“Nope.” Derrick grinned and put his hands behind his head, elbows angled out comfortably. “Single as they come.”
Sam’s face darkened slightly.
“What schedule do they have you on right now? I can’t guess that’s easy, taking care of your sister and working full-time.”
Oh, Sam. Just stop. Please. For all our sakes.
“It’s actually not bad. I work night shift right now, which means I get home in time to spend time with Jade and Jessie. Then when my parents get back from work, I sleep until it’s time to leave again.”
“That doesn’t seem like a lot of sleep,” Sam said.
Derrick shrugged. “Six or seven hours a night, and sometimes a nap in-between. It’s not ideal but doable. And I wouldn’t give up these days for anything.”
I waved the waitress down. “We’re ready to order now.”
The waitress took our orders and brought our drinks, but much to my chagrin, the men started right where they’d left off as soon as she was gone.
“So you and Jessie have had quite a bit of time this summer to get to know each other,” Sam said a little too casually. Where was he going with this?
Derrick nodded. “We have.”
“Has she shown you her list?” Sam paused. “The dating one?”
I wanted to sink into the bench and just melt into the aquifer beneath it. Or any underground river that was willing to take me away.
“What do you guys want to drink?” Madison asked in a loud voice. “I want something with salt on the rim.”
“She has.” The smile didn’t move from Derrick’s face. “It’s quite a list. No airmen. No huge debt, no smoking.” His eyes glinted dangerously. “Not making a move.”
Sam’s face reddened as Derrick stood and went over to talk to the band’s pianist, and Sam took a fierce bite from a breadstick. While Derrick was up, my phone buzzed. I looked down to see a text from Madison.
You have some splaining to do.
I groaned quietly as Derrick walked back. But instead of sitting down, he held his hand out to me.
“Wanna dance?”
Did I? Yes, actually. Yes, I did. I wanted this handsome man to take me dancing. For once, I wanted to have fun…and maybe even flirt a little. I wanted to chuck that rule about airmen right out the window.
Also, I desperately needed to get away from that table.
I could feel Sam’s eyes burning a hole in my back as I took Derrick’s outstretched hand. I was doing it. I was going to dance with Derrick Allen. But as I stood, I heard Sam’s voice.
“What are you doing?”
Guilt flooded me, but before I could answer, Derrick leaned forward and winked.
“Making a move.” Then he pulled me toward the little space that had been cleared right in front of the band, where he put one hand on the small of my back and took my hand with the other.
If my mind hadn’t already been spinning in circles, it was going into overdrive now. I had to take back some control of the scene.
“That was—”
“Smooth?” He wriggled his eyebrows.
“Unnecessary. This isn’t a war.”
“Really?” He stared down at me, and I did my best not to be captured by those startling eyes. “Are you sure about that?”
