The Summer I Became a Nerd

#16

Eric and I are done, but by the time Saturday rolls around, I’ve realized it’s not exactly official until Eric acknowledges it,

too. Which is why I want to cuss my phone from here to eternity and back.

Since I was at the radio station the other night, I’ve kept my phone at arm’s length at all times just in case he takes a break

from whatever super important stuff he’s doing to call me back. But he hasn’t.

And now it’s Saturday and Logan will be here any second.

Maybe I should call one more time.

It rings once, twice, three times. After the fifth ring, voice mail clicks on, and I just want to scream. “Eric, please, please,

please call me back,” I say. “Please, please, please. It’s about our ree-lay-shun-ship. Like the fact we don’t have one

anymore. Important, right? Call meee.”

I’m hanging up when Mom steps into my room with a basket of laundry.

“So, how did Eric take the breakup?” she asks, adding another cherry to the cupcake of suck. “I take it you talked to him since

you’re going out with this new guy today.”

“Logan is the new guy’s name, and Eric seems to be taking the whole thing fine.” Which is not a lie, since my breaking up with

him is obviously not important enough to warrant a call back. “I think being on a beach in Florida is making it easier to handle.

”

When she leaves, I glare at my phone, willing it to ring.

Nothing happens.

The neighbor’s dogs bark, signaling Logan’s arrival. I make it downstairs just in time to watch Dad walk up to the door. My

irritation over Eric’s rudeness evaporates in a cloud of panic. My parents have never really met one of my boyfriends. They kind

of met Eric once at a football game, but he was in game mode and wasn’t very responsive.

What are they going to think of Logan? I can’t think of any reason they wouldn’t like him, but I could be a little biased. Don’

t parents always find some reason not to like the guy their daughter is dating? Plus, this is the crucial first impression moment.

Will Dad be put off by Logan’s messy hair? What if Logan wears the infamous porn-that’s-not-porn T-shirt?

Actually, nerdy as he is, that shirt might make my dad like Logan even more.

When Dad opens the door, I see Logan went with a different look entirely. His hair is flat, although, to me, it looks barely

restrained—like it wants to jut out at strange angles any second—and he’s wearing a baby blue polo shirt. Did he wear glasses

because I said I like them or because they make him look smart? Maybe a little bit of both.

“Hello, sir, I’m Logan Scott. I’m here to pick up Maddie.” Every word is spoken precisely with a kind, clear voice.

They shake hands, Logan giving one firm up and down. “And this”—he steps to the side—“is my little sister, Vera.”

“Hello, Mr. Summers, what a lovely home you have,” Vera says in a practiced manner. She steps up and sticks her hand out. Her

blond hair is in pigtails and each of her wrists is lined with bulky, beaded bracelets that rattle as she shakes Dad’s hand.

I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. Granted, Vera is freaking adorable, but why did he bring her? There’s no way I could have

misunderstood him about this being a date. Right?

“Nice to meet you, Vera. Y’all come on in.” Dad turns, and I catch his huge grin. He sees me standing on the bottom step, and

his grin disappears like he doesn’t want me to know he approves of Logan already. He’s probably comparing Logan to Eric, who

never even gets out of his truck when he picks me up. He just honks the horn.

“Hi, Vera,” I say as we walk into the living room.

“I lost a tooth.” She smiles up at me, revealing a gap where one of her front teeth should be. “The tooth fairy gave me four

quarters. I’m going to use them in the claw machine today. There are these earrings with big hearts I saw last time we went to

the—”

“Vera, remember what I said in the car?” Logan asks.

“Right, right, right. No telling where we are going. It’s a surprise.” She nods a lot.

I nudge Logan with my elbow. He grins at me, and those pure blue eyes twinkle mischievously. An unexpected giggle escapes my

mouth. From what Vera just said, it sounds like he actually put a lot of thought into this date—if it’s still a date—which is

unheard of when it comes to the guys I hang out with. It’s always the same thing with them: a movie and fast food, or just

driving around on a Saturday night, looking for parties.

Dad plops down in his extremely worn and extremely smelly La-Z-Boy recliner, TV remote in hand. Mom has begged him a million times

to let her buy him a new chair, but he never gives in. “So, Logan Scott, huh? I don’t know any Scotts around here.”

Logan sits on the couch in the spot closest to Dad. “We’re from Arkansas. We just moved here a few years ago. My parents own the

comic shop across from the college. Maybe you’ve seen it?”

Dad’s eyebrows rise. “I know that place. I’ve thought about stopping in there before. I used to love comic books when I was

younger.”

“We’d be happy to have you. We have tons of back issues. You could catch up on your favorites.”

Mom walks in, and her eyes light up at the sight of Vera swinging her legs back and forth as she sits next to Logan on the couch.

I catch Mom up on the conversation. “This is Logan and Vera. Logan’s parents own the comic shop in town, and Vera just lost a

tooth.”

Mom sits next to Vera. “Hello, Vera. Logan, what do you have planned for your first date?”

“It’s a surprise, Mrs. Summers. But don’t worry, it’s nothing dangerous or illegal.” Logan bumps Vera. “Right, Veer?”

Vera nods emphatically again. “It’s totally awesome.”

“I’d love some strawberry ice cream. How about you, Vera?” Dad leans forward to look at her. “I’ve heard it does wonders for

lost teeth.”

Her eyes almost pop out of her head. “Yes, please!”

I can’t help but smile at this. Mom and Dad always wanted a third child, but it just never happened, so they make a point of

spoiling every kid they come in contact with.

I tap Logan’s shin with my bare foot when his sister runs off with Dad. “I just need to get my bag and shoes. You wanna see my

room?”

He runs a hand through his hair, bringing it closer to the messy style I love. “Sure.”

My room is pretty boring. I have a vanity with a mirror on one wall. I’ve shoved pictures into the mirror’s frame so when I look

at myself I see Terra and the rest of my friends. Thankfully, I took down the ones of Eric and me the night I called him, my

attempt at being brave and deleting him from my life. It wasn’t as tough to do as I expected.

Logan sits down on my bed and bounces. He looks around at the cream-colored walls. “Nice. Very…girly?”

“Thanks.” I sit down next to him. There’s that electricity again. That feeling of just being near him that makes goose bumps

dance over my arms.

“Sorry I had to bring Vera with me. Dad is looking for new clients for his web design business, Jonah is at a friend’s house,

and Mom has Moira at the shop. Vera could have stayed with Mom, but she hates hanging around the shop, gets bored with it. She’s

not really into all that stuff. I tried to tell her no, but she started crying, and well, I’m a wuss, basically.”

So this is a date. A rush of relief washes over me at the thought. “Don’t apologize, she’s so cute. And you’re such a good big

brother to bring her with you. My brother would never have done something like that.”

It’s quiet for a second. Logan plays with a tassel on one of my throw pillows. I debate how to broach this next subject.

“I…” I’m suddenly nervous about telling him about this next little piece of my soul.

“What?” he prods. When I don’t answer, he reaches over and turns on my radio that I’ve moved from the top of my dresser to my

bedside table. Of course, it’s already set to the college station, which makes him smile.

I close my eyes and focus on what I’m about to reveal. “I wanted to tell you a secret. It’s kind of really, really secret so

you can’t tell anyone. And I mean no one. If you do, be prepared for backlash.”

He holds his hands up in surrender. “I promise not to tell anyone.”

I take his hand and pull him over to my closet. The door to my room is open so I close us in the closet by pulling the fold out

doors shut. My thought process is if someone peeks in, they won’t be curious enough to check out the closet, they’ll just see an

empty room.

There are other benefits. Like, there’s barely enough room for us both to fit inside, so we’re pressed against each other. Which

isn’t such a bad thing, in my opinion. I pull the chain above us to turn on the light. “See that stack of sweaters?” I swallow

hard and glance above us at the top shelf.

He doesn’t take his eyes off mine as he nods.

“Put your hand under the third one.”

Again, he doesn’t look away as he reaches for the sweaters over and behind my head, which just means he has to lean even more

into me. I don’t back away because, honestly, this is amazing, having him this close after those couple of days of not seeing

him. The smell of his cologne or soap or whatever it is fills the tiny space as he makes a cute effort to put his lips closer to

mine. My tongue darts out of its own volition to wet my suddenly dry lips.

I reposition my feet so I can lean closer to him, but wind up tripping over one of the pair of shoes on the floor. I stumble into

him, and his arms wrap around my waist, steadying me.

The spell is broken as I curse the bottom of my closet and get my balance back. “Damn shoe!”

He laughs, reaches back up into the pile of sweaters, then gets a questioning look on his face. He pulls down the innocent-looking

notebook and holds it between us.

I clear my throat. “That is really important to me. It’s my—”

“You guys in there?” Vera yells from right outside the closet doors.

Logan jumps and almost drops the notebook. My arms immediately cross like I’m trying to hide something. He lets out a deep breath

and pulls back the doors.

She smiles up at us. “I love ice cream.”