Until the words passed my lips, I expected them, but as soon as they were out, I knew that without a doubt, they were true. Intertwining our fingers, I relaxed, tipping my head back against the headrest and letting my eyes drift closed. It no longer mattered where he was taking me. I wasn’t worried. Derek wouldn’t hurt me. Not now. Not ever.
I must have been more tired than I realized, because ten minutes later, Derek was opening my door, shaking me awake. “Mia, come on, sweetheart. Rise and shine, sweetheart.”
My eyes flickered open slowly, and the first image they settled on was Derek’s beautiful eyes. It was a sight I could get used to waking up to each morning?a thought that broken through my sleepy haze instantly. It was too early for that. Way too early.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean…”
With a smirk, Derek didn’t miss a beat, “Don’t even worry about it. You didn’t miss a thing. You ready to head out?”
Nodding, I accepted Derek’s hand as he helped me down, and shut the door behind me before wrapping his arm around my waist. It felt incredibly intimate, but at the same time strangely perfect. As he led me down the path, I realized how many people were headed in the same direction. Seamlessly we fell in step with the swell of people. I didn’t want to, but I found myself snuggling closer to Derek the thicker the crowd got. If he noticed at all, he was enough of a gentleman to stay alert. Something I’d thank him for later.
When we reached a gate, he handed over our tickets and we were waved through without hesitation and led into the VIP section.
“Okay, now can you tell me what this place is?”
Spread out before me were picnic blankets as far as I could see, filled mainly with adults. The scent of pizza and popcorn hung heavily in the air and my stomach groaned appreciatively. Derek stopped us when we made it to a huge double bean bag, which in all fairness, could have seated a family of five.
“This is something new they’re trialling. Open air cinema.”
“Oh. I’ve heard about this. It’s a pretty cool set up.”
“You were expecting…?”
“Not really sure,” I answered honestly.
When the girls at work had been talking about a girl’s night here they hadn’t made it sound at all appealing. I mean sitting on the grass having ants bite my ass while I battled flies for my pizza and then hoping for the right weather just so I could watch some corny chick flick didn’t really do anything for me. But this, this was different. Or maybe it was the company that made it different.
Derek gestured for me to sit, and as soon as I did I knew I wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon. I sunk into the bean bag and knew there was no way in hell I’d be able to climb out in a ladylike fashion. Internally I bitched at Zoe for not giving me more warning. I could have worn jeans and been less self-conscious at the amount of leg I was flashing about, but I’d make do. When Derek flopped down beside me I bounced up, almost ending up in his lap.
When his deep, rumbling laughter subsided, he said, “Well, I’ll admit, that was unexpected. Not that I’m objecting at all, it’s just…unexpected.”
“You’re such a…”
“Such a what?” he dared.
“Such a guy.”
“That I am, Mia. That I am.”
I watched as he dug through the bag of goodies I hadn’t even noticed he’d carried in and pulled out a blanket before spreading it over my legs thoughtfully. “This might make you more comfortable.”
If it was at all possible for my jaw to unhinge itself and hit the floor, then that’s the moment it would have happened. Right then. Blinking up at him, I don’t know what came over me, but I leaned in and pressed my lips against his.
