Chapter Five
“Game night is just a chance to have a quintuple date. Well, plus Derek.” - Enzo
DEREK
Groaning, I look away from the way my friends are talking with their significant others tonight.
It’s game night. A weekly—or more lately, monthly—tradition that we hold where we all got together as a big group and played board games. It is my favorite night.
We’d all make time for each other, Enzo and Nora would make ungodly amounts of delicious food, and they would pay attention to me. It was overall a great night.
Right now, Enzo and Nora are in the kitchen, laughing over something that is cute, probably. Chris and April, my other friends who made their presence known tonight, are looking at a house Chris is showing a client, as he is a realtor.
Warren is staring at Jane, and just generally being an adoring fiancé.
Archer and his wife, Viviana—who is also Enzo’s little sister—were cutely devouring the food on the table.
Garrett is glaring at Jane’s friend and coworker Molly, thinking it’s hate that fuels the fire between them.
Roll my eyes, he’s clueless.
And I… I am all alone. No one around. Everyone but me is paired up, and I am massively regretting my promise to stay single and live with myself.
I don’t know why I made that promise. I can’t do it. I can’t stand being alone. My own friends know what it’s like to be alone with me, and yet they have set me up for failure regardless.
“Can we please start the game night?” I ask into the void, knowing no one in their love bubbles can hear me.
“We’re waiting for—”
“Knock knock!” A voice sounds from behind me, making me sit up and turn and see none other than my best friend and his new wife walk in the door.
I make a beeline for Graham, but he knows me by now and grabs his wife, shielding himself.
“Aw, come on! You’ve been gone for weeks!” I throw my hands up and groan in jest.
“That doesn’t mean you get to kiss me, Derek. We’ve talked about this,” Graham gripes from behind Quinn’s head.
Quinn laughs and wraps her arms around me in a tight hug. She’s the best, and she knows my love for Graham is real and never complains about our bond.
I hold her tight and give Graham a grin over her shoulder. He glares at me.
“Hey! I’m so glad you’re here!” All the girls gather around Quinn and pull her into hugs while the guys shake Graham’s hand, asking them how their vacation went.
“Well, we missed the kids, but it was pretty nice to get away for a bit.”
“Hawaii must have been gorgeous!” April says, “I’ve always wanted to go.”
“It really was,” Quinn says, whipping out her phone and showing off pictures of the ocean and beach and places they went while they were on the island.
People start to settle down onto the couch, the game is picked, and right as we’re about to start, there comes a knock at the door.
I groan, “Seriously? Who would be knocking?”
“Oh, I invited someone!” Quinn announces, looking at me, and I get up to answer it. Only because I love her.
When I swing open the door, I realize just how much she loves me back.
“Elizabeth?” I stare in shock at the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen smiling shyly back at me and holding a case of beer in her hands.
“Hey, Derek, right?” Her pretty pink lips say my name, and I’m unable to tear my eyes off of them for a moment. “Can I come in?”
My eyes snap back up to hers, and I gape, trying to find my words. “I—yes—yeah, come in.”
I step aside and let her through, seeing Quinn jump up and greet her friend with a big hug. I shake my head at myself and shut the door.
I need to get a grip.
You can’t date anyone anyway, so there’s no need to fuss in front of a pretty girl.
Except that seems damn near impossible because she is the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen, and there is something else to it. There’s something magnetic about her personality that makes me want to be around her.
Fuck. This is going to be a hard night.
“Everyone, this is my friend from college, Elizabeth. Elizabeth, this is… well, everyone.” Quinn goes around and introduces her to everyone. There are so many of us that I’m sure she’ll forget names as the night goes on.
Finally finding my freaking manners, I take the case of beer from her.
“Oh. Thank you.” She laughs lightly and shakes out her hand. “That was getting heavy.”
Shit. I should have taken it from her earlier.
I don’t say anything as I move to the kitchen with the beer. I lean against the counter after depositing the case and hang my head. I never thought I’d see her again.
After losing track of her at the wedding and watching her dance with that cowboy, I let that idea that she was an option slip from my mind.
Okay, so she was still on my mind at times. But I never let it become anything real. She was like a fictional character, not one that I would ever chase because she wasn’t real.
Except she is real, and now she is sitting in my living room.
“Derek! Come on, man, time to play!”
I shake my head and get her a cold drink, putting her beers in the fridge. When I return, I hand her the drink, and her finger touches the side of my hand, reminding me of the way it felt like there had been a spark at the wedding.
My eyes drift up to meet hers, and she gives me a kind smile.
Moving to the empty spot beside her, I gingerly set myself down, trying not to make any sudden moves. I feel stiff as a board, and I try to talk myself into chilling the fuck out.
I can’t! She’s too pretty!
My eyes catch on Enzo’s across from us, and he waggles his eyebrows like he knows something. He doesn’t know anything.
I take a deep breath, and we begin the game.
Charades takes place quickly, and of course, I end up on the same team as Elizabeth.
Elizabeth. Elizabeth. Elizabeth…
God help me, even her name is pretty.
“Derek, you’re up, man,” Garrett calls, and I stand in front of the room. All eyes on me.
See, this is a scenario that I would normally love. But right now, I’m being stared at by her. And by her… well, you know who I mean.
Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Elizabeth.
I blink and shake out my hands, ready to reach for the first card as soon as Chris flips the timer.
“Ready and… go!” The timer flipped, and I’m off. I grab the first card and sigh. Bride.
I start mimicking a bride, pointing at Quinn to get the point across, and my eyes make contact with Elizabeth. She’s watching me intently, a glowing and gorgeous smile on her perfect face, and I freeze for a moment.
Everyone’s watching me, the timer is running low, and my eyes are stuck on the perfection that is her.
Holy crap. I need to get a grip.
I hold my hands together and pretend to walk down an aisle.
“Bride! Bride!” Elizabeth yells, and I point at her, moving onto the next card.
And it’s like we are meant to be teammates. Every single card after that until the timer finally runs out, she gets, and not a single other person on my team guesses what I am except her.
When I move back over to her, I hold up a hand for a high five, and she grants me my wish, holding my hand for a moment as we sit back down next to each other.
“You were great!” she says, smiling at me. I enjoy the sight more than I probably should.
“Me? You had some of those answers out before I could even fully act on them.”
“No, it was all you. You’re so good at this game!” I see her smile, but there’s a crinkle to her eye, like she’s embarrassed for a second.
Embarrassed at herself? I don’t think that’s even possible.
“Well, maybe we just make a really good team,” I hint, letting that comment linger in the air for a moment. I want to tell her more—to talk about her and her life and me and my life—but the game moves on, and we both become distracted.
She starts chatting with the girls as the guys and I bullshit, but I can feel her next to me all the same. Her thigh brushes mine, and she moves it back abruptly. She tosses her long hair over her shoulder, and it hits my arm. This one she doesn’t notice, and I don’t mind at all.
Shit. Here I am, with essentially the girl of my fucking dreams by my side, and I can’t do a damn thing about it.
Quinn gets up and goes to the kitchen, ending their conversation, and she turns back to me, a small smile on her face. “This is fun.”
“We do it as often as possible, you’re welcome to join us.” Ugh. Even I hate what I just said.
Welcome to join us? As if I don’t have a solid vested interest in her being here?
She tilts her head forward, letting her hair fall in her face and hiding her from my view. “Maybe I will. My sister says I need to get out more.”
“That’s hard with a little kid, I assume. Unless she hangs out with her dad?” Yeah, okay. The hint is not even a hint but a blatant question, but I have to know.
“Ah, it is hard with Rora, but mostly because I want her all to myself.” She grins, thinking of the little girl and doesn’t answer my question about whether the dad is in the picture at all.
“Do you ever have help?” I ask, trying to steer the conversation back to the original question.
“Yeah, of course.” She nods her head and turns to me, giving me her full attention. It’s exactly what I want. “My sister lives with us, so she’s a major help. She’s with her tonight. And my parents don’t live far from us and help me out when Hattie can’t.”
“Hattie’s your sister?”
“Yup. My little sister.” She purses her lips together, and her eyes, golden like freaking honey itself, look down. “She stepped in when I had no one else. I’m not quite sure where I would be without her. She watches Aurora all the time for me.”
“That’s nice,” I comment, thinking of the cute little girl. “If you ever need any extra help, I’m great with kids.”
Annnnd why the fuck did I just offer that?
Her eyes spark with… something. Amusement? Excitement? Surprise?