Some Like It Geek: A Really Big Set of Romances

by Box Set

From the height of the woman’s eyebrows he guessed she knew exactly who he was too.

  “Shit.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The woman narrowed her eyes, backed up a few steps, and then gestured to the side, beckoning for him to exit the elevator.

  Aaron stepped out, expecting her to pass him and get on the car herself.

  She did not.

  Instead she let the doors close, raked her gaze over him from head to toe, her eyes lingering on the bouquet of roses and the chocolates, and the bottle of wine.

  The woman waved her fingers at the items, gave him a thumbs up and winked.

  Shit. He was such an asshole! He’d been so shocked to see Katie’s mother, that he’d forgotten she was deaf.

  Aaron stashed the stuff carefully in the crook of one arm and then reached out to shake her hand.

  She accepted, shaking firmly, then to his surprise, she spoke out loud.

  “Barb,” she said. Crossing her thumb over her palm she touched the tip of her hand to her cheek and wiggled it by her dimple, making the sign for her name.

  “Aaron,” he said pointing to himself like an idiot.

  Barb laughed and rolled her eyes. Yeah. Duh.

  Think dufus. You’ve got one chance to impress the woman. Think!

  And then he had it. His former interpreter, Kelly, had been around the office a lot when they’d been working on the deaf interface for HL2. She’d been pregnant with a baby girl and very happy to share her joy. Aaron thought hard, trying to remember the hand signs she’d used as she was speaking. “My beautiful baby girl,” Kelly had signed when sharing her sonogram photos. “I’m in love!”

  Setting the wine, flowers and chocolate gently on the hallway floor he straightened back up and did his valiant best.

  “Beautiful baby girl,” he signed, and Barb raised an eyebrow. Okay yeah, he was not trying to hit on Katie’s mom here.

  “I’m in love,” he signed. Then he made the sign for Barb’s name, then pointed down the hall toward Katie’s door and then signed again. “I’m in love. Barb beautiful baby girl.”

  Katie’s mom put both hands over her heart and smiled. Where those tears in her eyes?

  Barb pulled Aaron in for a hug, squeezed him tight and then stepped back, hands over her heart again.

  Okay, well he was sure he’d done a pretty shitty job signing all of that, but it looked like she got the gist. She seemed really happy.

  That was good. Right? She probably would’ve looked angry or frightened if she knew Katie hated his guts.

  Aaron looked down the hall, turned back to Barb, and grimaced. He didn’t know how to sign “Do you think your daughter hates me? Is it possible she loves me too?” But Barb seemed to know what was on his mind.

  Shaking her head, she bent down, picked up his gifts for Katie, shoved them at Aaron, put her hands on his waist, and bodily turned him around. Then she smacked him on the ass and shoved him forward.

  Aaron looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at her. Barb grinned and signed something to him.

  “What?” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t understand.”

  Barb pointed down the hall, then covered her heart with her hands again. He knew she was dumbing this down for him, because he wasn’t fluent and he felt bad about that, but that fact that Katie’s mom seemed willing to help him out? Well that was a gift.

  Barb moved her hands from her heart, pointed at him and made the sign for baby girl. Then she joined her fingers together in a weave then yanked them apart then wove them again slowly.

  He got it.

  Well as best as he was going to at the moment. She seemed to be telling him that she thought he and Katie could be together, if they were willing to work at it.

  Barb nodded at him, slapped the elevator call button, and when the doors opened she dragged her suitcase inside, turned, and shooed Aaron down the hall. When he didn’t move she pointed and glared at him sternly, so he smiled, signed “thank you” and headed down the hall to Barb’s beautiful baby girl, who he was in love with.

  As Katie watched herself in the mirror, the words from Aaron’s speech popped into her head.

  Invent the future. Yes. That was it.

  Twenty million people believed that the virtual world Katie had created was powerful and transformative. In HyperLyfe she had the power to do anything. She created the life she’d dreamed of. She’d created the best version of herself.

  Who was to say she couldn’t do the same in the reality?

  She was not the person that people like Steven believed her to be. Steven saw her the way he chose to. Saw her the way he wanted to. When Steven looked at the Katie in that paparazzi photo he saw a sad, bitter woman, hiding her scarred body in ratty clothes, spending all her time with fake friends and a cat, and wolfing down armfuls of comfort food.

  But she was not sad, and she was not going to be bitter.

  The comfort food, okay, she’d own that.

  The cat, sure. She loved Rupert, even when he was grouchy.

  Fake friends? Nope, her friends in HL were as authentic as those that she saw in the flesh.

  Ratty clothes? Guilty. But she’d been sick!

  She glanced down, saw that even now that she wasn’t sick, she was still wearing the holey sweatpants. Quickly, she tore them off. Throwing them in the wastebasket, she snatched a pair of black leggings from the closet and pulled them on.

  This sweater was kind of dumpy, too, actually. She had a cute tank top in her avatar’s inventory that was pink and…she hadn’t worn a tank top in real life in a long time, because of her scars.

  Katie grabbed a pink long-sleeved t-shirt from a hook on the wall and ran to the kitchen for a pair of scissors.

  This Katie was a warrior goddess who had survived a terrible accident, healed her body, and rebuilt her life. This Katie wasn’t embarrassed by her scars, she was proud of them.

  She cut and hacked as she walked back to the bedroom. Tossing the sleeves in the waste basket, she ripped off her sweater and pulled on the pink shirt.

  There. Look at that. Tank top!

  Hiding her scarred body? Fuck that. She was hot as shit, scars and all.

  A roomful of horny men hadn’t cared about her scars. Hands all over her body, they couldn’t get enough of her skin. Aaron hadn’t been looking at her scars. He’d fucked her like he’d never have another chance…

  Dammit.

  Katie picked up her cell phone and dialed Aaron’s number, but before the line could ring, there was a knock at her door. Must be Barb. She tucked the phone under her chin and headed to the door. Every time her mother came to visit, she forgot something and had to come back for it. Well, at least Katie could shoo her away with the excuse that she was finally going to talk to Aaron. That should make her happy…

  She stopped short when her hand fell on the doorknob. A phone was ringing on the other side, in the hall.

  “Hello?” said a male voice. She heard it in stereo.

  Holy shit.

  “Aaron?” she said, her voice squeaking with surprise.

  “Hey,” he said and his voice was so gooey and warm, she felt like she could just melt right into the phone. “It’s so good to hear from you. Actually, I’m–”

  Katie swung open the door before he could say another word.

  “You’re here,” she said.

  He was beautiful. Tall and smiling and pulling the phone away to put it in his pocket, and almost dropping a bunch of stuff in his arms…what was all that? He had roses?

  “Here,” he said, holding out the flowers. “Um, I just wanted to say thank you for the model you made. It’s uh–”

  “You got it?” she said, taking the roses from, she clutched them against her chest. “I didn’t think you’d accepted it.”

  “No, I did!” he said, handing her the chocolates. “I got it and I loved it. I fell asleep in it last night, actually. That’s where I was in fact, when Aiko woke me this morning.” His smile faded and his ex
pression shifted to concern. “You okay? I’m so sorry Mayer got you involved in his crap–”

  “I’m fine,” she said, before he could continue. Aaron was here, and she’d missed him, missed kissing him and laughing with him and kissing him. And here he was, in the flesh. No way did she want to waste time talking about Steven. “Really. I’m totally fine. Great, actually.”

  “Oh,” he said, and his smile quirked a little. “That’s good.”

  Oh no! He thought she meant that–

  “I really missed you,” she said quickly, and the words came out in a whisper.

  His whole body visibly relaxed, as if every cell was sighing with relief.

  “Thank god,” he said. “Because I really missed you too.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “No Katie.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I should’ve made a statement about Carly at the very beginning. And I really should’ve spoken to you about the ZumZum thing when it came up, I’d intended to but, I put business first and–”

  “But I told you not to handle things any differently because of us.”

  Aaron nodded. “Yeah but that was before…I mean things changed, us changed after–”

  A door down the hallway opened and Mrs. Friedenberg shuffled out.

  “Hi Mrs. Friedenberg.” Katie waved and the older woman waved back, her face contorted in obvious disappointment.

  “Egg rolls?” she asked skeptically.

  “Oh sorry, no, not today,” said Katie. “But the next time I order I’ll get you some.”

  Mrs. Friedenberg waved and shuffled back inside.

  Katie turned her attention back to Aaron and saw he was inspecting a giant wet spot on his dress shirt and holding a bottle of Prosecco at arm’s length.

  “I’m kind of dripping all over the hallway,” he said.

  “Come in! God, I’m sorry.” Katie stood to the side as Aaron squeezed past her into the apartment. Jesus he smelled good. Her knees nearly buckled out from under her.

  Dropping the roses into a vase, she put the chocolates on the counter as Aaron opened up her fridge.

  “Can I just stick this in here?” he asked.

  “Sure, yeah.” She watched as he sat the wine on a shelf, shut the door and then turned back to her.

  “So, um…hey!” Aaron’s eyes lit up when Rupert appeared. The cat hopped up on the counter and made his way along the edge. Coming to a stop next to Aaron, he head-butted him on the elbow and then looked up expectantly. “Will he bite me if I pick him up?”

  “No, go ahead. He’s a total cuddle slut, gets it where ever he can.”

  Aaron laughed and picked Rupert up, who purred loudly when the chin rubbing began.

  “Well,” Aaron said. “I hadn’t planned on giving this speech while snuggling a cat, but it needs to be said so…Katie I’m sorry I didn’t include you in my decision-making process with ZumZum.”

  “It’s fine,” she said. Backing up against the countertop she gripped the edge and stared at Rupert. “I was sick, and I overreacted. I didn’t even give you a chance to explain, and really, you don’t need to consult me when it comes to your business Aaron.”

  “I disagree,” he said bluntly. “Because putting business first is a mistake I’ve made in other relationships, and it’s not something I want to do with you, especially considering our professional work overlaps.”

  “Huh, yeah,” she scoffed quietly. “That could be a problem.”

  Aaron put Rupert down and took one step toward her. She could feel Aaron’s eyes on her, knew that he deserved her full attention right now, but for some reason she just couldn’t look up. Shy or bold–she was either one or the other with this man.

  What a lousy time for shy.

  “It doesn’t have to be,” he said softly. “It doesn’t have to be a problem at all.”

  Katie shrugged, for some reason she couldn’t stop staring at the cat.

  Aaron reached out and took one of her hands in his.

  “I love that we share so many passions. That’s something that’s been missing from my life and now that I’ve found it with you, I don’t want to give it up.”

  “Aaron, it just leads to complications and messiness.” She sighed and squeezed his hand, then let it go. “Like the whole thing with ZumZum. I don’t know if I even would have gone for their port proposal. I’m happy with Celestia as it is, but now you own the company, so if I want to explore that option it’s just, complicated.”

  “You could explore the option with another company.”

  “Not likely. EI is the industry leader and everyone knows it. If I did a port project it would be through you.”

  “Okay, so then let’s do it.”

  “What, and just hope it works out and we don’t end up fighting, and breaking up–”

  “So what are you saying? That you’d rather not even try being together, because we might break up?”

  She didn’t answer. When he said it like that, it sounded stupid.

  “Cards on the table?” he said, taking both her hands in his.

  She looked up and met his gaze, taken aback by the heat she found there.

  “Please,” she whispered.

  “I just met your Mom in the hallway.”

  Aaron couldn’t help but grin when Katie’s eyes popped wide. That was the reaction he was hoping for.

  “Your mom and I had a little chat, and she encouraged me to be honest with you. So that’s what I’m going to do.”

  “You had a chat?” Katie raised an eyebrow.

  “Since you and I first met,” he said, ignoring her comment. “And I spat tea all over your dress, we’ve had this crazy chemistry. We’re either super in sync, or super–”

  “Awkward,” she said with a laugh. “Yeah I know. You said it’s because of how we met. Strangers that had this intense experience, and it was kind of a lot of data and–”

  “Forget what I said. I’m an idiot. That’s not it at all.”

  “Then–”

  “Totally the opposite,” he said. “Katie, you built me a house and decorated it perfectly, picking out things that completely reflected my personality. You know me, instinctively. And I know you.”

  “You do?” She sniffed and watched as his thumbs traced circles on the backs of her hands.

  “Yeah I do. I know you like the Scottish highlands, and MST3k and you share my passion for virtual reality. I know you believe in its potential as much as I do. And that means so much to me.”

  Aaron slid his hands up her arms, and jumped them to her waist, closing the gap between them.

  “I know you trust me enough to explore my kinks with me, and I know you really enjoyed it when we did.” He thrilled when he heard her breath catch, and knew he was on the right track. “I know the reason we’ve been so push and pull is because somehow, from the minute we met, we recognized something in each other, and that scared you.”

  “You think I’m scared?” she said, and he heard the challenge in her voice.

  “I know you are.” He bent low, let his lips coast along her jawline and kissed the corner of her mouth gently. “I am too.”

  “You are?” she said, her head turning almost imperceptibly into his, so that their lips were a just a breath apart.

  “Yes,” he said. Sliding his hands up her back, the tangled his fingers in her hair and cradled her head in his palms.

  “Why?” she said, her voice a whisper, her eyes wide and dark.

  “Because I’m totally in love with you.”

  He saw her lips tremble, and the fear of what she might say next, what new excuse she might feel compelled to offer, overwhelmed him. Aaron crushed his lips to hers and kissed her, his tongue diving in steal the protests from her mouth before she could voice them.

  “I love you,” he said again, when they broke for air. He drew her into him, holding her tightly against his chest as she shivered. “I’m so fucking in love with you, Katie, and I know you’re scared to death because I am too. I�
�ve never managed to make a relationship work before. But I’ve never wanted one to work this badly before. I think, I just think if you give it a chance, if we both try our hardest–”

  She muttered something against his chest and he couldn’t make out the words. He pulled back and she lifted her chin.

  “Wabi-sabi,” she said.

  “What?”

  “Wabi-sabi. Something can be beautiful not despite it’s imperfections, but because of them.”

  Aaron lifted his eyebrows. He knew she was making a point, he just wasn’t totally sure what it was.

  “I’m tired of being scared,” she said. “Just tired of it. In fact, before you showed up I was having kind of a warrior goddess moment and…” she shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. I just, I think I’ve got these hang-ups, you know, and they’re going to keep coming up.”

  “Same,” said Aaron. “But I think that’s gotta be true for every relationship. If we promise to talk about it, to work with each other, then I gotta believe we can make it. Some things are worth the work. We’ll be worth it. I know it.”

  “Okay then,” she said, sniffing and peering up at him slyly. “I don’t want to port Celestia. I think you’d be stupid to let me. People should have to come to HyperLyfe if they want to play in Celestia.”

  “You make an excellent point.” Aaron nodded.

  “I think EI should sign me up as an exclusive developer,” said Katie. “Not because I’m your girlfriend, but because I’m fucking awesome at what I do.”

  “I agree. And I’d like to point out that you just called yourself my girlfriend. I very much agree with that.”

  “And,” said Katie, grinning, “ I think you should give me my own department with complete autonomy and some great coders.”

  “I think I know two excellent coders that will work very well with you.” He smiled. “But, complete autonomy? I do still run the company, I might have just one or two things that I’d like to–”

  Suddenly, he felt her hand through his suit pants, her nails dragging over his cock as it lengthened.

  “Then we’ll have to negotiate terms,” she said, dragging his lips down to hers. “Set some limits.”