"I had a really nice time today," Derek remarked, perhaps a little awkwardly. He'd never done this before: the end of a date where he actually wanted a second one...
"You sound surprised," Savannah said, only half teasing. They'd arrived at her dorm room, but he was still holding onto her hand and she was loathe to let it go either.
He laughed a little nervously, shrugged. "It's been awhile since I've been on a real date," he admitted, then amended, "I mean, with someone I really liked."
"Really?" she asked, brow raised. "The rumour around campus is that you're kind of a man slut."
His laugh was fuller, freer this time. "Hey, give me a little credit – that's all just for show." He paused, added, "Mostly."
Savannah's grin in return was cheeky. "Regardless...I'm glad you agreed to let Matt and Kristy set us up. Not to sound like a stalker, but I've been bugging Kristy to give you my number for awhile."
"I'm flattered. Stalker," he teased.
She rolled her eyes. "Shut up, man slut."
He laughed. He paused to look in her eyes, feeling kind of embarrassed by his sudden lack of smoothness. He cleared his throat. "I don't suppose you're free for dinner on Thursday?" he asked hopefully.
"You certainly don't waste any time, do you?"
"Not when I've somehow managed to land a catch like you." He winked playfully, but was entirely serious. "We'll go somewhere off campus – somewhere nice...somewhere healthy, so Coach doesn't yell at me."
"Well, in that case, I'd love to get dinner," she agreed. "Say seven? So I have time to shower after practice."
"Can't wait." With that, he squeezed the hand he still had clutched in his own, then leaned in to kiss her cheek, making her blush. "Much as I hate to go, I've got a mountain of homework," he lamented. "But I'll text you later."
"You'd better," she said with wave, watching from the doorway as he trotted off.
On the way back to his dorm, Derek was practically floating on air. He hadn't felt this good, this free in so long. Longer than he could remember. If the campus weren't swarming with people out for evening runs, he would have kicked up his heels.
"What are you so happy about?" a teasing voice asked, startling him out of his trance.
"Oh, umm, hey JJ," he stammered, offering an awkward smile as she skidded to a stop in front of him, jogging in place. "What's up?"
"Nothing much," she said with a sly grin. "Seriously, you look like the Cheshire Cat... What's going on?"
For a few moments, he debated whether to tell her, knowing she'd inevitably tell Emily. Then, he realized that was the first time he'd thought of her all day – he wasn't entirely sure what to do with that information.
"I, umm, I had a date," he admitted with a shrug.
"A date?" JJ repeated, surprised. "Like a real date? With who?"
"A girl on the field hockey team," he said vaguely.
When he didn't seem about to offer up further detail, she smiled encouragingly. "That's good."
"What?" he asked, confused but how easily and enthused the encouragement had fallen off her tongue.
"I'm glad," she said, "You're moving on."
"Moving on?" he repeated dumbly.
She nodded. "It's great that you're getting your mind off Emily. She's happy and she wants you to be happy too."
He opened his mouth, closed it a few times, unsure what to say.
"Anyway, I've got to get going – my heart rate is dropping." She waved and jogged off.
For a few moments, he stood there, stunned and confused, watching her retreating back, blonde ponytail swinging. He wasn't sure what to make of her words.
If Emily was so happy, he wondered, why had she kissed him back? Then: why did he care? She'd made it very clear she wasn't interested, so he was moving on. Just like JJ had said.
Why, then, did the words cut him like a knife?
When he made it back to his dorm, he found Spencer sitting outside the door. "Hey, kid, what are you doing here?" he asked, startling him out of his reading.
Closing the thick tome in his lap and pushing his glasses further up his nose, he replied, "Waiting for you."
"Well, obviously. I meant, why aren't you waiting inside? Matt would have let you in," Derek elaborated.
He shrugged, looking embarrassed. "I didn't want to be a bother."
"So, you decided to bother me instead?" he teased, offering a hand to help him up. Spencer's expression seemed so pathetically downtrodden at the teasing, that Derek, shook his head, smiling. "I'm only joking, kid. What's up?"
His cheeks pinked and he suddenly couldn't meet Derek's eye, focusing determinedly on the shiny linoleum floor, scuffing the toe of his sneaker along the ground. "I, umm... I need your advice."
Derek raised a brow. "You need my advice? But you know basically everything there is to know!" he said incredulously.
"It'saboutagirl," he said in a rush of breath, words jumbling together.
"What was that?"
"It's about a girl," he repeated, slower, but still in a whisper.
Derek's face split in a wide grin. "A girl?" He clapped Spencer on the shoulder. "My man..."
"I mean, you obviously know a lot about girls and dating and everything and I really like this girl, but I don't know how to talk to her and I really want her to like me back, but every time I try to say something to her, I get all tongue-tied and just stare at her like an idiot," he lamented. "Help me!"
"You've come to the right place," Derek said with a laugh. "So, what's this girl's name?"
"Maeve," Spencer replied, getting a dreamy look on his face. "She's a diver and she's so pretty and smart! She's already been accepted to like three colleges and..."
"Whoa, slow down there, Lover Boy," Derek teased. "Let's start with a conversation before you move on to planning your wedding. What makes you feel confident?"
"Statistics," he answered instantly.
"No," Derek replied just as immediately. "Just trust me, no. Something else."
"Magic?" Spencer offered, this time more hesitantly.
"There you go," he said eagerly. "Chicks dig magic. Next time you cross paths with her, wow her with a magic trick."
Spencer's eyes went wide, stricken. "Just go up to her and talk to her? Just like that?"
"Trust me," Derek said, affixing him with a stern stare. "If there's one thing I know, it's women..."