“Well, well, this isn’t too bad,” Derrick says as he closes the door to the bar behind me, cutting off the icy wind. The holiday season isn’t that far off, and honestly . . . I’m making a few early Christmas wishes even if I know they won’t come true.

“It’s no dive, but it’s not so fancy that nobody can afford a mineral water,” I admit. “As long as you don’t mind not having a coat check girl.”

“Never had a need for that,” Derrick growls, looking me over. “I’ve got everything I want right here.”

Heat creeps up my neck as he consumes me with his gaze, and I know that I made the right choice in clothes. Sure, my calves are cold, but this hip hugging skirt and tight blouse look sexy as hell. Or at least it seems to tick all the boxes that Derrick likes.

“Should we sit?” I ask, and Derrick nods, his hand warm on my lower back as he leads me over to a corner table. The lights are low, it’s that time of night where people are here to either drink their sorrows away quietly or find someone.

“You know,” Derrick says as he takes my jacket to hang it over one of the spare chairs, “you didn’t have to.”

“Didn’t have to what?” I ask, waiting while the waitress comes over. I order a glass of white wine, while Derrick orders a beer on tap, and we decide on some tapas to give us something to nibble on besides each other.

“You didn’t have to get dressed up,” Derrick says. “You don’t need to show off for me. I feel like you’ve never been more comfortable than when we hung out over breakfast and you were wearing yoga pants and an old white t-shirt.”

“I’m trying to be more comfortable,” I admit. “But no way I’m going out with you wearing that.”

Derrick smiles and nods. “Just so you know. You’re sexy, beautiful, and you’ve got brains. What’s there not to like?”

“Good question,” I reply. “What about you? You gotta have a few bad tendencies.”

“Sure,” Derrick says, pausing when our drinks are brought and we toast each other. “For one, I’m terrible at laundry. In fact, I’ve got a single method, I pick up everything on the floor and chuck it all in the washer at once. Main reason I have all dark clothes . . . black, grey, charcoal, navy.”

“You what?” I ask, sipping my wine. It’s good, and warm as it flows down my throat.

“Let’s just say . . . pink football practice pants,” Derrick says with a chuckle. “Take one pair of football pants, two brand new red cotton t-shirts, throw in hot water with cheap detergent and magic happens. So yeah, all darks and that doesn’t happen.”

I laugh, imagining Derrick wearing pink football pants. “Okay, that’ll teach you. Thankfully for me, wearing pink pants isn’t a problem.”

“Nope, never had a problem with you and anything pink,” Derrick purrs, heat blooming between my legs. “So . . . how was your day? Miss me?”

I giggle, thinking of all that we’ve done so far today. “How could I have? You were texting me all day.”

“When I get motivation like you sent me, I have to.”

“I admit, that was pretty dirty. I hope you didn’t get in trouble.”

“Not too much. Susannah did almost kill me today between texting you and my dad, but that’s not your fault.”

“Is he okay?” I ask, worried, and Derrick waves me off.

“Yeah, he was just checking in. I think he didn’t realize the time at first. He knows I work in the studio, even if he doesn’t listen in often . . . thankfully.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” I tease. “I mean, what father would want to listen to their son talk all about how to please a man with your mouth. Speaking of which . . . you never answered some questions tonight about what you like best.”

Derrick leans in, smiling. “I think you know the answer to that one, you know exactly what I like. And for a woman who said that she wasn’t going to do it anyway, you’re waving a red flag at a bull that’s about to charge you.”

“Don’t let me taunt you at work, I know how serious you take helping your listeners. After all, look where we are,” I joke back, my pussy tingling underneath my skirt. “You’ve helped me a lot so far.”

Derrick nods, reaching across the table to place his warm fingers on top of my hand, sparks radiating from the contact up my arm. “I take it very seriously. What can I do to keep helping you, Kitty Kat?”

There’s a thousand things Derrick could do, but as we’ve moved into something more fragile here with actually dating, I know the most important thing he can do. “Maybe just show me a good time, that not all guys are after one thing?”

“And what one thing is that?”

“You know . . .,” I whisper back, heat creeping up my neck again. “Fucking.”

Derrick leans in closer, his voice low and seductive. “But what if I do want to fuck you? Right now, as much as I know I should be, I don’t want to be a gentleman. I want to bend you over this table and slip your skirt over your ass. I could make you come right here.”

I’d let you and come like a freight train, I think, but I have to keep control somehow, so I flirt back instead. “Rather public don’t you think?”

Derrick glances around, then comes back to me, his eyes burning. “Would you rather disappear to the back? We could do that if you want? Kat, I respect you and if you say no I’ll accept that. But . . . I think you want to say yes.”

My breath catches in my chest, he’s got me. Sure, I don’t want to be easy to get, but the way he makes me feel, I want him inside me every fucking moment we’re together.

Derrick leans in, his thumb drawing circles on my hand, making my nipples tighten in my bra and my pussy clench. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting it, I want you just as much. We could sneak back there and find a dark corner, maybe you sink down to your knees and suck my cock right there. I’d stand in front of you so no one could see. No one would be the wiser but us. Only we would know how much you drive me crazy.”

“I drive you crazy?” I murmur, feeling a little bit of control return. He’s right, we both want it . . . we just have to figure out where. “Little ol’ me?”

Derrick leans in closer, and our lips are this close to touching when there’s a harsh harrumph next to us, and a sneering laugh. I’m horrified to see Kevin standing there, smirking like he’s busting me doing something wrong.

He looks a little extra swollen, obviously using his free time in the gym the last few weeks. And like super tan . . . orange fake-bake tan. Eww. I sit back, my elbow bumping my wine glass, but I catch it before it crashes to the floor. I definitely don’t need any more attention in this moment. “Kevin? What the fuck?”

Kevin chuckles. “Seriously Kat, this is sad. I mean this guy? He looks like a total douchebag.”

“Fuck you!” I hiss, feeling the flush paint my cheeks. Deep down, I don’t really care what Kevin thinks or says, but in the moment, with him sneering at me, it’s hard not to react or to fall into old habits. “You don’t get a say in who I see. You cheated on me, remember?”

“Didn’t take you long to find some new dick,” Kevin replies, not taking the obvious hint to leave. He looks at Derrick, who’s coiled tight, ready to get up if need be, but is also letting me handle this myself for now. I appreciate that he knows I need to do this. He talks to Derrick, but Kevin’s eyes are on me, watching his barbs hit home. “Can I give you a tip, man? You don’t need to go through that much effort. She’s an easy fuck. Not that good, but easy.” He leans back, the pride at seeing the insecurities he’s brought up in me obvious in his eyes.

Derrick’s heard enough and gets to his feet. For the first time, I see that he actually towers over Kevin by a couple inches.

“Okay that’s it,” Derrick rumbles. “I’ve heard enough of this.”

“Oh, I’m shaking in my boots,” Kevin drawls, wiggling his fingers. “Why don’t you sit back down, buddy? You don’t know who you’re talking to.”

“Sure I do,” Derrick says, his voice dropping to threatening whisper. “You’re the two-pump chump piece of shit who couldn’t give Kat what she deserved. You took advantage of her, fucked around on her and lost her. Now you’ve probably figured out she was the best damn woman to walk into your life and you blew it. She figured out you’re worthless, and she deserves better.”

“And you think you’re better?” Kevin says. He laughs, half turning away, but it’s a feint. His left hand flashes out, catching Derrick just above the eyebrow, and the fight’s on.

It’s the first fight I’ve seen since a little push-shove thing in high school, and it’s nothing like the movies. Nobody gets involved to peel them apart, but at the same time it doesn’t last long. Kevin tries to follow up his punch with another, but Derrick grabs his arm and somehow pushes it across his body. Kevin’s thrown off-balance, and as he stumbles past, Derrick picks him up in a massive bear hug before slamming him to the floor of the bar.

“That’s enough!” the bartender yells. “Don’t make me call the cops!”

“Call them, I’m pressing charges,” Kevin whines from underneath Derrick. “He assaulted me.”

“Boy, from where I’m sittin’, you threw the first punch and he defended himself from your shenanigans. Where I come from, you put money in the register, you gon’ get a receipt more often than not,” one of the bar patrons drawls. “Figure at least four more of us saw the same thing.”

Kevin looks like he’s about to whine, but slumps down. Derrick gets up, and I notice he’s bleeding. I go to touch the wound as Kevin gets up, grabbing a tumbler off a nearby table, but one hard look from Derrick is all it takes, and he lets go of the weapon to leave the bar.

“Are you okay?” Derrick asks, turning to look at me for the first time. “I’m sorry, I would have let you handle that, but he was being a bit too much of an asshole.”

I feel oddly excited. I mean, Derrick just went Neanderthal. Why not clunk me on the head, and drag me back to his cave by the hair? But I’m turned on, power coursing through me not only in that I stood up to Kevin, but that Derrick had my back.

I grab his head and pull him down into a deep kiss, our tongues swirling as I reward him for being there for me. “Let’s get out of here and get that cut looked at,” I whisper.

* * *

I usher Derrick onto the couch, where I strip off my jacket. “Okay, let me get the alcohol,” I say, going to grab my kit.

I come back, soaking a few cotton balls in alcohol. I dab at his cut, which is a lot deeper than I expected. “Damn,” Derrick says, inspecting it. “Got any tape?”

“Uh . . . probably,” I say, looking in my kit. “Why?”

“Learned from a friend,” Derrick says, taking the roll. He tears strips and carefully covers the cut with a narrow piece of gauze before taping his eyebrow back together. “Damn . . . could have done without this, but there was no way I was throwing the first punch.”

“You let him hit you,” I whisper, running my finger through his hair just above his eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because you deserve to have someone take a punch for you,” Derrick says, his hand closing over mine and pulling me closer. “Besides, I heard somewhere that chicks dig scars.”

I chuckle, and gently trace my fingertips along his forehead and down around his eye to his cheek. I’m checking for any tender spots, but mostly just marking him with my touch, appreciating that he was willing to sacrifice himself for me. I dip down, finding his lips with mine, hoping he feels the thank you I’m trying to communicate with my kisses. The fire we’ve been stoking for the last few days rages at my center, and I need to . . . worship him. This man, who isn’t showing me who I am, but is helping me actually discover who I am for myself, which feels even more important. I lower to my knees, my face level with the hardness already pressing against his jeans.

“Kat, you don’t have to. What about our second date?” There’s a plea to his voice, and I know he’s trying his damndest to do the right thing. But I know that this is the right thing. It’s not some guidebook dating rule, arbitrary so everyone thinks you’re a ‘good girl’, this is just real and what I want. Using all the tips from the show today, and maybe a few tricks of my own, I take Derrick to the edge in minutes.

“Damn it, Kat. Just like that . . . suck that cock, take me all in. Are you gonna swallow for me because I’m about to fill you up. Where do you want it?” I feel his balls pull tight, and I suck him in deep, leaving no doubt to my answer. I swallow down every drop, satisfaction humming through me.

I lay my head on his thigh, tracing lines along his softening cock as he pants above me. I realize that I’m really falling for him, despite my misgivings and fears, and that’s both exciting and terrifying. He’s not just healing my heart like the casual rebound I though this might be, but he’s filling my heart with new hopes and dreams, which feels dangerous.