“Where are you going?”
He shook his head and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
“I just wanted a smoke.” He sniffled and then gave me an odd look. I paused with my hand on the door handle.
“What?”
“You reek of men’s cologne.” His eyes widened and he began wiggling his eyebrows. “Was tonight the night?”
I rolled my eyes.
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, you know.” He made kissing noises in between puffs. “You might want to shower. Mark is going to smell that.”
“He knows I have to kiss someone,” I defended but Derek shook his head.
“Yeah, but you smelling like him, that’s like tossing it in his face. How is it, by the way? Is it weird?” I crossed my arms.
“It is,” I confessed.
“Just don’t do what Cleo did.” He pointed his cigarette at me and looked at me sternly. I smiled, but it fell when his expression didn’t change.
“What did she do?” He gave me a blank look.
“We did the song with Cruel Distraction and they hooked up in real life while pretending they were just doing it for the show. I mean, do what you want, I guess. It worked out in the end for them. But that was different. Ignore all that, I’m starting to confuse myself.” He finished his cigarette and flicked it out of his hand and onto the ground, stomping it out with his shoe. Looking up at me he shook his head.
“Just don’t cheat on my man. You two are good together, and you shouldn’t let some old boyfriend get in the way of that. Some people aren’t meant to have that second chance. You got it right with Mark. Mark's crazy over you.”
I felt my lips start to tremble. My eyes began to water. Derek could see it from the porch light and his hard expression softened.
“Aw, don’t start that,” he said, pulling me into a hug. “You know we are all crazy over you too. I can’t lose you just as much as Mark can’t.” I sniffled and he squeezed me a little tighter. Finally, he pulled away and when I looked at him, he grabbed the door handle and tilted his head.
“We should probably go in before they start thinking I’m the one you’ve been sucking face with,” he teased. I gave him a half smile as I wiped my face.
As soon as I got in the house, I stopped in the living room. Mark was up, as was everyone else. Mark turned and his face lit up.
“Hey babe, how was rehearsal?” I was hesitant but chose to go sit with him for a moment. I gave him a gentle, awkward hug, avoiding his shoulder. He went to kiss me and scrunched up his nose. He looked at me and then the realization hit him.
“Can I go shower?” I asked meekly. He didn’t say anything for a moment and then his face broke into a smile. He leaned forward to plant a quick kiss on my lips.
“Please.” I laughed and thanked him. I excused myself and as I was heading up the stairs I smiled when I heard him yelling at me.
“You wanna brush your teeth and use some mouthwash too?”
