Nerd Girl Read Online Free Page A

to be a little messy on top. I imagined running my fingers through it. Did I just think that? Trying to shake that image from my mind, I continued to study him. He had a strong, masculine jaw with a day’s worth of stubble on it. I bit my lower lip as I watched him. He was definitely sexy …
    I could wax poetic about why shoes were an early indicator of the type of man that wore them. A man’s shoes could tell you if he was trying too hard or if he was clueless about fashion. They told you if he was conservative, trendy or artsy. In our younger days, Anna and I made judgment calls on whether or not to date someone merely by his shoe selection. Yes, I knew this was shallow and I’d like to say I’ve come a long way from that, but some old habits were hard to break. His shoes looked expensive; clean and black with a little metrosexual style going on. In translation, he was successful, confident, casual, and not completely clueless about fashion.
    Checking him out made me self-conscious about my own appearance; part of me desperately wanted to run to the bathroom and make sure I didn’t have anything in my teeth. I was glad I was wearing my best jeans, dark denim that flattered both my hips and ass, topped with a simple white V-neck t-shirt. I shrugged. It certainly wasn’t my most alluring attire, but I hadn’t planned on impressing anyone today.
    Just as I was wondering if I still had some lipstick on, he hung up his phone. He walked the few feet over to the empty seat next to me and paused. “Well, it looks like I’ve been stood up. The person I was supposed to meet is working late.” He didn’t look too disappointed.
    I gave him a sympathizing look nonetheless. “Join the club.”
    He chuckled and looked down towards my toes. With my legs crossed, I was unconsciously swinging by foot back and forth and I had accidentally just bumped his calf. “Fancy, that,” he said with a smile. “Another coincidence.”
    “What’s the other coincidence?” I asked. I stopped kicking my leg. It was a nervous habit of mine.
    He smirked. “Well, the fact that I bumped into you here, after nearly killing you with my car the other day seems to be a rather big coincidence, don’t you think?”
    I nodded, embarrassed I didn’t clue into something so obvious, and returned his smile with my own. “Ah yes, of course, the accident.”
    “So I never got your name that day …” he trailed off curiously.
    “Sorry about that. I was in a bit of a hurry.” I extended my hand to him. “I’m Julia.”
    He took my hand. “I’m Ryan. It’s nice to meet you again.” He grinned.
    The contact of our hands sent a current through my body. His hand was soft and warm, his handshake firm. Our eyes locked for several moments longer than normal for a standard greeting. His grey-blue eyes pulled me in and wouldn’t let me go. I felt my pulse speed and my breath hitch. As the moment passed beyond what was considered appropriate, we both seemed to be recognizing that a unique connection was being made. I looked down at our clasped hands and, much to my disappointment, he suddenly released my hand. We gave each other flustered grins. The bartender had just walked up to us, interrupting my longest handshake on record. My face felt warm.
    Behind the counter, the bartender looked pointedly at Ryan. “Can I get you a drink, sir?”
    “Yes. I’ll have a gin and tonic,” he said. His voice cracked mid-way through his order and he had to clear his throat. Our moment of contact had affected him, too, it seemed. He kept his focus on the bartender. Nodding towards my glass of wine, he said, “Can you please put her wine on my tab?” He looked back at me contritely. “It’s the least I can do after I hit you with my car. I should thank you for not suing me.” He grinned and I noticed a flash of dimples.
    “Well, I wouldn’t have sued you. MS has pretty good disability accidental death and dismemberment insurance,” I said with a facetious