Touched By You (The Touch Series)

by t. h. snyder

  I need to touch her.

  I need to make sure I’m not dreaming.

  I need to know she isn’t going to get up and walk away from me.

  Pulling her chair closer to me I tell her that I need to touch her and I take her hands in mine. I look deep into her eyes and in that moment I felt it. Our souls found each other again and I know everything will be okay.

  “Derrick I have to tell you something.” She says.

  I can only imagine. If it’s the regret I know I have to talk to her about, I really don’t want to hear about it. This moment is too perfect to spoil with the mistakes we’ve made while we were apart.

  “Chloe it’s not important, please I don’t want to ruin this moment with you. I’ve been waiting for too long to be this close to you.”

  “But that’s just it Derrick. You may never have to wait again.”

  As much as I want her to not talk, I’m intrigued with what she has to say. Maybe I was completely off and she isn’t going to tell me about stuff from LA. I have to hear her out, so I nod and shut my mouth.

  “Well since you left LA I pretty much drowned myself in work. I was lucky that my bosses Tom and Traci gave me the opportunity to work on the field for Super Bowl. Derrick it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. In fact I liked it so much they kept putting me on for more work on the field to report games and interview the players and coaches.”

  The excitement she has beaming off of her is addicting, but I have no clue where this is all going.

  “That’s great Chloe. I’m so proud of you.”

  “Yeah and it gets better.” She says.

  She is so excited she’s practically bouncing up and down in her seat and it’s kind of turning me on. This is so wrong. My best friends are knocked out in this hospital and all I can think about is taking Chloe back to our home and fucking her senseless for hours…maybe even days.

  “Derrick, you don’t understand. Let me finish. So I kept working on the sidelines for a few games during the college basketball season and eventually got the chance to be on the court for most of March Madness this year. I was actually supposed to be there for the Final Four and the Championship game, but something else came up that was more important.”

  “Ah man Chloe, you know Charlie is going to hate that you missed out on that because you’re here.”

  “No that’s not it at all. I was never going to be there for the game anyway.”

  “I don’t get it, where would you have been? March Madness would have been a huge opportunity for you.”

  “Actually a better opportunity did come up. You see I enjoyed being on the field for the football games and on the court for basketball, but really there’s only one sport I feel connected to and that is baseball. Derrick, the Red Sox have a position for a Senior Analyst. The job is here in Boston and I wouldn’t have to live across the country anymore. My final interview is here on April 8th when they play the Orioles.”

  I can’t believe what Chloe is telling me. She has a chance to move back to Boston. My girl will be close enough that I can touch her, love her and be by her side every day.

  Taking her face in my hands I can’t hold back any longer. I look into her eyes and see the tears begin to fall to her cheeks. She nods her head to give me the go ahead and I kiss her like my life depends on it. The feel of our lips touching, our mouths connecting and the taste of Chloe is something I never want to miss again. We stay interlocked for what feels like forever when I hear a throat clear behind us.

  We pull away and I can see that Pete and Emma are standing behind us with big smiles on their faces. I look over at my angel and I can see she has a smile on her face too.

  “So did you guys talk or just make out the whole time?” Pete asks.

  “Shut up asshole! Chloe just gave me some incredible news. She’s coming back to Boston to work strictly with the Red Sox. She’s going to be the Senior Analyst for the team. Isn’t that incredible?”

  “That’s great Chloe, congrats.” Emma says. “Does that mean I need to find a new place to live?”

  “Oh god no Emma! You’re always welcome at my…I mean our house. Right Chloe?”

  I know I’m probably over stepping some toes on this one, but I can’t kick out Emma. She’s family and she needs that place to stay more that anyone, especially right now.

  “You know what? This is all happening so fast. But Emma I’ll say that if Derrick wants you to stay then you stay. I really haven’t even considered where I would be living.”

  “What are you talking about Angel? You’ll live in our house.” I tell her with all sincerity. I don’t think she understands how much all of this means to me right now.

  “Okay Derrick let’s just step back for a second okay. I still need to get through my final interview and then move all my shit back home. Let’s take it one day at a time, okay?”

  “Whatever you say Angel, you just made me the happiest guy in all of Boston. I have my girl with me and knowing that you could be coming back home is enough for me. At least for right now.”

  “Fair enough.” She says and kisses me on the lips.

  “Well if you two lovebirds can keep it in your pants for a few more hours, why don’t we go up and check on Char and Riley?” Pete says.

  “Yeah by now we should be good to go up and see Charlie.”

  Pete and Emma start to walk away and as Chloe begins to stand I grab her in my arms.

  “Thank you.” I tell her.

  “For what?” She whispers.

  “For never forgetting how this feels.” I tell her as I guide my touch along her cheek, her arm and across her back until both my arms are wrapped around her body.

  This is where I want to be. This is what makes me feel safe. This is where I know my love needs to stay.

  Derrick takes my hand in his and guides me out of the cafeteria and into the hallway. I watch as his tall, strong form leads me in the right direction. He makes me smile and my heart does flip flops. Derrick has always been so sure about everything in our relationship and I let him down. But this time I’m never going to lose sight of what he means to me….he is my world.

  I feel like a kid again. It’s difficult to explain the emotions running through my mind. For the past few months I’ve been trying to let go of something that never should have been missing from my life. I made a choice and thankfully it was a decision that didn’t ruin what I have right here.

  Squeezing his hand a little tighter, he starts to rub his thumb along my knuckles. It feels so good to have his touch provide warmth through my body.

  There’s a lot we need to talk about and I’m sure the time will come. I just don’t know how I’ll approach what happened with Andrew and me. Lying and hiding it from Derrick is not an option, we will not go back into a relationship telling lies. Once things are more certain with Char’s health, I’ll sit him down and tell him everything…I mean everything.

  I follow Emma, Pete and Derrick into the elevator. Just a little over an hour ago we were on this same elevator and I was worried about how I could even look Derrick in the eye. Now we’re heading back up to our families like we never were apart. My heart skips a beat at the thought of being with Derrick again. I know I’ve missed him. I’ve felt the loss of his love in my life and now that he’s here, right next to me, I believe that everything will be okay.

  We stand in the elevator moving up toward the fourth floor and Derrick wraps his arms around my waist pulling me in closer to him. I feel his body up against my back and can smell his scent with how close we’re standing. I close my eyes for a brief moment to take it all in. All of this feels like a dream. Char and Riley’s accident, being here with Derrick, it all brings out so many emotions I don’t know what to do with.

  The elevator stops on the floor and we all exit walking toward the visiting room. Derrick grabs onto my hand and holds on for dear life. I’m sure he feels my hesitation walking in like this with both our parents sitting in there, but to
be honest, I don’t really care. Mom and dad love Derrick and I know that Rose and Bud will be happy to know we’ve worked through our issues.

  The thing is we really haven’t. In just under an hour I have rekindled my relationship with Derrick and according to him, I’ll be moving back in as soon as I fly back to Boston. Hell, I wouldn’t put it past him to hire someone to go out there and move me back so I don’t have to return to LA.

  As we walk in the room all eyes are on me and Derrick. With our hands still interlocked, Derrick raises them in the air. He’s a complete nut and I love him for it. Rose and mom both get up and walk on over and pull us into a giant group hug. A smile creeps across my face and it feels so good to be with our families like this. I hate the reason that we were brought here today, but at the same time it’s because of this accident that Derrick and I had to come to terms with our true feeling for each other.

  Now we just need for Char to wake up so that the day is perfect.

  We pull away from our moms and both of them have tears running down their faces.

  “I don’t know what happened on that walk you four took, but I’m happy to see this.” Mom says grabbing onto our hands.

  “I agree.”Rose says. “You two belong together. No distance should stop you from loving one another.”

  Derrick looks over at me and gives me the look. I know what he thinks I should do and I don’t know if I should tell them yet. What if I don’t get the job?

  He sees the reluctance in my eyes and pulls me into him bringing his arm around my shoulders.

  “Chloe just shared some great news with me that I think you all will want to hear. Isn’t that right angel?”

  I give him the look of death and pull myself from his embrace.

  “Well I really didn’t want to say anything till I knew for sure, but since someone has a big mouth I guess I need to tell you.” I look at Derrick again with daggers coming from my eyes.

  He smiles at me, his baby blue eyes filled with happiness and kisses me on the forehead.

  “Go ahead tell them. We can all use some good news today.”

  I take in a deep breath and let it all out. I know everyone will be happy about this news. It’s just that I wasn’t ready to share it with everyone till I knew for sure.

  “So long story short, after I worked the Super Bowl, I was asked to look into a position as a field analyst.”

  Everyone is now up on their feet, including dad and Bud, waiting for me to say what they all know is going to come out of my mouth.

  I look around the room at the seven people staring back at me.

  “The Red Sox have been interviewing me for the past few weeks for a permanent position with the team. Monday is my final interview when they play the Orioles. If they like what I do, the job will be mine. I’ll be coming back home for good.”

  The entire room lets out a silent cheer and I’m once again pulled into a giant hug.

  It feels so good to know they all want me here, back home, where I belong.

  The past few months have sucked, they’ve really sucked, but now it’s like they never happened. I had hoped that Chloe and I would find our way back together, but this…this is just a dream come true. Having Chloe here, standing next to me, is better than I could have ever dreamed.

  It’s not the ideal moment for us to reunite, but at this point I’ll take what I can get. I stand back and watch as our families hug her like their lives depend on it. Even though I know she didn’t want to tell them yet, I still wanted her to give them something to look forward to.

  When I saw our moms’ eyes light up at us holding hands when we walked into the room, I knew they needed a little bit more to make them smile.

  Her telling them she is coming home did just that.

  Everyone begins to pull away from the group hug and I take my girl’s hand back in mine.

  “Hey do you want to go to see Riley with me? I think he could use some of your badass humor and banter the two of you got going on together.”

  “Is that really why you want me to go in there with you? Or do you just want to tell him the news that I may be coming back to Boston?”

  Chloe looks at me with those deep, dark brown eyes and I know she can see straight to my soul. There’s no use lying to her because she’ll know the truth as soon as we walk into his room.

  “Okay you got me. But can you really blame me. I want to tell everyone that you’re mine again. I don’t know when I have felt this good Chloe. The past four months have been a living hell and now I feel like I have a reason, a purpose to get up in the morning. You have no idea how happy you’ve made me today angel.”

  She turns her body to completely face me and takes my face into her small hands. Looking me straight in the eye I know she is about to cry.

  “Derrick the day I walked away from you at the airport was one of the worst days of my life. I’m so happy that I’m here with you and that you’re giving me another chance to show you how happy we can be together. I still love you Derrick. I never stopped. This is all just a lot to take in with Char and us together again. I think I’m just a bit overwhelmed.”

  “I know and I’m sorry if I’m being a bit pushy, it’s just that I’ve missed everything about you and don’t want to waste another second…”

  “Hold that thought Derrick. Let’s get in to see Riley before we get too involved. Okay?”

  “Good thinking, let’s go.”

  I kiss her forehead and interlace our fingers together. Walking past Emma, we let her know we’re going back to see Riley and to come get us if there’s any news on Char.

  Chloe and I walk side by side down the hallway and through the doors leading to Riley’s room. When we get to his door it’s closed and I can hear the nurse through the other side giving him instructions. We wait a few moments and in no time Riley and the nurse are coming out of the room.

  “What’s this, they’re letting you free already?” I ask both him and the nurse.

  “Yeah, all I have are a few broken bones and a few scraps.” He nods his head toward Chloe. “Hey girl thanks for flying all the way out here to see me. Don’t you think Char will get a little jealous?”

  Chloe smacks the arm, not in a cast, and reaches her arms around him in a hug.

  “So now what?” I ask looking directly at the nurse.

  “Mr. Kincaid is right. The doctors put a cast on him to help set his collar bone in place. The rest will just have to heal in time. All of the other tests show that he’s fine to be released today, but I did warn him to take it easy, get some rest and use the pain meds if he gets too uncomfortable.”

  “No worries, Nurse Nancy, I’ll be a good boy.” Riley says winking at the nurse.

  “Well since you’re free to go let’s go back out and see what we can find out about Char.” Chloe says taking my hand back in hers.

  “So no word yet?” Riley asks.

  “No and we’re all getting pretty antsy about not knowing what is going on, it’s been long enough by now. We should be able to get into see her soon.” I say.

  When we walk out into the visitor room, both Bryce and Teresa are standing in the corner talking to the doctor. Hopefully he has some good news to tell us because this waiting shit sucks.

  Chloe and I sit down next to mom and Emma, while Riley makes his way over to Bryce and Teresa.

  I can see that Bryce is trying to comfort Teresa by running his hand up and down her back. She is glued to his side and as soon as Riley walks over she swings an arm around his waist.

  After a few minutes the doctor pats Bryce on the back and walks out of the room. The three of them walk over to us and have a seat in the row of chairs directly across from where we’re sitting.

  “Will someone please say something?” Chloe says.

  “Of course, honey. I think I’m just in a bit of shock.” Teresa says holding onto Bryce with one arm and Riley with the other.

  Fucking hell woman just spit it out already. I’m growing more and more impati
ent the longer these three keep looking at one another.

  And then Riley speaks up to break the silence.

  “Well she won’t be coming home anytime soon, but they are happy with her progress. She has responded to a lot of the tests they’ve been doing on her which is good and shows normal brain activity. They also just took her off the respirator and she is breathing on her own again.”

  Riley stops talking and runs his fingers through his hair. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me she was this bad?” He looks between me and Emma.

  “Riley we couldn’t have you going crazy while you were under care too. Don’t be mad at us now. You’re up to date now and know that she’ll be fine.” Emma says.

  “That’s my girl up there. I would have liked to know what was happening. God what if something worse would have happened? I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself.”

  Riley gets up and shoves his hand in his pocket and begins to pace behind the row of chairs. I see him pull out a box and I know exactly what he’s holding. I look over at Chloe while she watches him.

  “Riley what is that in your hand?” She asks.

  He looks up at her with tears in his eyes.

  “It’s the ring I’m going to give my future wife when she gets out of that bed.” He says. “Teresa, Bryce I’m going up to see her. I can’t wait any longer to see my girl.”

  And with that Riley sticks the box back in his pocket and walks out the room. I can’t even begin to feel what he is going through right now. I would kill anyone to take away Chloe’s pain if we were in this situation.

  I just thank god that Char is progressing.

  Now she just needs to wake the fuck up.

  Watching Riley walk away after seeing him hold that ring is tearing at my heart strings. Char is an amazing woman and I’m so happy that she’s found her one true love. After all she went through during her relationship with Marc, I’m glad she has a guy like Riley to make her happy.

  Mom and dad walk over to us and sit down in their seats. Derrick still has my hand in his and he’s rubbing circles along the backside of my hand. I want to break the unnerving silence that is growing between us, but I don’t know what to say. I look around the room and see that everyone is pretty much staring off into space.