Page 79 of Something Cheeky

“It doesn’t matter what he says, okay?” he snapped. “Sorry.”

Derek reached for her hand. She didn’t pull away from his touch like she had this afternoon. Her eyes were fiery with rage. Her lips were pressed together as if she were holding back a string of curses.

“Fuck Greg and what he thinks about us,” he blurted.

Zoe raised an eyebrow at the anger in his words but she waited for him to continue.

“He’s part of an older generation who can’t see that theater needs to evolve to stay alive,” Derek said, more as a reminder to himself than to Zoe.

“I’m having déjà vu.” She crossed her arms.

“This is not like what happened to you in college.”

“You said the same thing about Professor Richards when he asked me to do yellow face for his fundraiser.”

“Look, men like him and Greg know they’re becoming irrelevant and finally retiring.”

“Greg’s retiring?”

“In a few years, he told me.” Derek didn’t tell her how his mentor had dangled the artistic director position as—what—a bribe, motivation? He wasn’t sure. “But until then, we need to get ahead of him.”

“How?”

“We go public. About us.” He smiled hopefully.

“No,” she said flatly and crossed her arms.

“You didn’t even think about it.” Derek’s lips turned down into a frown.

“If we do this because of him, he’ll have won.”

“He wouldn’t be winning. It’s about what’s best for us and the production.” Derek didn’t point out that the reason she’d wanted to keep things secret wasbecauseof his mentor.

“He’s going to use our relationship as a leveraging point to get what he wants on this show.” Derek’s head started to ache at the “feedback” Greg would offer for the next few weeks.

“You waited until I was in a Filipino food coma before dropping this on me so I wouldn’t be as mad,” she accused.

“It didn’t work.” Derek shrugged. “Besides, my mom would smack me if I let this food go to waste.”

Her lips quirked, but she didn’t respond to the frugal practicality that his mother had ingrained in him. She had every right to be upset about how Derek had handled the situation earlier. But they needed to revisit their decision to wait until opening night to tell everyone about their relationship—before Greg did something even more idiotic.

He nudged her arms until her shoulders relaxed. He uncrossed her arms, taking her hands in his.

“Men like him thrive on power—or perceived power.” He intertwined his fingers through hers. “If we tell people, he’ll no longer have that power over me. Over us.”

Zoe bit her lip as she considered his suggestion. Her eyes were dark and slightly unfocused, as if she were recalling how she’dstood up to their professor. And how he couldn’t—didn’t—stand up with her.

Derek’s stomach twisted. That was his second biggest regret from college. The first had been waiting ten years to tell her how he felt about her.

“Can I think about it?” she finally asked.

“I’ve waited this long for you, so take the time that you need.” Derek’s easy smile hid his guilt about college. This time would be different. He’d support her 100 percent however she needed.

“Thanks for understanding,” she said quietly.

“Is there something I can do to convince you?” He closed the distance between them. She smelled of coffee and lechón. Absolutely fucking delectable.

“What did you have in mind?” she said with feigned innocence, but her eyes lit up.

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