Chapter 14
Kat
“Well, well, this isn’t too bad,” Derrick says as he closes the door to the bar behind me, cutting off the icy wind. The holiday season isn’t that far off, and honestly . . . I’m making a few early Christmas wishes even if I know they won’t come true.
“It’s no dive, but it’s not so fancy that nobody can afford a mineral water,” I admit. “As long as you don’t mind not having a coat check girl.”
“Never had a need for that,” Derrick growls, looking me over. “I’ve got everything I want right here.”
Heat creeps up my neck as he consumes me with his gaze, and I know that I made the right choice in clothes. Sure, my calves are cold, but this hip hugging skirt and tight blouse look sexy as hell. Or at least it seems to tick all the boxes that Derrick likes.
“Should we sit?” I ask, and Derrick nods, his hand warm on my lower back as he leads me over to a corner table. The lights are low, it’s that time of night where people are here to either drink their sorrows away quietly or find someone.
“You know,” Derrick says as he takes my jacket to hang it over one of the spare chairs, “you didn’t have to.”
“Didn’t have to what?” I ask, waiting while the waitress comes over. I order a glass of white wine, while Derrick orders a beer on tap, and we decide on some tapas to give us something to nibble on besides each other.
“You didn’t have to get dressed up,” Derrick says. “You don’t need to show off for me. I feel like you’ve never been more comfortable than when we hung out over breakfast and you were wearing yoga pants and an old white t-shirt.”
“I’m trying to be more comfortable,” I admit. “But no way I’m going out with you wearing that.”
Derrick smiles and nods. “Just so you know. You’re sexy, beautiful, and you’ve got brains. What’s there not to like?”
“Good question,” I reply. “What about you? You gotta have a few bad tendencies.”
“Sure,” Derrick says, pausing when our drinks are brought and we toast each other. “For one, I’m terrible at laundry. In fact, I’ve got a single method, I pick up everything on the floor and chuck it all in the washer at once. Main reason I have all dark clothes . . . black, grey, charcoal, navy.”
“You what?” I ask, sipping my wine. It’s good, and warm as it flows down my throat.
“Let’s just say . . . pink football practice pants,” Derrick says with a chuckle. “Take one pair of football pants, two brand new red cotton t-shirts, throw in hot water with cheap detergent and magic happens. So yeah, all darks and that doesn’t happen.”
I laugh, imagining Derrick wearing pink football pants. “Okay, that’ll teach you. Thankfully for me, wearing pink pants isn’t a problem.”
“Nope, never had a problem with you and anything pink,” Derrick purrs, heat blooming between my legs. “So . . . how was your day? Miss me?”
I giggle, thinking of all that we’ve done so far today. “How could I have? You were texting me all day.”
“When I get motivation like you sent me, I have to.”
“I admit, that was pretty dirty. I hope you didn’t get in trouble.”
“Not too much. Susannah did almost kill me today between texting you and my dad, but that’s not your fault.”
“Is he okay?” I ask, worried, and Derrick waves me off.
“Yeah, he was just checking in. I think he didn’t realize the time at first. He knows I work in the studio, even if he doesn’t listen in often . . . thankfully.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” I tease. “I mean, what father would want to listen to their son talk all about how to please a man with your mouth. Speaking of which . . . you never answered some questions tonight about what you like best.”
Derrick leans in, smiling. “I think you know the answer to that one, you know exactly what I like. And for a woman who said that she wasn’t going to do it anyway, you’re waving a red flag at a bull that’s about to charge you.”
“Don’t let me taunt you at work, I know how serious you take helping your listeners. After all, look where we are,” I joke back, my pussy tingling underneath my skirt. “You’ve helped me a lot so far.”
Derrick nods, reaching across the table to place his warm fingers on top of my hand, sparks radiating from the contact up my arm. “I take it very seriously. What can I do to keep helping you, Kitty Kat?”
There’s a thousand things Derrick could do, but as we’ve moved into something more fragile here with actually dating, I know the most important thing he can do. “Maybe just show me a good time, that not all guys are after one thing?”