Page 125 of All I Ask
She nods once, exiting the car and then stops, sticking her head back in. “I wish I knew you didn’t completely suck earlier. I would’ve at least smiled at you—since you were so popular at one time and all.”
I’m not sure what exactly that means, but I’m going to pretend it’s a compliment. “Thanks…I think.”
“You’re welcome. See you around.”
I wave. “See you around.”
***
“This is a little weird,” Derek says as we make plates for the girls.
“I know.”
“But they’re working on their project, so we can’t really be blamed for this.”
Their project is due tomorrow so we suggested we’d all have dinner. It was meant to be a very casual thing, but both girls have made snide comments about this not being a regular thing.
At least Everly said hello this time to me, so there’s a small sliver of hope on that front.
They’re down in the store, doing whatever it is they need to do for this social media experiment and he and I are being very…domesticated.
Derek comes behind me, wrapping his arm around me as I plate the food. “I could get used to this.”
“You could, huh? I’m pretty sure your mother cooks for you daily.”
His low chuckle reverberates in my ear. “Yeah, but she’s not you.”
“And you think I would cook for you?” I ask as I turn around to face him. He’s totally walking into a trap, but I’m not about to stop him.
“I would hope so.”
“What would you do for me?”
He grins. “I’d definitely do things for you.”
“I bet you would, but, if I’m in the kitchen slaving away, I’d like to have specifics.”
Derek turns, looking at the door, and then back to me. “First, I’d do a lot of this…”His lips touch mine softly at first and then he deepens the kiss. My fingers tighten around his shirt, loving that this is one of the things.
“Then”—he breathes as he shifts back—“I’d do that, in other places.” My stomach clenches as I think about where his mouth would otherwise be as well.
“That’s a start.”
“I’d—”
“God.” Chastity’s voice breaks the statement he was about to say and I turn bright red. “You should be happy it was me,” she says as she grabs the notepad off the table. “All I’ve had to hear about for weeks was my stupid mother and her stupid father and how that didn’t mean we’d be stupid sisters. Like I’m excited by this idea?”
“Aww, sisters.”
She rolls her eyes. “And what did you do to her?”
Derek puts his hands up. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Today, she’s being all nice and it’s freaking me out. Pissed off and mean Everly I can handle, but she’s asking me about how it’s been to be raised by a single parent and if my mom is my friend. It’s weird.”
I can’t help the smile that forms. There was no guarantee she would actually hear what I said and not just mentally flip me off. The two of them share a bond that they don’t know. I always notice that, when two people think they’re different, it’s often because they’re so similar they can’t accept the other. It’s the things that bond us that can also divide us.
Chastity and Everly could be best friends, but they choose to be enemies.
