Chloe was next to me and at my abrupt spin, she looked over my shoulder. “Oh crap,” she whispered.
“I know,” I mumbled back. “Why does she keep showing up?”
“Besides being crazy?” Millie said from my other side. “What did Derek even see in her?”
My eyebrows shot up. “Besides the sexy, long legs, the thigh-high boots, and the seductive stare?”
Millie hid a grin. “You’re prettier than her.”
I shrugged, though I really appreciated her words. I knew I had classic looks but Nicole had the hot and mysterious thing going on whereas I was so girl next door. “I guess.”
The set ended and in what was now becoming a regular thing, Derek hopped off the stage and stalked toward me. I ducked my head.
Before he reached me, however, Nicole got to him.
Her arms were around his neck and her lips pressed to his. I wanted to vomit. I swallowed it back down but my hand came to my stomach.
“Are you all right?” Chloe asked.
I shook my head. “I need to get out of here.”
She nodded. “I can drive you home.”
Millie grabbed my camera and Chloe took my hand, leading me through the crowd. As we reached the door, I took a look backward. Both Nicole and Derek were staring right at me. I didn’t know what it meant, and I might be eligible for the Chicken of the Year Award, but I turned away and left.
The whole ride back to my dorm, I had this sinking feeling that Derek was hooking up with Nicole right this very second. I had the vision of their lips locked together, only they were alone. She was the girl he really wanted and I was the one he had just been filling time with. Even if he didn’t get back together with her, he’d find some other and slightly dangerous chick who was way more exciting than me.
I tried not to cry but I felt a few tears slip down my cheeks.
Chapter Ten
Derek
I watched Mel leave wondering what was happening. How could she not know that I didn’t have anything to do with this kiss?
Why did Nicole have her disgusting lips on me? “Is Cinderella going to turn into a pumpkin?” Nicole sneered.
“What?” I lowered my voice. Nicole was up to something.
“I have to be honest, the other day, I assumed you kissed her just to tick me off. I mean you can’t actually like that little princess?” Her eyes narrowed. “She’s too goody-goody for you.”
“You don’t know the first thing about what’s good for me.” I reached up to pull her hands from around my neck.
She dug her nails into my skin. “But tonight I see her in your shirt while you’ve got your lips all over her. I knew you were cheating on me. And with her?”
“I. Never. Cheated. On. You.” I tugged her hands harder. I could have ripped them off but I was afraid of hurting her. She raked her nails across my neck, making it sting like crazy.
“I don’t believe you,” she spit.
“It doesn’t matter.” I stepped back, wanting to be as far away from her as possible. “I was five minutes late. That’s what has caused your total freak out. But you want to know the truth? I’m glad. I’m glad I got to see how completely crazy you are before I got in any deeper.” I took another step back. “I meant what I said. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
Then I turned to follow Mel. I didn’t want her to leave. Seeing Nicole only reaffirmed what I was feeling for Melissa. A girl like Mel was my future. But when I raced out the club’s back entrance, I only caught sight of Chloe’s taillights as she pulled out of the parking lot.
I ran back inside to get my keys, but Evan met me halfway down the hall. “Hey man, you all right?”
“Fine,” I said. “I have to go, can you take down the equipment without me?”
“Sure.” Evan frowned. “But I need the keys to the van.”
The van. I couldn’t chase after Mel with the van, the band needed to load the instruments into it.
With a groan, I grabbed the keys and handed them to Evan. “Mel left because of Nicole.”
Evan winced. “Want to take my car?”
Relief flooded through me. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, man, you always take down the instruments. Besides, the club is crowded. It could be hours before we can move the stuff. You’ll go crazy if you try to sit here and wait.” Evan gave me a pat on the shoulder. “Go.”
“I owe you,” I said, then raced out the back and into Evan’s beat up Camry.
I made record time getting to BU and I reached her Com Ave address just as Melissa hoped out of Chloe’s car, camera and giant bag in hand. As Chloe pulled out, I pulled in and rolled down the window. “Hey,” I yelled just as she was scanning her key card.
She turned and nearly dropped the camera as she spotted me. “Derek,” she cried. “What are you doing here?”
I grinned. “Get in. We’ll find a parking spot and then I’ll help you upstairs.”
She nibbled her lip. “I don’t know. I should probably…” she drifted off.
“Mel.” I was going to get a ticket soon. “We need to talk. Please?”
With a nod, she came back over to the car. After she climbed in the passenger’s seat, I pulled out into an amazing amount of traffic for midnight.
We found a spot pretty quickly and I took the camera out of her hand as I helped her back out of the car. I wanted to touch her in the worst way, but we really needed to straighten things out from tonight. Within ten minutes, we were at her door and headed toward the elevator. When the doors closed, I pulled her close. “Is everything okay?”
She nodded, but I could see the worry wrinkles around her eyes. “I saw you and Nicole kiss.”
“Nicole and I didn’t kiss tonight. She planted her grubby lips on me.” I pulled her a little closer. “You and I kissed tonight. And if you’re cool with it, we’re doing it again.”
“I’m cool with it,” she said, her voice breathless in a way that made me crazy, as she tilted her chin up to my face.
That was all the permission I needed. Locking lips with her, I breathed in her scent. The feel of her as my hand cradled her head had me desperate for more as my fingers tangled in those silky strands.
By some miracle, we made it into her room. I broke the kiss just to set the camera on the desk when I realized we weren’t alone. Her roommate and pansy boyfriend were sitting on the other bed.
I leaned down. “They’re here,” I whispered in her ear.
I heard her giggle as it vibrated through my chest “That happens a lot.”
“Can I tell them to bugger off?” I planted a tiny kiss on her earlobe after I asked the question and I felt her shiver.
“I don’t think so,” she replied.
“Well hello, again,” the roommate, whose name I had blessedly forgotten, said.
I didn’t reply as I gave Mel a long, slow kiss goodbye. “I’ll pick you up for the lunch at ten thirty.”
“Okay,” she replied.
Her mouth was swollen and her eyes dewy in a way that made me want to stay. I clenched a fist at my side to keep from kissing her again. It was good I was leaving. With Mel, I was going to take things slow and do it right.
She nodded again and I shot a glare at the boyfriend. It was a silent warning to not be around tomorrow night.
Melissa
Crap. He’d said we needed to talk. And yeah, he’d told me that nothing was happening with Nicole, but we hadn’t spoken a word about what was going on between us either.
Probably because nothing was developing, other than hot makeout sessions.
I carried my caddy back from the bathroom where I’d brushed my teeth and scrubbed my face. I’d managed not to look at Carrie or Matt. I wasn’t used to makeout sessions, especially not public ones, and I was a little embarrassed.
But they pretended to be asleep when I returned to the room and snuggling down in my covers, I pretended too.
I was tired. But my brain was swirling. And for once, it wasn’t eve
n on the video I was about to edit. It was focused on Derek all the way.
I finally fell asleep and woke up when my alarm went off at nine.
Heading to the bathroom, I started the shower. First order of business was removing the purple from the dark brown hair. It had been fun. But it was not meet-the-parents material. Not that I needed to impress Derek’s parents. But still…
Once out of the shower, I blew my hair out straight and then headed back to my room. I wanted to look good. But classy. I finally settled on a pair of dark skinny jeans and a silky, but fitted, top. I had a cute leather jacket that would keep me warm if the weather was chilly, which it was bound to be in October. Plus it added a little “bad girl” to the ensemble.
Heading back to the bathroom, I thought about some of the makeup lessons I’d gotten in the past few days. I toned them down. Just a little dark around the eyes, and lipgloss on my lips. But I didn’t go crazy. Checking the mirror…I was amazed. I looked good. Not stuffy and not too sexy, I just looked hot.
My phone dinged and picking it up, I couldn’t help but smile. It was Derek.
You ready?
Yep, be right down.
I grabbed my bag full of my stuff and headed out the door.
Derek was waiting for me on the sidewalk. He’d found a parking spot right in front and he leaned against the van.
I gave him a smile, though I have to confess that heat also filled my cheeks. After last night, I didn’t know where we stood but I knew we’d done a lot of kissing.
He pushed off the van and took two steps to meet me. “Morning, gorgeous.”
“Hi,” I replied. My line was way less cool, but he didn’t seem to care. His eyes were all over me as his hands came to my waist.
“Are you gonna introduce me already?” a voice called from the van. I peeked around Derek to see an older woman climbing out of the passenger’s seat. Her eyes were the same color as Derek’s.
“Mom, aka Carol, this is Melissa.” Derek stepped to the side, but one of his arms was still at my waist. “Melissa, this is my mom.”
“It’s so nice to meet you, honey.” She came bounding toward us with her hand outstretched.
“Mom, Melissa and I just started hanging out so do me a favor and be cool.” Derek gave a low rumble.
I blinked. Did his mom’s enthusiasm mean anything? Was it a hint at our relationship status? Because Derrek’s words gave nothing away.
“I’m cool,” his mom replied grinning.
An older man stepped out of the back of the van, his hand coming to Carol’s waist.
“And this is my stepdad, Frank.”
“Hi,” I chirped to both of them.
Frank nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
“All right.” Derek started leading me toward the van. “We don’t want to be late.”
Derek’s parents piled in the back, leaving me to sit shotgun with Derek. I had a bunch of questions I wanted to ask, like how long had Frank and Carol been married and did Derek still see his dad, but they all sounded rude. Granted, I couldn’t even ask him if we were dating, so I probably wasn’t getting a lot of information from him.
But we did discuss marketing, college, bands, and volunteer work as we made our way through the quiet city and into Jamaica Plain where the Big Brother luncheon was being held.
“Thanks for inviting us to help with this,” Frank called from the back seat.
“I’m glad you could come.” Derek grinned in the rearview mirror. Then he turned to me. “Frank was my big brother through the program. It’s how he met my mom.”
My eyebrows shot up. Say what? “Oh wow. How long ago was that?”
“Twelve years ago,” Carol said. “Frank was like an angel.”
Derek gave an affirmative jerk to his chin. “I was having trouble in school after my dad died. The principal recommended Big Brother and I got hooked up with Frank.” He turned to me then. “It’s why I volunteer with them. It really turned things around for us.”
My mouth was dry. His dad died? His stepfather was the influence that turned his life around? I had so many questions but I didn’t know how to ask. Big surprise. “That’s amazing.”
Derek’s eyes flicked back in the rearview. “Mel doesn’t really drink either, which makes it a lot easier.”
My head swiveled around to see both of them smile. “Oh, that’s so great.”
I hadn’t realized when he’d mentioned it last night that his sobriety was an actual thing. And what did it mean that he was telling his parents about my drinking habits, or lack thereof?
“I don’t have anything against it,” I said. “My mom and dad don’t really drink though and so I just never tried.”
Derek looked over at me his eyes scrunched up. “Take it from me, it’s a good thing.”
I glanced back to see Carol and Frank nodding.
After we arrived at the lunch, Derek stationed me at the door as a greeter. I was to say hello, welcome new families, and point them to the sign-up line. As far as marketing jobs go, it was about as easy as they came.
Frank and Carol were headed back to the kitchen to help get all the food ready for the lunch. Derek pointed to a table where several men sat waiting. “Those are the big brothers. Most have boys they work with already and just come to explain the program. But several will be placed with new boys as well.”
“That’s really fantastic.” I glanced over at the table of men, all of whom were staring at us.
Derek grimaced. “We could use more volunteers, though.” He stepped a little closer. “You don’t think you could make a little marketing video do you? Help get more men to join the program?”
My heart sank and tears, embarrassingly enough, pricked at my eyes. I wasn’t here because I was girlfriend-material, I was here because I was a good marketer. I should have been happy but I’d thought all the kissing was about something else. Even though I’d told myself not to get attached, I had gone and let my heart get involved. “Sure,” I squeaked.
“Great.” He flashed his boyish smile, the one that lightened everything about him.
Then he put his hand at the small of my back and gave me a quick kiss on the top of my head. I know we were in public and we weren’t going to do anymore but that kiss felt like the consolation prize.
He started to walk away but then turned around. “If you want to take pictures to do a slideshow that would be awesome. I’m going to send our coordinator, Judy, over to talk with you.”
With a sigh, I pulled my iPad and my camera from my bag. After a quick discussion with Judy, I was off door duty and on picture duty. So much for my super-easy marketing gig helping out a friend.
Derek was busy during most of the lunch and I took enough pictures to create ten slideshows. When Derek came to get me at one thirty, I was totally wiped.
“How’d it go?” Derek looked happier than I had ever seen or heard him. I will say, despite my personal disappointment, I could see how this was a better gig for him than even the band.
“Good,” I answered. My boots were killing my feet and I wanted to go cry into my pillow.
“I know we just ate, but wanna come hang with me and my parents?” His hand was at my back again.
I hadn’t eaten. I’d been too busy, and I needed some privacy to sort out my hurt feelings. “Oh thanks, but I have a ton of editing to do,” I said. “I have assignments for class and the video and now the slideshow.”
Derek winced a little, his mouth pulling down at the corners. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. It isn’t too much is it?”
His words did make me feel a little better. “No, it’s fine.” I tried to put on my best smile. Hurt as I was, Derek had never promised me anything. It had been me who was hopeful, and honestly I’d known I wasn’t his type.
My room was empty when I got home and I should have fired up my laptop. But instead, I lay on my bed and let myself cry. It was a good long one and at the end, I texted Chloe and Millie. I needed girl-processing time.
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Chapter Eleven
Derek
Chatting with my mom and Frank, I was riding a natural high. Melissa had been the rock star today. She’d taken pictures, chatted with everyone, all while looking so beautiful, she’d made me ache. How could one girl be everything I’d ever wanted?
I hung with the ‘rents for a few hours and then they headed back to New Hampshire while I did some studying too. I picked up my phone half a dozen times to text Melissa but set it back down. I wouldn’t bother her now.
But something was pulling at the edges of my brain. Pushing my books aside, I started penning a song. I pictured Melissa as the words hit the page. It was warm, fun, and sexy. But it was also about the difference between a real girl who grabs a guy’s heart and the rest who just mess with it. It was a love song.
We had a planned rehearsal before our next show and I’d have the guys help me set it to music.
It was after five and I finally texted Mel. She’d been on my mind all day and I couldn’t stand it anymore.
Want me to pick you up for the show?
I saw her little bubbles come, then disappear, then show up again. But it was five minutes before she actually responded.
Can’t come tonight. But good luck. I’m sure it will be awesome.
Not coming? I hadn’t thought too much about her needing the afternoon to work but she wasn’t coming to the show? The girlfriends came a lot. Not every time but most. And I guess I’d started thinking of Mel as my girlfriend. Before her, I’d never wanted any of the girls I dated there, they messed with my head, but it was different with her. It felt right to have Melissa in the crowd. Probably because she actually supported me instead of trying to suck all my energy away.
But how will we do it without our marketing guru there?
Love Notes (Accidental Kisses #3) Page 6
