Beauty and the Geek Boy

Chapter 38-Will

*Geek Boy*

Ellie bit her bottom lip as she stared out at the selection of candy, eyes wide as if she were staring at the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

She looked absolutely adorable. Her expression alone would have made me smile, but the memory of the last ten minutes alone was enough to dissipate any happiness.

I'd upset her.

I'd freaked out when she'd mentioned my past, when her words had reminded me of The Incident. The guilt gnawed at me.

I would do anything for her. But talking about what happened seven years ago...my chest tightened. It wasn't something I wanted to think about.

I watched as Ellie paused, plucking out ice cream tubs from the small fridge near the counter. One read: Mega Chocolate Brownie Extravaganza and the other was vanilla. She examined both, her curls falling to the side as she tilted her head.

She's definitely going to pick the chocolate one.

Against my expectations, she returned the chocolate ice cream, grabbing two plastic spoons from the side and heading to the counter with the vanilla.

I stepped forward to offer to pay, but she'd already paid. Lifting the carrier bag the employee had given her, she turned back in my direction, a tentative smile on her face.

She hesitated when she stopped in front of me and I felt that stab of guilt again.

You're an idiot, Will. An absolute idiot.

She bit her lip, glancing at me from beneath her lashes. "Um, there's a bench outside. Do you want to sit for a while?"

She looked as if she expected me to say no.

You're absolutely horrible, Will.

I nodded. "Sure."

She nodded and, biting het lip, ducked out of the store.

My chest ached. Why couldn't I think of the right thing to say?

Ellie was quiet as we sat on the bench. She hesitated, then offered a plastic spoon.

"Um, I know you don't like chocolate, so I got vanilla." Her gaze flickered up to me then back to the tub of ice cream. "So we could share." Her gaze flickered up to me again. "I mean, if you want."

I felt another pang hit my chest. She hadn't picked what she wanted because of me?

"Thank you."

She shot me a smile when I accepted the spoon.

"So how was your week?" I asked.

She shrugged. "It was pretty good I guess. We met cheerleaders from around the country. And they told us about scholarships to cheer in college and stuff."

"Is that what you want to do?

She frowned, tilting her head. Her curls glimmered beneath the streetlights. "I don't really know, to be honest. I mean, it's what my parents expect me to do, and it's what I'm good at, but I've never really thought about anything else."

I frowned. The way she said it, it was as if she thought she was incapable of anything else. I parted my lips to say something when the alarm on my phone beeped. Abruptly, I remembered that I was supposed to talk to skype James later tonight.

Ellie blinked up at me, then looked away quickly, pretending she hadn't heard it. My chest twisted. She wasn't going to ask about the alarm because she didn't want to upset me like before.

You're absolutely horrible Will.

An idea popped into my head. A mixture of apprehension and nerves ran through me in response.

"Ellie," I began.

Ellie's blue eyes met mine.

Now or never, Will.

I sucked in a breath and said the words: "Do you want to meet my little brother?"