Read Online Nerdy Girl Nation (Nerdy Girl #1) by Lindsey Gray - Free Book Online

square inch of his apartment at least a hundred times.
    Finally, his phone displayed five after eight and he pushed the button to dial Emma's number.
    “Hello, Rob.”
    He smiled and released the majority of his anxiety with her greeting. “Hey, Emma. How are you?”
    “Good. I had dinner with my dad before the cameras left.”
    “I can't even imagine having the cameras on you twenty-four seven.” He sat in his favorite chair hoping the soft confines would help relax him a bit more.
    “There are only a few more weeks left of filming. I want to be me again.”
    “You mean it's not really you on the show?” he teased.
    “It is but not if that makes sense. I flip a switch every time I step in front of the cameras. I'm sure there are differences between Bobby and Rob.”
    He agreed with her there. “Several. I would love to fill you in on them.”
    “Fill me in?” she giggled and he realized how suggestive he sounded.
    “I mean I'd like to get to know you.” Time to bite the bullet and tell her what he wanted. “You said things are crazy and I understand the craziness. But, would you even consider, after filming is over and things are calmer, going out with me?”
    He heard her blow out a long breath, which in turn had him holding his own.
    “I would love to say yes.”
    His chest began to burn from the lack of oxygen and impending rejection.
    “Tell you what, if after Monday you still would like to have dinner, I would love to.”
    He froze for a few seconds while dissecting what she had actually said.
    “What happens on Monday?”
    “Um, well . . . I've started a new job. The announcement is going to be made on Monday. I'm sure the media is going to go insane.”
    A new job he could handle. “You'll be based in Boston?”
    “Yes, there will be some, ah . . . travel involved, but my home office will be in Boston. My dad and I packed up my apartment in LA earlier this week and I'm likely staying with him until filming is finished. I don't want my new place featured on the show.”
    “I get that.” He remembered the shy, beautiful girl with a laugh he couldn’t get out of his head. He understood craving privacy. Lack of had been the main reason he left Baltimore and moved to Boston permanently.
    “I can't wait to leave my clothes all over the place and spend all day in my pajamas.”
    “I'd love to see those pajamas. Are we talking flannel or silk, because I think there is something so incredibly sexy about a girl in some plaid flannel.”
    She laughed the same uplifting laugh he remembered,  making his heart soar. The sweet sound cemented his intentions. He didn't care what Monday brought; he would not let her get away again.
    “You might enjoy my vast collection.”
    “I'm sure I will. I need to be honest with you, I've thought about you a lot over the years.”
    “I've thought about you, too,” she admitted in a whisper.
    “Back then, I saw how you and Derek were. But, there was something there between us, a connection.”
    “Yes, I believe there was. Maybe now is our time to explore our connection.”
    “Nothing would make me happier.”
    And Rob was happy, probably happier than he’d been in years. Every night at five after eight, Emma would answer and they would talk for hours.
    Rob soaked up every ounce of information she put forth. He learned her favorites and offered his in return. They liked a lot of the same music and movies but differed when the subject turned to their favorite comics. She worshiped at the altar of Stan Lee and the Marvel universe where he was more of a DC kind of guy. Except when it came to Captain America. Rob considered you un-American if you disliked the Captain.
    Not only did they talk in depth about their likes, but they also shared a few hardships as well. He confessed how life was not as picture perfect being Big Bobby’s son. She had been vague at first but ended up going into a little detail about how she was bullied up until she left home for college. He