“What did you get?” I asked, hoping to ease him more with conversation.
“Peaches and zucchini.” He let go of my wrist and lifted the bag with a tight smile. Beside me, Chris snorted out a laugh. I shot her a glare before offering a weary smile back to my roommate.
“Am I missing something?” Derek looked like a kicked puppy as he glanced between the two of us.
“No,” Chris offered a sweet grin, patting Derek on the arm. “Colton just hates peaches”
I shot her another glare. “Hate is a strong word. I just…tire of them quickly. Plus, not everyone is into peaches.”
She rolled her eyes, shrugging a little. “I think those people would learn to like peaches a lot more if they just tried them.”
“Maybe, but we can’t force people to… eat things they don’t want to. That’s criminal.” I stressed, squinting my eyes at her.
She raised her hands up in defeat and I huffed out an annoyed sigh.
“Was I not supposed to buy them?” Derek shifted uncomfortably, glancing down toward his bag almost mournfully. I’d never seen him so unsure of himself and it made my chest squeeze with discomfort.
“It’s fine,” I reassured him, patting him on the arm lightly. “There’s a peach craze every summer. It’s like pumpkins in the fall. After a while, the flavor just gets…old.” I concluded, still feeling like the conversation was more loaded than it needed to be… and not because of the sexuality references tossed around.
My eyes danced over Derek’s taut features for a moment more. Something was off—and it wasn’t his dismay of having purchased stone fruit—but I couldn’t tell what it was.
“You want to keep shopping?” I motioned toward the line of booths before us, deciding it was better to just move on from the conversation altogether.
He nodded and plastered this generic smile to his face that made my belly dip.
Instead of pressing him about it, we all turned to keep browsing, but I was suddenly all too aware of Derek. The aisles of booths were just barely big enough to allow all three of us to comfortably walk beside each other. Instead of situating ourselves in the sudo-triangle shape we’d had when perusing earlier, Derek pressed himself between Chris and I as we walked along. Which was weird on its own, but I chalked it up to not wanting to be left again. But, when we passed people, he would stick to my side, our arms brushing againsteach other in soft caresses that made my breath catch each time. I couldn’t be sure he was doing it deliberately, but it sure wasn’t without conscious thought, either. At one of the stalls, his fingers kept brushing against my hand ever so slightly, making little sparks of electricity explode over my skin at the contact, as he passed me the groceries we purchased.
By the time the three of us were all collectively finished with our shopping, I felt like my head was going to explode from all the subtle touches and grazes. Had I been dropped into a teenage romcom? I knew my brain was probably reading way more into the situation than what was really happening, but, come on!
Someone needed to give a bi-boy’s bleeding heart a break here!
Somehow, I also knew the talk we’d had a few days ago and the subsequent teasing was feeding into my over analysis of Derek’s behavior. I felt like an idiot rushing out of the living room, but I’d known without even looking at my face that I’d transformed into a giant tomato.
But, how could I not? Derek may have been kidding around when he told me he thought I was attractive, but tell that to my stupid brain.
Derek Hammond was bad for my heart. But he was good for my soul, and that was the problem. I could see us being lifelong friends, if I could ever get over this crush. Because while I hated to admit it, yes. I had a crush on my roommate like I was some silly teenager again.
“Why don’t we get lunch?” Chris chirped merrily as we all began the walk back toward our cars. “I brought a cooler we could store everything in while we eat.”
An opportunity not to be stuck in a car with Derek while my brain was still telling me romantic lies? Sign me the fuck up.
“I’m down.” I shot a grin over my shoulder at the one person I didn’t want to be alone with right now.
Derek’s eyes passed between Chris and I for a moment, like he was assessing our intentions before giving a lazy shrug. “Toast of the Town?”
“You know it!” Chris made grabby hands at the bags Derek held. “Colton and I can go pack the cooler if you want to go get our table at T&T.”
He looked like he wanted to protest but after Chris made another motion of grabby hands, he relented.
“Text me when you get the table.” I told him. That look of unease was back on his face, making me wonder what was really going on with him. Did he think Chris and I were trying to ditch him? Fat chance considering he was my ride. Small town life meant I could’ve hitched a ride with Chris—or a bunch of other people, for that matter—but I wasn’t a dick.
After a moment, Derek finally seemed to accept his mission, and I waved him off as he disappeared into the throng of bodies.
When he was finally out of earshot, Chris’s shoulders slumped, “Oh my god, I thought he would never leave.”
My eyes shot to her, horrified. Was she actually planning on ditching him?
She returned my gaze and rolled her eyes.
