How to date a Nerd

Chapter 18

Good thing my bath mat is clean.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"You'll see in a minute." Lauren has one hand over my eyes and the other clasped in my fingers as she stands behind me, whispering in my ear. It feels so good to have her this close, I can't help but giggle and grin like one of those Twi-hards whenever they see a poster of Taylor Lautner.

She moves me forward, pressing against my back and keeping her face tucked by my shoulder. At this point, I don't care where the heck we're going. I kind of hope we never get there.

"Okay," she whispers, and goose bumps crawl everywhere her breath hits, "you ready?" I nod so fast she laughs at my enthusiasm. Then she drops her hand from my eyes. Major nerdgasms. I'm standing in the middle of what looks like a movie set. There's no one around. Dead quiet, but I know exactly what movie set she brought me to.

"Transformers?"

"What do you think?"She asks. "I thought they would've torn it down already. The movie's been out for a few years."Lauren smiles and turns me so I can look at her. "I called in some favors." "Wow. You did all this since this morning?"She nods and tucks her hand into mine. "Of course. I knew you'd like it." Holy hell I like it! This is freaking amazing! I lean up to kiss her because I just have to, but before I get there, someone calls out from behind me.

"Hey!" Normani pops out from behind the huge replica of Bumblebee waving to someone behind her. "They're over here! I told you she wanted to deflower Queen of the dorks."Crap. It's not just Normani. It's everyone. Even teachers. Everyone at my school swarms behind her, throwing out awful names and laughing at us.

Lauren doesn't even do anything. She's still smiling at me, waiting for me to kiss her, or respond somehow. Like she's totally oblivious to the girls making fun of her, and her plaid overshirts and Star Wars keychain. I mean all the stuff they say about her pisses me off because Lauren is so much better than what they see, but what they say about me hurts so much I can't find the strength to defend her.

I try to block it all out, slamming my hands over my ears and closing my eyes. But it still hits me. Like the volume turns up when I do and their faces are more focused. My chest is so tight, and my stomach churns as I shrink to the floor. I want it to stop. Everything. What they're saying and how it affects me.

Lauren leans down and cups my face. "Camila?" I don't answer her. I can't."Camila!" I open my eyes, but things blur, and she releases her hold on me. She smiles and then starts tapping on my face. What the crap?

"Camila!" My eyes pop open, and I shoot upright. My hair is matted in sweat, and Lauren's jacket hangs loose off my shoulders exposing Indiana in all her mighty glory across my chest.

I hear a chuckle from the side of the bed. "I know I'm early, but I can't believe you're still asleep." I rub my eyes and shake my head, making sure I'm actually awake this time. "Sorry, I didn't sleep well."

"Yeah. You looked like you were having weird dreams." Her eyebrows pull together. "You okay? Do we need to do this another time?" No. I'm not really okay. But how can I tell her what I'm so worried about without screwing up this chance I have to make things good between us? Yeah, I can't. So I lie.

"I'm totally fine. Just waking up." I attempt a smile. "How did you get in here?" That perfect smile stares at me as she stands. "You're not the only one who can jump the distance between our windows. When you didn't answer your front door, I got worried."

"That I was ditching you?" I accuse, narrowing my eyes and pulling the sheets tightly around me. "No, I worried maybe something happened. You didn't answer your cell either." I glance at my nightstand where my phone is plugged in. Guess I forgot to take it off silent.