Derrick flipped on the lights in his home. It seemed quieter without Charlie in it now. Every time his son left, he felt a hole reopening inside his chest. His backpack and toys were still strewn across the living room. Derrick wandered into the kitchen.
“It’s probably cold by now.” Elizabeth scooped up the dirty dishes on the table and began to scrape the excess food on the plates into the trash.
“That’s fine. I’m not really hungry anyway.” He took the plates from her and placed them in the sink.
“What are you doing? I need to at least rinse them, or you’ll never get them clean.”
Derrick had stopped listening to her. His eyes smoldered as he stepped closer to her. Elizabeth stepped backwards until her back was almost against the wall. He was coming closer. Her hands were still hovering in front of her where she had been holding the dishes. Derrick grabbed her wrists and pinned her against the wall. Elizabeth gasped as he closed the rest of the distance between them. She could barely breathe. His head leaned down and hovered just in front of her lips. He let the anticipation build before he let their lips touch. Elizabeth’s body melted into the kiss. His chest pressed against her firmly. The sensation made her moan softly. Being so close to her gave him an adrenaline rush. He wanted to trail his kisses down her body, but now was not the time for that.
Derrick pulled away with a satisfied look on his face. Elizabeth gazed at him in a daze. “What was that for?”
“I just wanted to say thank you.”
“You should say thank you more often.”
He chuckled and smirked at her. “Maybe later.”
She was still trying to gather her thoughts. His kiss had made her brain foggy. “So, um, what are we going to do now?”
Derrick grabbed a fresh bottle of wine and poured them each a glass. “I was thinking we could relax a bit before you went back home.”
“If you wanted to relax, you probably shouldn’t have kissed me like that.” Elizabeth mumbled under her breath.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.” She took her new glass of wine and chugged it.
“Oh, I almost forgot. There will be a charity auction coming up. I’ll need you to be there since you’re the face of the company now. I’ll have Tim put together an ensemble for you.”
The switch back to work from such an intimate moment caught her off guard. “Oh, okay.”
Sensing her disappointment, Derrick sweetened the deal. “You can count it as our second date.”
She perked up as he said this. “Okay!” Beaming at him, she felt herself becoming sleepy. Elizabeth tried to fight back a yawn, but she couldn’t help it.
“Are you tired?” His eyes softened. She looked so vulnerable as the wine began to take its affect.
“Today has just been a very,” she searched for the right word, “eventful. I’ve had a lot to take in, and my emotions are a little zapped right now.”
“Why don’t you go ahead and go home then?”
Elizabeth pouted, “I don’t want to leave just yet.”
Derrick chuckled. “You’re like a little kid sometimes.” He kissed her forehead and smiled at her. “Since you don’t have your furniture yet, why don’t you just sleep here tonight then?” Her eyes widened, and he held up his hands to put her at ease. “Just sleep. I want to make sure you understand that I’m interested in more than just your body.”
Elizabeth’s cheeks blazed. She averted her eyes and tried to keep her composure. “Sleep sounds good.”
Pulling her towards the bedroom, Derrick handed her a set of his pajama bottoms and a plain white t-shirt. “Put these on.” He turned his back so she could have some privacy. It was hard to resist pinning her on the bed. He knew she wouldn’t fight back if he did, but part of him wanted to wait. She wasn’t one of his one night stands that he just used for sex and tossed aside. If he wanted this to go in a different direction, he would have to treat her differently. The sound of fabric hitting the floor made him want to turn around. He closed his eyes tightly and resisted the temptation.
“Okay. I’m decent.” She stood awkwardly beside his bed. His clothes swallowed her, and she could smell his cologne on them.
Seeing her so relaxed in his home made his heart skip a beat. It had been so long since he had let a woman wear his clothes and stay the night. Would he be able to keep his hands to himself tonight? He was already having a difficult enough time. “Get some sleep.” He turned and shut the door to his bedroom behind him. His body sank to the couch. Looking up at the ceiling, he let out a long, slow breath. Breaking his old habits was going to be harder than he had imagined.
Elizabeth slipped under his sheets and curled up on her side. Had she done something wrong? When he had offered to let her spend the night, she had assumed that they would be sleeping beside one another. Now, she felt as though she had kicked him out of his own bed. The chill of the sheets sank into her skin as she buried her head into his pillow. The wine was starting to go to her head. Eventually the comfort of the bed won out over her worries, and she fell asleep.
Sizzling from down the hall woke her up. Sunlight caressed her cheek through a gap in the curtains. For a few moments, Elizabeth didn’t remember where she was. Yesterday’s events slowly came back to her. Her fingers traced along the outline of her lips. If she hadn’t woken up in his bed, she would have thought it had all been a dream.
The cold floorboards nipped at her feet as she swung them out of bed. The smell of bacon became stronger the closer she got to the kitchen. Derrick was cooking again. He was only wearing a pair of sweatpants. His back muscles flexed as he lifted a pan from the stove and stirred it.
“Oh, you’re up.” He smiled a crooked smile at her and filled a plate with bacon and eggs. A pile of dry toast was mounded in the center of the table. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving.”
“Dig in. We have the auction tonight.”
“It’s tonight?” Elizabeth nibbled on the corner of a slice of toast.
Derrick nodded and placed a pitcher of orange juice on the table. “Yeah, I thought I would drop you off with Tim while I go to the hospital to check on Charlie for a bit.”
“What about your car?”
“I already called the impound lot. I paid the fee over the phone. They should be dropping it off soon.”
“They’re bringing it to you? I thought you had to go get it from where ever they towed it to.”
“I give them a few free night’s stay at the hotel to compensate them for their troubles.”
“That’s bribery!” Elizabeth shook her head as she laughed.
“That’s business.” Derrick took a sip of juice. A car horn honked outside. “That must be them. Sorry, I thought we would have more time to eat.” Shoving a piece of bacon quickly in her mouth, Elizabeth smile sheepishly at him. “Don’t choke yourself.”
Chewing fervently, she chugged some juice and grabbed her purse. “Don’t worry. I grew up in a house with three brothers. I’m a pro at eating quickly.”
Chuckling, he held the front door open for her. “Now, why wasn’t that on your resume?”
“I couldn’t possibly include all my talents on one sheet of paper.” She flipped her hair brusquely over her shoulder.
“Oh, really? And just what other talents do you have, Miss Adams?” He couldn’t help it. His interest was piqued.
“I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”
Derrick took the keys to his car from the man standing out front. “Here, this is for you.” He passed the man a twenty-dollar bill which was quickly pocketed. Jogging around the car, he opened the passenger side door for Elizabeth.
She waited for him to get in the car before she spoke again. “So, what exactly should I expect tonight? I’ve never been to an auction before.”
“Pretty much there will be cocktails and appetizer. Some items that have been donated will be auctioned off, and then it will be over. We just need to appear for the company’s sake. Shouldn’t take more than a few hours.”
“Hey, Derrick?” It felt odd to call him by his first name.
“Hmm?”
“If it’s okay, could you let me know how Charlie is after you see him?”
Her question and thoughtfulness caught him off guard. “Uh, sure. I can do that.” He felt his heart skip a beat. She was actually trying to care about his son. It was a new first for him, and the two of them getting close frightened him. It was nice not to feel any pressure about hiding his son, but he wasn’t sure if he was quite ready for them to move on to that step or not. If it hadn’t been for Catherine, Elizabeth still wouldn’t have known about Charlie. It was going to take some getting used to.
Derrick parked in front of Page Industries. Elizabeth climbed out hesitantly. “Do I just go to the same room I went to before the photoshoot?”
“Yes. Tim should be waiting for you. If you get lost, just give me a call.” Gathering her nerves, she waved goodbye to him and scampered inside to find Tim.
A smirk found its way across his face. It definitely wasn’t terrible to watch her walk away. Her hips swung in a mesmerizing fashion. He let out a slow whistle to himself as she disappeared inside the building. Bringing his attention back to the task at hand, Derrick set his course for the hospital.