The Misadventures of Chloe Saunders
Chapter 26
Project
Chloe didn't know how to even begin the topic of her first date with Lauren. She'd never really had any interest in dating but Derek made her want to try it at least once. Sure, he could be rude but there were worse guys to go on her first date with, like Liam or Royce, both cold, sadistic assholes.
"Aunt Lauren?" Chloe asked meekly, staring at her big-eyed reflection in the mirror. She didn't look like a girl who had her first date soon.
"So there's this…guy and I asked him out and I-I…ugh!" Scowling to herself, she leaned against the mirror and sighed heavily. "Why can't I even pretend?"
Giving up, she flopped back onto her bed and stuffed her face in the pillow to muffle her scream of frustration. On the nightstand, her phone buzzed and she didn't even look up to drag it closer.
It buzzed again.
DerBear: What time should I pick you up?
She stared at the screen until it clicked and hurried to unlock the message. I'm not sure. I still haven't asked my aunt and, even though you're on decent terms now, I don't know how she'll react. Her hands shook so badly as she typed that she had to rewrite the message several times before she sent it.
The garage squealed as it opened and she peered out the window to see her aunt's car pull into the driveway.
DerBear: I could just drop by and we could work on the project. That's due Monday, right?
She glanced at her desktop, jiggled the mouse, and stared at the date. Today was Wednesday, so they had four more days to work on it. Yeah. I'm almost done with my half, just three more pages to go. What about you?
The door to the garage that led inside slammed.
"Chloe?" Lauren called like she always did as she dropped her keys in the ceramic bowl.
Two thunks told Chloe that her aunt kicked off her shoes and she glanced at her phone.
Derek was still typing.
"Yeah. Hi, Aunt Lauren," the blond girl said as she opened her bedroom door to greet Lauren.
A man stood behind Lauren, wearing a backwards baseball cap and holding a small dog in his arms. Lauren was wearing a big smile. "You remember your uncle, Ben, right? I ran into him on the way back from the hospital and he's joining us for dinner."
The two glanced at each other.
"Derek's coming over to work on our project though," Chloe blurted without any second thoughts.
The smile on her aunt's face dropped the minute she said Derek's name.
"The project is due Monday, and I want to see how our pieces correspond with each other."
Back on the bed, her phone buzzed.
"I'd like to meet him. I'm sorry I left you at the hospital that night we met. I thought your aunt would take you home," Ben said, even though nobody asked for his opinion, and scratched at his beard.
Chloe turned and answered her phone.
DerBear: More than I'd like. Is it okay to drop by in a few minutes?
Yeah, but my douche uncle is here. Consider yourself warned. "He's dropping by in a few minutes."
Lauren let out an irritated noise. "Thank you for asking me, Chloe."
"It's a project, Aunt Lauren," Chloe said flatly, looking at her so-called uncle.
Ben was scratching his dog, a little daschund with white spots in the fur, completely oblivious to how weird things were. The dog, however, noticed Chloe's stare and whined, struggling to get out of his arms, and he set the little pup down, letting go of the leash.
"This is Amber. She's one," he informed the girl, like she asked.
The dog wobbled over to her and she couldn't resist dropping to Amber's level, letting the daschund climb all over her legs and lick her chin. She may not believe her owner about being related to her, but his dog was insanely cute and howled when Chloe howled.
"She's a rescue," Lauren said, beaming at Ben like a mom boasting about their kids.
It was as Amber climbed over her feet that Chloe realized Amber was missing a leg, her right back one. Poor baby, she thought and pulled the dog against her chest. Amber whined and licked at Chloe's face.
Downstairs, the doorbell rang and Lauren scowled.
"That's probably Derek," Chloe explained with a tiny smile as she headed down the hall and down the stairs.
Derek stood on the porch, wearing a dark t-shirt and a baseball cap that read Genesis II. He was carrying a black laptop bag, and was pressing his phone to ear when she opened the door and pressed a button before he tucked the phone back into his pocket.
"I've got about five more pages and I'm kind of stuck," he said as she opened the door wider and let him in.
Ben was carrying Amber down the stairs as Derek stepped in. "Oh, hello," the man said and Amber squirmed again, catapulting out of Ben's arms.
Derek's hands shot up and caught her and she whined, licking his face eagerly, greeting him like he was an old friend. Her tail wagged wildly, like a plane propeller.
"Who's this?" he asked, looking at Chloe.
She ducked her head. "Amber. She's Ben's dog. Oh, would you like to stay for dinner?" Take that, Aunt Lauren, she thought with a smile as Derek scratched behind Amber's ears and played with her paws.
"Sure," he agreed, looking up at Ben. "How old is she?" he asked, indicating to the dog chewing on the collar of his shirt.
"She's almost one," Ben said proudly.
Chloe felt a stab of guilt at being so rude to him; he didn't seem like a bad guy, but that didn't make up for the fact he continued to say he was her dead mom's brother.
"Let's get cracking," she announced like a dork and Derek's mouth twitched upwards ever so slightly as he followed her into the living room.