The Misadventures of Chloe Saunders
Chapter 28
Plans
Dinner was awkward, to say the least. Derek squeezed his hulking frame into a tiny chair, and every time either he or Chloe moved, their arms or legs brushed, sending heated contractions in Chloe's stomach.
"So," Ben said, helping himself to a another slice of garlic bread, "how do you know Chloe?" He smiled kindly, but there was something serious about it as well.
"You asked that before. School," Derek managed between large bites of his spaghetti; despite inhaling it, there was hardly any mess on his face or the place mat.
Ben's smile faltered a little. "You said that last time," he informed them, breaking his garlic bread into pieces and sopping up some of the spaghetti sauce.
"Last time?"Aunt Lauren asked sharply, peering at them with hawk eyes. Chloe forgot she hadn't told her about the buffet.
"Yes, we went out to eat last Thursday. I asked them how long they'd been together."
Chloe wanted to strangle him. It was all a misunderstanding between them—Ben assuming Derek was her boyfriend—and now he'd gone and told Aunt Lauren.
"Together?" Aunt Lauren echoed, her eyes wide. "As in dating?" Her normally pale face was slowly turning red-purple.
"I-it wa-as a misund-underst-tanding," Chloe pointed out quickly, shooting Ben a sharp glare. "He th-thou-ought D-Der-erek—" Fed up with her stutter, she paused, took a deep breath, and concentrated. "He thought D-Derek and I were dating. I was going to correct the next time I saw him, which is tonight."
Derek hadn't said a word, just inhaled his food, but he kept throwing sneaky glances at Chloe. She wasn't sure what they were, but she knew they definitely were far from being a couple; they were interested in each other, but she had a feeling it would be a long time before they were officially together.
"While I-I would like to s-see where he and I go, we aren't together. I mean, w-we still need t-to figure out the date, right?" She turned to him then and his eyes met hers, bold and unwavering.
"Yeah."
"When were you going to tell me?" Aunt Lauren asked softly, her once hawk eyes now soft.
Chloe chewed her cheek for a minute before answering. "I-I wa-asn't sure how you'd rea-act," she admitted weakly, avoiding her aunt's eyes, "and I kn-know you do-on't like him but he's no-ot that ba-ad." Tensing her jaw, she lifted her eyes to meet her aunt's gaze.
"I would've taken the day off to help you. I'm not exactly the most helpful, too overbearing, but I just worry." Aunt Lauren's lips wobbled uncharacteristically. "But I'm booked this entire week." A thoughtful look passed across her face as she shot a glance at Ben.
"Maybe..." she started, turning to him.
Ben turned red. "I dunno," he muttered petulantly.
"Oh, come on! Please?"
It was amusing to watch the siblings banter back and forth. Chloe relaxed, her heart calming, no longer pounding in her ears, and sat back in her chair, sipping her water.
Something warm brushed her hand once, twice. She thought nothing of it. And then the warmth curled around her fingers.
Wiping up some of the water that had dribbled out of her mouth when she choked slightly, she glanced at Derek, who was intently eating. Her eyes drifted down to find his hand in hers and her heart humped loudly. Heat flooded her cheeks as she looked away quickly and tried to eat as casually as she could.
"It's settled," Aunt Lauren announced, making Chloe jerk, banging her knee on the edge of the table.
Derek snorted something that sounded suspiciously like a laugh as he reached his hand out to steady her precariously glass.
"W-what's settled?" Chloe asked, glancing between the siblings. Aunt Lauren looked rather smug, her lips stretched wide with a smile; Ben, on the other hand, oozed defeat, his arms crossed pettishly.
"Ben's going to help you get ready." At Chloe's horrified look, her aunt hurried on. "He has two girls, about your age, and he's worked for a fashion designer from Sacramento, so he knows what he's doing. And he's agreed to take some pictures for me."
Chloe felt her face turn hot again, blistering her cheeks and then low, across her chest. Her ears burned. A quick glance at Derek told her he was amused, his eyes crinkled at the corners.
Utterly humiliated and embarrassed, she tried to pull her hand out of his. He squeezed gently, his amused expression melting away, into something softer, kinder. She'd never seen that look on his face and it made her chest tight, her heart drumming steadily. She wanted to—she didn't even know—do something.
"Where are we going to go?" he asked suddenly.
She looked down at the half-empty plate and nudged it to him. He dropped her hand then and she missed the warmth almost immediately. That was the question. Where? The town they lived in was small, and her experience was zilch with boys so she didn't exactly know any dating hot spots.
"I could ask Kari—no, then she'll pester me about who I'm going to see. I've never been on a date."
"What about a movie and dinner?" Derek asked, pausing in chowing down his third slice of garlic bread.
She gave him a flat look and he rolled his eyes at her in response. "I dunno. I've watched all the movies that are out."
"That doesn't surprise me," he said, shoving another massive bite into his mouth. He chewed for a minute, swallowed, and then scowled.
Amber yelped excitedly as she danced in the space between Chloe and Derek's chairs, hopping on her back legs, her big, brown eyes pleading for just a little taste of garlic bread or one meatball.
Derek shot a quick look at Ben and Lauren, then at Chloe, and then broke a meatball in two pieces and handed them to Amber, who snarfed them up so fast, it was a wonder she didn't burn her tongue.
Chloe smiled and bumped his hip with her knuckles. "You didn't peg me as the type to sneak a dog scraps," she teased and then an idea came to her. "The dog park!" she yelled suddenly.
"The dog park?" Aunt Lauren echoed incredulously, her face scrunching up.
Chloe looked over at Derek, who shrugged.
"Why not?" he muttered.
"Yes!"
