AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He winks at me, going back to readying our bagels. “Wanna eat this on the deck?” he asks.
I follow him out there. I see he figured I would agree, because beside the two Adirondack chairs facing the water, he has two glasses of orange juice, an iced coffee for me, and a hot one for him. I smile. “This is perfect.”
He seems to relax a bit and lowers himself onto the chair. Once seated, he hands me my bagel—plain with strawberry cream cheese. His own has cream cheese and peanut butter mixed.
“You still eat it that way?” I ask, shaking my head. I’ve never understood that combination.
“This is delicious. You just don’t know what’s good.”
“I think I know what’s good,” I tell him, waggling my eyebrows at me. He just laughs and watches me. “Why is this awkward?”
We seem to be tiptoeing around each other this morning. Not that I expected everything would be completely normal when we woke up. This man, who has never once seen me naked before, just had his tongue and hands in and all over my body.
“I think because neither one of us knows where we stand after last night.”
“Was that a one-time thing?”
“I hope not,” he replies.
“Are we hiding us from more than Serena?”
“You’re talking about your brother.”
“I am.”
“I think we have to for a bit. He’s going to be so pissed. I promised him I’d keep my hands off you, and well, look at me. He’s the one man I’ve always called my brother.”
“Stop. You’re making this sound a little incestuous.”
He laughs. “I don’t mean to. I want you to know that this wasn’t just a roll in the hay for me, Audrey. Last night meant a lot to me. And not the sex. It’s been a long time since I was on a date with a girl, and I could be myself. Hell, it’s been a long time since I was on a date.”
“I know that for reasons different from mine, it’s been a while for you,” I begin. “But it’s also been a long time for me too. Ever since that guy who works at Beachbody, I haven’t really had the desire.” My voice trails off at the end.
“That was almost a year ago?” he asks.
I nod. “It was. Look, I don’t want to be some complication that breaks up the band or the relationship that you have with my brother. I just know that last night, I got everything I’ve been dreaming of since I was sixteen.”
His eyes widen at my admission. He’s quick to school his features, but some of the shock is still written on his face. “Okay,” he starts slowly.
“So, what happens now? Because damnit, Derek, I have no intention of going back to acting like things didn’t happen last night. I want to keep going forward with you. And if that’s not what you want, then screw it. This,” I say, gesturing between him and me, “is over. I won’t be jerked around.” I can see he’s getting ready to protest. “But I will respect your decisions when it comes to Serena and the situation with the band and my brother. Just as long as this never becomes a farce.”
“You will never become a farce to me, Audrey. I’m not sure how this will shake out with the band, but please know you are real to me. The only thing in my life that is real.”
He leans over and kisses me tenderly. I kiss him back. When we pull away, our faces are inches apart. “I can’t believe this. That you’re real and we’re here like this.”
He smirks. “Believe it. You may have had these dreams about me when you were sixteen, but what you never knew is that I had them too.”
“Really?”
“Really, baby. You are everything to me.”
I want to ask him more about that. I want to know how long his feelings have been more than platonic. But instead, we finish our breakfast while watching the waves crash against the shore. I have some filming things and workouts to do, and Derek agrees to hang out with me and do them too.
Today is going to be a good day.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
After changing, I head back onto the deck. I take a sip of my water and admire the view. The sun is up, burning the sand and sparkling off the water.
