"You dirty, dirty girl," Derrick announces.
I shrug. "I saw the twinkle in your eyes, too. Don't even make out like it was just me."
He chuckles.
"How are you feeling?" Alex asks.
I chew and swallow the bacon. "I'm okay. It'll take a bit for me to be sure if the food won't make a reappearance."
Alex nods. "That fucker put something in your drink when you turned to talk to Derrick."
I look down at my plate, running my finger along the edge. I feel so stupid. Foolish. I know better than to look away from my drink.
"Hey," Derrick says and I look up at him. He leans forward on the other side of the island so he can grab my hand. "It wasn't your fault."
"Maybe, but I know better than that."
He nods. "You do, but I distracted you."
"And that's all the time he needed. If you hadn't stayed…" I break off.
"Don't think about it. It didn't happen. It won't ever happen again if I have anything to do with it."
I squeeze his hand. "Thank you. For being there and for taking care of me. How bad was Shannon?"
Mark turns off the stove and sets the plates of food out. Scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. Lots of each. "She was pretty wasted, but she said she knew the guy she was leaving with."
I nod. "I saw her with Aaron. They're on again and off again."
"Hmm," Mark says absently. "We've been texting. She went home alone. Levi stayed over. He threatened to come get you if I didn't keep them updated."
I smile. "That's Levi. He's a good guy."
"Boyfriend material?" Alex asks.
I laugh. "Uh, no. Just gay bestie material."
Alex's brows go up. "No shit? He didn't seem the type."
I roll my eyes. "You can't stereotype them all, Alex. That's rude."
"Yeah, Alex," Mark prods.
"Really, Alex," Derrick chides, shaking his head.
He looks at Mark and Derrick. "Oh, fuck you guys. You knew!"
They both laugh.
Derrick takes a sip of his coffee. "Shannon mentioned it."
"Shannon's mentioned a lot of things, hasn't she, Mark?" Alex questions.
Mark nods. "A whole lot of things."
Oh, dear Lord. "What kinds of things?"
Derrick runs his tongue across his white teeth. Damn him. "Oh, you know. Just a little of this, and a little of that."
