Gone With the Nerd

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  "If you insist." She kicked off her shoes and swung her feet up on the sofa. Then she nestled against him. "If I weren't so tired, this would turn me on."

  Flynn wrapped his arm around her, careful to tuck it under her breasts and not make arm-to-breast contact.

  This close proximity was bad enough, but if he got involved with breast contact, he'd be in trouble. "You'd think we'd have had enough sex by now."

  Zoe yawned. "I'm beginning to think that with you and me, there's no such thing."

  "Yeah, me, too. I've never been in such a constant state of arousal." He expected some sort of comeback. When she said nothing, he leaned closer. "Zoe?"

  Her steady breathing was the only sound he heard. Just that fast, she'd fallen asleep. His heart expanded with the knowledge that she trusted him enough to fall asleep in the face of whatever danger lurked in the darkness. He wouldn't betray that trust, either.

  About a half hour later he thought he heard something outside the cabin. He tensed, waiting to see if it was an animal scurrying by or something more ominous. After a while the noise stopped. When several minutes went by and nothing had happened, he began to relax. No one would harm Zoe while he was on guard. No one.

  He laid his cheek against her hair. Now that she was fully asleep, he could say anything he wanted. There was only one thing on his mind. "I love you, Zoe," he murmured.

  Zoe woke up when a cell phone rang. The sound brought her straight out of an erotic dream about Flynn and into sharp contact with his chin. "Ouch! Sorry!"

  "Me, too. That's my cell. I left it in my bedroom."

  She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "You'd better get it."

  "Yeah." He pushed himself off the sofa and walked stiffly into the bedroom.

  Zoe peered out through the cabin's front windows and noticed early-morning sunlight filtering through the trees and gilding the porch railing. Their long eventful night was over, and their long eventful day was about to begin. She assumed Kristen was on the phone.

  When Flynn returned, the phone still in one hand and his shoulders slumped, she took that as a sure sign he'd been talking to his girlfriend. "What did she say?"

  "She found a Bigfoot costume in a bag in Jeff's closet."

  "Huh?" Her thoughts screeched to a stop and made an abrupt U-turn. This woman was way more squirrelly than she'd ever imagined. "What the hell was Kristen doing in Jeff's closet?" And where was a can of Mace when she needed it?

  "Not Kristen. Luanne."

  "Oh!" Now the comment made sense, and she understood why Flynn looked so unhappy. His Bigfoot sighting had been trashed. "When did she find it?"

  "Around midnight." He sighed. "She timed the search for after her parents went to bed and before Jeff got home from his date. She would have called us, but she didn't want to interrupt anything."

  His disappointment became her disappointment. No matter how the weekend would ultimately turn out, she'd felt good knowing he'd had a Bigfoot experience. Now that had been taken away.

  She stood and walked over to him. "Listen, maybe it wasn't Jeff we saw last night. What she found could be a Halloween costume, right? And besides, how would he make the noises and the smell? That was all darned realistic."

  "He had a tape recorder tucked in with the costume. Luanne turned the volume way down and closed herself in the closet so she could check out the tape. Sure enough, it was screeches and howls."

  "Damn it."

  "As for the smell, she said his gym socks would have done the trick, but she found a recipe for making stink bombs in the bag with the costume. She didn't try the recipe, but she's sure it would work great."

  Yesterday Luanne's cleverness had intrigued and fascinated Zoe. Today she wished the girl were a little on the slow side. Then Flynn could have gone home thinking he'd achieved a lifelong dream and Jeff could have continued playing Bigfoot for the tourists.

  "I'm really sorry," she said. "I suppose she's going to tell on him. I've never had a big brother, but that seems like what little sisters live for."

  "She hasn't told anybody except me, and I asked her to keep quiet. I think Jeff's having fun with this, but he might also figure it'll help the town. He shouldn't be ridiculed for trying to help, but if she blows his cover, he might be."

  Zoe stepped closer and wound her arms around his neck. "That was thoughtful. Considering how he messed with your head, you could feel like getting revenge."

  "Nah." Still holding his cell phone, Flynn looped his arms around her waist. "He's just a kid. He sure had me fooled, though. I was ready to believe;"

  "Don't forget that he's fooled a bunch of other people, too. Margo, for one." Then Zoe remembered something. "Wait a minute. Margo said she'd seen a whole family. How could Jeff pull that off?"

  "I don't know. Maybe he walked on his knees to look like the baby. His natural size would be about right for a female, and then he could use lifts and an extension of the head part when he was supposed to be the male."

  Zoe wasn't buying it. "That seems like more work than the average eighteen-year-old would put into it. I can imagine him running around in a costume once in a while. I can imagine him putting together the tape and the stink bombs. But trying to imitate different sizes and genders? Uh-uh."

  "Maybe Margo has a good imagination."

  "Or maybe there really is a Bigfoot family out there and Jeff is like an auxiliary Bigfoot."

  He smiled. "You're just trying to make me feel better. I appreciate that, but it's okay. I'm a grown-up. I can deal."

  "I'm nor just trying to make you feel better." Although she was. "Margo was very convincing when she was describing her sightings."

  "And they're her claim to fame in Long Shaft, right? I saw her picture on the wall in the diner along with the record of her Bigfoot sightings. The woman has no life, Zoe. I know she's your friend, but I can easily believe that she'd make up a Sasquatch family to get some recognition."

  Zoe leaned her head against his chest. "Me, too. But I would like to think she really saw Bigfoot, for your sake. And hers."

  "Thanks." He rubbed her back. "Um, Luanne mentioned something else on the phone."

  "Let me guess." She felt the imprint of something hard against her forehead and realized it was the PDA in Flynn's shirt pocket. His devotion to that thing really touched her. "She begged to come over right now instead of waiting until ten o'clock. But we can't let her. She'd freak about the tree."

  "I know, but she's going to be hard to put off. She's figured out that you're Zoe Tarleton."

  Zoe's head came up with a snap. "Yikes." She looked into Flynn's eyes. "My fault. You warned me she'd work it out after I told her I like brainy guys."

  "Yeah, that was the wrong thing to say. I still don't understand why you did."

  "Because ..." She wondered how much to reveal. "Luanne was focusing on the guys I've gone with in the past, and I didn't want you to think ... that I wouldn't be interested in ... someone like you."

  His eyes darkened. "Are you saying that you could be interested in someone like me?"

  "It's possible." Her heart raced as she thought of the implications of what she was saying. She was skirting close to a declaration, which scared her. He might not feel the same. In the dark of night and the heat of sex, people could think one way. In the morning they could think a whole different way.

  He cleared his throat. "Interesting."

  Talk about noncommittal. But she didn't blame him. The stakes were pretty high. "The thing is, I don't know if someone like you could be interested in someone like me."

  "It's possible."

  Her tummy gave a little leap. Maybe she should simply take the plunge. "Flynn, I—" The kitchen phone rang, cutting her off. And maybe that was for the best. They should probably table this discussion until after he'd dealt with Kristen.

  Zoe slipped out of his arms. "I'll get that. It's probably Margo with news about Kristen's whereabouts."

  "Just so you know," Flynn called after her, "Luanne s
aid she'd keep her mouth shut on one condition."

  "Yeah, and what's her price?"

  "She wants to be invited for a sleepover at your house in Malibu. I'm supposed to call her back after I talk to you."

  Zoe laughed. Only an eleven-year-old girl would settle for a sleepover. "You can promise her the sleepover. Just keep her from showing up here today." She picked up the phone. "Hello?"

  "Zoe, it's Margo. Are you okay? When you took so long to answer, I started hyperventilating. I've been worried sick now that Kristen is in town."

  Zoe was determined not to fall in with Margo's love of melodrama. "We're okay, but the cabin isn't in such great shape."

  "Omigod. What happened?"

  "A tree fell on it." She decided not to mention right away that it didn't look like an accident.

  "Oh no! On the cabin? What part?"

  "The master bedroom and bath got the worst of it."

  "And you weren't hurt? Zoe, you could have been killed?

  She was trying not to think about that. "Maybe. Fortunately, Flynn and I were outside at the time."

  "Whew, that is so scary. I wonder if it was on purpose." "I... um... maybe."

  "It was! Did you call anybody, like the police or the fire department?"

  "I suppose we should have, and we will before we leave, but I don't dare call the cops while I'm still here. It would end up in the papers."

  "I understand," Margo said. "But I'm really afraid this Kristen person is out to get you. Now that I've heard about this, I'm glad I did what I did."

  Zoe told herself not to panic, but visions of knifewielding maniacs danced in her brain. "What did you do, Margo?"

  "Fifteen minutes ago, I went to the Bigfoot Motel and talked to her."

  "Margo!" Zoe could imagine how Flynn would react to that news. "What in God's name did you say?"

  "I told her that it looked like someone was out to get Zoe Tarleton, and that because she had a motive for that, she was being watched. I said I was your friend and she'd better not do anything to you, or she'd have to answer to me."

  Zoe groaned. "I appreciate the sentiment, but we don't know that Kristen's involved in any of this."

  "You're too trusting. You always have been. What would you say if I told you she's been in touch with Trace?"

  "What?"

  "You heard me. She used some connections she had and got his private number. She found out that he didn't know about this trip."

  Zoe's stomach began to churn. If Kristen had gone so far as to get Trace's number, she certainly could have arranged a few accidents, too. And now Trace knew about this weekend and he'd be pissed that she hadn't told him.

  "Kristen's weird, Zoe. No telling what she's up to. I'm glad I said something to her. Maybe she'll think twice now."

  "Did she say anything more about Trace?"

  "Just that Trace didn't seem happy about you and Flynn spending the weekend together."

  "I'm sure he isn't. Listen, Margo, I need to go. I should talk to Flynn." Then she had to decide whether to call Trace or wait until she got back to LA.

  "Which reminds me," Margo said. "Kristen wants Flynn to come to the motel to talk. She's in room fifteen. I said I'd pass the message along."

  "If she's skilled enough to get Trace's private number, she could easily find out where the cabin is. She could come here herself."

  "Unless she'd rather not see him with you around."

  Zoe sighed. "Good point."

  "When he goes, I think he should be careful, but as long as they stay out in the open, he should be okay."

  Zoe shivered. "You really think she might get violent with him?"

  "Who knows? Oh, I almost forgot. She's also been in communication with Jeff."

  "Jeff?" Panic became a real possibility. If Jeff was involved ...

  "She had some story about wanting to get Flynn a Bigfoot souvenir as a joke, but I think there's more to it. Flynn needs to check out what's going on."

  "I'll tell him she wants to see him." Zoe wasn't crazy about the idea of Flynn going to the motel, but he would probably want to. She'd make him promise to have the conversation outside, not in the room.

  "I think he should go right away, before she has a chance to pull anything else. Or do damage to herself."

  "I'm sure he'll want to do that. Thanks, Margo."

  "Let me know how it goes, okay?"

  "Sure. Talk to you soon." Zoe hung up the phone and turned. Flynn was standing in the kitchen doorway. "Margo went to see Kristen at the motel."

  He frowned. "Shit."

  "I knew you wouldn't like it. But Flynn, Kristen's been in touch with Trace." Zoe discovered she was trembling.

  She wrapped her arms about her middle to steady herself. "How?"

  "According to Margo, she pulled in some favors and tracked down his private number so she could find out what he knew about this weekend."

  Flynn looked shaken. As he adjusted the position of his glasses, his hand quivered. "I... wouldn't have thought she'd do something like that."

  "But she did. That took some real effort, and some ingenuity. And she also contacted Jeff."

  "That's crazy! Why would she ..." His voice trailed off and he looked stricken. "He lied to his parents about where he was Friday night."

  "She might have hired him. I thought the same thing."

  "I hope to hell that's not the explanation."

  "But you're not so sure, are you?"

  He shook his head, and his gaze was haunted. "No. No, I'm not so sure."

  "She wants to see you at the motel. She's in room fifteen. She asked Margo to pass on the message."

  "I'll go right now." He ran a hand over his bristly chin. "I was planning to get cleaned up before I went to see her, but I think I'd better just leave."

  "Do me a favor. Have the conversation out in the parking lot, not inside her room. And take your cell phone."

  Flynn opened his mouth as if to say something, but then he closed it again. "Okay, I'll do that. I won't be gone long, but maybe you should start packing up. Once you're out of here, we can get the police involved."

  She felt the urge to laugh, which was bizarre considering the circumstances. Maybe she was getting hysterical.

  "What's wrong? What did I say?"

  "You told me to start packing." She swallowed a giggle.

  "So what? It's a good idea. Get a jump on it so Margo can take you back to Sacramento."

  "Flynn, in order to pack up my stuff, I'd need a chain saw."

  He blinked. "Oh. Right." Pausing, he took a deep breath. "I apologize, Zoe. I know an apology doesn't cut it considering everything that's happened, but I take full responsibility. If I hadn't told Kristen where I was going this weekend, none of this would have happened."

  She stepped closer, until they were almost touching. "I wouldn't change a thing."

  "Are you kidding? You've risked getting stung, blown to bits, and flattened. I would sure as hell think you'd like to change some of that!"

  "Not if it means changing the rest of what happened." She put all the things she couldn't say into her eyes as she looked up at him.

  His expression softened. "I think that would have happened without all the scary stuff."

  "You never know. Change one thing, change everything. Besides, what if you hadn't found out about Kristen? What if you'd married her?"

  He cupped her face in both hands. "I figured out yesterday that wasn't an option anymore."

  "When yesterday?"

  "After I realized that I didn't know the color of her eyes, but I had a dozen different ways to describe the color of yours."

  She grew warm and shivery at his implication. "Oh."

  "Yeah. Now I really need to go. I'll let her know it's over between us, and warn her that she'd better not retaliate in any way."

  "Margo already said something along those lines. Long Shaft's a small town. I don't think she'll get away with anything else."

  "But we need to bring an investigative team
in here. If she's responsible, then she needs to be charged, along with whoever's been helping her."

  "Don't tell her that." Zoe was still worried about his safety.

  "I won't." His kiss was gentle. "I'll be back soon." "Good."

  With another quick kiss, he released her and walked quickly through the living room and out the door.

  "Be careful!" she called after him.

  "I always am!" he called back.

  And she loved that about him. A girl wanted to know that a man was careful when she was about to hand him her heart.

  Now that she realized that Kristen was all wrong for him and might even be a psycho stalker, Zoe didn't feel so guilty about the sex. In fact, she believed that she'd saved him, in a way. Without having sex with her, he might have married Kristen, only to find out too late that he'd hitched up with a loony.

  What if they'd had kids? What if the kids had inherited the psycho gene? Yep, she'd done Flynn a huge favor. The favor had been more than returned, though, because she had a much better idea of how to tackle the nerd role, and then there was the whole sexual compatibility thing combined with a possible happily-ever-after thing. In die area of favors, she still owed him, big-time.

  Because she couldn't pack, she decided to make another pot of coffee and open up the cornflakes Flynn had bought yesterday. When he got back they could each have a bowl while they discussed how to leave Long Shaft with as little fanfare as possible.

  She was setting the table when she heard Margo's "hello" drift through the front door. Apparently she had decided to come over and inspect the tree damage for herself. Zoe couldn't blame her. It wasn't every day you saw a bedroom full of tree branches and pine needles.

  "I'm back in the kitchen," Zoe called out. "I started a pot of coffee, if you want some."

  "No, thanks," Margo said as she walked through the kitchen door. "I don't have the time." She had on a white vinyl mini and a white stretch top this morning. A sparkly headband held her hair away from her face, and her makeup was gaudy but perfect.