Lies, Lies And More Lies✔️

69: Sunlight

"I wanted to make today special for you. It's been a crazy week after all." He said as he pulled out a chair for me. I thanked him and settled down before proceeding to see what we were having for lunch.

"Oh, nice. Did you make these?" I asked as I opened the tray of seasoned catfish.

"I ordered them actually. They're supposed to be the best seafood restaurant in Lagos but I guess we'll be the judge of that." Derrek said as he took off the lid of another tray, revealing a prawn dish.

"Are you worried that they might be better than yours?" I smirked at him and he scoffed.

"Not in the slightest. My culinary skills are pretty tough to beat." He said proudly.

"I don't know!" I dragged in a sing-song voice. "These look pretty tasty!"

"My peppered catfish is better, trust me."

"I'll have to taste it to believe it."

"You're just trying to get me to cook for you again, aren't you?"

"Actually, I'm in need of a personal chef. Many have applied for the position and let me tell you, I've had exquisite dishes from top chefs all over the globe, however, I'm willing to let you try out for the role." I joked and he laughed hard.

"Thank you, madame, for even considering me for the job of a lifetime." He gave a bow of his head and I laughed. "However, I feel less than worthy to even serve you a glass of water, talk less of preparing an entire meal for her royal majesty. I wouldn't dream of it." His English accent became even more pronounced. He sounded like Prince Arthur from the BBC series Merlin.

I frowned as he said this and my expression seemed to crack him up.

"Surely, there are people much more qualified than myself to prepare your daily dishes. I really am not worthy-"

"You're so annoying!" I scoffed at him. "If you don't want to cook for me just say so! Which one is 'I'm not worthy'."

"Of course I'll cook for you. I was just kidding around." Derrek continued to laugh.

"Forget it. I don't want your food." I feigned annoyance as I picked up a fork and jabbed it into the catfish as I scowled at Derrek and he laughed harder, causing my lips to tug upwards in a smile. Why was he so cute?

After lunch, we proceeded to enjoy the sights, admiring God's beautiful work before us. The sea was so beautiful and the blue sky was even more beautiful. It was filled with fluffy looking white clouds that made me want to grab a fist full and stuff it in my mouth.

"Thanks for bringing me out here, Derrek. I really needed this." I turned to face him and he smiled, briefly glancing at me before turning back to the sea.

"You're welcome, fluffy." Derrek said and I groaned in remembrance of our last time here.

"Derrek, come on." I rolled my eyes dramatically.

"What? I think it's a cute name for you, like a bunny." He cooed, pinching my cheeks.

"First of all, ouch!" I slapped his hands off my face. "Secondly, Nigerian girls don't appreciate being called bunnies."

"Well, I've got to call you something."

"Uh, I've got a name for a reason." I pointed out and he shook his head. "It's called Tiara, remember?"

"Everyone calls you, Tiara. I want to call you something else." He pouted like a little kid and I chuckled.

"Why? Are you my boyfriend?" I blurted out before I could realize it. "Uh, what I mean is-"

"Do you want me to be your boyfriend?" Derrek asked before I could finish speaking and I froze. My heart began to pound in my chest as Derrek's words rang in my ears. How was I supposed to respond to that? A yes? A no?

Suddenly, a voice in my head reminded me of everything Derrek had done wrong and how hurt I was because of him, then, all of the sparkly feelings disappeared, leaving only fear and uncertainty in my mind.

What was I doing? I couldn't just give in to him that easily. I had kissed him first and may have mislead him with that and that was my mistake. I needed to hear him say how much he cared about me and I needed to see it too before I was ready to start something with him. Or should I have given him the benefit of the doubt like my heart wanted me to?

"I'm sorry. That came out wrong." Derrek said almost immediately after and I looked up at him. "This is probably not the best time to say this with everything that's going on but, um, I really-"

He took my hand in his and brushed his thumb over my knuckles a couple of times, sending jolts of electricity through my skin. He glanced into my eyes with his sincere looking ones.

"I know I've wronged you in the past and I know it's going to take sometime for you to trust me even the least bit but I'm going to try very hard to be someone you can trust, someone you can rely on, someone who would always be there for you whether you need me, want me or not."

I could hear the sincerity in Derrek's words as he spoke and I focused on every word he spoke. He took in a deep breath before speaking again.

"Slowly but surely, I want to know you, every bit of you. I want to know the things that make you happy, I want to know the things that make you cry, I want to know the things that make you angry and I want to know the things that irritate you. I want to tell you honestly how I feel about you in every moment of everyday, I want to hear you laugh and I want to see your beautiful smile. I want to hold you in my arms and I never want to let you go again because I almost lost you once and I was too much of a coward to tell you how I cared about you. I know I would have to work very hard to even be half the man you deserve, Tiara, because you deserve so much joy and love."

Derrek took my hand up to his lips and pressed a kiss to my knuckles before glancing back at me. I felt like I was loosing my breath. I had waited so long to hear a confession from Derrek and it was finally happening. It felt like a dream and I was excited but also afraid at the same time.

"I'm just an idiot who really, really likes you, Tiara. I am falling in love with you, deeply and I don't want to ruin my chances of being with you, so, I want to do everything right by you. I'm not asking for a chance to be your man just yet, I'm asking for a chance to prove myself worthy of being someone who you would let love you."

Derrek concluded and I stood there, too stunned to speak. What did one say to something like that?

"Okay." Was the only word that could leave my lips. I had tried to think of a more worded answer but I couldn't seem to think.

With a kiss to the forehead, Derrek let go of me and turned towards the sea.

A part of me wanted to take his hand and tell him that I had been in love with him for a long time and that I didn't want to wait any longer, that I wanted to be with him but another part of me was hesitant. I needed to know that I could fully trust Derrek and that he wasn't playing a game with me again. I interlaced my fingers in front of me and turned to the sea as well. Only time could tell if Derrek really meant what he had said but I was willing to wait and find out.

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This is long overdue. I'll try to update within the week.

What do you guys think about Derrek's proposal?