“I take it very seriously,” she replies, making me chuckle. She slurs the s’s on the word. Fucking adorable.
We pick out a story, and I settle beside her bed, reading to her while she looks over my shoulder, her little hand moves toward my head, and her fingers rub my earlobe. I smile at the move and let her do what she needs.
Halfway through, she’s asleep, her head resting on my shoulder like a puppy would. I keep reading, ensuring she’s fully asleep before I move her onto her pillow and turn out the light. An automatic nightlight comes on when I do, and I smile at the little girl who’s completely passed out in her bed.
I head into the hall and back to the couch to wait for Elizabeth. I wish I was the one on a date with her right now, but I have to admit that I’m not complaining about my night.
Aurora was good fun, and I felt oddly responsible tonight after taking care of her.
I’m still thinking about it when my eyes droop shut.
Chapter Nine
“What if the man you were supposed to fall in love with is the worst kisser of your life? Man, that would be heartbreaking.” - Molly
ELIZABETH
Well, I didn’t expect the night to end that soon.
Trip is… well, he’s exactly what I expected him to be. Tall, dark, handsome, and completely self-important.
I spent the entire night chanting to myself about how I was just using this poor, clueless man to have a fun night out. How it didn’t matter much what came out of his mouth, because I wasn’t in this for the intellectual conversation but for the benefit of the “after” portion of the date.
Now, I wish I hadn’t wasted time on getting ready for it at all.
Trip was the type of person who would bore you to death with facts about himself and work that I would have ratherjammed a fork in my hand and claimed a medical emergency than sleep with him.
When he walked me to my car, I did let him kiss me.
And… he was okay.
Nothing that spectacular that I would be able to stomach more of his conversation with me to get to the good stuff.
I lock my car and walk up the sidewalk to the apartment. Hattie is still out for the night, and given that it’s barely ten, I don’t expect her for a few more hours.
Quietly, I let myself in, looking for signs of Derek anywhere. There’s a pesky little butterfly in my stomach at the thought of seeing him, but I bat it away. There is nothing I can do about him not liking me, but allowing myself to continue this crush is only going to get me hurt.
When I step into the living room, I see him.
He’s sitting up, his head lolling against the back of the couch, sound asleep. There are soft snores coming from him, and I smile at the sight of it.
God, he is handsome.
It’s not a modern-day type of handsome, it’s this rugged old-school handsome. He looks like he belongs in an Indiana Jones movie. He’s got a sharp, masculine face, longish sandy brown hair, curved eyebrows, and aprominent Adam’s apple. There is a five o’clock shadow on his face that makes me want to run my fingers over the stubble, to feel the roughness under my palm.
His shoulders are wide, and when he stands, he’s at least a few inches taller than me, putting him over six feet. I can’t deny that I have a thorough crush on this man sitting on my couch.
I shake my head.Damn. Get over it, Birdie. It’s never going to happen.
Quietly setting down my bag on the table and kicking off my heels, I make my way down the hallway to check on Aurora. Her little nightlight is on, and she’s sound asleep in bed. It looks like Derek did everything perfectly, and I smile at the thought of them hanging out tonight.
Several times during the evening, I had wished that instead of being on a date, I had been here with Derek and her.
But if I wasn’t on the date, then I wouldn’t have seen Derek at all.
I sigh and make my way back to the couch. I sit gingerly on the cushion next to him and watch him for longer than is considered normal, then I lightly touch his hand with mine. “Derek.”
He doesn’t stir, so I grip his hand tighter and give it a squeeze. “Derek, hey, I’m home.”
