Page 86 of Derek
“Of course, take your time. You have my number.” I give her a small wave as she walks away, and my eyes scan over the kids and even some of the faculty as they begin to dance again. My eyes soften seeing Reegan and her father embrace in a dance. She looks over at me and gives me a small wave that I return.
“You want to dance?” Derek’s soft voice causes me to jump, and I nearly pee myself. I spin around and have to do a double-take. Derek is standing in a three-piece suit with a black face mask on.
“W-what are you doing here?” I breathe out as I walk to him.
“I wanted to dance with the pretty princess.” He says as he runs a finger over my jaw. I want to cry.
“Really? You want to dance with me? In public?” I hear him huffing out a laugh as he holds me close while we begin to sway.
“Like that was ever a concern. Darlin’, I want to be the man that gives you the grand gestures, makes you feel special, and lets the world know how amazing you are. It’s just going to take me a little longer to get there than most.” He spins me under his arm before pulling me back to him. “I promise you that if you stay with me, I will work every day to be good enough for you. Because that’s all I want.”
I pull down my face mask and tug down on his own. “You already are,” I whisper before pressing my lips to his.
Chapter37
Derek
I’ve done a lot of really dumb shit in my life. But as I stand here while a guy Indy’s age continues to double and triple-check our harnesses, I can’t seem to remember any of them. I look at Indy’s massive smile, and shit, I guess if I die today, at least I die holding her. But I swear to god I’ll tell her I told her so if we die.
“Alright,” the guy smiles. “You are good to go. Get on out there and hug each other. Don’t go over until we give the go-ahead.
I bark out a laugh. “Yeah, no worries there.” Indy looks up at me, her blue eyes sparkling in the setting sun.
“This is going to be so amazing!” I smile at her, though I’m sure I will shit myself and then die. We lean over the edge, holding onto each other as instructed. I should’ve told her my feelings first before the fucking death jump. Now we may never make it to the starlit picnic.
The guy holds us as we lean over the edge, and I know Indy can feel my rapidly beating heart because she looks up at me and smiles. “Don’t worry. I’m with you.” That shouldn’t relax me, but it somehow does. At least, until the guy lets go and Indy and I plummet towards the Earth. I want to scream, but my voice is caught in my fucking throat, my stomach has fallen out of my asshole, and I might be pissing myself. Indy, however, is squealing with delight because, well… I’m in love with a goddamn psycho. Yes, in love, I planned to do another thing on her “Not Bucket List,” followed by dinner under the stars. I didn’t foresee her saying tandem bungee jumping.
I feel the bungee cord pull taught, and all I can do is hold her tighter to me as we bounce and fly back up before falling again.
“Isn’t this the most amazing feeling?” She yells, and all I want to do is cry, vomit, and lay flat on solid ground.
“It’s amazing!” I lie, which causes her to laugh. I watch as she grabs my neck and pulls my lips to her. She slips her tongue into my mouth, and I groan. Focusing on her mouth while we bounce and sway is so fucking hot, and I’m suddenly very much enjoying this jump.
* * *
“No,”I growl out while taking a bite of the pizza we ordered from a pizza place that I’ve never been to and didn’t watch the people make. Yeah, big changes are happening. She cackles, and I watch her throw her head back, her beautiful features dancing in the candlelight as we sit in the back of Fox’s pick-up truck that I borrowed for our date.
“It would be fun!” She teases, and I shake my head.
“I did one death jump. I’m not doing another. Especially from a plane.” She laughs again as she looks up at the sky.
“Well then, I’ll take that one off if I can add a different one.”
“Oh? And what’s that?” I ask, taking a sip of my water.
“I want another tattoo from you.” My mouth twitches, and I look up to the sky.
“Uh huh,” I mutter while rolling my head to look at her. “We can talk about that,” I say, though at this point I would give her anything she asks for, including jumping out of a plane. She grins as she crawls over to me and kisses my jaw before moving down my neck.
“Indy,” I moan, feeling her delicate hand slipping down my torso. “Darlin’, hang on,” I say, grabbing her wrist softly. I move us so we are facing each as I reach for my backpack, pulling out the object that has been screaming at me for a while to give to her.
“Indy,” I breathe out, god I’m fucking terrified. Fuck, I would take the bungee jump again over this nervousness. All I can think is, what if she says no? What if she doesn’t feel the same? Shaking those dark thoughts out of my mind, I look back at her. She’s beautiful by the warm glow of the candle. “You came into my life and completely tore it apart. I had schedules, routines, boundaries, and walls, and you systemically knocked them all down. You changed my furniture, burned my meals, made my house smell like candles, and washed your underwear with mine.” Indy furrows her brow while cocking her head to the side.
“Sorry?” she laughs, and I shake my head.
“No, don’t be. Because the times I’ve been without you since, I eat less of my meals, I burn your candles, and I try to find your scent. It made me realize that I wasn’t living a “safe life.” I existed in a darkness that I had allowed to consume me for years. You pulled me out of that darkness and into your light. You have made me feel happier and more at peace than I ever remember feeling before.” I grab her hand in mine as I take another deep breath. “Indy, I’m in love with you.”
The candlelight dances over her falling tears as she looks at me in shock. Her bottom lip quivers, and I see she’s about to speak, but I stop her. Turning, I reach over and grab my small UV light that I had packed in my backpack.
