“I know. So tell us about New York. How’s school? Work? Do you like it? What’s it like to live in the Big Apple?”
I spend the rest of the drive talking about how my life is like in New York. I tell them about my classes and work. I also tell them about Kim. By the time I catch them up, we arrive to Newport. I look out the window as Josh drives to my parent’s inn. God. I missed this so much. New York has been an adventure but I don’t think I could ever live there permanently. I know that I’ll eventually find my way back here, back home.
Josh takes the baby carrier when we arrive and I hurry inside, eager to hug Mom and Dad.
The inn is very vintage-looking. From the outside, it looks like a big, two-story house. All the guest rooms are on the second floor and our rooms are downstairs, behind the kitchen. The sound of the waves crashing against each other make me stand in the porch for a moment. I missed the ocean a lot. I can’t wait to go sit on the sand and do absolutely nothing.
The inn has a small lobby walking in and there are bells on the door that ring whenever the door opens or closes. Everything looks the same and that makes me smile. The decorations are ocean themed. There are seashell decorations in the lobby and in every room. Some rooms are painted blue and others white. The best thing about the inn is that it’s homey and warm. Most of the reviews consist of people loving the fact that they feel right at home and that’s something people won’t get at a big, five-star hotel.
I find Mom in the kitchen and her face brightens when she sees me.
“Oh, darling,” She says walking towards me with open arms. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you more,” I say hugging her tight.
She’s shorter than me, which might make her seem fragile but she’s anything but that. My mom is a hardworking woman and I’ll always admire her for that. I hope I’m half the woman and mother she is one day.
“Look at you,” She says as we pull away. Her brown eyes scan my face. “You are so beautiful.” She touches my cheek.
I smile sheepishly. “Okay, Mom.”
She laughs. “Your Dad’s in the office. He’s been waiting for you.”
“I’ll go say hi.” I kiss her cheek before making my way towards the inn’s office while Natalie and Josh keep Mom company.
I knock softly on the door then open it slowly. Dad looks up and he grins when he sees me. “I was wondering when you were going to show up.”
I smile. “Hey, Dad.”
“Come here, sweetheart,” He says opening his arms for me.
I feel like crying because I missed him so much. I cross the room and walk straight into my father’s arms.
I’m home.
34. the lucky one
We have a campfire that night, despite the fact that it’s a Tuesday. We have a lot of campfires in the beach, it’s sort of become a tradition of ours. I forgot how much I loved them. I love how the flames look at night. I like the warmth I feel with the sound of the waves in the background. We sit on logs and face the ocean. I could stay here all night.
I sit with Mom and Dad while Natalie and Josh sit on the other log. They don’t stay out late because of Samuel but I’m glad they join us. Seeing them together, though, only makes me miss Derek even more. We haven’t spoken since earlier in the day when I landed.
It’s past midnight when my parents and I finally head inside the inn. They go to their room and I go to mine, which is a few doors down from theirs. Natalie and Josh left earlier to their house so it’s just us and the guests staying in the inn.
I take a long, hot shower then lay on bed and stare up at the ceiling.
I miss Derek. I miss him so much, it’s making me angry at him.
I’m trying to force myself to fall asleep when my phone begins to vibrate next to me. I reach for it and I smile when I see the caller ID. It’s him.
“Hello?” I answer sitting up in bed. The room is dark except for the moonlight coming in through the window. This, of course, makes me think of Derek. I wish he was here with me.
“Hey,” He says and there’s a lot of commotion on his end. It starts to diminish and I imagine him walking out of a loud room. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“No, I couldn’t sleep.” I answer. “How are you?”
“Good. We came to this bar to hang out but I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” His voice is soft and soothing. It feels so good to hear it. It’s quiet now, just the two of us. “I miss you, Gin.”
I press the phone to my ear and close my eyes. “I miss you too.”
“Are you—” He hesitates. “Are you still thinking about breaking up with me?”
I sigh. “I don’t know, Derek. I don’t know what to do or think.”
“Well, since the idea of staying with me isn’t completely revolting to you,” He says amusedly. “I wanted to ask you something.”
“Okay,” I say slowly.
“The premiere for the movie is next Tuesday, a week from today, and I wanted to ask you to be my date?”
My eyes widen. “You want me to go to the movie premiere with you?”
“Of course, you’re the only woman I want to go with.”
I can’t believe he’s asking me this. It’s a movie premiere. Red carpet. Celebrities. Fans. Cameras. I’ve never been to one, obviously, but I’ve seen pictures on social media. The celebrities walk on the red carpet and take tons of pictures. I can’t picture myself in that situation.
“Uh—I don’t know, Derek.” I laugh nervously.
“Why not?”
“Well, for starters, I’m not photogenic.”
“I disagree with that.”
I smile. “I wouldn’t know what to do.”
“You just walk with me. I won't leave your side, I promise.”
“I don’t have anything to wear.”
“I’ll have Stella find something for you,” He says. “Got any more excuses?”
“I might think of something later.” I joke.
He chuckles. “I’ll have a solution for it, just let me know.”
“Okay,” I say and we both laugh.
“How was your day? Did you see your family?”
“Yes,” I say with a smile. “It was good. I finally got to meet my nephew. He’s the cutest baby I’ve ever seen.”
“You say that because you haven’t seen how I looked when I was a baby.” He jokes smugly, making me laugh.
We spend the next hour talking on the phone. I tell him about my day and he tells me about his. After we hang up, I go on Instagram. My eyes feel heavy already. I know I’ll fall asleep soon. That’s when I see a picture Derek posted five minutes ago. It’s a picture of me. I remember him taking that picture. We were at his house and I was walking towards the couch to sit next to him. “Gin, smile for me,” He said and I smiled because why wouldn’t I?
Now, that picture is on his Instagram with the caption “missing you” and it already has over fifty thousand likes. I smile at the screen like an idiot. I can’t believe he did that. I know how much Derek cares about what people think. His social media plays a very important role in his career and he has plastered my face on it. I actually do like the picture. He got me at a good angle.
My phone vibrates as a DM comes in from him. I click on the inbox icon. He forwarded the post with a message under it: see? 100% photogenic ;)
I laugh as I type back a response. goodnight, Derek
goodnight, Gin. dream of me.
I’m still smiling hard as I force myself to put the phone down.
When I finally fall asleep, I dream of him and it’s amazing.
◆◆◆
I wake up in good spirits the next day and it all has to do with Derek.
I help my mom in the inn. I help her cook and clean and do the laundry and it feels so familiar, that I don’t mind at all. Natalie comes over and I spend the day with her, Samuel and Mom and Dad. They catch me up on what they’ve been up to. Natalie tells me about how much she enjoys teaching. She’s so worri
ed about leaving Samuel soon and I feel for her. I wish I could do something to make her feel better.
The interviews with Derek and his co-stars start airing on Thursday and I find myself watching them because I miss him and watching him on TV is better than nothing.
Natalie and I are laying on bed with Samuel in between us. We’re watching one of those morning shows. Derek is sitting in one of the stools with one of his co-stars to his right and Sadie on the other side. I love that he’s not sitting next to her. In fact, he’s not sitting next to her in any of the interviews that we watch.
“He’s very good-looking,” Natalie says as she eats popcorn.
“He’s even better in person,” I say with a smile as I watch him speak on TV. He’s talking about the movie and I love how excited he seems.
She looks at me. “Will we get to meet him?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. He mentioned he has family in Portland but I don’t think he’ll have time this week.”
She props up her elbow and rests her head on her hand. She touches Samuel’s tiny fingers then she looks at me. “So, how serious is it?”
I shrug. “I don’t know.”
“Come on, Sav, I can tell you’re really into him.”
“Is it that obvious?” I ask looking at her.
“To me, yes.”
I take a deep breath. “What do you want me to say? Yes. I like him. A lot.”
“Does he feel the same way?”
I reach for some popcorn. “He says he does.”
She frowns. “You don’t believe him?”
I sigh. “I do when I’m with him.” I smile. “He makes me feel like the only girl in the world when we’re together.”
“But…” she prompts.
I shrug. “It’s just crazy. I mean, he’s a celebrity. Why would he want to be with me?” I look at her and hesitate. I want to be honest with her. I want to tell her everything because it feels like I’m going to explode if I don’t talk about this with anyone. But I’m also afraid of what she might say. I don’t want her to hate Derek. Deep down, I’m scared that if I tell her the truth, she’ll convince me to break up with him and I don’t want that.
“I’m pretty sure you’re the best girl he’s ever dated,” Natalie says with a smile. “You’re not the lucky one, he is.”
I smile at her. “That's so sweet. Thank you.”
“I’m serious, Sav,” She says as she picks up Samuel when he begins to cry. “I’m sure he’s very handsome and magical but don’t forget your worth.” She places Samuel on her thigh and he stops crying.
I nod but don’t say anything. We turn our attention back to the TV. The interview with him and the cast is over but we continue watching.
I feel bad for not telling her the whole truth, but that’s between me and Derek. I want to believe him. I want this to work between us.
After a few minutes, Mom walks into the room.
“There’s someone out in the lobby for you,” She says looking at me.
I feel myself get excited at the possibility of it being Derek but there’s no way it can be him because he doesn’t know where the inn is. Plus he’s working in LA. I frown. “For me? Who?”
“It’s Kevin, darling,” My mom says then turns around and walks out.
I sigh. “Kevin? What is he doing here?”
Natalie smiles. “Looks like Derek might have some competition.”
I roll my eyes at her as I stand up. I catch my reflection in the mirror and I check myself out for a moment. My hair is braided down my back. I’m wearing leggings with a blouse and a cardigan. I’ve officially reached vacation mode and have been living in leggings and sweaters since I got here. I’m not trying to impress anyone, but this is the first time I’m seeing Kevin since the break-up and I find myself feeling uneasy.
“You look great.” Natalie teases.
“You’re annoying,” I say but I’m smiling. I slip in my sandals then walk out of the room wondering what my ex-boyfriend could possibly want.
35. about us?
Kevin is waiting in the lobby.
He looks good, he’s buffer; I can tell he’s been working out a lot. He’s wearing jeans with a dark green shirt that compliments his tan skin. His black hair is shorter, but other than that he looks the same. He’s not facing me when I walk in until he hears my footsteps and then he turns around. Our eyes meet for the first time in months. Seeing him again makes me feel nostalgic. He was my first real boyfriend and the man I gave my virginity to.
Thinking about my virginity makes me think about sex which, of course, makes me think about Derek. He introduced me to a whole other level of pleasure that I never felt in the times I was with Kevin. Now that I’ve experienced sex with another man, I realize that Kevin wasn’t really concerned about making me feel good. He just cared about himself—his own pleasure. This makes me appreciate Derek even more.
“Hi,” I say awkwardly.
Kevin smiles then crosses the room and puts his arms around me in an embrace. I frown and put my arm around him awkwardly. “It’s so good to see you, Savannah,” He says pulling away.
I nod slowly. “What are you doing here?” I ask him, wanting to get straight to the point.
“I heard you were here so I wanted to come and say hi. You know, just see how you were doing,” He says.
I begin to shake my head. “Kevin—"
“Just as friends.” He interrupts before I can say anything else. “I know you have a boyfriend.” He slurs the word like he doesn’t like it. He looks behind me. “Is he here too?”
I wish he was now more than ever. Derek would save me from this awkward conversation.
“No, he’s working,” I say.
“Oh. I called you the other night and he answered. I hope I didn’t cause you any problems.”
Why does his tone make me think he means the exact opposite?
“No, you didn’t. Though it was hard to explain why my ex-boyfriend was calling me.”
“Again, just wanted to say hello. We haven’t spoken in a while.”
“We broke up, Kevin. Why would we need to talk?” I ask not even trying to hide my annoyance.
What does he want? Since when does he care that ‘we haven't spoken in a while'? He didn’t give a damn when he was with his girlfriend. I wonder why they broke up then I shake the thought away. It’s none of my business just like my relationship with Derek is none of his.
Before he can say anything, my mom comes in the room. She smiles. “Staying for lunch, Kevin?”
Kevin looks at me then smiles at her. “Thank you, that’s very kind of you, Gloria. I’d love to.”
I feel something inside of me drop. What game is he playing? And why does my mom have the urge to invite everyone over for lunch? Especially my ex-boyfriend. I’m going to have to tell her to stop doing it.
“Come on, food’s ready.”
Kevin smiles and I turn around and follow my mom to the dining room. Natalie is coming out of the room and I take Samuel off her hands, eager to have something to keep me occupied. I’ve been trying to spend as much time with him as I can; trying to bond so that he doesn’t forget about me when I’m gone. If I ever have any kids, I hope they’re as cute as Samuel.
“You okay?” Natalie asks nervously, eyeing Kevin.
I have my back to him so I roll my eyes. “I don’t know what he wants.”
She purses her lips and I narrow my eyes at her suspiciously but then she goes to the kitchen to help Mom. I sit down and Kevin sits in front of me. I put my hands under Samuel’s arms and raise him up, his tiny feet rest on my lap. “Who’s the cutest baby in the world?” I ask him with a smile. He smiles and my heart warms. “You are!” He laughs, probably at my face.
“You look really good with a baby.”
I was trying really hard to ignore the fact that Kevin was in the room. Now, I glance at him over Samuel’s shoulder. “I’m pretty sure babies are not accessories.”
He chuckles then nods. �
�I meant so say you’re going to be a great mother.”
My smile fades but before I can say anything, Mom and Natalie come back with the plates. We usually have lunch before noon because that’s the time the guests come down to eat. It allows us to sit down all together, though Mom is always running around somewhere.
I sit Samuel on my lap and keep an arm around him as we eat. I focus on him, ignoring Kevin and whatever conversation everyone’s having. After we’re done, I give Natalie the baby then pick up everyone’s dishes and head to the kitchen. I’m washing them when I hear footsteps behind me. I turn my head and see Kevin. I face the sink without saying anything. There is a window right above it and I can see the ocean from here. I focus on the waves, trying to relax.
DEREK'S MATCH Page 24