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“Ha, yeah. It was kind of fun scaring all the boys off you. Aiden and I had fun with that. But I’m sure we didn’t make life easy for you.” His tone is relaxed now, and he sounds more like the Derek I know. I hate that I caused him hell.
“I didn’t mean to make you worry all night long,” I tell him. “I would have called sooner if I knew you were like that. But I just needed space.”
“Okay, well, next time you’re worried about you and me and the future of us, could you maybe just consult me first? I will happily tell you that she’s a fucking crazy bitch and you, my dear, are the love of my life.”
The words knock me back a bit. Thankfully, I can hear him talking to someone in the background, so I have a few minutes to think of what to say. Finally, I ask, “Who are you talking to?”
“The boys are here. Aiden was worried about me and so was Brent. They stopped over to see if the crazy fog has lifted.”
“Aiden came over—that’s a good sign. I guess he’s coming around to us.”
“I guess so,” Derek replies, and I can almost hear the smile in his voice.
“Did he ever say anything to you about what we heard, and you saw back in Cary?” I ask. “Because Emma isn’t giving me anything.”
“Nah, nothing. But I’m sure when they’re ready, they will. Or maybe they won’t. It’s fine either way, remember? We agreed.”
“I would like to talk to them about it, but you’re right—if they want to talk, they will. Or maybe it was just a one-night thing. Maybe Emma will tell me when I get her drunk enough.”
“Don’t do that, Aud. It’ll be fine.” He chuckles into the line. “But seriously, the event with the record label, are you in? I think it would be great if you were here with me. I’ll take care of everything. And I’ll even give you a better time than Scotty did at prom.”
I laugh out loud into the phone.
“I miss you,” he tells me.
“I miss you too. When is this event?”
“Saturday evening. You could come in on Wednesday. How’s that sound?”
“You’re not giving me a lot of time to get this together. You realize that, right?”
“I thought you took a leave of absence from your clients.”
I did. I took some time to grieve my dad, so that won’t be a problem. I hate the idea of running to LA already. I don’t want to start anything or promise anything. But we both know I’m not strong enough to stick to it. I’ve waited so long to hear someone say those things to me and put me first. How can I not go?
“Alright, I’ll be there. Let me see what kind of flights I can make.”
“Already taken care of. There’s a ticket in your email.”
“When did you…? How did you?” I ask, astonished.
“I did it right before we spoke. I had high hopes that you would either come around to go to the event with me or that I would need to have you use this ticket to come here and break up with me in person. Either way, I was going to see you again, baby.”
I smirk. “Thank you. I would love to see you again. And I love you.”
“I love you too. Just do me one favor.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“Stop running from me. It’s you and me, okay?”
“You and me,” I reply. I can’t wait for Wednesday.
We talk for a whole other hour about anything and everything. I just want to hear his voice on the line. Finally, though, he has to go.
“I’ve got band rehearsal, so I need to get going. The boys won’t take lightly to me being late. I can call you later.”
“Sounds good. I’ll be waiting,” I say in a low, sultry tone.
