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Feeling the need to reciprocate his honesty in some way, I say, “There was one time, though, when I realized how much I liked you. It was during debate.”
“Oh, yeah?” He smirks. “What happened?”
“Do you remember when you were arguing the merits of increasing the voting age to twenty-one?”
“Hm. Yeah. A little. I always hated debate club. You were the only reason I stayed in it.”
My heart flutters. “Oh. Well, anyway, you were making your argument and, I don’t know what happened, but it suddenly hit me how handsome you were. And I fought the urge to tell you, knowing it would just make things awkward between us.”
“Do you think things are awkward between us now?”
“Surprisingly, no.”
“I agree.” His attention lingers. I get the sense he wants to say something else, but his phone rings before he gets the chance.
I look at the device and see his grandmother’s name on the screen.
“Excuse me. I need to take this.” He stands.
“Of course. No problem.”
Once again, Derek leaves the room. Fueled by food and soothed by the pain reliever, I get out of bed and dress for the day. Or, I should say, the afternoon. A glance at my alarm clock reveals it’s already past noon.
Once I no longer look disheveled, I walk out of my room and go into the kitchen to refill my water. Derek is sitting on my couch, and the sight of him in my space does funny things to my heart.
“Sure, Grandmom. It’s not a problem. I’ll come over early.”
I force my feet to move so I’m not caught staring at him. I hold my cup under the fridge’s water filter, wondering how long it will take before I stop feeling so affected by the smallest things when it comes to Derek. We haven’t even been dating a full week, so my reactions aren’t that surprising, but I suspect I’ll still be acting this way for some time to come.
Depending on how long this relationship lasts…
Just like that, my happy mood dims. Derek and I still have a lot to work out—like how, or if, this relationship will continue once he goes back to California. I’ve tried not to dwell on his inevitable return like he asked, but it’s going to happen sooner rather than later. We need to figure out our plan before I get any more invested in this relationship.
Don’t lie to yourself, Liv. You know you’re already all in…
“Okay, fine. You win, Grandmom. I’ll ask her.”
Derek’s words pique my curiosity. I turn around and meet his gaze. With an apologetic expression, he says, “Grandmom wants to know if you’ll join me for a late lunch with her today.” Silently, he mouths the wordsyou don’t have to.
I’d planned on spending the day huddled on my couch and chugging water to rehydrate, but it’s been ages since I’ve seen Grandmom Paula. So even though I don’t feel one hundred percent, I honestly answer, “I’d love to.”
CHAPTER 25
Derek
I’m the third wheel.There’s no other way to describe it. Olivia and Grandmom have been talking nonstop since we sat down for lunch, and their conversation hasn’t missed a beat as we moved to sit on Grandmom’s private patio.
I sip my iced tea and watch Olivia over the rim of the glass. She’s beaming as she discusses the latest season of the dating show the two of them watch. I’ve never seen it, but the premise of the show is that the participants go on blind dates and try to form connections without ever seeing the other person. It sounds like a good idea in theory, but based on what they’ve discussed, not all couples survive once they actually get a look at one another.
The women continue to laugh and chat as if I’m not there. I don’t mind. It's nice to see them getting along so well. Grandmom has friends here, but I know she gets lonely. And she and Olivia were always so close. I’m glad that hasn’t changed.
Half an hour later, Olivia excuses herself to use the restroom. Grandmom waits until she walks inside before turning to me with bright, excited eyes. “Olivia is such a lovely girl.”
“She is.”
“I’m so glad you two finally got together.”
I can’t help but smile. “Me too.”
