A loud knock on my door jolted me awake. I threw on a hoodie and ran to answer the door. I looked through the peephole to see a man I didn't recognize.
I opened the door a little so I could see him better.
"Alexandra Mills?" He asked cheerfully.
I nodded. He lifted up a bouquet of blue lilies and handed them to me.
"Delivery for you ma'am, have a lovely day!" He said with a smile and left.
I closed my door and looked at the bouquet in confusion. Who the hell sends flowers to someone on a Sunday? I took the card out of the bouquet and opened it.
"For my sweet peaches. Love, Deri."
I sighed, I guess he did get the wrong idea from my text. I heard my phone go off in my room and went to get it. To no surprise, it was Derek.
Derek: "Do you like them?"
Alex: "You remembered my favorite flower?"
D: "Of course."
A: "They're beautiful, thank you."
D: "Have a lovely day peaches."
A: "You too, Derek."
I appreciated the sentiment of the flowers. But I felt like he was trying to jump back into a relationship too fast. I just wasn't ready for that yet.
When Maddie woke up we went over my grandparents will and legal documents. I helped her move what little furniture she brought with her back to her old apartment. Luckily her old bed was still in her apartment so she didn't need my spare one.
"Sooooo, who are the flowers from?" Maddie asked, a grin spread across her face.
"They're from Derek." I admitted.
"See Alex? He never stopped loving you. He even remembered your favorite flower! You have to at least give him a chance." Maddie said, trying to encourage me.
"I don't know if I'm ready." I whispered, crossing my arms.
"It's not like you're going to live with the guy-"
I looked away from her and up at the ceiling.
"OH MY GOD! YOU ARE!?" She squealed like a little kid.
"He doesn't have anywhere to go and I have the extra room now." I said, defensively.
She laughed loudly, "I give it a week tops and he'll be sleeping in your bed. You'll be back to fucking each other before that."
"MADDIE!" I gasped, slapping her arm lightly. "I still don't trust him 100%. This is just a trial run."
Maddie gave me a look, "HA! You weren't looking for a boyfriend last summer either. But Derek quickly changed your mind about that too."
She was right, I didn't want a boyfriend last summer. But within a few days, Derek had changed my mind. What if he tried to do it again? Would I be able to hold my ground?
"Anyway, I'm going to meet up with Jay." Maddie said cheerfully.
"It's not Jason from last summer is it?" I asked.
Maddie laughed, "God no, I haven't spoken to him since that summer. See you later, Alex!"
I waved to her as she left. She didn't have the door all the way closed when I heard her speak again. I couldn't really pick out what she was saying, though. I walked over to the door and she pushed it back open.
"Alex, you have a visitor." She said in a sultry voice.
I looked around the door to see Derek standing there. He smiled when he saw me.
"Hey, Derek. What are you doing here?" I asked confused.
"Bye lovebirds." Maddie said, darting down the hall.
"MADDIE!" I snapped after her. She just giggled as she ran away.
"I'm so sorry about her. Did you want to come in?" I asked, trying to hide my embarrassment.
"Lovebirds, huh?" He said with a grin.
I felt the blood rush to my face. I knew for sure I was blushing now.
"D-Dont mind Maddie. She just likes to mess with people." I said walking past him to the kitchen. "You want something to drink?"
"A glass of water, if you don't mind."
I turned on the tap and grabbed a glass from the cupboard. I started filling the glass, then turned to see where Derek was. I gasped when I saw how close he was. I backed myself against the counter, he placed his hands on the counter on either side of me.
"Are you okay peaches? You seem tense." He said softly.
"I, um.. I'm fine." I choked out. I cursed internally at how flustered I sounded.
A grin spread across his face, and he looked me dead in the eyes. "Are you wet?"
My eyes went wide, "WHAT! Why would you-"
Derek pointed to the sink. The glass I was filling was overflowing. The sleeve of my hoodie was soaked.
"I think that glass is full." He chuckled, moving away from me.
"Fuck." I said, quickly shutting the tap off.
I poured a little bit of water out of the glass and wiped it off. I handed the glass to Derek and sat across from him.
"So, did you want to go to the bedroom?" I asked.
Derek raised an eyebrow at me and grinned.
"Fuck, no I mean. Not my room, the spare room. To look at, not do anything. I'm going to shut up now." I groaned, putting my head down on the table.
Derek began laughing uncontrollably. It's a good thing he finished his glass a water or he would have spit it everywhere. "You sure Maddie isn't messing with your head, not mine?"
I turned my head slightly to look at him. "Of course she's messing with my head. You're too calm and collected to fall for her mind games."
He smiled, "I'll take that as a compliment. I'll check the room out myself."
Derek got up and went into the spare room. I smacked my head on the table lightly a few times. I felt so embarrassed and stupid. I should have known Maddie would try something to get me to embarrass myself.
"So, how's the internet here?" Derek said, sitting back down.
I lifted my head up off the table and stared at him for a second. "It's pretty fast actually. You're still doing computer stuff?"
He chuckled, "programming peaches. Yes, I still do that. Are you sure this is okay? I don't want to impose on you."
I shook my head. "No, no. It's fine, really."
He nodded, but said nothing. He pulled his wallet out of this pocket and grabbed a stack of bills from inside.
"This enough for 6 months?" He said, handing me the stack of bills.
My eyes widened in shock, I stared down at the bills then back up at him. "Ah, yeah. Plus my bills too. You don't have to give me that much."
He put his hand up to silence me, "After everything I've done to you the last few months, the least I can do is cover everything for you."
We both went quiet. In a way, I understood where he was coming from. He was trying to atone for all the things he'd done. I knew there was no point in arguing. I took the money and tucked it away in my purse.
"Thank you." I said, mumbling a little.
"I'll wait until Monday to move in. That way I won't bother you too much." He said, standing up.
"Oh okay, take the spare key then. I'll be in class Monday." I said, pointing to the spare keys by the door.
"Thanks peaches, I really appreciate this." Derek said.
He crossed the table to stand next to me, then placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. He waved goodbye and quickly disappeared out the door. I let out a deep breath and slouched back in the chair. There was never a dull moment in my life, that was for sure.
~☆~
The library was quiet, the majority of students had left campus for the day. But I still had a few assignments to catch up on. I sighed in frustration as I flipped back and forth between Maddie's notes. Fuck her writing had become terrible.
"Alex?"
I looked up to see Mr. Gardner.
"Hey Nick." I said, returning my attention back to what I was doing.
"What are you still doing here?" He asked.
"Trying to read Maddie's chicken scratch." I closed her notebook and cradled my head in my hands.
"I have a copy of the notes in my office you can have." He chuckled.
"Oh my god thank you, you're a life saver." I said throwing my books into my bag.
I followed him back to the English building. We went inside his classroom and I followed him inside his office.
"You can come in Alex, I don't bite." He said jokingly.
I walked inside his office and sat on the couch near the door. I tapped my foot anxiously, abruptly stopping when Nick looked at me.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
I nodded a little too enthusiastically. He frowned, sitting next to me on the couch.
"Can I ask you something?" He asked, a serious look on his face. I nodded. "Are you sure you're okay with Derek moving in with you?"
I froze, not prepared for the question.
"I'm sorry, it's none of my business. I just thought that's why you were staying late today." He admitted, standing up to go to his desk.
I sighed, leaning back in the couch. "You're not wrong, Nick."
He stopped rummaging through his desk and looked up at me. I could see the worry laced across his face.
"I just.. I don't know if I can trust him completely yet, you know?" I said, fidgeting with my hands.
Nick sighed, finally finding the papers he was looking for.
"Honestly Alex, I'd think you were crazy if you didn't feel that way." He said with a smirk.
"Ha, ha." I said sarcastically, "thanks for the notes Nick Xavier Gardner."
He laughed, "Nick is fine Alex."
"Well do tell him I said hello then." I said, laughing as well.
~☆~
I stood outside my apartment door, weary of unlocking it. I took a deep breath and shoved the key in the lock.
I was surprised by the delicious aroma that hit me when I opened the door. I looked to the kitchen to see Derek taking a casserole dish out of the oven.
"What are you cooking?" I asked curiously.
"Chicken parmesan." He said, setting the dish down on the counter. "Hope you're hungry."
"Starved." I admitted.
He served up two plates and we sat down at the table. He asked about school and told me about his day. He'd been building a website for some company for the majority of the day.
I helped him clean up after dinner, then excused myself to go shower. I could use a nice hot shower to relax a little. I must have spent at least 20 minutes just letting the water pour over me. I quickly washed my hair and body and got out. I looked around for my hair dryer but couldn't find it. I must have left it in my room.
I cursed when I realized I didn't bring in a change of clothes with me. I wrapped a towel around me tightly and opened the door. I didn't see Derek standing in the hallway and crashed right into him. He wrapped his arms around me, steadying me on my feet. I instinctively grabbed his shoulders at the same time. He wasn't wearing a shirt. My breath hitched in my throat when I looked down at his chiseled chest. Fuck, his body was to die for.
I hadn't realized I was biting my lip. Derek gently pulled down on my bottom lip with his thumb.
"You know how crazy that drives me peaches." He said in a husky voice.
I didn't get the chance to reply. He pushed me against the wall and crashed his lips into mine. His kisses were hungry and urgent. I didn't fight him, I kissed him back with just as much urgency. He pushed his body flush to mine. His hardness pressed against my leg, making me gasp. He took the opportunity to stick his tongue in my mouth. I combed my fingers through his hair, pulling him even closer. A burning heat began to rise between my thighs. I wanted him to take me, right here, right now.
Unfortunately, I had to pull away to breathe. He rested his forehead against mine, our chests rose and fell in tandem. His eyes met mine and he begrudgingly pulled back.
"I'm sorry peaches.. I need a cold shower." He chuckled, moving past me into the bathroom. He turned to look at me and winked before closing the door.
I went to the kitchen and splashed cold water on my face. I stayed there for a minute, letting the water drip off my face.
I tried to shake the haziness from my mind. I went to my room and got dressed for bed. This was only day one of Derek living here and we'd already made out. I was willing to let him take me completely.
I sighed in annoyance. I had to try harder to resist him. No matter how attracted to him I was, or how sexy his body was. Fuck! Why did I think this was a good idea again?
____________________________________________________________________________
Hello my lovely readers! I'm so sorry for the longer gap then usual. I cut my hand at the beginning of July and ended up with 5 stitches. Of course it had to be my dominant hand so I couldn't write for a few weeks. Long story short, don't stick you hand inside of glasses lol.
Thank you all SO much for sticking with me through the long gaps. I appreciate you all so so much and I love you all!
If you liked this chapter comment and/or rate. I'd love to hear from you!
Until next time,
Shadowedeyes