Once they had everything settled, Derek found a few bottles of wine and a six-pack of his favorite beer already chilled in the refrigerator.
“Thank you, Mom.”
Having made their way to the back deck, the two sat in the wooden lounge chairs, their legs stretched out in front of them as they overlooked the quiet waters of the Gulf.
After several minutes of peaceful silence, Charlie turned her head to face him and stated, “You were wrong, you know.”
Derek swallowed a sip of his beer and looked back at her quizzically. “About?”
She smiled. “I feel like Ihavegone back in time. First, the visit with your parents. Now, this.” Charlie’s beautiful eyes glistened in the moonlight as they returned their focus to the beach.
Several minutes passed before he heard her soft voice again.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything.”
Charlie played with the thin rim of her glass. “Why are you doing all of this?”
“This?”
She carefully set her glass on the table between them and stood from the chair. With her arms crossed in front of her, she allowed a little bite to come through in her voice. Oddly, Derek liked hearing it.
“Yes, this. First, you come into my hotel room, which, by the way, you have yet to tell me how you got in. Afterward, you take me to your house and make your friend come over to check on me. Then, this morning I mentioned coming back home and you bring me to your parents’ house and then here.”
Derek raised a brow. “Your point?”
“Mypointis, it’s been over ten years, Derek. We don’t even really know each other anymore, yet, you still dropped everything to help me. I’m just confused as to why. I mean...what do you get out of all of this?”
Setting his bottle down next to her glass, Derek got up and stood a few inches in front of her.
“That’s a lot of things runnin’ around in that brain of yours, so let’s get you un-confused, shall we? One, I already explained that I went to your hotel room because I was worried about you. As for how I got inside”—he gave her a smirk and a wink—“that’s all just tricks of the trade.”
He’d used a plastic keycard embedded with a specialized chip. The program he’d designed enabled the card to read and unlock any electronic hotel elevator or door.
“Next, I took you to my house because there was no way in this goddamn world I was going to leave you there, alone and hurt, just waitin’ for that prick of a husband of yours to come back. And Jake and Olivia came to help because that’s what friends do. As for today, I brought you to my folks’ and then here because, and don’t take offense to this, I figured you had nowhere else to go, and I thought you’d feel safe here.”
Derek moved in closer, his voice softening a bit. “Most importantly, I don’t give two fucks how long it’s been. I do know you. And you know me, too. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come here with me.”
Taking a chance, Derek slowly raised his hand and placed his palm over her pounding heart. Ignoring the current penetrating his fingers, he locked his eyes with hers.
“The Charlie I knew from all those years ago is still in there, somewhere. She just needs to find her way out again.”
A tear escaped from the corner of her eye. The thin, silver streak shimmering in the moonlight as it fell down over her soft skin.
“I don’t know if she can,” Charlie whispered softly, her bottom lip began to quiver.
She’s breaking my heart.
Moving his hand upward, Derek cupped the side of her face. “She can, and she will,” he said with confidence he knew she didn’t feel. “Sweetheart, you just have to give it some time.”
Her eyes remained locked with his for a few more seconds before Charlie backed away from his touch.
“It’s been a long day. I should probably go to bed.”
Ignoring the disappointment he felt, Derek smiled down at her. “Okay.” When she made a move to grab her glass he said, “I’ll get it.”
“Thanks,” she whispered back. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
