“So, now what?” I lowered my eyes to where I rubbed my thumb back and forth over his skin.
Derek didn’t say anything for a while, making me look back up. He chewed on his lower lip, still clearly thinking over his response before he let out a slow breath.
“I don’t really know.”
My stomach dropped and I tried to school my expression against the effect that response had on me. The last thing I wanted was for Derek to feel pressured into something he wasn’t ready for, but I couldn’t help the disappointment that coursed through me.
“But,” he continued, maybe reading the cloudy expression on my face for what it was, “I can tell you I want to see where this goes.”
“Yeah?” There was a note of tentative hope in my voice.
Derek gave me a small nod. “I don’t know what I can offer you, but I like you too much to not explore what’s here.”
My heart tripped over itself at his words, but when my brain caught up to what he said, I frowned a little. Derek had mentioned before he wasn’t looking for a relationship, so what was he proposing, exactly? A sour feeling settled in the pit of my stomach at the idea that I might be an experiment for him.
“So, are you just wanting this to be a casual thing?” I asked hesitantly. I’d done that in the past without any problems, butthe idea of Derek seeing someone else at the same time made me sick.
“Something like that,” he nodded, “But I have no plans of seeing other people.” I watched his Adam’s apple bob with a heavy swallow before he continued, “But, if you wanted to…”
“No!” I rushed out, “I don’t want that, either.”
Derek’s features softened instantly and a goofy grin tugged at the corners of my lips. My stomach felt like a million butterflies had taken off in unified succession inside it.
“Good.” He leaned forward and I met him halfway for a tender kiss, his free hand coming up to cup my jaw. Just like after we’d gotten each other off, the kiss was sweet and so achingly perfect. After a few pecks, Derek pulled away, studying over my features with those gorgeous brown eyes.
“It’s late.” He whispered, but made no move to pull away completely.
“Just a few more minutes, then we both can go to bed.” I suggested, pressing one final kiss to his lips.
He smiled indulgently before shifting back on the couch and opening his arms to me. Without any words, I rested against his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist. Cuddling with Derek felt like a natural thing to do after how tactile our friendship had been. Besides, who could resist getting to rest on such well defined pecs? I certainly wasn’t complaining.
The silence between us was comfortable as Derek’s fingers ran up and down my back. Blinking slowly, I felt myself sinking further into his warmth, the exhaustion from the day finally catching up to me. When his fingers ran up to run through my hair softly, I hummed in contentment, my body growing heavier by the second.
Before I knew it, I’d drifted off to sleep, lulled by the sounds of Derek’s heartbeat and rocked by the rhythmic nature of his breathing.
“Derek Hammond, you dog!” Chris squealed, smacking him on the shoulder with a devious smile. “The girls in town are going to be absolutely heartbroken!” She cackled, pushing Derek’s face aside to expose the prominent hickeys on the side of his neck.
Derek shoved her hand away with a playful laugh and rolled his eyes as she continued to rib him. “You’re acting like you’ve never seen a bruise before.”
“Those are more than just some simple bruises, mister!” Chris attempted to maneuver his face again but Derek swatted at her. “You look like you got choked out by an octopus!”
Brown eyes swung to me, the obvious humor in his smirk reassuring me that he wasn’t upset someone had noticed the marks. I had felt pretty bad this morning after we discovered I’d left several bruises on Derek in the heat of the moment. But he’d just stood before the mirror, admiring them with such reverence a primal part of me had almost purred in contentment. The way he had delicately traced over them with his fingertips made me want to leave more all over his exposed flesh.
And if it hadn’t been for our plans to meet Chris at the river this morning, I would have done just that. We’d briefly considered hiding them, but ultimately decided that using anything to cover them would be just as suspicious as the actual hickeys. Secretly though, I was irrationally pleased that he was walking around with such an obvious sign of our encounter on display.
Trailing after Chris and Derek as we made our way along the street, I couldn’t stop picturing the way Derek’s eyes had darkened when he first caught sight of the discoloration along his neck. Would he let me leave my marks in other places?
I wanted to sink my teeth into that bubble butt of his and leave bruises of my fingertips along his hip bones whilefucking his brains out. Discreetly, I adjusted myself as my cock sprang to life at the thought. Now was not the best time to be getting a raging hard on.
We were currently on our way down to the water in a secluded section of the Cypress River that most of the locals used when they wanted to get away from the tourists. The spot was kind of hard to get to since the path was steep and sloped in weird angles, but it was well worth it if you could brave the trek.
Chris and I had made the decision to close the cafe today weeks before Derek had come to town. We’d wanted some time in the river, and the loss in revenue wouldn’t be that great, given that today was a Sunday after a holiday. Most of the tourists that came to Westwend for the Fourth would already be long gone by the time the cafe opened anyway. We had extended an invitation to Mitchel, but he’d politely declined.
After trekking down the incline, we got ourselves settled when we got to a flat portion of the river bed, laying out some towels. Chris brought a portable speaker that she quickly set up with some ‘summer’ playlist blasting. Her music taste was pretty broad, so the song choices weren’t in one set genre.
One of the nearby trees had a make-shift rope swing attached to it. The rope was frayed and knotted in weird sections all the way to the branch, but it was still sturdy enough to hold the weight of a grown man.
The three of us relaxed into the cool spring-fed water, chatting and drinking, while we escaped from the sweltering Texas heat. Floating lazily in the middle, Chris hung off the green inner tube she’d brought while sipping at one of her wine coolers. She was watching Derek as he backed up the riverbed, holding onto a low knot of the rope-swing before he jumped up and held on as momentum brought him over the open water.
