LAUREN

 

Derek was waiting on the doorstep with his overnight bag when I arrived home. It was the same bag that was packed and ready to go when he left. We easily fell back into the old routine. While I cooked a simple dinner, he watched TV. I joined him on the couch after I had done the dishes, and he slipped his arm around me. It felt right. And wrong. His arm felt like it had always been there, but it just didn’t fit anymore.

I managed to keep my thoughts from Gabe, but in the process, they wound up thinking of the lying-man-stealing-bitch and wondering just how much he had shared with her. Did they talk about me? Did he sit, just like this, with his arm around her while they watched TV in their apartment? What was she doing now? Did she know he had come back to me? And then I started thinking of Gabe, and Haleigh’s hands all over him. I imagined ripping her hands away and replacing them with mine.

The programme ended and I looked up to find Derek staring at me. “Where were you?” he asked.

“What to do mean?”

“It looked as though you were miles away.”

He smiled softly and I leaned into him a little more. “I wasn’t anywhere other than right here.”

Leaning over, he planted a kiss on my head, inhaling my scent. “I missed this smell.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and pushed away the sharp questions that kept blistering on my tongue. “It’s just shampoo.”

The DVD cover left on the table caught his attention. “Zombies?” he asked. “I didn’t pick you for a zombie lover.”

I laughed nervously and pushed the cover away. “Someone at work suggested it.”

“Did she not know that you only watch reality shows?”

I laughed again but didn’t correct him.

After a few awkward moments of silence when we both pretended to be interested in the ads flashing across the screen, Derek spoke. “Shall we go to bed?”

I looked at the clock. It was nine thirty. “It’s a little early, isn’t it?”

Derek stood up and held his hands out. “I’m at the gym early six days a week.” He pulled me to my feet. “You should come with me sometime.”

I laughed. “Yeah, good luck with that.”

“It would do you good to get some exercise back in your life.”

“Oh, so a few gym sessions and you’re Mr Well-Life? Don’t forget I knew you back in the day when walking from the couch to the fridge was all the exercise you got.”

“Not anymore, my dear,” he called as he walked down the hall.

We undressed, smiling awkwardly at each other. He stepped out of his clothes and left them where they lay while I folded each clean item and put it away, before tossing the dirty ones into the clothing bin. Derek stripped down and I noticed he was wearing jockeys instead of boxers like he used to. He looked good. His shoulders were broader, his stomach smaller and tighter. And then I wondered if the jockeys were the lying-man-stealing-bitch’s preference.

I blocked out all thoughts and pulled my night shirt out of the drawers.

“Don’t,” Derek said, climbing into bed. “Please?”

Shyly, I put the shirt away and lay in bed beside him with only my bra and underpants on. We weren’t touching, but somehow, I was nervous. Would things be different? Would he be different?

Derek moved closer and reached out to stroke my breast. “I’ve missed these too.” His fingers dug into my flesh and I squirmed. “Sorry,” he chuckled. “I guess I’m just a little eager. It’s been a while.”

There it was again. It’s been a while. A while since he had slept with anyone, or simply a while since he had slept with me? He pawed at me again, and I resisted the urge to crawl away. I needed to relax. I needed to get all other thoughts out of my mind and concentrate on Derek.

Propping himself up on his elbow, he leaned in for a kiss. “I’ve missed your lips,” he whispered.

Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! The words echoed around my head. Did it not occur to him that there was only one reason why he had missed all these things? 

He sucked on my neck and I tried to melt into it. Moving so he was on top of me, he pressed his erection against my stomach. “Something else missed you too,” he said, grinning.

Really? Wasn’t it otherwise occupied?

Derek reached over to grab a condom from the pocket of his jeans and I wondered how long he had carried condoms in his pocket.

I needed to get out of my head. I thought about getting up and grabbing a bottle of wine, but it probably would have been a little rude. Sorry honey, I need to be drunk to fuck you.

Derek was clearly ready to go. I just wished I was. I tried kissing him. I let my tongue slip into his mouth as he tugged at my underwear. I helped him pull them down and he sank into me, only I wasn’t ready and it took a little adjustment before he could move easily. I gripped onto his shoulders and he smiled softly as he moved in and out.

Thoughts of coffee beans ran through my head and I hooked my legs around his, pulling him closer to me and causing him to grunt with each thrust. Removing himself he started to slide down my body, positioning his mouth between my legs but I pulled him back up. “Not tonight,” I said as alluringly as I could muster. “Tonight it’s just about you.”

As his movements grew quicker, I grabbed his backside and dug my fingernails in with full knowledge of what it did to him. Crying out, he shuddered as he came.

* * *

Derek’s alarm sounded at five in the morning. Rolling over, he kissed my cheek. “Morning.” I grunted and turned away but he pulled me back. “Come to the gym with me,” he said, tapping my nose repeatedly.

I swatted his hand and tried to pull away. Reaching out, he turned on the light and I buried my head under the covers. “It’s not morning,” I groaned.

He ripped the sheets off, letting the cool air flow over my skin which immediately prickled with goose bumps. “Come to the gym with me,” he said again and started jiggling the bed.

“It’s still night.” I squeezed my eyes shut to block out the bright light but he was insistent. “Fine,” I finally growled.

He smiled and pecked a kiss on the tip of my nose. “It’s a new day,” he said.

“Since when did you become so peppy?” Crawling out of bed, I made my way to the ensuite. I tried to wake myself with a shower but the water did nothing but lull me back to a warm place, and all too soon, Derek poked his head onto the bathroom.

“Come on,” he urged. “Let’s go.”

I stumbled out of the shower, pulled on my jogging pants and an old hoodie and followed him out to the car. He slapped my backside as I climbed into the Beemer.

“You’re wearing those?” he asked.

“We’re going to a gym, aren’t we?”

“Hmmm,” he said getting in the driver’s side and turning over the engine.

“Hmmm, what?” I asked, glaring at him.

He laughed at my stern expression. “Hmmm, nothing. I didn’t say a word.”

The gym was basically a garage behind someone’s house. It was dirty and cold. Derek introduced me to his trainer, Evan, and started warming up by skipping.

“Going to join in today, love?” Evan asked.

I looked over to where Derek was jumping up and down repeatedly, his shirt flapping with the movement, and shook my head. I could only imagine what my jiggle would look like while doing that. “Think I’ll sit this one out and just watch.”

I wrapped my arms around myself and rubbed vigorously, trying to get rid of the coldness that had seeped into my bones.

“A week today!” Evan shouted in Derek’s ear as he skipped. “Are you ready?”

“Hell yeah!” Derek growled. I laughed as he looked over and winked at me. This was definitely a new side to Derek.

By the time they had finished, Derek was drenched with sweat. Even though they were only training, Evan insisted he wear full protection to get a feel for how he would need to move on the night, and his dark hair was plastered to his head from being trapped under it. Derek spat his mouth guard onto the ground when Evan slapped him on the back, congratulating him on the effort he had put in. I was impressed. I had never seen Derek fight and his punches seem strong and sure. Maybe not as strong and sure as Gabe’s had been the time I saw him at a punching bag, but still good. Evan left him standing in the ring, leaning on the ropes and panting, telling him he would see him bright and early Monday morning.

“That fat prick Hofstadter doesn’t stand a chance,” Derek said, rubbing a towel over the back of his neck and head, wiping away the dripping sweat. “Just you wait, lugging all that extra weight around means he’ll be slow. I’ll knock him out flat, just you wait and see.”

“Fat doesn’t always mean slow,” I said, still smarting from his non-remark concerning my jogging pants.

“Really,” he smirked. “Do tell me what it means then, my dearest.” He pulled up the ropes and slipped under them to join me back down on the cold concrete.

“Fat could mean strong,” I suggested. Derek picked me up and whirled me around. “Put me down! You’re all sweaty.”

He laughed and pulled me tighter, planting a sloppy kiss on my mouth. “It’s going to be great seeing that smirk wiped off his face.” He placed me back on my feet but still held onto me, grabbing my behind and jerking me close. He ground against me a few times until I felt him harden. “You just wait and see,” he growled in my ear, rubbing his mouth over my skin.

“Derek,” I said warily, trying to pull away. But he held me tight. “Not here,” I said, tugging at his arms and looking around for any sign of Evan.

“Why not? Evan’s gone now and I’m rather worked up.”

I slapped his shoulder. “What’s gotten into you?” Derek never used to be this adventurous. He was strictly a bedroom only man. A ripple of excitement tingled down deep, but it was quickly followed by the cold sensation of realising what would have made him that way.

Releasing me, Derek walked over to where Evan had left the door open behind him, shutting it and pulling the lock across.

“Are you sure he’s left,” I asked.

“There’s no one here but you and me.”

Pulling me close, he assaulted me with his lips. He tasted of salt and sweat. Reaching down, he slipped his hand into my pants and his fingers rubbed against me as we kissed. The thrill of the unknown meant, despite my hesitation, I was ready. Hastily, Derek turned me around and guided my hands to the rope of the ring. Roughly tugging down my pants, he entered me. He was rough and fast and reached a climax quickly, pulling up my pants, and slapping my butt, in what seemed like a matter of seconds.

“Maybe I like those pants after all,” he said.