Chapter 14 Derrick
DERRICK
Sienna and Evan are married!
And I, of course, killed it as the person marrying them.
Honestly, I was shitting my pants the entire time.
Sienna looked breathtaking, as did Evan.
I tried so much not to cry while I married them.
It was hard to keep all that bubbling emotion down, but once I pronounced them husband and wife, I let myself sob because I’ve never seen two people more in love.
I can’t wait for that kind of love to find me.
You won’t find it getting messed around by a fuckboy rock star.
This is true, but dammit, does Chance look good in a suit.
Stay strong, Derrick. It’s hard when I’ve had one too many glasses of champagne and I want to start off the new year with a bang.
And by bang, I mean getting laid. I look around the party and try to scope out any single gay men.
I’m still looking. I’m disappointed in my friends not catering hot single men for me after I delivered the best wedding ceremony and, of course, best man speech.
The countdown for the clock to strike midnight starts, and I’m all alone.
I turn and leave my friends partying and move into the darkness.
In that moment, I feel the loneliness, everything that has happened this year seems to come back and hit me, then because I’m a machoistic, I think about what my parents are doing this New Year’s Eve.
They’re probably already asleep after being at church, they were never a pair of party animals.
My mind wanders, wondering if they think of me every now and again because I do, especially after being around so many amazing parents.
Why did I have to have such shitty ones?
Urgh. Stop acting like a moody bitch, Derrick, and celebrate the new year with your true family, the people who love you for you.
The ones who have shown up for you when you needed them, the ones who will always show up for you.
Your parents don’t deserve one second of your thinking about them.
You’ve got this, D. New year. A new life.
There are so many things you have to look forward to in the new year.
You’ve found your dream home. I walked through it before I left for Australia, but things were crazy, and it was too much to organize while getting things ready for the wedding.
I left it up to fate to decide, and she did.
I got an email while away from the real estate agent letting me know the contract had fallen through, and they asked if I was still interested.
There was my sign. Then I ran into trouble with the stupid banks, and I thought the chance of getting the home was lost until Sienna and Evan came to the rescue and bought the house.
They set up an interest-free loan for me so I can pay them back.
See, Derrick, these people are your family, you don’t shed one more tear over the people you share blood with.
“Happy New Year!” everyone screams, and I watch as the night sky lights up in a billion colors.
“Derrick.” I turn and see Chance standing beside me. “Happy New Year,” he says hesitantly.
Fuck it.
I reach out, grab his face, and kiss him. Chance stills for a moment before he kisses me back as furiously as I am to him.
“Derrick …” Chance pants as we pull away.
“Don’t. Please don’t ruin this moment,” I warn as I let my hands fall from him.
“I wasn’t. I wanted to tell you …” He looks nervous. Oh no, what is it? “I have feelings for you.”
Oh. I was not expecting that.
“Chance, you’re drunk.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t dismiss my feelings like that,” he states angrily.
“I know I’m confusing as fuck. My mind is constantly a mess, but all I know is that when I am with you everything seems right.
” No. No. Don’t say those things, I’m trying to protect my heart.
“You owe me nothing, D. I’ve treated you poorly, keeping you as my dirty little secret.
But I’m asking you to please bear with me while I navigate these new feelings.
Yes. I’ve always wanted to hook up with guys, but I never thought I would ever want to date one. It’s never happened before, till you …”
“You want to date me?” Chance nods. “In secret?” He nods again. “What about the women?”
“No more groupies.”
Oh wow.
“Are you sure?” I ask him, not quite believing him. Fate is giving you another gift, Derrick, take it. You made your New Year’s wish and it’s coming true.
Chance steps closer to me and cups my face. “You’re enough for me.” He kisses me softly. Can I trust him?
“But we could never be seen in public?”
“Not yet. I can’t,” he answers sadly.
Is Chance enough for me to keep what we have a secret? “We would be dating monogamously?”
“I would try for you,” Chance says. Hope floats up my chest. This is what I’ve wanted from him. “Please, Derrick, let me try, for you.”
“Okay.” The word comes out softly and without hesitation.
“Okay?” Chance asks, seemingly surprised.
I nod. “Yes.”
Chance grabs my face again. “Fuck, D, you’ve made me the happiest man in the world.” He kisses the hell out of me.
“I can’t believe this is real.” I gasp as the real estate agent hands me the keys to my first home.
This gorgeous Spanish colonial-style bungalow home, which is down the road from the boutique in West Hollywood.
There are restaurants and cafes, bars and shops within walking distance, plus Dirty Texas Records. The vibe is me.
“Congratulations, Derrick. I think you are going to have a wonderful life in this home. Now, I’m going to leave you to it to enjoy.
” She smiles, giving me a wave and leaving me with it.
The Dirty Texas crew is going to come over later to celebrate this milestone with me.
I unlock the door and step inside. The agent said that it was professionally cleaned, so all I had to do was move in.
I’m so thankful for that because I hate cleaning.
The entire house is surrounded by whitewashed walls, and there is a front grassed courtyard that leads to the front door.
There are already mature palms surrounding the home, making it feel like a tiny slice of heaven in the city.
One of the bedrooms has access to the front courtyard with French doors that open to the grass, which might be perfect as my home studio.
I could see A-list celebrities in my personal studio away from the paparazzi who like to hang out in front of the boutique.
Pushing the door open, I step directly into my living room, which has a fireplace, which is kind of cool.
I have no idea how to build a fire, and I’m not sure if LA gets cold enough to warrant one, but it’s still awesome to have.
There are wooden floors throughout the home and white walls.
It’s a literal blank canvas for me, very boring and basic right now, but my mind is brimming with ideas on how to give it the Derrick Jones treatment.
There’s a lot of natural light coming through, which is much appreciated, especially because the entire home is surrounded by palms. There’s a small dining room off the living room as well as a kitchen.
It’s all open plan, so flows well. Look, it’s not a mansion in the Hills like Sienna’s, but it’s enough for me.
You then walk down the corridor where three more bedrooms are located.
The main bedroom opens to the backyard with French doors, where there is a small pool nestled in the oasis.
I want to set up a fire pit and barbecue area to entertain any guests.
The main bedroom has an ensuite and a small walk-in wardrobe, which is not going to be enough space for all my clothes.
I think I’m going to have to turn one of the guest bedrooms into a closet/dressing room.
There is another bathroom for guests to use that sits between the two other bedrooms. My slice of paradise.
“Knock, knock,” Sienna calls out. She is so huge now, she’s almost ready to pop, and I can’t wait to be God-daddy to bean. “Derrick, this is …” Sienna gasps as she looks around at my little bungalow for the first time. She wasn’t here with me when I walked through it, Stacey was.
I rush over and hug her tightly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” I burst into tears. “This wouldn’t be possible without you or your hubby.”
Sienna is now crying, which seems to happen a lot lately, thanks to the pregnancy hormones. “You deserve this.” She sniffles, hugging me tightly.
“Evan …” I say, looking over her shoulder.
“No need to thank me. Whatever makes my wife happy, I’ll do. And you make her happy, thus I’m happy. And you’re my family too.” He shrugs.
“Still, big man, I will never forget what you have done for me,” I tell him seriously.
“Oh, come here,” Evan says, showing a rare case of emotion as he hugs me. Who the hell is going to say no to a hug from Evan Wyld?
“Aw, isn’t this sweet,” Christian says from the front door, interrupting my Evan cuddles, he’s such a cockblocker.
Christian, Axel, Finn, and Oscar have turned up together.
Things are not good right now between Vanessa and Christian after New Year’s.
He, the rest of Dirty Texas, Sons of Brooklyn, and the California Bros.
as well as Finn’s brothers, all left together on a separate plane, while Vanessa and the rest of us left on another.
I was a little bummed that I couldn’t fly home with Chance, but I saw him as soon as I got home, and we’ve been inseparable, as inseparable as you can be in secret.
That’s why I can’t wait to move in. We can have date nights on my couch together, not worrying about who will see us, Chance can finally relax, and we can give whatever this is that is going on between us a go.
I will miss living with Stacey, though. I’m not a creature that should be left alone, so I might struggle with that.
“Welcome to my humble abode,” I say to the guys, who one by one hug and congratulate me on the house.
Moments later, Vanessa, Stacey, Isla, and Charlotte walk in. Christian stills as does V when she sees him inside the house.
“We’ve brought chairs for everyone, they are in the back of the truck outside, I’m gonna go get them,” Christian says.
“I’ll help you, bro,” Axel adds. He nods at the girls as he passes them in the empty living room, while Christian ignores them.
“I can’t believe it’s yours.” Stacey squeals, breaking the awkward tension as she launches herself at me. “This is so you. As soon as we walked in here, we knew it was your home.”
“Right? The vibes were clicking with me. I can’t wait to decorate.”
“I’m going to miss you, though.” Stacey pouts.
“I’m going to miss you, too, boo, but we can have snuggle parties on my couch anytime you want,” I tell her.
“Deal.” Stacey grins.
Isla and Vanessa come over and congratulate me as the boys walk back in with fold-up chairs.
“Just set them up out the back,” I tell them. “Are you okay?” I ask Ness.
“Yes. I’m fine. Everything’s fine,” she answers. Yeah. Everything is not fine.
“I’m going to order the pizzas. Derrick, what’s the address again?” Evan says, pulling out his phone as I give him the address.
“Drinks are here,” Jackson calls out from the front door as he enters with bags full of drinks.
“Congrats, D, this place is nice,” he says, when I go and greet him, taking a couple of bags from his hands.
“Can’t wait to see what you do with the place, it seems very bland for you, not enough sparkle,” he says, giving me a wink.
“What, am I not sparkly enough for you?” I flirtatiously tease him. Man is hot.
“Of course you are. No one shines as bright as you.” He smirks.
I thought because he was ex-military that he would be standoffish with me, not because he ever made me feel like that, just my own preconceived ideas of military guys I had in my head.
Jackson is a doll, and he accepts my flirtations with ease, and I love him for that.
Chance won’t be popping over tonight because the guys are all here and none of his bandmates were invited.
I’m slightly disappointed, but I understood.
Walking out to the back where the boys have already set up the chairs and have taken seats, while Jackson is handing out drinks to everyone, an overwhelming sense of happiness and contentment hits me.