remember her at all.

She took a sip. Ugh! Grimacing, she forced herself to swallow then put the cup back on the table.

Jonah looked dismayed. "No?"

"Not even close." She needed real coffee, STAT, to wash the taste out.

"Soy latte skim milk and no sugar, right?"

"Ew." What the h.e.l.l? "NASA must've scrambled your brain. I'm gonna go get some real coffee. I'll be right back."

Soy? Not much had changed, apparently. He'd often forget her favorite things movies, restaurants, desserts. At the counter, she ordered a small vanilla blonde then loaded it up with cream and sugar. She was still shaking her head about the soy latte as she made her way back to the table.

"Sorry about that," Jonah said, not looking sorry at all. He'd always been c.o.c.ky. Sometimes a man's c.o.c.kiness was attractive. In Jonah though, it was more grating. "Thanks for agreeing to meet me here."

She shrugged. "I'm here all the time anyway."

Jonah snorted then shook his head. "You never were good at social graces."

What the h.e.l.l was that supposed to mean? He had to know this wasn't a real date. And it wasn't as if he was Mr. Personality. Affronted, she scowled at him. "What do you want, Jonah? Why did you email me?"

"I told you. Things didn't work out in Seattle. I'm back and I missed you."

"You missed me? Five months you don't say one word to me. Not a text, not an email, nothing. That doesn't sound like you missed me." Despite the small rant, she wasn't bitter about it. Truthfully, she hadn't missed him. The shock of the sudden break up had left her reeling for a few days, but then she'd moved on, glad to be free of the distraction. It was only recently, she'd begun to think about relations.h.i.+ps again. Watching Jess and Dani, hearing Levi talk about Hope. That had spurred a bout of loneliness. Maybe her grandma was right everybody desired to be understood, and she was no exception.

"I'm sorry I didn't contact you. The job came with a confidentiality agreement. I didn't even know what to talk about when I thought about emailing. And I felt bad I left so suddenly. My mind was occupied. I'm sorry." For what it was worth, he did look guilty. "I handled it wrong." With a deep breath, he gave her a small smile. "But I'm back and I'd like to try things again."

Emerson sipped her coffee and thought for a moment. Now that she was looking at him, face to face, she realized she didn't want to be someone's second best. Jonah was only back because he'd either been fired or hadn't liked the job as much as he'd thought. He wasn't back for her. He'd picked the job first and she was sloppy seconds. Why she'd ever let their boring relations.h.i.+p go on for eight months was beyond her.

"I'm not interested in being your f.u.c.k buddy, Jonah."

He flinched. "G.o.d, Em. Do you have to be so cra.s.s?"

She merely arched a brow and sipped her drink.

"You're not a," he paused to look around then whispered, "f.u.c.k buddy. You were always more than that to me."

"No. We weren't good together. I've moved on. I'm close to my career goals. I don't need a distraction." That part was a lie, but she couldn't deal with him getting all puppy dog schmooky on her right now. And the truth seemed mean. He was boring and she had no attraction to him anymore.

Nodding, he stared down at his hands for a moment. An awkward silence dragged on then he finally lifted his head and broke it. "Still working on prime numbers?"

She nodded.

With a derisive snort, he sat back and looked her over. "When are you gonna get a real job and stop chasing pipe dreams?"

"f.u.c.k you," she spat. "Just because you couldn't hack it at your dream job, doesn't mean the rest of us should give up."

He laughed, managing to sound condescending. "You need to grow up, Emerson. I was giving you a chance by getting back together. I don't know what I was thinking. You're still a child."

What had she ever seen in Jonah Michaels? He was a stuck-up, big-headed a.s.shole. She could never be with someone who didn't support her dream. She'd take an average guy who may not understand prime numbers over a pompous intellectual who discouraged it any day. Just as she was about to get up and leave, she caught the movement of a hand waving across the shop.

The owner of the hand was wearing a wide grin a real one, not like Jonah's fake one and a s.e.xy black fitted top that accentuated his fit body. Just great. Levi was the last person she wanted to see right now. To her embarra.s.sment, he walked straight to their table.

"Hey, Em!" he greeted cheerfully.

His scent washed over her, masculine but sweet, and her heartbeat kicked up a notch. She was torn between grinning up at him like a smitten schoolgirl and hiding under the table in a full on blush. This crush was getting out of control.

"Hi," she replied shakily.

Jonah looked back and forth between the two. She should probably make introductions that was what people did in situations like this but honestly, she hoped Jonah would leave.

When he didn't move, or introduce himself, she crossed her arms and glared at him. Finally, he snorted and shook his head. "I knew this was a bad idea." He stood up, taking his coffee cup with him. "See you around, Em."

She didn't bother to say goodbye.

Levi took his place and sat down. He made a face. "That was tense."

"Yeah. Sorry. That was my ex."

"Ah." He nodded. "You okay?"

She studied his face, trying to read the emotion there, though she sucked at that sort of thing. Math equations made sense, people didn't. Like right now, Levi's eyes were kind of squinty and his head c.o.c.ked to the side. Did he pity her? She hated being pitied.

Straightening her shoulders, she scoffed. "I'm fine." Before he could say anything else, she added, somewhat harshly, "What are you doing here? I thought you didn't like coffee."

"Yes. That stuff will still kill you." His tone was serious, but there was a teasing glint in his eyes.

"Then why are you here?" She narrowed her eyes into a pretend suspicious look. "Are you stalking me?"

"No, but I should be." He drummed his fingers on the table. "I'm getting impatient, but we'll get back to that. First, I need a cup of that poison. It was a long night and I have to deal with a cougar in a little while." Distracted, he looked around the shop. "What's the best caffeinated beverage here anyway?"

"Not a soy latte," she said emphatically.

"Okay. Well, do you have any recommendations?"

She took her time looking him over. "If you really want something that'll wake you up, get an espresso."

"Yeah?" He craned his neck to see the menu hanging on the wall behind the counter.