25. Izzy
25
IZZY
I stretch, searching for warm skin, but all I find are cool sheets. We haven’t slept in the same bed every night, but most nights, and I find that I sleep better with Derrick.
I sit up and squint at the clock on the bedside table. A little after two.
Wonton cracks an eye open, watching me with disdain for disturbing his beauty sleep.
With a groan, I slip out of bed and slide my feet into my slippers.
Wonton huffs with annoyance and shuffles up the bed to plop on the pillow I last saw Derrick sleeping on.
Down the hall, I peek into his room but find his bed undisturbed.
Interesting.
I carefully make my way down the stairs, and when I hit the landing, I find the kitchen aglow. “Hey,” I croak. “What are you up to?”
Derrick turns to me, his eyes heavy. “What time is it?” he asks, stifling a yawn.
“A little after two.” I pour myself a glass of water, then join him at the table, eyeing the papers spread out in front of him. Sketches of floor plans and room designs. There’s a schematic of a fireplace with stone and built-in shelves near his right elbow. The design is similar to what he has here. “Feeling inspired?”
He lowers his head and scans the mess of papers, then, noticing the graphite smeared on the side of his left hand, he rubs it against his shorts. “Yeah.” A tired half smile graces his lips. “I am. I felt silly holding on to the land like that, but selling it never sat right with me. It’ll take a while, years probably, to get it done, but it’ll be worth it in the end.”
My chest warms with affection. “I’m glad you’re going for it. You’re clearly happy there.”
He shuffles the papers into a pile and slides them to the right side. “What are you doing up?”
“My bed was cold.”
“I’m sorry.” Frowning, he scoots his chair back and opens his arms. “C’mere, baby.”
I don’t have to be told twice. I climb into his lap and wrap my arms around his bare shoulders, going straight to work on massaging his stiff trap muscles.
His hands roam down my body, settling on my hips, his fingers spreading across my butt. He pulls me impossibly closer, and as he does, he lets out a groan at the friction.
God, I want him.
We haven’t done anything since the day we absolutely lost ourselves in each other and had three rounds back-to-back .
I’ve been holding back, and I think he has, too.
That day was so explosive that it frightened me a little—feeling so much for a man I don’t fully know yet.
But maybe that’s the thing—do we ever fully know other people? Each and every one of us is constantly growing and changing.
“I want to take things slow.” His words are a whispered brush of breath against my lips.
I rock my hips slowly. “This is slow.”
He chuckles. “Not what I meant.”
“I know.” I press my face into the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent. Oak and citrus and maybe a touch of spice. “Are you afraid I’ll get sick of you? Because that’s impossible.”
“No.” He flexes his fingers against my ass. “I just… want to do this right.”
I lean back, resting against the table to put a little space between our chests. It wasn’t my intention to draw his focus to my chest, but I do have to smile when he lowers his gaze and all but salivates at the way my boobs practically spill out of my tank top. “I think it’s a little late for that.”
With a rough laugh, he nuzzles my nose with his. It’s a sweet gesture. So pure and unexpected that it makes my heart dip, then lurch yet another stumbling step closer to that scary four-letter word.
“I suppose you’re right,” he sighs, pressing a kiss to my neck.
“Besides,” I go on, raking my fingers into the back of his hair, “what is right? What works for some doesn’t work for all. We all have to make our own definition of the word. Don’t you think?”
“I think,” he brushes a piece of my hair behind my ear, “that you are entirely too tempting. ”
Smiling, I kiss his lips softly, chastely. “Come to bed. It’s late.”
He scoots the chair back, arms firmly around me. Standing, he repositions his arms, supporting my ass, then he carries me upstairs. Rather than take me back to my bedroom, he lays me down on his bed—which I have to admit is much more comfortable. When he heads for the door rather than climb in beside me, I sit up and rest my elbows on the mattress.
“Where are you going?”
He looks at me like I’m the crazy one. “To get Wonton.”
My heart warms, sending threads of sated heat through my extremities. It’s the little things—like thinking of my dog and knowing I’d want him in here—that make it so easy to fall for him.
When he returns with a sleepy Wonton under his arm, he sets him gently at the foot of the bed and then picks me up again and pulls back the sheets.
As he pulls the covers up and tucks me in, I give him a sleepy grin. “Are you going to read me a bedtime story, too?”
He closes his eyes, letting out a low chuckle. “Izzy, Izzy, Izzy.” Then he climbs into bed beside me and pulls me close. He presses a kiss to the top of my bare shoulder.
I open my mouth to… I don’t know, make another quip or beg him to undress me, but before I can, he groans.
“Go to sleep, Izzy,” he murmurs. “We have all the time in the world.”
It’s that last part that has me drifting off with a smile on my face.
“Heard you’re boinking the hot dad. ”
Those are the first words I hear when I walk into book club.
“Jeez, Glenda.” I close the door behind me and slip my shoes off. “At least get me a little drunk before you start making comments like that.”
She places a piece of cut cheese on a cracker and holds it aloft. “I don’t believe in mincing words.”
“Don’t we all know it.” Ella appears from the kitchen, greeting me with a glass of wine and a hug.
I take a gulp. “Bless you.”
She laughs. “I figure you need it. There’s no way we’re discussing the book today. We all want to hear about Derrick.”
“We never discuss the book,” my sister adds helpfully from her usual spot on the couch. “And try to keep it respectful, ladies. I don’t need all the dirty details about my sister’s sex life.”
“Or your future father-in-law slash potential brother-in-law’s,” Glenda adds with a pointed finger.
My stomach lurches. Is it too late to leave?
Via covers her face, head shaking. “Let’s just not, please.”
“Yes, please,” I agree readily as I drop onto the cushion beside her. My glass of wine is already half gone. “This whole situation is unusual as it is.”
It’s no surprise, though, that all of these ladies already know.
It’s why Derrick and I told Via and his kids as quickly as we could. Neither of us wanted them to hear it through the Parkerville gossip mill—a mill led by Glenda, no doubt.
“We can’t help it,” Tammy says, fixing a plate with a few slices of deli meat and cheeses. “We all love Derrick. He’s a good man. We want to see him?—”
“Get some young ass. If anyone needs it, he does.” Glenda tips her glass in my direction, making me long to crawl beneath the table and die.
Sighing, Tammy shakes her head. In the corner, Cassandra pinches her brow.
“ Happy , I was trying to say we want to see him happy,” Tammy corrects.
“And get some,” Glenda adds.
Head hung, I drop it into my hands. I’m desperate to flee outside to my waiting rental car, but I have a feeling these women would tackle me before I made it to the door.
“Really,” Ella says, sitting on my other side and giving my knee a pat, “we’re happy for you both.”
“How many abs does he have? I’ve heard eight, but I haven’t ever been able to get a good enough look to count them myself.”
I purse my lips and squint at Glenda. “Mmm. Yeah, eight.”
“Oh, sweet Jesus. What I would give to have a man like that over me. God, I just want to feel the weight of a man again, abs or not.” She closes her eyes, as if visualizing it. “Oh, yes, that’s what I need.” When she opens them again and finds us all staring, she says, “Close your mouths before you catch flies. I might be old, but my libido is alive and well. I had a voracious sex life in my day. Ever had a threesome? Highly recommend.”
I fall into a fit of laughter, unable to stop until tears fall from my eyes. This might be the most embarrassing night of my life, but it’s also the most entertaining. “Glenda, do you have a vibrator?”
“No. Never liked ’em. I prefer the real thing.”
I wag a finger at her. “There are so many to choose from these days. I think I know just what to get you. Actually…” I bo unce a little on the couch cushion. “Maybe I’ll order a few so you can explore your options.”
With a toothy grin, Glenda claps. “If you’re buyin’, then honey, I’ll give you a review of each one.”
Beside me, my sister squeaks and says, “When did our book reviews turn into sex toy reviews?”
Ella wipes her fingers on her jeans. “To be fair, we never actually review the books.”
When we all dissolve into laughter, and the conversation thankfully moves away from Derrick and me, I can’t help but once again think about how much I love it here and how ready I am to leave my life in LA behind for good.