Derek by A.F. Montoya

Author:A.F. Montoya [Montoya, A.F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-12-31T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

LIV

After the fiasco with Gigi, I didn’t trust her near Derek. She took pleasure in embarrassing me. He was a sweetheart though and spent a few minutes helping me relax before I had to go back to the customer. He got comfortable on the couch and at one point Gigi said he fell asleep.

“You’ve only been seeing each other a few days?”

I glanced up at the client. She’s really quiet and hadn’t said much throughout her appointment but she no longer looked terrified of Derek. The Gigi attack helped and watching Derek settle me. She was more relaxed when I came back and now she looked more curiously in his direction.

Nodding, I spoke while keeping my eye on the tattoo. She was getting a phoenix on her wrist and she asked me to use as little black as possible. She wanted it to be bright and beautiful.

“Mhmm. I met him at my friend’s birthday party on Sunday.”

She sighed and when I looked up at her, something flashed over her face before she masked it. “You two seem to really get each other. He knew just what to do to help you calm down. That’s rare.”

Frowning, I glanced over at Derek. The one time Gigi got near him was to nudge him into lying down when his head kept lolling. He was too big, he was at an angle with his feet still on the floor, but he looked comfortable enough.

“You think?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I thought I found that but… in the end he just didn’t get me.”

Sadness washed over her and I stopped long enough to put a hand on her shoulder. She gave me a small smile before her gaze shifted over the room and she went quiet again. I finished up not long after and while I was wrapping it I explained the care instructions. She nodded quickly and took off as soon as she got her receipt. Before I could stop myself, I pushed out the door and jogged after her, catching her as she was heading down the street.

“Hey!”

She jumped, her eyes wide, and I winced. “Sorry. I wanted to let you know that if you ever needed anything, even just someone to talk to, we’ve got an open couch policy. You can come hang out. You don’t even have to say anything if you just need a space to relax.”

Her eyes darted to the shop and back to me before she nodded shakily. “I’ll… I’ll think about it. Thanks though.”

Nodding, I stepped back and waved at her. She spun and took off but I was worried about her. She seemed really jumpy and she never even flinched at the tattoo, like it didn’t hurt a bit. I had her email, maybe I could write to her in a few days under the guise of checking her healing progress.

Heading back inside, I cleaned up my mess before going to check on Derek. He was still fast asleep. I leaned over him, brushing the hair off his forehead.

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