Kim beams as she nods. “Wow, you know my name.”
Derek chuckles. “Well, I cheated a little because Gin told me.”
“Gin?” Kim asks looking from Derek to me. I just roll my eyes as I reach for my drink. It’s so crazy to think that it was in this very bar where we met not so long ago. It feels like so much has changed. I look behind me and see a lot of people looking at us while Derek sits next to me.
“So is it true that you never play your own stunts?” Kim asks Derek.
“My manager has a strict rule against it,” Derek says. “But I’d love to one day.”
“Oh my god,” Kim says looking at me. “We have an insider from Hollywood. We can fact check any gossip!”
I laugh and Derek chuckles. He reaches for my hand and holds it as Kim begins to ask him all kinds of random questions about celebrities. We end up ordering a second round of drinks and Kim is still grilling Derek but he doesn’t seem to mind.
“We should go,” I say looking at Kim then Derek when I realize how late it is.
“Wow, it’s really late. Sorry,” Kim says.
“Don’t mind at all,” Derek says then he takes out his wallet and pulls out a card. “Hey, you,” He says to Adrian. “I want to pay for their drinks.”
“Derek, that’s not necessary,” I say but Adrian is already charging his card.
“It’s nothing, Gin,” Derek says with a smile. “Come on.” He grabs my hand and pulls me out of the bar. Kim follows us out. “Let me drive you home,” He says as he leads us to his Tesla.
“Okay but you have to drive Kim home too.” I tell him because I don’t want to ditch her and make her walk by herself.
Derek smiles at Kim. “Of course,” He says opening the backdoor for her. She’s all smiles as she gets in. I smile at her then get in the passenger’s seat.
“Do you work Wednesday night?” Derek asks as he drives.
I turn to look at him, suspiciously. “No, I don’t.”
He grins. “Good.” He turns to glance at me before turning his attention back to the road. “There’s a charity event that my brother hosts every year. Will you come with me? Be my date?”
A charity event. With his brother. I’m already nervous.
“Uh, I don’t know Derek.”
“It’s just a dinner, nothing crazy.”
“I don’t think I have anything to wear.” I admit.
“That’s not a problem,” He says as he stops outside Kim’s apartment complex. “I’ll have my manager get something for you. I’ll pick you up early and we’ll get ready at my place.”
I look at him for a moment, thinking this through.
“She would love to go,” Kim says from the backseat making Derek chuckle. She opens the door. “Thanks for the ride, Derek.” She smiles at me. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Say yes.”
I roll my eyes at her as she gets out of the car. Derek looks at me. “Yes, Gin, say yes.”
I smile at him. “You know I have a strict rule about not saying yes to you.”
He grins then places his hand on my cheek. “What time should I pick you up?”
I smile. “Four.”
The grin on his face gets wider. “Four it is.”
“Now kiss me before I change my mind.” I tease and he grins.
Then he leans in and presses his lips against mine and kisses me.
18. bad gossip
On Wednesday, I wake up to really bad gossip.
Good for social media and bad for me.
I log into Instagram in the morning. It’s something I do every morning despite the fact that I know I shouldn’t be on my phone so early. My notifications are in the thousands. I have over a hundred thousand followers now and I keep gaining them. It’s crazy to think about the influence Derek has. I don’t even know what to do with so many followers. I’m too nervous to post anything now.
As I scroll down my feed, I come across a post from one of those entertainment shows I follow. I followed them for the same reason everyone else does: entertainment. It’s entertaining to read about celebrity gossip. It sounds horrible but it’s the truth. Though I didn’t know how horrible that actually is until now.
There is a picture of Derek with a woman. They appear to be walking down the street and they’re looking at each other and appear to have been laughing when the picture was taken. The woman is beautiful. She has sleek black, short hair and is wearing a tight dress with over the knee black boots and a matching jacket. She’s smiling at Derek in the picture and is holding a cup of coffee.
Derek Collins is spotted with ex-girlfriend Sadie Brown Tuesday night as they get ready to promote their upcoming movie.
I sit up in bed as I stare at the picture and headline in disbelief. It’s all over Instagram and Twitter. Derek is making me look like a fool again. God. Why is he doing this? Is he doing it on purpose? Am I just a game to him? Just entertainment to pass the time? Is he playing with me?
I knew something like this would happen. Celebrities are spotted with women all the time and I knew Derek wasn’t going to be an exception. Of course, I know that his job requires him to be around women and even kiss them on-screen. I knew that. But it’s not until this moment that I realize that I may not be cut out for this. I don’t think I can be with Derek knowing he’s going to be around women and kiss them and film sex scenes with them. Especially when that woman is his ex, whom he kissed for real and probably had sex with for real many times.
I can feel all of these thoughts begin to consume my head. I log out of social media and put my phone down. Then I get out of bed and get in the shower after I look at the time.
I feel numb as I shower then get ready for class.
My phone vibrates as I’m walking to school. I narrow my eyes at my phone when I see it’s a text from Derek.
Good morning, Gin. I'll see you at 4. Miss you
I put my phone away angrily. Is he really acting like there’s nothing going on? Like there aren’t pictures of him with his ex-girlfriend trending on the internet?
What the hell was I thinking? Dating a celebrity wasn’t going to be all easy and fun. I knew this was too good to be true.
I get to school and try my best to concentrate during class. We only have three weeks before the semester is over. It’s been both the longest and shortest semester of my life. I’m excited for it to end. Then I can take a mini vacation to Newport. God knows I need it.
“By the look on your face, I can tell you’ve seen the pictures, right?” Kim asks after class is over.
We’re the only ones left in the room. I didn’t rush out because I’m not going home. Derek is picking me up from here. I don’t even know why I’m still going. I’m suddenly not in the mood. And what’s the point of it anyway? If I’m thinking about ending this thing between us? Of course, deep down I know that I’m still going because I love spending time with him. I like Derek way too much. This is not good.
“Yes,” I say with a sigh.
“Have you spoken to him?”
I shake my head. “No, it seems like he’s acting like it’s not happening.”
“Well, maybe it’s because nothing is happening?” Kim suggests then shrugs. “Maybe it’s just gossip, Sav.”
“I know it’s gossip,” I say then sigh. “But there’s pictures, Kim. The look on their faces, that is not gossip. It’s real.”
“Has Derek spoken about his ex-girlfriend at all?”
I shake my head as I look down at the floor. “No, he hasn't. I just know what everyone else knows.”
“Maybe you should ask him.”
I bite my lip, thoughtfully. Then I look at her. “What am I doing, Kim? This is crazy.”
“Yes, it is.” She agrees. "But…you like him, right?”
“I do.”
“And I can tell he likes you, too. You should try to make this work.”
I shrug. “I don’t know. This is getting too real.”
She reaches for my hand and squeezes it. “Don’t o
verreact until you have all the facts.”
I smile at her, knowing she’s right. “What would I do without you?”
She smiles. “Come on, let’s go have some lunch while you wait.”
We have pizza for lunch and talk about the upcoming finals. We’re both eager for the semester to end. It means we’ll have more time to ourselves. Plus we’ll be closer to graduating.
I haven’t really thought about what I’m going to do when I finish this program. I think it was always set in my mind that I would go back to Newport and develop my career as a chef over there. It is home, after all. Now, I don’t know. Will this thing with Derek even last? By the way I’m reacting right now, the odds don’t seem to be in our favor. I guess Kim is right. I shouldn’t overreact but it’s hard not to when everyone is talking about it. I don’t know how you can ever get used to people talking about your life like it’s everyone’s business.
Derek picks me up right at four in the afternoon.
He reaches out to kiss me when I get in the car but I offer him my cheek and reach for the seatbelt as an excuse.
“You alright?” He asks as he begins to drive.
I nod as I look straight head. “Yep.”
He doesn’t say anything else and I don’t either. I fiddle with my phone as he drives, just for something to do. It’s about a thirty minute drive to his house. As expected, his house is big and beautiful. It’s gated and he stops by the gates to punch in a code to get them to open. It’s a beautiful two-story house with a long driveway. He has a couple of luxury cars parked which are, no doubt, his too.
“This is a really big house,” I say when we go inside. There is a big living room with black couches facing a big TV mounted on the wall. The staircase is behind the living room and there is a beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the dining room. Everything is so clean and pretty. It also smells good. I’m surprised. I guess I was expecting a man cave. “Do you live alone?” I ask Derek turning to look at him.
“Most of the time,” He says then he shrugs when I raise an eyebrow at him. “Ian spends so much time here, he might as well live here.”
I nod slowly. “It’s very nice.”
He comes up behind me and puts his arm around me. “Thank you, Gin, I’m glad you like it.”
I try taking a step away from him but his arm tightens around my waist. He pulls me over so that I’m leaning against the wall and he rests his hand on the left side as he hovers over me, locking me in place. I look up at him suddenly feeling nervous.
“I can’t read minds, Gin,” He says softly as his blue eyes look into mine. “So you’re going to have to tell me why you’re upset."
I look away. “You know why.”
He reaches out and places his hand under my chin. He raises it and waits for me to meet his gaze. “You’re upset about the pictures.”
“So you do read minds.”
His lips quirk up in a grin. “You’re jealous.”
I roll my eyes at him. “Careful there, your face might break in half by how hard you’re smiling.”
He chuckles. “You have been the hardest girl I’ve ever pursued, Gin, I’m just flattered.”
I purse my lips as I look at him. “So is it true?”
“Is what true?”
“Were you being all flirty with your ex-girlfriend, Sadie Brown?” I ask, using one of the headlines I read this morning. I read it over so many times, I memorized it.
He strokes my jawline with his thumb. “Of course not.”
“So you didn’t go out with her last night?” I ask raising my eyebrows.
“I did see her yesterday. We have a new movie coming out and the promo for it started. We have a couple of interviews scheduled with talk shows. Yesterday was just one of the few.”
I frown. “So you’re going to be seeing her then?”
“Yes,” He says. “But it’s just work.”
I study him for a moment. “Are you over her, Derek?” I ask him, looking right into his eyes.
If he’s lying to me, I want to be able to catch it. Sadie is beautiful and I’m sure he has way more things in common with her than he ever will with me. I know they’ve been together for a long time. I know about what she did to him but I also know that spending time with your ex can make feelings resurface. It’s the reason I decided to leave Newport. I didn’t want Kevin to keep looking for me because I knew I would’ve eventually fallen back. It’s just what happens.
Derek doesn’t say anything for a moment and it makes me nervous. “Things are over between Sadie and I for good,” He finally says. “I know it won’t be easy but you need to trust me, Gin. The press is always going to be making these stories up. I’m used to it but I know that you’re not and I’m going to need you to ignore them.” He pauses. “Just come to me and ask me if something is true or not. Please.”
I bite my lip. “I don’t know if I can do this, Derek. This morning when I read that—it made me feel like an idiot again. I know that this is your job. You’re always going to be around women. I just don’t know if I can deal with it without going crazy.”
“Please try,” He says softly.
I look into his eyes. “Are you playing with me? Am I just the girl of the moment to you?”
He clenches his jaw. “I’m not playing with you. I really like you, Gin. You’re the only girl I want to be with right now. Isn’t that enough?”
Is it enough?
I don’t know. I only know one thing and that is that I don’t want to stay away from him. I don’t want to end this.
“Okay.” I whisper.
He grins then presses his lips against mine.
“I’m just going to need a warning every time you’re going to see her,” I say against his lips. “Just so I’m ready for the stories.”
“Of course,” He says. “In fact, I would love it if you could come with me sometime.”
I smile. “You know I will if I can.”
His puts his arms around my waist and he presses his body against mine as he kisses me again, using his tongue this time. I place my hand on his chest and close my eyes, letting go of all the anger and jealousy I felt earlier.
He’s telling me I’m the only girl he wants to be with and I want to believe him. I want to believe that this thing between us could be real and permanent. Am I being a fool? Probably. But I like him too much to care.
19. savannah to you
Derek and I kiss until we run out of breath.
We’re still in the middle of his dining room, with my back pressed against the wall. My knees feel weak. I love the way he’s holding me. His grip is tight around my waist and he’s hovering over me. I feel his hot breath on my neck and then I feel his lips on my collarbone. It makes my skin burn and the tingles in my stomach go wild.
What is it about his kisses that make me forget about everything?
He places butterfly kisses along my collarbone and I put my hand behind his head and run my fingers through his hair.
“Get a room!”
My eyes snap open in surprise and Derek chuckles against my skin.
“It’s just Ian,” He says as he pulls away. He looks at Ian as he’s coming down the stairs. “And he shouldn’t be here.”
I purse my swollen lips and look away, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
“Hey, this is my house too.” Ian jokes winking at me. “Good to see you, Gin.”
Derek narrows his eyes at him. “She’s Savannah to you, dude.” He turns to look at me and grins. “Only I can call her Gin.”
I roll my eyes at him but I’m smiling.
“Fine,” Ian says as he turns on the TV in the living room. “Good to see you, Savannah.”
I smile at him, feeling my shoulders relax. “Good to see you too, Ian.”
Ian looks at Derek. “Did you ask her yet?”
Derek frowns then walks to the fridge in the kitchen. “Not now, Ian.”
I walk over to couch and sit down. “Ask me what?” I ask.
“Nothing,” Derek says from the kitchen but I’m looking at Ian.
“I’m doing an interview for GMNY on Friday. You know, the morning talk show?” He asks, and I nod. Good morning, New York! is a popular morning show here. Ian continues. “They’ve asked me to invite you and Derek.”
I frown. “Me?”
“Yes, you.” He shrugs as he looks at the TV. “We’re going to be talking about the app and since you guys are Hollywood’s hottest couple of the moment and got matched through my app—they wanted to see if you guys would be up for some questions.”
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