Authors: Wynter St. Vincent
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Women's Fiction, #Contemporary Women, #Romance, #Contemporary, #New Adult & College, #Romantic Comedy, #Contemporary Fiction, #Short Stories, #Humor
The IT Guy
THE IT GUY
by
Wynter St. Vincent
Published by Wynter St. Vincent
Copyright 2014 Wynter St. Vincent
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Copyright © 2014 by Wynter St. Vincent
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
“I can’t believe this is almost over with,” I said, looking at the screen.
Luke chuckled. “
Almost
is a subjective term. We still have quite a bit of work to do before we can rest on our laurels.”
It was late Friday afternoon and I was going nearly cross-eyed from looking at the computer. Luke and I had been working on getting the new branch set up for three months now, and it was finally almost done. Our company had decided to open a new branch office on the east coast and it was my job as the office manager to set things up before the company moved in. They also sent Luke, the IT guy, along with me to handle the tech side of things. I was thankful they had, too.
Luke was an absolute wizard when it came to anything tech related, and was always willing to lend a hand with things outside his responsibilities. The two of us worked really well together, and had hit it off immediately, becoming friends. It was isolating being across the continent from everyone I knew. I spoke to my family on the phone regularly, and my best friend Julian had even come to visit the month before, but it was still really far from home, and having someone my age to talk to was appreciated.
We had grown to be pretty close, but I could sense there was still a bit of a wall up for Luke. Your classic tech geek, Luke suffered from social anxiety that seemed to be at its worst when women were involved. He wasn’t necessarily awkward or
anything, just shy and seemingly incapable of taking it to the next level. He was far from ugly - he was kind of handsome, actually, with thick, shaggy blond hair and clear blue eyes that were somewhat obscured by an ill-advised pair of square-rimmed glasses. His style could definitely have used some updating: it wasn’t terrible, just classically nerdy - polo shirts and khaki pants. I always thought he would have had pretty good luck with girls if he just put himself out there. Nonetheless, he never talked about any women or dates, even though he had significant amounts of free time and more than a little money to burn. I had to admit having developed a sort of intense fascination with Luke’s sex life, but because he was so quiet about the subject, it always seemed too rude to bring it up.
It was also likely that I was focusing on Luke’s sex life as a way of ignoring my own. I had met a few guys since we got here, but they had all turned out to be bums. The latest one, Dan, was unbelievably hot, with dark hair and eyes and a Superman physique. He was a Superman in the sack too, but unfortunately the resemblance ended there. Dan was a lazy self-absorbed jerk who tended to only be around when it was convenient for him. I had been mooning over him for a bit, as even though I knew he was a jerk, I just couldn't shake my desire for him in bed. We had made plans to see each other that night in fact, but when I tried to
confirm with him the night before, he never even bothered to respond to my message.
“Shit,” said Luke, snapping me out of my angry daydream, “this isn’t working as well as I had hoped.”
He was staring intently at lines of code I couldn’t make heads or tails of, and rubbing his chin in deep thought.
“Well, it’s nearly five anyway,” I said, deciding that not having a date didn’t have to mean sulking at home, “Why don’t we go grab a bite to eat and get back to this on Monday? We aren’t gonna solve anything tonight.”
Luke seemed reluctant to leave the computer. I admired his dedication to his work, and had no doubt that if I didn’t insist he would have stayed there all night fixing the problem if he had to.
“We could go to the pub and have a pint with dinner,” I suggested.
His eyes lit up and a smile split his face. I had said the magic words.
Luke was a definite beer guy, and was obsessed with craft beers and microbrews. There was an incredible little pub nearby with a tasty menu and over a dozen local brews on tap, and he and I had spent more than one lunch hour puzzling over a work issue while sampling our way through their selection.
“Alright, foul temptress, twist my rubber arm,” he said, mock-scowling.
I laughed.
Work ethic or no, we were both in need of some loosening up after the week we’d had, and a trip to the pub was just what the doctor ordered. Dan hadn’t called back so it looked like my evening was free. Besides, I was secretly hoping the beer would loosen Luke’s tongue a bit and I could get a little more info about his sex life.
I went to the ladies room while Luke shut down the computers and gave myself a quick once over in the mirror: My shoulder length brown hair looked a little flat so I gave it a tousle for a just-rolled-out-of-bed look, and added some black eyeliner to my blue eyes. I took off my navy blue blazer and was left with a white and navy striped camisole and a pair of skinny jeans with strappy gold sandals. I smiled at my reflection. I looked cute: like I was off to the yacht club or something.
When I met up with Luke again, I saw his eyes widen a little as I walked in.
“What is it? Is there something on my face?”
“No, it’s fine,” he stammered, “It’s just, you took off your jacket. You look different, I guess.”
“Different? What, like, weird?” I asked, confused.
“No,” he said, blushing, “it’s nice. You look good.”
“Oh! Thank you!” I replied, embarrassed at having belaboured the point. Luke didn’t compliment my appearance often, or ever, really, and I was sorry to have put him on the spot. I was also secretly quite pleased to have elicited such a response.
“Let’s get out of here, shall we?” I said, eager both to kick back over a nice beer, and to spend some casual time with Luke.
When we got to the pub, Luke and I grabbed a booth in the corner and ordered a couple of beers while we looked over the menus.
Over a shared platter of chicken wings, Luke and I talked about the issues we’d been having with the computers at the office, the latest news from back home, and some general small talk. It wasn’t until our second pint that I tried to steer the conversation towards something more private.
“Any plans this weekend?” I asked, hoping to glean some insight into his personal life.
“Nothing special,” he replied, wiping BBQ sauce from his face, “I may check out the sci-fi marathon on TV. You?”
“Nah.
I had thought I might have a date, but it doesn’t look that way.”
Luke nodded sympathetically but said nothing.
“What about you,” I pressed, “have you been seeing any girls around here?”
“Oh sure,” said Luke, “You know me; I’ve got a girl in every port!”
I punched him in the arm. “I’m serious. I never hear you talk about anyone.”
Luke shrugged. “I’m too busy with work.”
That was a lie and I knew it. We were busy, sure, but we still had plenty of time on evenings and weekends to kick back. Normally I would have let it go at this point, but I felt emboldened by the beer and decided come hell or high water, tonight I was going to get some answers about Luke and his sex life. I had a sneaking suspicion that his experience was pretty limited and busybody that I am, I couldn’t wait to stick my nose in his business. Better that than think about Dan or the other losers that populated my own sex life.
“Can I ask you something?”
“I think you just did,” he joked.
“Are you a virgin?”
Luke looked as though he might choke on his beer for a second, but he regained his composure.
“Well, that certainly is blunt,” he replied, red faced.
“I’m sorry,” I said, “I know that was really personal, but you never talk about girls and you know how curious I am!”
“Is it that obvious?” he said, looking embarrassed.
I immediately regretted putting him on the spot.
“No! Not at all,” I insisted,” I just, I don’t know. I had a feeling, I guess.”
Neither of us spoke for a minute, until I had to break the silence.
“May I ask why?”
“I don’t know,” said Luke, “I’m just too nervous I guess. I’m too afraid to hit on girls, and when they hit on me, I just clam up and can’t do anything. I always kick myself later, but there it is. My romantic experience in a nutshell.”
Luke excused himself to go grab us a few more beers, and I thought about what he’d said. Seeing the sadness in his blue eyes broke my heart: here was this nice, cute, smart, fun guy who had missed out on so much human affection, just because of his fears. And here I was, a hot young woman in need of a little bit of male companionship here and there. I felt the beginning of a scheme hatching in my brain.
By the time Luke got back to the table, my idea was fully formed.
“Luke, do you think I’m attractive?” I asked
“Jesus, you really aren’t pulling any punches today.”
“I’m serious, please, just answer me honestly.”
He began to shake his head no, but seemed to reconsider, and instead took a deep breath.
“Yes.”
He dropped his gaze, as if expecting me to laugh at him or get upset.
I leaned over and put my hand on his knee. “I think you’re attractive too,” I whispered in his ear.
Luke looked up at me and I smiled when our eyes met. It took a second, but he returned my smile, albeit shyly.
“Seriously?”
“Of course, seriously. I wouldn’t say it otherwise.”
Luke beamed and while I could see he was still nervous, he definitely looked more comfortable.
“Luke,” I asked, “Would you like to fuck me?”
He froze and for a second I thought maybe I’d gone too far and literally scared him to death, but he took a gulp of his beer, swallowed hard and responded.
“Yes.”
My smile widened.
So far so good. “Well, I have a proposal for you, Luke, a proposal of the indecent variety.”
Luke cocked an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”
“What if I helped you get over your anxiety?”
Luke furrowed his brow suspiciously. “What are you suggesting exactly?”
“I’m suggesting that you fuck me.”
“OK now I know you’re messing with me.”
“I’m serious. Look, we get along great, and I don’t have a regular thing going. Why not?”
Luke scowled. “I don’t want to be your pity fuck.”
“Oh please, Luke, I don’t do pity fucks.” I put my hand over his and waited until he looked me in the eyes to speak again.
“I’m offering because I think you’re hot and I want you to fuck me. This isn’t because I feel bad for you. Sure I’ll be lending you a hand, but I definitely benefit from this, OK?”
Luke was quiet, so I continued.
“We can take it as slow as you like and it will be no strings attached whatsoever. You can get your first time out of the way so you’re relaxed and confident when you’re with someone you really like.”
Luke seemed to take in what I said, and nodded. I withdrew my hand and took a sip of my beer. We sat drinking in silence for a few minutes, when finally, Luke spoke.
“OK.”
“OK? You wanna do it?”
“Yeah, I think so. But, I’m worried I’ll freak out.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll take it slow. I promise.” I took his hand again and gave it a squeeze. “It’s going to be great.”
Luke smiled back at me, and by then we had finished our drinks.
“I’ve got this one,” he said, paying the tab.
“You don’t have to do that.”
He shrugged. “It’s my pleasure.”
“Well, this is mine.”
I reached up to cup his chin with my hand. I brought his face to mine and kissed him softly, nibbling gently at his lower lip. When I felt him respond to the kiss, I gently slid my tongue into his mouth to find his. His kiss was tentative at first, but soon he was matching my intensity and I felt his hands come to rest at my waist. I put my arms around his neck and let myself really fall into the kiss. Any concerns I might have had about his inexperience making for an unpleasant encounter were heading out the window. This man could kiss!
By the time we pulled apart, I had to admit I was a little starry eyed.
“Wow,” said Luke, “that was unexpected. Amazing, but unexpected.”
“I’d love to do it again,” I replied, “Are you free tomorrow night?”
I could see Luke was nervous, so I added, “For this first time, we won’t have sex. Whatever else happens, happens; but not that, alright? So you don’t have to stress about it.”
That seemed to reassure him, and we made plans for him to come to my apartment the following night at 9 p.m.