Gray Back Bad Bear(3)
Matt did his best to hide his smile, but damn she was cute in her little black skirt and red tank top with a miniature tie-dye purse slung across her chest. It was two short steps away from being a fanny-pack. Her make-up hadn’t been slathered on like the other girls, but her doe brown eyes had been played up with some of that dark eyelid shit girls liked to wear, and her shiny red hair was pulled straight back in a ponytail and spiked out of the band, making her look like an anime character. She couldn’t be an inch over five foot of compact, angry, nerd. Sexy geek chic, and the opposite of his type. Yep.
“They put these nifty pictures of girls in dresses on bathrooms in case you have trouble reading the word women,” she said as she did a Vanna White at the bathroom sign.
Goddammit, she was cute all pissed off. “I made you mad.” Wait, that was the best he could do for an apology?
Sexy Nerd sighed, and her shoulders slumped. “You didn’t.” She jerked her chin toward the trio of buxom beauties hanging all over his crew. “They did.”
“You want to get out of here and talk about it?” Talk about it? He winced. Talking wasn’t his gig. Banging relentlessly was.
“Ha! You, mister, are barking up the wrong tree. I’m a virgin and proud.” She waved her hands in front of her skirt. “No one has touched this magical box with their tally whacker, and I assure you, you won’t be entering my sacred temple either.”
“Yeah, I figured. The pink polka dot granny panties gave you away.”
“Comfy cottons.”
He wanted to kiss that little angry moue off her glossed lips. Frowning, he said, “Well, you just saved yourself from my evil clutches because I don’t touch virgins. I find them dissatisfying for my…needs.”
When her face fell, a burning ache slashed through his chest. What the hell was happening to him? He needed to go find the woman who’d just about sunk her claws into him before he’d followed Sexy Nerd to the bathroom.
“You’ve been officially friend-zoned. The name’s Matt Barns,” he said, offering his hand for a shake.
“Oh.” Her bravado faltered, and she looked vulnerable for a moment, then gripped his hand tightly and shook him once, hard. “Willamena Madden. People call me Willa.”
“Willa?” He laughed. Even her name sounded nerdy.
“Yes, Willa. It’s a family name. A lot of strong women in my lineage have carried that name.”
“A warrior’s name then?”
“Yes, you oaf. Stop making fun of me.”
Matt cleared his throat and let the smile slip from his lips. “You’re right. Where are my manners?”
“What kind of bear are you?”
“Now, where are your manners? Shifter etiquette one-oh-one. No asking about the animal side unless you know someone really well.”
She wasn’t paying attention and was instead clicking away on her phone. “Grizzly. Nice.”
“What? How did you know?”
“I just friend-zoned you…on social media. Your About Me section is super informative.”
“And what if I’d been a panda shifter?”
She scrunched up her face in a sympathetic look. “Then we couldn’t have been friends, Matt Barns of the”—she looked at her phone again—“Gray Back Crew. I’m extremely prejudiced against shifter animals. Apex predators only on my friend card.”
Matt snorted and pursed his lips to hide how truly amusing this little human was to him.
“Okay, while I have you here and talking, what size to you prefer?” she asked, digging through her colorful purse. She pulled out three condoms and lifted the tiniest. “Extra small?”
Shock jolted up Matt’s spine as he guffawed. “If you’re a virgin, why are you carrying around condoms?”
“Oh, not for me. For them.” She twitched her head at the Barbie trio. One of the blonds was now making out with Jason. “Safe sex is inconceivably important.”
“I have my own condoms, thanks, and besides, you don’t have the right size for me.”
“Extra extra small?”
He gave her a cool look. “You’re funny.”
“I think so, too,” she said through a giggle as she shoved the condoms back into her purse. “I’m glad you stalked me to the bathroom. I feel better now. Thanks, Griz.”
Matt ran his hands over his face and shook his head. Willamena Madden was a handful in a tiny package. That was for sure and for certain. “Can I please buy you a drink now?”
Her eyes narrowed to slits behind her oversize glasses. “Why?” She slid her gaze to the left and right, then back at him. “Are you filming this? Am I being pranked?”