Disclaimer: I do not own any GA content.
SN: Hi readers! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter… I'm really liking where this story is going. So enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to review! I'd appreciate it! –H
-Begging You for Mercy-
The next morning sort of had that 'morning after' effect on Derek and me, if you know what I mean. I woke up first and jumped out of the bed at the sight of the still sleeping man next to me. I rushed to the bathroom and quickly got ready for school and scribbled a note to Derek, saying:
D-
I already left, so A wouldn't get suspicious or anything. See you later. And thanks for last night.
-Layne
When I arrived at school, Addison caught me by the arm. "Hey, Lay, how were drinks with Mark?" she asked. Oh shit! I remembered. I was supposed to go out for drinks with Mark last night. "I, err, it was good! Sorry, I'm still waking up." I stated poorly. Of course, Addison was with Derek in the first place, and now Derek and I were both cheaters. I'd never been one to do things like what I pulled with Derek last night. I respected boundaries and when my friends had boyfriends, I stayed away. Maybe Ashleigh visiting this weekend would take my mind off of things. It would give me an excuse not to go and hook up with Derek again, and it would allow me to have an excuse not to see Mark or Addison.
In class, I took notes constantly and ignored Addison when she tried to talk to me, saying that I really needed to be paying attention. Little did the redhead know, I was honestly just attempting to ignore her. As soon as the bell rang, I rushed out of class and straight to my car. I sat there for a minute, just thinking about everything that had gone down in the past few days. Finding that the longer I sat there, the more likely it was that someone like Derek or Addison would find me. I put the car in reverse and quickly drove off. Having about an hour for lunch, I decided to head back to my apartment and sulk around.
On my way back, I ran into Mark. Like I needed to deal with anybody else today, I thought. "Hey, Layne." Mark smiled, awkwardly wrapping his arm around my waist. Tempted to automatically push him away, I thought about it first and decided not to. If I can pull this off with Mark, Addison won't ever find out about my one night stand with Derek! I reminded myself. "What's up?" I asked, trying to be as flirty as possible with him. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go out for dinner tonight, since you sort of ditched me for drinks the other day." He said with a slight wink. I rolled my eyes at him playfully. "Yeah, that sounds good. I promise I won't ditch you this time. Swing by my apartment and around eight?" I suggested. He nodded, pecked my cheek, took my hand and we walked inside together. At first, I wasn't sure what I thought about this whole thing, about how I still felt about Derek. Did he know? Why wasn't Addison out of the picture yet?
Back in class, I found that I didn't really know what I wanted. When I walked down the hall, I accidentally ran into someone. "Oh, God, I'm sorry!" I exclaimed, realizing that I'd spilled coffee all over him. "No worries, Alayna. Yeah, I know who you are. You're sort of famous here now. I'm Ben Warren, by the way." He told me. Immediately, I'm shocked. Why the hell am I famous around here? More importantly, how the hell am I famous around here? Does someone know about what going on with all of my man issues? I couldn't even bare to think about it.
The day slowly but surely passed, allowing me to escape from campus and get ready for my date with Mark. My long, dark brown hair was curled into small ringlets, my hands dazzled with rings of various stones and jewels, a simple, sterling silver 'A' necklace hung around my neck, and a short, black cocktail dress with a lacy pattern hugged my thighs. Am I putting myself out there? Am I asking for it? I contemplated as I stared at my finished product in the mirror.
The doorbell rang and I ran to open it, checking my hair one last time before doing so. Instead of it being Mark, it was Derek. Oh holy Hell… I was panicking, but I managed to put on a straight face. "Oh, wow, Alayna. I didn't realize you were going out tonight. I just wanted to see if you wanted to come over." He said. I shook my head and replied, "Come in, hurry!" I lead him to the bedroom and we sat down. "Who are you going with?" He asked. I almost detected a hint of jealousy in his voice. "Mark, but hey, it doesn't mean I regret last night. Actually, this is a cover up. This way no one will suspect it, understand?" I admitted. Receiving a smile and a soft kiss on the lips, I heard another knock. "Shit, it's Mark. Go, uh, hide in the closet? Wait five minutes, then you can do whatever. I'll be back about ten… Will you wait for me?" I pleaded as quietly as possible. He nodded, running to the closet.
I answered the door again, this time to a very handsome Mark. Stepping outside immediately, I closed the door. "Where to?" I smiled flirtatiously. We decided on a fancier restaurant and talked for awhile, but I just wasn't interested. All I could think about was the dreamy man in my apartment.
This wasn't like me at all, having two men and such and sneaking around just so I can be Derek's secret lover. I'd had a steady boyfriend back in Hendersonville, but we'd broken up after graduation since he was at Stanford and I was at Yale. I was never big on the whole long distance thing, especially since I was going to be on the opposite side of the country.
We arrived at the restaurant and sat at a seat near the window. It was already dark by the time the waiter came by to pour the wine. We toasted our glasses to 'new beginnings' and I choked back a laugh. Sure, I liked Mark, just like in that brother/sister way. "So how do you like New Haven?" he asked, trying to make small talk. It took all that I had not to roll my eyes, but I had to do this and pull it off for Derek. "It's good, but it's no Hendersonville. My sister's coming up tomorrow though, so she'll bring a little piece of home with her." I said. It was true about what I said about Ashleigh. We'd always get along great before I left. I missed my sister more than anything. Sure, I loved Avery, but Ashleigh and I just had a better connection.
Dinner was boring, to put it nicely. Mark walked me home and kissed me smack on the lips. I kissed back, but only for show. I walked inside, refusing to let him in at the risk of him seeing Derek. "Der?" I called softly, just incase Mark was still at the door. "Finally, you're back. I missed you." He said, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing me passionately on the lips. "I missed you too. You were all I thought about tonight…" I started to say, but my voice slowly trailed off. "Yeah? What would you think if I left Addison?" He asked slowly as he stroked my curls. My eyes blinked quickly. Had I just heard him correctly. "Derek… You can't just leave her… No, Der, she'll hate me!" I moaned, pulling away for just a moment before bringing myself back into him. "So you like this? This… This sneaking around? Alayna, I'm bored with Addison. I don't want that any more, especially since the Mark ordeal. Plus, you won't have to go on another date with someone else ever again." He reasoned. I sighed and put my head on his shoulder. "Do what you want, Derek, but for now? Shut up and kiss me."