Blake nods. “Derek.”
Awkward.
Derek looks back at me. “Ready to go inside?”
“Um, yeah…” I trail off as I turn to Blake. “Thanks for the walk.”
Derek drapes an arm over my shoulders and I let him lead me toward the building as I glance over my shoulder to see Blake walking off in the other direction.
“So what were you guys talking about?”
“Oh,” I say, turning my attention to Derek. “It was—”
“And please don’t say ‘nothing’.”
Well, crap.
There goes that idea…
“We honestly didn’t talk about much,” I tell the truth as we near the building’s entrance. “So what were you doing before you were looking for me?”
Direct the conversation to him.
“I was just—”
“Britt!” Delanie snaps, striding out of the building. “Where the heck have you been?”
“I was looking for Derek.” I motion to Derek. “Plus, I walked around some.”
“Only you would go for a walk at a party.” She rolls her eyes. “At my party.”
“Well, I’m—”
“Come on.” She grabs my hand. “There’s someone who wants to see you!”
My eyebrows crease. “Who?”
Without replying, she pulls my hand and drags me inside.
“Del.” I sigh. “Who are yo—”
“Brittany!”
My eyes widen at the sight of Aiden and I mentally curse when Delanie leaves me to walk over to where Darren is.
“Aid…hi.”
Please tell me Delanie didn’t invite him because of me.
That would not be good.
“Hey.” He nods at me. “How are you?”
But crap does he look hot.
With his blond hair disheveled as usual and his perfect smile intact?
I laugh a little. “I’m—”
“Aiden.” A dark-haired guy suddenly comes beside him. “What—” His brown eyes meet mine. “Who’s this?”
That’s what I was wondering.
“Delanie’s friend,” Aiden answers for me. “Brittany.”
So, yeah, this guy is hot—maybe even hotter than Aiden.
“Well, Brittany,” hot guy acknowledges me, “I’m Owen…Aiden’s friend.”
“Hi,” I manage to say. “It’s nice to meet you.”
And why have I never seen you before?
Well, maybe because you’ve never actually met any of Aiden’s friends before?
Yeah, that’s probably why.
“Same.” Owen smiles some. “Hey…do you wanna dance?”
Do I want to dance with my best friend’s hot cousin’s hotter friend?
As confusing as that was—yes.
Easily, yes.
“Bye,” I tell a confused-looking Aiden before following Owen to where everyone is dancing and we join in, moving to the music.
Surprisingly enough, dancing with Owen feels natural…even if I don’t really know him.
I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t mind getting to know him though.
What the heck is going on with you, Brittany?
I’m partying.
How strange.
“You’re a pretty good dancer,” he says over the music, “you know that?”
I give him a playful smile. “You’re not too bad yourself.”
I’m flirting.
We continue to dance, and I’m sure my up-do is ruined—but I don’t care.
I’m dancing with an extremely hot guy and loving it.
A slow song suddenly begins to play out of nowhere and I stop my dancing.
What? What happened to my party music?
Who the heck plays slow music at a party?
“Mind if I cut in?” a familiar voice asks from behind me.
Derek. Oh crap.
What’s he going to think? Who cares what he thinks?
We’re not really dating, and there’s no reason why I can’t enjoy myself.
“Not at all,” Owen replies before I can say anything. “I’m going to get myself some punch…later, Brittany.”
No! Come back, don’t go!
But he leaves, going around Derek, who looks at me with raised eyebrows. “Who was that?”
“A friend of Del’s cousin,” I state in a somewhat dry tone, “why?”
“No reason.” He shrugs. “Just curious.”
His arms go around me and I reluctantly let my hands cup the back of his neck as we begin to sway back and forth.
I keep my eyes on our slow moving feet, that way I don’t have to look at him…because frankly this is just incredibly awkward.
“Why are you looking at the ground?”
I hold back a frustrated sigh. “Because I want to.”
“Why do you want to?”
“Because I feel like it,” I reply through slightly clenched teeth.
“Why—”
“Why are you asking all these questions?” My head snaps up. “Why can’t you just let me look at the ground?”
Except, he doesn’t reply.
He just kind of…studies me, which is annoying.
I roll my eyes in aggravation. “Will you stop that?”
“Stop what?” His eyebrows crease. “I’m not doing anything?”
“Zoning out,” I tell him in a “duh” voice. “It’s annoying.”
His confused expression remains. “I’m not zoning out.”
I shake my head. “Forget it.”
“Hey,” he says, his tone becoming gentle, “don’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad.” I sigh. “I’m—”
“Beautiful,” he cuts in, “I know I didn’t tell you in the store yesterday…but you look beautiful, Britt.”
My boyfriend/ex-boyfriend and his best friend/frenemy both called me beautiful.
Wow.
Go, Brittany.
“Thanks, Derek,” I reply, feeling even more awkward now. “That’s sweet.”
He shrugs. “Sure thing.”
The song ends and I step back, away from his grasp…glad that it’s over.
He clears his throat some. “I’ll be right back.”
Okay then.
He goes around me and I walk over to an unoccupied, decorated circular table and then sit down.
I cautiously touch my hair in various places to see if my hairstyle is still somehow intact—it’s not.
Sighing, I remove the clip before shaking my hair out, then sit up straight again and my eyes widen when I see Liv and Derek dancing together.
I actually blink a couple of times and then proceed to pinch myself in order to see if this is real.
“Ouch!”
I rub my arm.
Okay, stupid idea. But this is real all right.
Both of them smiling and laughing as Liv’s curled hair swishes back and forth.
They look happy. She looks happy.
And what am I? Beautiful.
Yeah, says the guy who dumped me and the other guy who likes someone else (specifically my best friend that he’s now dancing with).
What’s wrong with me?
I should be happy that they’re dancing together.
And I am. I just feel…strange.
“Mind if I sit down?”
I look to my right to see Blake standing—well, there.
Should I let him sit?
No.
Yes?
No.
Yes?
No.
“Yes!” I blurt out.
“Oh,” he replies, looking somewhat taken aback. “I’m sorry, I—”
“No!” I cut him off. “No, I don’t mind.”
He cocks an eyebrow. “So…?”
“Sit down!”
That could’ve gone smoother, a lot smoother.
He proceeds to sit across from me. “I wanted to finish talking to you.”
“Okay…” I trail off, “go ahead.”
�
�Remember in the library,” he starts, leaning forward and resting his arms on the table, “when you said that I was with Savannah while you and I were still together?”
“Yes.” I try not to wince at the memory. “What about it?”
“It’s not true,” he says, looking completely serious. “I would never do that to you.”
“Give me a break.” I scoff. “Del and Liv told me that they saw you and Savannah at the mall when we were still together.”
“We weren’t dating,” he insists, “we just happened to bump into each other.”
“Oh sure,” I agree, voice heavy with sarcasm, “that’s why the two of you were making out.”
He raises an eyebrow. “They told you that?”
My lips purse…okay, so maybe they didn’t tell me that, but—
“Well, did they?”
“No.” I slowly shake my head. “They didn’t.”
“We bumped into each other and exchanged apologies,” he states in a matter-of-fact tone. “Then we chatted for a little bit about how she was new at school and made small talk, but that was it.”
Bumped into, exchanged—
“Then later on in the week I started thinking that I might’ve been interested in her,” he continues, “but I was dating you…so I decided that—”
“I know the rest,” I interrupt him. “Do you have any idea how awful it is to see the person you’re dating with someone else?”
“I know how it felt to see you and Derek together for the first time.” A muscle in his jaw twitches and he sighs. “It felt wrong. And I was mad, my mind couldn’t wrap around it.”
I blink at that.
Where’s he getting at?
He licks his lips. “I think I’m—”
Chapter 27: Derek Knows Everything
——————————————————
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,” everyone suddenly starts singing, “happy birthday, dear Delanie…happy birthday to you!”
What?
There’s cheering and whistling as Del’s huge three-layer birthday cake is rolled in on an equally huge cart and I look around for Blake, who’s now gone.
Where did he go?
“Make a wish, baby!” Darren exclaims to Delanie and she shoots him a dirty look. “Shut up!”
She blows her candles out and smiles for the cameras as confetti is thrown everywhere…and I mean everywhere.
Del scowls as she tries to get it out of her hair and smacks Darren’s hands away when he tries to help.
The cake is being cut, with Blake still nowhere to be seen and strangely enough, I don’t see Derek anywhere either…or Liv.
Curious, I make my way to the entrance doors.
“Brittany.”
I turn to see Owen casually leaning against a wall. “Owen, hi.”
He pushes himself off the wall. “Where ya going?”
I shrug. “Just out.”
“Well,” he drawls, “do you want some company?”
“Sure,” I try not to sound too eager, “that’d be nice.”
He pushes open one of the doors and then steps out, holding it open for me and I walk outside. “Thanks.”
“Party too much for you?” he asks as we begin to walk. “Or do you just have something against birthday cake?”
“No.” I laugh at that. “I don’t have anything against birthday cake…I actually came out here to look for my boyfriend.”
No point in lying to him too.
“Boyfriend,” he echoes. “That guy you danced with?”
“Yes,” I reply, hoping I don’t sound too reluctant, “Derek—he’s my boyfriend.”
“I thought he might’ve been.” He slips his hands into his pockets. “I was kind of hoping that he wasn’t though.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Yeah.” He nods. “I know we just met and all, but it’s almost like fate brought us together. I mean…I wasn’t even planning on coming tonight.”
Fate?
It sounds crazy—but I kind of like it.
Plus, he’s hot. Really hot.
That is so shallow, Brittany.
“I don’t know…” he trails off. “What do you think?”
“That maybe you’re right?” My eyebrows crease. “But I am with Derek.”
Unfortunately—what I’d give to be single right now…
He sighs. “That you are.”
“But we could be friends,” I quickly suggest. “I’d like to get to know you —if you’re okay with that.”
“Sure.” He smiles. “I’d like that.”
If I can’t get Blake back, maybe I can get Owen instead.
Okay, that sounded kind of weird.
“Brittany.” Derek suddenly appears beside me. “Liv said she saw you leave…everything all right?”
Where the heck did he even come from?
“Everything’s fine,” I assure him, “I’m just talking with Owen.”
Owen throws up a hand. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Derek tells him somewhat dryly. “Can you give us a minute?”
Owen nods. “Sure thing.”
“That was rude,” I say once Owen walks off. “You could’ve been nicer.”
“Do you know how it looks when you leave with a guy that isn’t your boyfriend?” He raises an eyebrow at me. “It doesn’t look good, Britt. Especially with a guy you just met.”
“We weren’t doing anything.” I roll my eyes. “I came out here to look for you and he volunteered to keep me company….that’s all.”
Of course I’m not going to mention the whole: “Owen was-hoping-I-was-single-and-I-was-wishing-that-I-was-single” thing.
“Oh.” He nods, as if understanding. “And did you find me?”
“Very funny.” I scowl at him. “You know what? Forget this.”
I turn to leave, except—yay, I turned too fast and the wrong way, causing me to fall flat on the ground.
I wince as pain shoots through my body and I mutter a few choice words.
“Crap, Britt!” Derek turns me over. “Are you okay?”
“No.” I shake my head. “My ankle…it’s—”
“Does this hurt?”
The next thing I know, he’s touching my ankle and I inhale sharply as I pull it away from him. “YES!”
“Okay,” he says in a soothing voice, “I’m sorry…I just needed to check. Is everything else okay?”
“I have all my teeth,” I reply as I verify, “and my ankle’s all that hurts.”
Sure my body is sore, but that’s nothing compared to the pain that my poor ankle is feeling.
He sighs. “Okay, well—”
“Is it broken?” I whimper while feeling pathetic as the urge to cry comes on strong. “Derek, is it?”
I don’t know if he’d be able to tell or not, but it hurts like crazy.
“I don’t think so…” he trails off. “Can you move it?”
“It hurts.”
“Can you move it?” he asks again. “I know it hurts.”
With teeth gritted and tears starting to fall, I manage to move it slightly.
“All right.” He nods, turning his attention to me. “That’s—are you crying?”
I sniffle some. “Yes.”
He mutters something under his breath. “I’m going to pick you up.”
“What?” I attempt to sit up. “But—”
“Britt, I have to,” he cuts me off. “You can’t walk on it, that’ll only make it worse.”
Before I can protest again, he scoops me up bridal-style and reflexes cause me to wrap my arms around his neck. “Derek, where are we going?”
“There’s a clinic on property,” he answers, beginning to walk. “And don’t worry…it’s not far from here.”
Of course he knew that’d be my next question, Derek knows everything.
“How do you know so much?”
His eyebrows crease. “What do you mean?”
“Lik
e, how did you know that the two of us dating would make Blake mad?”
“Well—”
“Or that he was going to argue with you?”
“I—”
“Or that I don’t like olives.” I throw a hand up. “How do you even know that?”
He chuckles some. “I’ll answer if you let me.”
I motion to him. “Go ahead.”
“I know how Blake is,” he replies in a nonchalant tone, “I’ve been best friends with the guy since kindergarten.”
I nod. “That makes sense.”
“And as for the olives,” he continues, “I’ve noticed how you gag when you pick them out of different foods.”
My eyebrows crease. “I didn’t know I was being watched.”
He shrugs. “I’m just an observant person.”
So I’ve gathered…
I sigh. “Are we almost there?”
“Yes, Britt. We’re almost there.”
“How’d you know that there’s a clinic on property anyway?”
“The outdoor map,” he doesn’t hesitate in answering. “I saw it when I was looking for you earlier.”
Oh.
“Here we are,” he announces once we reach the entrance of a building, “the clinic.”
“Thank goodness,” I gush in relief as we go into the clinic, “because I—”
“May I help you?” a gruff voice interrupts me.
Derek turns so we’re facing—I’m going to go with the receptionist/help desk, where a lady in her (probably) early sixties is sitting and honestly?
She looks like she wants to kill us.
Dramatic, I know. But it’s the truth.
“Hi,” Derek greets her, “we—”
She jabs a finger toward me while glaring through her glasses. “What’s wrong with her?”
Derek sighs. “That’s what I was—”
“Spit it out, sonny,” she snaps at him. “I don’t have all night.”
“She twisted her ankle,” Derek quickly says…probably so she can’t interrupt him again.
“I see.” She nods, looking extremely bored. “And are you some type of doctor?”
“What?” His eyebrows crease. “No, I—”
“I didn’t think so,” she cuts him off. “So who are you to say that her ankle is twisted?”
“Would you please just look at it?” Derek asks through gritted teeth. “Please.”
“Do I look like a doctor to you?” She gives him an unimpressed look. “No, I’m the—”
“Can I speak to a manager, your boss, anyone?” Derek interrupts in exasperation. “Now?”
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