Chapter Four - Sophia

It’s amazing what ten hours of sleep, a massive breakfast, and three cups of coffee could do to kick a case of jetlag in the ass. After a night of uninterrupted sleep, I took a long, hot shower and dressed to go get some breakfast from the dining hall Derrick had taken me to the night before. When I finally peeled myself away from the breakfast buffet—hello unlimited pancakes! —I took my third cup of coffee to go and found a little spot in a shallow alcove outside the dining hall. I was working on a blog post with my laptop perched on my knees when a familiar voice stirred me, “Hey, there!”

A smile spread over my face before I turned and spotted Derrick as he broke into a slow trot to cross the hallway over to where I was seated, without interrupting the flow of traffic down the hallway that appeared to never stop for long. “Morning,” I replied, leaning forward to set my laptop on the low-profile table situated between the two high backed chairs.

Derrick swept into the chair angled toward mine and flashed an easy grin. His hair looked wet, as though he’d just taken a shower. If his body looked tempting wrapped in his fatigues, I could only imagine what it would look like stripped bare, under the spray of steamy water. “How was your night?” he asked.

I blinked rapidly, clearing away my vivid daydreams and smiled through the flushed warmth on my cheeks. “Really good. How about you?”

“Had a late night, but that’s the normal for me. Things never really shut down around here.”

“Probably a good thing,” I replied, smiling at him.

He braced his elbows on his knees and leaned in. “After sixteen months in this place, I’m pretty used to the noise. It’s like an old grandfather clock at this point.”

“Sixteen months?”

“Not in a row, but yeah, over the last two years.”

My heart sank a little at his answer, though I wasn’t sure why. “Were you home for the holiday’s last year?”

Derrick shook his head. “No. I went home two months after Christmas for my two weeks of leave. I was actually supposed to be up for Christmas leave this year, but I—” he stopped himself and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.

“What happened?”

He dropped his hand. “I gave my leave to one of my buddies. His wife just had a baby and it’s her first Christmas. I don’t know…I just figured he needed that time a little more than I do.”

I swallowed hard. “Wow. That’s really sweet.”

He shrugged and sat back in his chair. “It was an easy call. Although my mom wasn’t too happy with me.”

I chuckled. “I bet not.”

“I’ll be done in time for New Year’s though. So, we’re just postponing things a little.”

“That’s what my family is doing too. They’re putting things on ice until I get home.”

Derrick smiled. “Doing the big Time’s Square thing?”

I laughed. “Only from the safety and relative sanity of my own home! I went to Time’s Square once on New Year’s Eve and it was a hot mess!”

Derrick laughed. “I went once and have to agree.”

“Not my scene. However, I would make an exception if I was invited to perform. That would be pretty cool.”

“I doubt many people turn down that gig,” Derrick said.

“Hey, if that ever happens, maybe your sister will drag you along,” I said, smiling at him.

He laughed. “She might not have to twist my arm too hard.”

“Play your cards right, and you’ll have a connection to get tickets without having to mortgage your house.”

Derrick chuckled. “I knew there was a reason we met.”

A flutter swirled through my stomach. My mom’s voice echoed in the back of my mind. Kismet.

Derrick glanced down at my laptop. “You busy working?”

“Just a blog post. I try to update my fans once a week on my blog and then my team tweets and re-blogs and whatever else they do with it. The magic of social media.” I looked at the time displayed on the computer and cringed. “I do have a sound check in about twenty minutes.”

“Aww, damn.”

I chuckled. “Why?”

“I was hoping I could steal you away for a little while. Treat you to a cinnamon roll or something, before your nanny finds you again.”

“Oh, I couldn’t, even if I had time. I hit the pancake bar pretty hard this morning…” I confessed, shifting in my seat, hoping the evidence of the food baby wasn’t too obvious.

Derrick shrugged. “You’re allowed to have both.”

I laughed. “Is that all you do around here? Eat?”

“First of all, they’re very good.” I raised a skeptical eyebrow and Derrick crumbled, smirking at me. “But yeah, you’re right, that’s kind of my side job around here.”

I straightened in my seat and closed my laptop. “What about if you were back home? What would you be doing on a Saturday morning? It is Saturday, isn’t it? I’ve lost track…”

“Last time I checked, yes.” Derrick chuckled and nodded. “As for what I’d be doing…that depends.”

“On?”

He smiled, tipping his chin down. “On whether or not you were there with me.”

My cheeks warmed. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so off kilter. Derrick had me blushing and squirming in my seat, fumbling for my next sentence.

Derrick didn’t miss a beat. He leaned back, still flashing that heart-stopping smile, and added, “Let’s see…you like Mexican food?”

“Who doesn’t?”

Derrick chuckled. “I knew you were my kinda girl. In that case, we’d meet up for lunch, and I’d take you to this little hole in the wall taco joint. It’s nothing fancy but it’s run by this amazing family and everything they make is super authentic. It’s the best. After that, I would take you downtown and go to this second-hand shop. They always have cool shit to look at. Then, next door, there’s this donut place that will blow your damn mind!”

“It really is all about the food with you, isn’t it?” I asked, grinning at him.

Derrick’s eyes smiled as he glanced over at me. “Food and a pretty girl, what else would I ever need?”

“Smooth, Lawley, very smooth.”

“What about you? Take me to Manhattan.”

“Well if you’ve never been to New York, I feel that I’d have to play the good host and take you to all the tourist things. Time’s Square, Central Park, maybe catch a Knick’s game at Madison Square Gardens.”

He gave me a half-cocked smile. “Yeah? You’re not all red carpets and photo shoots?”

I laughed, trying my best to look offended. “First of all, I haven’t done a red carpet anything for about three years. And I detest photo shoots. I tried convincing the studio to use a picture of my guitar on the last album cover. They didn’t go for it, but I managed to work it into the shot and didn’t have to get glammed up.”

Derrick’s eye gleamed as his smile spread wider, almost like he was relieved by my answer. “Not a girly girl then?”

I hitched a shoulder. “Not in that way, I guess. I mean, sure, I still like pretty things and spend an absurd amount of money on things like shoes. I live in Manhattan after all. I would be doing the city a disservice if I didn’t at least try.”

My smile broke through and we both laughed together. The moment froze in my mind and I realized how damn good it felt just to be happy. It had been far too long since the last time I’d been so light and free. Looking forward to the trip to Iraq, I hadn’t been sure what to think or feel, other than butterflies and nerves over the what-if scenarios that rolled through my head. I’d purposely avoided the news for a few weeks prior to the trip, not needing a story of a bombing or some uprising to fuel a string of nightmares before boarding the plane.

Not in my wildest dreams had I imagined that I’d meet someone that made me laugh and smile as though my heart wasn’t shattered into a hundred tiny pieces, barely clinging to one another as the whole thing mended.

But there he was. Derrick Lawley, with his easy smile, quiet confidence, and gentlemanly charm. Of course, the broad shoulders, squared jaw, and dark eyes didn’t hurt either.

I leaned in a little closer and asked, “And what about here? Since we’re both a little stuck at the moment. Where would you take me?”

Derrick’s eyes darkened with a new layer of something that looked—and felt—a lot like desire. They dropped to my lips for a fraction of a second before returning to hold my stare. “I guess you’ll have to come find me after your concert tonight so I can show you.”

A tingle of anticipation swept over my body, the mystery of his offer making me even more eager to find a way to be alone with him.

“I think that could be arranged,” I replied, smiling softly.

“Your babysitter from yesterday won’t flip out?” he teased.

I groaned. “No…that was a one-time thing. Or, at least, it better be.”

Derrick laughed and shrugged. “It’s all right. You did miss out on a helluva chocolate cake though. I went ahead without you.”

My eyebrows rose with mock scandal. “How dare you, sir!”

Derrick laughed, his eyes dancing as I joined in. “Guess I’ll have to see if there are any leftovers I can snag from the cooks. They like me, so the odds are good.”

“You the big man on campus around here?” I asked, glancing around the bustle that swept past us as we sat in the shallow alcove. No one had stopped to talk to us, but a few people had made pointed glances at Derrick and me, which made me curious about their thoughts. Even after spending a decade in the music industry, I hadn’t learned how to block myself from caring about what other people thought. I kept myself away from gossip magazines and websites—as much as humanly possible, at least—and didn’t give too much weight to reviews on my music as long as there were still fans behind me. But when it came down to it, I still cared a little too much about what people were thinking when they ran into me out on the street or at a party or function. As a celebrity, it was hard not to think about what everyone was saying as you walked away from a cluster of people and heard the whispers.

Derrick scoffed playfully at my question. He shook his head and assured me that was far from the truth, “Nah, I’m a small cog in this machine. I’m a staff sergeant, which gives me some pull back home in my own unit, but out here, I’m outnumbered. I take orders far more than I give them.”

I nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Is that how you prefer things?”

He considered the question and shrugged. “It works. I like my job and I know I’m good at it. What more could I really ask for?”

I didn’t have an answer for him. My career was the polar opposite from his. My job didn’t have a clear-cut path to the top or even a blurry path, really. It all waxed and waned as I released new music, went on tour, did TV appearances, and then started the cycle all over again. My last album, a Christmas compilation, had dropped at the end of October and other than the trip to perform for the troops, it wouldn’t require a tour. Thankfully. I was taking some much needed time off to step away from the public eye and get my shit together before throwing myself back into the studio to record anything new.

Before I could find a segue from his question to a new topic, Blake sauntered around the corner and zeroed in on me. His eyes went wide, like a hungry lion spotting a gazelle, and pounced…

Beside me, Derrick stiffened in his seat.

Blake was either too stupid or—more likely—too cocky to see I was already occupied. He pocketed his hands and crossed the busy hall, barely paying attention to the busy soldiers rushing around, probably doing something important, instead, he made them hurry to avoid him. He kept that slimy, snake oil salesman smile on his face the entire way and when he reached the alcove, he stood between the two chairs, and slid a simplistic smile to Derrick. “You done getting your autograph, pal?”

“You’ll have to excuse him,” I interjected before Derrick could answer, “Blake thinks he’s God’s gift to women the world over and that he doesn’t need to be bothered by such things as courtesy or good manners.”

Blake didn’t even flinch. If anything, his smarmy grin only deepened.

I gagged a little.

“Well, where I come from, you treat people with respect,” Derrick said, his tone tight but firm.

Blake chuckled. “And where’s that, soldier?”

Derrick’s hands clenched the arms of his tufted chair and my heart raced a little faster. I wasn’t going to let Blake provoke Derrick into fighting with him. This wasn’t some off-hours bar. There were scads of people coming and going, any of which could be Derrick’s commanding officers, people who wouldn’t have the power to discipline Blake, a guest, and would take it out on Derrick instead.

“Blake, what do you want?” I snapped, glaring up at him.

Blake held Derrick’s fierce stare another moment before sliding his eyes to mine. “Sound check is starting and they need all of us in the auditorium.”

“Fine, go be a good little messenger boy and tell Jenna I’ll be there in ten minutes. I want to get a refill,” I said, holding up my nearly full cup of coffee. I didn’t need a refill. I needed more time with Derrick.

Blake held out his hand. “Here, let me.”

I reared back, nearly flinching at the almost kind gesture. Where was the groping, slobbering asshole from the plane? Was he putting on his best face for Derrick’s benefit or was he just stalling long enough to prepare his next barbed reply?

In any case, I didn’t need him anywhere near my coffee.

“No, thank you. I’ll get it.”

Blake crossed his arms. “Suit yourself.”

He pivoted on his heel and stalked back in the direction he’d come from. Only when he’d ducked out of sight did I realize that I had no idea where the auditorium was. I glanced over at Derrick. “Sorry about that…”

“Who was that guy?”

I flapped a hand. “Blake Powell, he’s the singer for one of the bands, and he seems to think that somehow he’s claimed me for the duration of the trip.”

“Claimed you?”

I pushed my hair back and nodded. “He’s just an annoyance. Ignore him.”

Derrick didn’t look convinced.

“Any chance you could show me to the auditorium?”

Derrick’s attention snapped away from the hallway where Blake had disappeared, and returned to me. He smiled. “Of course. Let’s get you that coffee first.”

I smiled and stood up when he offered me a hand. As we walked, I chugged the coffee down to make room for the unnecessary refill. The ten-minute delay flew by all too quickly, and Derrick dropped me off at the doors of the large auditorium that appeared to have been used as some kind of theater before.

He leaned against the frame of the door and smiled down at me. “So, we on for tonight?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I replied, grinning.

“And by that, you mean chocolate cake, right?” Derrick teased.

I barked out a laugh. “Obviously.”

“Thought so.” Derrick, still grinning, pushed off the wall and started back the way we’d come. “See you tonight, Sophia.”

He flashed me one last smile and then disappeared around the corner, leaving me alone, with a head full of imaginations of where the night would take us.