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I just didn’t realize they would smell like a gym sock. Then, the fucker woke up and immediately hopped in the shower.Hopped. In. The Shower.Naked, wet Derek was in my shower. Of course, none of this helped me sleep. Not a wink.
Which is why I was late to work this morning.
“Jesus, Will, are you okay?” Hanson asks as I pour my third cup of coffee.
“I’m fine,” I say. “Just a rough night.”
“Up partying? Up getting laid?’ he teases.
Gross. Hanson is practically a little brother to me, and I literally cannot have this conversation with him.
“Gross, dude,” I say, returning to the office and shutting the door behind me.
Derek wasn’t home by the time I left, so I left a plate of breakfast covered in the fridge for him. I’m sure he at least appreciates the meals. I’ve known the man long enough to know he’s a terrible cook. Plus, he hasn’t lived with anyone, like ever, so I imagine most of his meals are from takeout containers.
A text causes my phone to vibrate against the wood of the desk, scaring the shit out of me for half a second. I collect it, swallowing my heart back down.
Derek:Oh my god, thank you so much for breakfast.
Me:Don’t worry about it
Derek:You’re going to spoil me.
Me:Lol stop it
Derek:I’m never going to want to leave.
I choke on the next sip of my coffee, his last text hitting me right in the vagina butterflies. That’s what Drew calls them, anyway. All I really want to do is text back in all shouty caps:OKAY THEN DON’T LEAVE. STAY FOREVER. LET ME HAVE YOUR BABIES I LOVE YOU.
Also, is it just me or do his messages feel flirty? I read back over them. I’m sure I’m imagining that.I think.
I put my phone away, concentrating on the stack of paperwork in front of me. I hate paying invoices. Loathe it. I mean, it’s not my money. That’s not it. It’s more just bill paying in general.
“Hey, girl,” Drew says, walking in without so much as knocking. I should be annoyed but I’m not. If anyone else had done it, I probably would be. But I can’t be mad at my best friend for anything in the world. Bestgirlfriend, I guess I should correct.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“So…how’s it going?” she asks, sitting down in the seat on the other side of the desk.
“How’s what going?” I ask, unsure if it’s the morning fog or her lack of specificity that has me confused.
“Oh, you know what,” she says, a teasing smile appearing on her face.
“Oh Jesus, please don’t do that,” I say, rolling my eyes as hard as I can at her.
“Have you seen him naked yet?” she asks, not even a hint of embarrassment in her tone.
“Fucking hell, Drew,” I say. “It’s been one night, and also I seriously doubt the man is just going to walk around the apartment in nothing.”
Drew shrugs, clearly unperturbed by my negativity about the situation. “I’m just saying. You should make a move,” she says. “It’s time.”
“It will never be time for that, Drew,” I snap. “Ever.”
She stands, scoffing about how Ihave no faithand then leaves the office, stepping back out onto the shop floor.
To be fair, it’s not that I have no faith. I just live in reality. I live in facts. It’s never going to happen, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
As a matter of fact, I needed to take my mind off Derek so badly, I agreed to a date with one of Hanson’s friends. Joe came into the shop and was apparently immediately interested in me. Hanson has been trying pretty hard ever since to get me to give him a shot.
