Crushing on the Geek(21)

“I think we've pissed off the faeries.”

“That's one I haven't heard before,” he chuckled, “I'll be there in a few minutes. Don't let the faeries carry you offer before I get there.”

“Haha,” Tamara said, “See you when you get here.”

After the call ended Tamara considered waiting inside the library lobby, but wasn't sure the librarian wouldn't chase her out again. Also, she wasn't sure the crow had actually left the building. The mist evolved into raindrops and Tamara pulled up her hood to protect her weave from becoming drenched.

Hayden's black car pulled up startling away the flock of birds except for one. Who kept its eyes locked to Tamara as she opened the door and slid inside.

“So what's up, faerie girl?”

“Don't call me that,” Tamara said, sinking into the seat and closing her eyes. She held out her hands in front of the heater vent and rubbed them together.

“It's not that cold outside,” Hayden chuckled.

“Oh, really?” Tamara asked turning towards him.

“It's like forty degrees. It's not even below freezing yet.”

Tamara place the palm of her hand against the back of Hayden's neck. He jerked away cursing.

“God, woman! Don't do that!”

“What? It's not that cold!” Tamara laughed.

“Okay, you win this one, but since you've already told me you were crazy it's a moot point.”

“I didn't say I was crazy. What I said was ' this is going to sound crazy'.”

“Well, if it quacks like a duck, its a duck.”

“What does that have to do with anything were talking about?” Tamara asked, tapping her foot against the floorboard as Hayden pulled out of the parking lot.

“It just means...” he began.

“I know what it means!” she slapped his arm playfully, even though her stomach was in knots. If she acted normal maybe she could force things to be normal.

“Don't do that while I'm driving!” Hayden said, pulling into the closest parking lot.

“Sorry,” Tamara muttered.

“Do you know how dangerous it is to rough house in a car?” he said, killing the engine.

“I said I was sorry!”

“Just don't do it again, okay,” Hayden said, readjusting his rear view mirror.

“It's been a really crappy day and I try to tell you I think we have a problem and you can't even take it seriously.”

“I take plenty of things seriously, but when the hot girl from chess club calls me and says she thinks we have a faerie problem is means one of two things in my mind: Either she's trying to ask me to hang out and is trying to be cute about it, in the way girls sometimes do, although because it's not always, us guys can never be sure or she's talking about someone coming out of the closet. Which isn't the best way of going about it and because we don't have any mutual friends that would be coming out of the closet I took it as she was asking me to hang out.”

Tamara blinked, “Did you just call me hot?”

“Yes, but so totally missed the point of what I was saying!”

“And you didn't? First of all, okay, under normal circumstances I'd love to hang out with you, but these aren't normal circumstances. Secondly, I don't believe in using slurs of any kind and I was being serious when I said I think we have a fairy problem,” Tamara said, taking off her seat belt.

“What the hell are you talking about? You can't keep saying that, but not telling me what you're talking about.”

“I'm trying to, but I can't get a word in edgewise with you freaking out and rambling on. Geez, you're worse than Amber and I thought she was as bad as it got.”

“No, she speaks quiet slowly compared to a lot of people, but don't try to distract me!”

“I'm not. If you shut up for a minute….”

“Fine. Shutting up.”

After Tamara told Hayden what happened after she left chess practice he was quiet for a moment.

“I think Amber set you up!”

“What? Why would she do that?” Tamara asked, throwing her hands up and crashing one of them into the roof, “Damn it, that hurt.”

“Don't beat up my car and she'd do it as a prank or because she's mad that the chess club lost the tournament and now she and Mr. Kissy Face can't go to the Halloween dance,because there isn't going to be one!”

“Mr. Kissy Face?”

“I don't remember his name and almost every time I see him he and Amber are kissing, so it's a fitting nickname.”

Tamara laughed, despite the feeling of dread that still hung over her, “His name is Josh, but Amber calls him Joshua when he's not around. Anyway, I don't think Amber set me up. I don't think she could have.”

“Why not?” Hayden asked, “It would be easy enough to hire someone to wear a faerie costume and throw a book at your head. Some people might do it for free.”