Nerd Girl(101)

“Or both.”

“We can eat in bed. Whatever you want. I just want you naked all day,” he said with a smirk.

“Okay,” I agreed and started to giggle, drunk with the thought of being in bed with Ryan all day.

We made love until we were both deliciously sore from overuse. In between our lovemaking, we listened to more music, ate and fed each other in bed. I read my book while Ryan did some work emails. We laughed a lot and talked about our friends, books, movies. We shared random stories and discussed our recurring dreams, theorizing what they meant and uprooting our deepest fears and worries.

We stayed true to our goal, more or less. Ryan only got dressed briefly to grab some food from the seafood merchant down the dock. I wore one of his t-shirts to cook. The idea of cooking naked was a bit too voyeuristic for me, not to mention a little dangerous. We decided to eat dinner out in the main cabin since cracking crab shells could get messy in bed.

What would my teammates think if they only knew I was here, making love around the clock, with the infamous Ryan McGraw? Mia would totally freak, I’m sure. I smiled to myself, but not before Ryan saw me.

“What are you thinking about so coyly?”

“I’m not sure you want to know,” I said hesitantly.

He looked at me wryly. “Okay, you can’t say that and then expect me to leave you alone.”

“I was just wondering what the other women on my team would say if they knew what I’ve been doing all day and with whom.”

Ryan raised an eyebrow in mock curiosity.

“Do you have any idea what the women at the office think of you?” I asked him.

“No,” he said innocently. “I never paid much attention.”

I rolled my eyes. “Sheesh! For an extremely intelligent and highly visible man, you really are clueless about some things. Do you honestly have no idea what the women at work think of you?”

He looked a little surprised and shrugged his shoulders.

“My first day, I had lunch with a few of my teammates and talked about which executives were the hottest. You topped the list,” I said, almost gloating. “Let me add that this was before I knew who you were.”

“This is what you all talk about during lunch?” He sounded perplexed, like it was the oddest conversation topic. “Who else made the list?” he finally asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

“Kyle Warren,” I said nonchalantly.

“Humph.” Ryan’s eyes narrowed and he looked mildly irritated.

I had forgotten until just now about my little stunt at his team’s happy hour. It was hard to believe that that was only a few weeks ago.

“You seem to have luck with this list of yours,” he said with wry sarcasm.

“Oh, that. Sorry,” I said guiltily and bit my lip.

“You once told me that you guys were just friends. But it looked extra friendly when I saw you together last week. Were you telling me the truth?” he asked curtly. “You guys never went out?”

I felt the temperature in the room dip slightly. “It was just a ploy to get your attention. I was pissed at you,” I said in my defense. “I’m sorry; it was wrong for me to do, to both you and Kyle, though you kind of deserved it at the time.”

“I’m glad you haven’t dated him.”

I dipped a shelled crab leg into a bowl of melted butter and watched Ryan struggle with the crab cracker. “You’re being so chivalrous, cracking the shell off of all the crab for me.” I said, trying to change the subject.

He wanted to do the honors and wouldn’t let me help. “That’s how much I love you,” he said, keeping his concentration focused on cracking the huge crab claw in his hand.

“I love you, too, Ryan,” I replied.

He paused with the crab cracking and gazed up at me. I saw gratitude and reverence in his eyes. How could he look at me like that? I’m the one that was so thankful for his presence in my life. He turned his life upside down for me, to be with me, yet he looked at me like somehow I was the prize.

“What do you like about me, exactly?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“You smell good, you have great tits and a nice ass,” he said and grinned.

I gently shoved him with my elbow. I was glad to see his happier mood had returned and he seemed to have packed away the Kyle episode.

Ryan laughed heartily. “Oh, you mean aside from your tits and ass?”

I shot him an exasperated look.

He pressed his lips together, mulling over how to best answer my question. “Well, I think you’re intelligent, kind, and very beautiful. There’s something very refreshing, trusting, and sweet about you, but I think you’re also strong and brave. I admire your independence and your conviction on what is right and wrong. I like that your life doesn’t revolve around your work.”