TWELVE

Skye

I was jolted out of my deep sleep when light filtered through the blinds in Derek's bedroom. I grinned, feeling more at ease than I ever had before as I could still feel Derek's arms around me. From the way he handled my anxious outbursts to the frequent laughter he brought me, to how passionately we connected, everything about him made me feel good inside. It felt more natural for me to wake up in his arms, on his bed, and in his apartment than anything else I had ever done.

While listening to him move behind me, I moved my hands up and down his arms. I flipped over and kissed his nose as I waited for his eyes to gradually open. When he saw that I was still there and that we were still bundled up under the covers, he pulled me in closer and grinned. He gave the time a quick check before sitting down next to me and ran his fingers through my tangled mass of hair.

“Good morning, handsome,” I whispered .

“Good morning, beautiful,” he said, smiling. “I’m glad you’re still here .”

“Me too,” I said happily. “I'm so happy you had a change of heart. Since my father is your closest friend, I understand that it must be difficult for you, but I am confident that all will work out in the end. The past few weeks spent with you have been the happiest of my life. Now that I've gotten to know you as my best friend, I can't even begin to picture what it would be like if you weren't the first person I contacted whenever I felt pleased, sad, furious, or anything else. Even though it's wild and not at all where either of us intended it to go, I don't regret where it's ended up. .”

“I don’t either,” he said, kissing my lips. “If we have to deal with the consequences, I want you by my side all the time, and I know that as long as you are there, we will be fine. .”

I lost myself in my feelings for Derek as I gazed into his eyes. I knew I would be fine no matter what since he was so powerful and kind. I grinned as I placed my head on the pillow and reflected on all that had occurred in the previous day and a half. Even though I was feeling so overwhelmed, being with Derek made everything better.

“You know, we are going to have to inform my father now that we have formally decided to be together,” I replied with dread in my voice. “If we don't keep secrets from the people we care about, it will only make things easier in the long run. It will probably be awful at first, but once he gets used to it, it won't seem so bad. .”

“I know,” Derek said, sighing. “We will tell him. It will just have to be when the time is right .”

“Okay,” I said, smiling .

I yawned loudly as I rolled onto my back and extended my hands above my head. Even though Derek needed to get ready for work and I wanted to get home, I knew I had to get out of bed. My feet were hung over the bed as I dragged myself to my feet. Behind me, Derek stood up and encircled my shoulders with his arms. As I giggled and yanked away, he moved in and kissed the back of my neck while moaning. If I didn't pull away then, there was a strong chance I wouldn't ever do so. He watched me put on my clothes, so I turned around and grinned. I then adjusted my unkempt hair as I gazed in the mirror. I hoped I wouldn't run into my father, but if I did, I didn't want to appear as though I had just emerged from a ditch.

I gave Derek a head-to-head kiss before grabbing my luggage and leaving. My skin still smelled of his fragrance, and my chest was filled with butterflies. I felt happy than I had ever felt before as I leaned against the wall and inhaled deeply numerous times. We had agreed to something, and it would require a lot of trust and faith on both of our parts. Although I should have been nervous, I was confident that I was prepared to face that challenge head-on. Previously, I had never been such at ease.

I took the elevator up to my floor and got out, giving the attendant a lovely smile and a thank you. As I rounded the corner and inserted my key into the door, I made an effort to maintain silence because I wasn't sure if my father was still there or not. I entered the apartment and ran right into my father as I turned the corner toward the bedrooms. I chuckled as I fell backward. My nerves were on edge, so I'm not sure where the laughing came from, but it happened right away. He gave me a quick glance before starting to chuckle as well, staring down at the coffee stain that was now on his shirt.

“Well, I didn’t really want to wear this shirt anyway,” he said, chuckling .

“Sorry, Daddy,” I said, laughing. “Are you going to the office today ?”

“Yes, and I’m actually running late,” he said. “I was a little worried about where you were. I saw you didn’t come home last night .”

I hesitated a while, unsure of how to respond to his inquiry. A part of me wanted to be honest with him, but the other part, the one that didn't want to confront anything serious at that moment, started conjuring up a lie as quickly as I could. I detested lying to my dad. I couldn't help it; I loved him too much, but I knew this wasn't the time to tell him everything. I was utterly out of it as I stood there, and he gave me a suspicious look.

“Skye?”

“Huh?”

“I asked where you were last night since you didn’t come home,” he said, furrowing his brow .

“Oh, sorry. I’m exhausted,” I said, laughing. “I was over at Mandy’s place, and I just crashed there on the couch. It was late and I didn’t want to wake you up .”

I waited there anxiously as he mentally processed my reply. I could sense that he was wary and that my response didn't exactly put him at ease. My heart was racing in my chest, and I was holding my breath. His gruff exterior finally gave way to a smile as he removed his tie and shirt and went to grab a fresh, clean one.

“Let me take those,” I said, gesturing at his dirty clothes. “I’ll drop them off at the cleaners when I go down to the lobby in a little bit to check my schedule .”

“Thank you, sweetie,” he said, his face and voice softening. “I’ll just go get changed and be on my way then .”

I held my big breath till he entered his room again before I let it out. I walked back to my room to change my clothing after folding the soiled shirt and setting it on the table. I noticed how messy I seemed in the mirror and reached for a brush to brush my matted hair. I pondered all the things my father had told me as I crossed the room and sat down on my bed. Although I didn't want to injure him, I was frightened that there would be no other option. The last thing I wanted to do was to disrupt the tight bond my father had maintained with Derek for as long as I had been alive.

In addition to all of that, I was quite concerned about Derek's reputation. He was a wealthy, attractive bachelor who was once a hot topic in the media. His endearing personality and lack of drama were factors that helped him win the trust of the business community and expand his business even further. There was bound to be some sort of response when they found out he was seeing someone who was less than half his age. There wasn't much I could do to protect Derek from others thinking he was some sort of pervert despite the fact that I didn't want Derek to have to. It was hoped that his charm and class would win over and make people see him for what he was—just a person. Why couldn't Derek date someone half his age if movie stars could? I didn't see how his dating decisions related to his business. It was just one more thing in society that irked me.