Chapter 28
“Why is the guy always the big spoon?” asked Derek as he readjusted the arm that was going numb from their position. Feeling
slightly uncomfortable was worth holding naked Zoe in his arms. Well, one arm.
“In heterosexual relationships, maybe. But I’m the big spoon when Mr. Bobbins snuggles with me. Though he usually prefers
to sleep on my stomach.” She pulled his arm tighter across her abdomen.
“My nemesis doesn’t count.” He scrunched up his face. His Chucks were still damp thanks to the cat’s “present.”
The orange fluff ball had ruined his plan, but everything had worked out, albeit on a slightly different timeline. He hadn’t
predicted that Zoe would make the first move, which made the end result even better: waking up in his bed together after toe
curling sex from the previous night.
“Stop. He’ll forgive you eventually.” She lightly swatted at his hand in a catlike manner.
“Does that mean I’m allowed back into your apartment?” He kissed her neck and was rewarded with a purr.
“Don’t tell me you’re scared of a fluffy little cat,” she teased. Derek could sense her smirk.
“What if I accidentally kill him? You’ll never talk to me again no matter how great the sex is.”
“You two will have to work things out if we’re going to do this.” She placed her hand on his and intertwined their fingers.
“And what does this mean to you?” His entire body tensed, worried that she might change her mind. Looking for reassurance, he squeezed her fingers.
Zoe rolled over so they were no longer spooning but were now face-to-face. He closed his eyes as she pushed his hair away
from his forehead and readjusted his glasses. She caressed his jaw and kissed him deeply, reassuring him that she cared for
him and everything that she’d told him last night was still true. Whatever tension he’d held earlier dissipated.
He wished he could wake up to her kisses every morning.
“Dating. I guess?” she finally said when they pulled away.
“So we’re officially dating now?” Excitement coursed through his body. He couldn’t wait to tell Th ? o the good news.
“But we haven’t gone on a date yet.” She traced zigzags across his chest.
“That’s a technicality we can fix. Dinner on Saturday? No shop talk.”
“I’d like that. Our first date.” She rubbed a thumb over his nipple until it hardened. His body tingled as he recalled how
she’d kissed his chest last night.
“Does this mean I can’t tell people we’re dating until Saturday?” He was ready for an encore but first he needed to make sure
she was truly certain about their new relationship status.
Zoe bit her lip and she looked away from him. Derek held his breath, waiting for her to panic or run out of the room. He knew
this was too good to be true. Or he’d waited so long for the two of them to happen that he’d given himself unrealistic expectations.
Oh God, he was spiraling while lying naked next to the most beautiful woman in the world.
“Can we keep this between us for now?” she asked tentatively. Worry shadowed her face.
“Z, I’ve wished for this—for us—since freshman year. Now that we’ve finally opened up about our feelings for each other, I
want to shout it out to the world.”
I love you, Zoe, he wanted to add, but he knew that she’d bolt as soon as he said it. Even if he meant it as best friends and now as lovers.
Of course they were lovers. What else could they be after last night?
“I’m excited to explore this new part of our relationship, too, but—”
Derek turned onto his back, putting distance between them without completely pulling away. Everything had been too perfect
last night. He shouldn’t have expected this morning to be all rainbows. That wasn’t fair to Zoe. He’d had plenty of time to
consider her as more than a friend. She’d had, what, a few days?
He rolled back onto his side to face her and mustered a big grin to hide his disappointment.
“You’re embarrassed to tell people that you had the best sex of your life with your best friend?” he half-joked.
“Thank God that chair held up to our rigorous activity.” She laughed. “But does that mean sex goes downhill from here?”
He gasped in mock hurt before adding, “Let’s find out.”
He gave a deep kiss that promised more of what they experienced the previous night. She moaned into his mouth and pressed
her bare breasts against his chest. His morning half-erection had become rock hard.
Zoe pulled away, panting.
“As much as I enjoyed that, I want to finish this conversation first,” she said.
He tamped down his desire and nodded.
“You and I are working on a really important show. I don’t want people to think that I got this job because we’re sleeping together.”
“But we weren’t when I hired—”
“I know that. You know that. But who’s going to believe us?” She shook her head. “Can you imagine the tea when people hear
I’m sleeping with the director?”
“I don’t care what everyone thinks.” His words didn’t ring true to his ears. He did care a tiny bit. Sometimes.
“I wouldn’t either except there are people waiting for me to make a mistake because I’m the least experienced person on your
creative team.” She pressed her lips together.
“You mean Greg.” He frowned. “I have him under control.”
“For now. But what happens after the production closes here and goes to New York?”
“You’re coming with us,” he replied without hesitation. There was no way she’d pass up an opportunity to take the show to
Broadway.
“Derek.” She sighed. “Even if we do take this musical to the city, the DMV is still my home. I have to come back here to run
my shop.”
“Your staff can handle things for a while.”
“I’m not worried about my staff. It’s that DC is a big city with small-town vibes.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Until you dragged me back into theater, I had no idea how much I missed it. I want to design more costumes. Maybe not full time, but on the side.” She smiled and brushed his cheek with her hand.
“Zoe, I’m so excited for you! People won’t know what hit them.”
“That’s just it. If I fuck this up, Greg will make sure I won’t find any more gigs. He knows everyone in the theater scene
here. He could easily get me blacklisted.”
He couldn’t fight her on this. Greg’s influence extended beyond DC. His mentor’s connections and reputation were how he’d convinced Prestige Rep’s board to produce T ? m Cam .
“I don’t know if I can go through that again,” she whispered. Her eyes shone with tears.
“Oh, Zoe,” he said quietly and wrapped his arms around her. She laid her head on his chest and sniffed. He hugged her tightly
and wished he could protect her from Greg and all the other people like him.
“I let Professor Jerkface push me into quitting theater and I’m not letting anyone, especially Greg, take away my second chance
at this career.”
Derek couldn’t argue with her logic.
“If that’s what you really want, then I’ll keep quiet until opening night, when your duties as costume designer are complete.”
“Everyone will be so surprised. TJ will flip.” She giggled.
“But I can’t hide it from Th ? o. She’ll know immediately that something has changed between us,” he added.
Th ? o would know he’d gotten laid as soon as he walked into the rehearsal room. And she’d pester him until he told her with whom.
“Good point. Trixie will have lots of questions about why I didn’t come home last night.”
“We’ll tell Th ? o and Trixie, then?”
“But only them. No one else.”
He smiled in agreement, relieved that he could share the great news with at least one person.
“Thanks for being patient with me.” She kissed him softly on the lips.
“I know a better way you can thank me.”
He rolled her onto her back and kissed her neck. She closed her eyes with a smile and turned her head to give him more access to her silky skin. Once she was relaxed and purring with pleasure, he nudged her legs open with his knees as he nibbled his way down to the soft curves of her stomach.
She tapped the top of his head and he met her hungry gaze.
“Don’t you have to be at rehearsal in an hour?”
“Let’s see how many times I can make you come in the next hour.” He resumed caressing and kissing her abdomen.
“Oh, challenge accepted.” She laughed before pushing his head back down between her legs.