Read Nerds Are From Mars for Free Online

guy. I never really grew out of that, and now my kids are into it.”
    “Because you encouraged them.”
    “I did.”
    “Nothing wrong with that. I – oof!” Nolan was knocked sideways as someone in a Darth Vader outfit rammed right into him. “Hey, watch where you’re going, buddy!”
    “Sorry, man. Hard to see in this outfit.” The guy patted Nolan’s chest. “You okay?”
    “Yeah, I’m fine.” Nolan straightened his jacket. “You might want to walk slower if you can’t see.”
    “Right. I will.” He continued down the hallway at the same rapid clip.
    “That costume is hard to see out of,” Bill said. “But that was partly because I couldn’t wear my glasses under the helmet and I was blind as a bat.”
    Nolan worked hard not to laugh at the idea of Bill Jenson, who couldn’t be more than five-six, dressed as the Star Wars arch villain. “You were Vader?”
    “In fifth grade. I grew before the other guys and then I stopped. But in fifth grade, I was a giant. An extremely near-sighted giant.”
    “You’re still a mental giant.”
    Bill chuckled. “And that’s why I hang out with you, Bradbury, because you pump up my ego. Speaking of that, what are you doing for dinner tonight?”
    “As it happens, I have a date.” Thoughts of Darcie made his pulse rate climb.
    “Do you, now? Anybody I know?”
    “No, she’s an old friend from high school.” As they walked into the banquet room, he searched for a couple of empty seats. “That table in the far corner looks promising.”
    “Yeah, that’ll do.”
    Nolan threaded his way between the tables and they claimed two empty chairs.
    Once they were seated, Bill turned to him. “Is this somebody you dated in high school?”
    “That’s the odd thing. I had a huge crush on her, but she wouldn’t give me the time of day. Then she showed up at my session this morning.”
    “The brunette in the purple blouse who was waiting to talk to you?”
    “Yep. Her name’s Darcie Ingram.” He glanced at Bill. “I’m really not sure why she’s here, either.”
    Bill smiled. “I am. When women are younger, they go for the bad boys, but when they’re ready to settle down, they look for the steady guys with jobs who’ll be a good father to their children, aka the nerds like us. At least that’s what Gretchen tells me, and when it comes to female thinking, I defer to my wife.”
    “Huh. So you think Darcie’s husband hunting?” Nolan wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He didn’t like the idea of being the guy someone settled for after they’d sown their wild oats, but on the other hand, if he ended up with a woman like Darcie, maybe he shouldn’t quibble about the journey she’d taken to finally get to his doorstep.
    “I wouldn’t want to ascribe motives when I don’t even know the lady.” Bill picked up a pitcher of salad dressing and poured a liberal amount on his plate of greens. “I will say she’s pretty.”
    “Yep.”
    “Do you still like her?” Bill passed him the dressing.
    “Who wouldn’t?” He doused his salad with dressing. “She’s gorgeous and intelligent.”
    “And you’re an extremely eligible bachelor. Gretchen keeps asking me if she can fix you up, but I’ve fended her off.”
    “I didn’t know that. Thanks, Bill.”
    “I’m not a fan of blind dates, but Gretchen’s a born matchmaker who thinks everyone in the world should be coupled up.”
    Nolan stabbed a fork into his salad. “Let me ask you. Has anyone ever done your astrological birth chart?”
    “My whatzit?”
    “Never mind. Idle question. Forget it.”
    “Astrology is major weirdness.”
    A couple of hours ago, Nolan would have agreed with him. Now he felt obligated to defend Darcie’s chosen profession. “Weirder than that Star Trek marathon we were invited to last year, where people dressed up and watched every single episode from Season One?”
    “We didn’t go to that.”
    “I know, but we considered it.”
    “But we didn’t go.” Bill