Beauty and the Geek

Chapter 9.

"I don't suppose you have a hairdryer I could borrow?" A hollow laugh escaped my throat, as I pointed to my soaking shirt and hair, which had turned into a stringy-orange mess.
"Or you could just borrow something of mine," Will replied, nonchalantly, and disappeared into his bedroom.

I gulped nervously; feeling my internal organs slip down to my toes. I was quite certain I shouldn't follow Will into his bedroom, especially when I was wearing a transparent t-shirt. Against my better judgement, I found my feet moving in his direction anyway and halting outside with just enough door space so that I could peek inside.

Will rummaged inside a chest of drawers and produced two t-shirts. I choked nervously as he peeled back his ruined t-shirt from his damp skin, unveiling the slender curves of his back. Feeling heat rise on my cheeks, I turned away too quickly; stubbing my toe on the door frame and stumbling backwards into a badly placed table.

"Damn!" I yelled, as Will turned in surprise. "Ahhh...sorry, I didn't realise you were...so...naked."
"It's okay," Will laughed, looking at me with the same expression he always did when he thought I was completely crazy. It was becoming a regular occurrence lately now I seemed to have become utterly tongue tied around him.

Will handed me the dry shirt as I felt his hand on my face again, moving my freakishly frizzy hair out of the way.

"Take your time," He said, intently, motioning towards his room. My eyes slid downwards to his flat stomach and soft skin. I gulped and closed the door quietly behind me, but not before I peeked for one last time at Will; sashaying down the hallway like he didn't have a care in the world.

---

"Well," Will glanced at me as I appeared in the living room attempting to hide my modesty, blushing under the light of the log fire. "It certainly looks better on you than me."

Wearing only his over-sized t-shirt and a grimace, I settled down on the floor next to him. Naturally, his eyes widened as he caught sight of me; I was pretty sure he was living out every teenage boy's fantasy. It was fun to be the one with all of the power for once; it was usually Will sending me weak at the knees.

What would Brett say now if he knew that I'd kissed Will for the second time? Or that we were now five centimetres away from each other and I was wearing his shirt? I should have felt guilty but revenge overwhelmed me instead. I was secretly glad to be betraying Brett for being such an ass to me and everybody else in the past.

"Penny for your thoughts," Will nudged me playfully as I stared into the scorched wood before us.
"I'm just thinking about how weird today has been," I replied.
"I hope you mean weird in a good way..."
"Of course," I blushed. "It's just...not what I expected to come out of today."
"I can't say I ever thought I would be doing this with the most beautiful girl in school either."
"That's sweet – but I'm really not..."
"You are. I've always thought it, even when you didn't notice me before. I would see you in the library sometimes and I always thought that you were too beautiful to look so sad."
"I wish I had noticed you sooner. I'm sorry if my friends and I ever made you feel bad."
"You are not your friends, Emily," He smiled, supportively.

He slowly wrapped an arm around my shoulders and I felt myself give into the warmth of his body. My head rested on his shoulder sleepily as he rubbed my arm softly to keep me warm. I wished we could have stayed that way forever; alone where nobody could bother us and people like Brett didn't exist.

"What if I don't want to be just friends?" I whispered, more to myself than Will.

Will paused, an awkward silence filling the air, as I waited anxiously for his reply. In a single moment, his lips crashed down upon my own, my hands tangled in his hair, as I consumed him completely.

"What took you so long?" He smiled into our kiss, his eyes crinkling in the corners the way I so truly loved.