Chapter 24
Its Monday afternoon and I'm in my trailer eating lunch. We had practice Saturday and yesterday. Derek's neck is not getting any better, I think its getting worse. He is going to the doctor after the show tonight. He hasn't really said what would happen if the doctor tells him he cant dance. I hope that doesn't happen. I don't think I could have another partner besides him. It would be awful. The only way I would be happy if it was Mark. I have danced with him before so I would be use to it. My knee has been hurting on and off but I'm just going to keep ice on it. I'm actually icing it right now. I'm ready for tonight's show to be over with, so Derek will know what's wrong with him. Its not good for him to keep on dancing while in pain. I just want him to be okay, and not hurt anymore. I get done eating and take the ice off my knee. I lay down on the couch and put a movie in. I fall to sleep.
I wake up to someone bagging on my door. I open it up and its Derek. He walks in and I walk back to the couch and lay down.
" What were you doing?" he asks
" I fell asleep. You bagging on the door woke me up."
" I've called you like 50 times and have been knocking forever. I was worried. People said that they hadn't seen you."
" I have my phone on silent. I'm a deep sleeper, it's weird I even heard you knocking."
" I was just worried about you, sorry for waking you up."
" Its okay, I probably should've been getting up anyways."
I pat the couch and motion my hand for Derek to come here. He lays down beside me. I lay my head on his chest and he wraps his arms around my shoulder.
" Is your neck feeling better?"
" Right now it is. I have been icing it. What about your knee?"
" Its alright. I was icing it before I fell asleep."
We lay together and talk till its time to get up. I have to get my clothes on and hair and make up done. Derek still has to get dressed too. I get up from the couch and walk into the bathroom to change. When I get done I wrap a robe around me and walk out. Derek is still laying on the couch. I walk up behind the end of the couch. I lean over his face and kiss him on the lips.
" Mhmm that's a nice surprise." he says
" Are you ready to go?"
" Yeah."
He gets up and we walk into the studio building. I go into the hair and make up room and he goes to get dressed. It takes about 30 minutes to get my hair done. Its time to get started with the show. Derek finds me and we get in our spots to walk down the stairs. Every time he moves his neck I see him wince. I feel so bad for him, he is in so much pain. We dance 5th tonight, maybe he will keep ice on it until then. We walk down the stairs and then go back up the sky box.
" Are you going to ice your neck?" I ask him
" I haven't really thought about it. Do you think I should?"
" I don't think it would hurt."
" Okay."
I sit in the sky box while Derek goes into a different room to ice his neck. Its finally our turn to dance. I'm sitting on his lap on the lawn mower.
" Are you okay?" I ask
" Yes, how couldn't I be with you sitting on my lap?"
" Shut up." I say laughing
We do the dance and I forget some of my solo. Other than that the dance went decent. We have definitely had better nights. We get a 9.5 from Carrie Ann, a 8.5 from Len, and a 10 from Bruno. The scores were all over the place. I'm not really sure why Len gave us a 8.5. I thought we danced a whole lot better than that. Derek promised him that if we make it through he was going to choreograph the dance just the way he would want it. I just hope Derek gets to dance with me next week. We have the group dance and then the show will be over. We don't get the bonus points in the group dance. At this point I don't really care about 2 bonus points. I'm anxious for Derek to go to the doctor. We walk back to my trailer together to say goodbye.
" I will call you when I get out of the doctor's office."
" Okay, if your home when I get done with press do you care if I come over?"
" No, I don't care. I would love for you to come."
I reach up and kiss him.
" I love you and good luck with the doctor."
" I love you too. I will see you later."
After he leaves I go to do press. I'm finally done with press and they all asked me where Derek was. I just told them he was at the doctor and he would talk more about it on tomorrows show. The whole time I did press I had my phone in my hand. I'm just waiting for Derek to call or text. While I'm walking back to my trailer to get my bags I get a text from Derek.
" I just got out of the office. I'm heading home if you want to meet me there and I will explain everything to you. Mark is with me."
I text him back. " Okay, I will be there in a minute." I press send and walk into the bathroom to change clothes. I change into some fresh clothes and head to my car. It takes me about 20 minutes to get to Derek's house. I knock on the door. I stand there for a few minutes before Derek opens the door.
" Hey babe." he says
" Hey"
I reach up and give him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. I walk into the living room and Mark is sitting on the couch. He stands up when he sees me and walks over to me.
" Shawnyyy" he says
He bends down and hugs me and then spins me around. When he sets me down he leans down and kisses me on the cheek. I hear Derek making a scowl noise behind me and I cant help but giggle a little bit. Derek walks over to the couch and sits down. I follow him over there. We sit down and Mark sits on the other couch beside us.
" So, what did the doctor say?" I ask
" Well, he said that my bone is rubbing up against something in my neck. I will have to get surgery sometime and have that bone shaved down. He said that I'm not released to dance and I will have to sit out most of the week. He also said that if I'm feeling better by Monday I could dance, but he doesn't want me moving me neck at all for a few days."
I just look at him trying to get my head wrapped around what he said. It takes me a few minutes before I respond.
" Who am I going to practice with?" I ask
" Well that's why Mark is here. You will dance with him until I can get better."
" Are you serious."
" Dead."
" Well thanks Shawn, that makes me feel great." Mark says
" I don't mean it in a bad way. I just mean it will be different for me to go back dancing with you."
" Why do you say that? We have danced together before and won." he says
" I have just got used to dancing with Derek and now I'm going back to you. It will just be weird."
" Nah, it will be fun. Like old times." Mark says
Derek is just staring at the tv while we are talking.
" Are you going to dress out for the show tomorrow?" I ask Derek
" Yes, we wont be dancing and at some point I will tell what's wrong with me. I'll also say that Mark will be filling in."
" Okay."
Derek scoots over closer to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder. I wrap my arm around his torso and lay my head on his chest.
" You will be just fine. I will be back dancing with you in no time."
I look up at him.
" Don't worry about me, you just worry about getting yourself better."
He leans down and kisses my forehead. At this point I have forgotten that Mark was even in the room. I lay my head back down on Derek's chest.
" Well I umm am fixing to head home. Its kind of late." Mark says
" Okay." Derek replies
" I will see ya'll at the show tomorrow." he says
" Okay, bye." I say not even lifting my head off Derek's chest to look at him.
After Mark leaves Derek and I have still not moved.
" How was press?" he asks
" Alright, kind of boring without you there."
" Did any of them ask where I was?"
" Yes, I just told them you were at the doctor and would talk about it more on tomorrow's show." I say yawning
" Are you tired?" he asks
" Yeah, a little bit." I reply
" If you want to stay over you can. I thought Mark was going to stay or I would have told you earlier. I guess he got uncomfortable and left." he says laughing
" Haha, I had forget about him being in here."
" Me too. Do you want to go to bed?"
" Yes."
We get up off the couch and Derek holds my hand the whole way up the stairs. When we get to his bedroom I go and jump on the bed. His bed is amazingly comfortable. He walks over to the dresser and pulls out some pajama pants. Then he takes off his shirt and then his pants. He throws the pants on but doesn't put on another shirt, which I am perfectly fine with. I guess he catches me staring at him because he starts laughing.
" Enjoying the view?" he asks laughing
" Of course." I say smiling
He walks over and cuts the tv on and then cuts the lights off. He climbs into bed beside me. I just look at him smiling like an idiot but I cant help it.
" What?" he asks
" Just admiring my boyfriend."
" I love it when you call me that."
" You do, boyfriend." I say laughing
" Mark was a little friendly tonight. Wasn't he?"
" I didn't notice it. I did notice that you scowled when he picked me up. I actually laughed a little bit."
" Yeah I heard you giggling. I figured you were laughing at him."
" Nope, I was laughing at you."
" I love Mark, I mean he is like my brother and all. When we are both around you he brings out the devil in me. He is so flirty with you."
" I haven't thought of Mark like that in a long time."
" You mean you used to? I thought you said you never liked him."
" I did when I first met him. I mean come on I was 17. You cant expect me not to have had a crush on him."
" Did he ever ask you out?"
" No, not while we were on the show."
" But he did after?"
" Yes, we have kept in touch over the years. He was like my best guy friend. Any time I had problems with Ryan he was the first person I called."
" Oh I didn't realize you had that good of a relationship with him. He never told me he asked you out."
" That's probably because I said no."
" You did?"
" Yes, I was currently in a relationship at the time."
" Oh."
" Every time he flirts with me I usually don't notice. You know why?"
" Why?" he asks
He is sitting up against the pillows against the bed frame. I climb over to him and straddle his waist. I put both my hands on his chest and run my fingers up and down his stomach.
" Because I have this amazing boyfriend who I love and love to flirt with." I say while leaning in closer to him.
" He sounds like a lucky guy."
" Nope, I'm the lucky one."
I lean in all the way and kiss him. When are lips meet the kiss just explodes. His hands are running up and down my body and mine are running through his hair. He picks me up and flips me on my back. He has his elbow on the bed holding his weight up. His other hand is roaming all over my body. He suddenly pulls away.
" What is it?" I ask panting
" I just don't want us to get carried away, if you know what I mean."
" We wont, beside I love making out with you."
" You do?"
" Yes."
" Good, because I do too." he says laughing
I very carefully wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down to me. We start kissing again. We stop when we need to come up for air. We have changed positions and Derek's head is laying on my chest with his arm thrown over my stomach. Our legs our tangled between each others. This is probable the most comfortable I have ever been.
" Who knew for us to both be in such great shape we get out off breath making out."
" I know, I guess its just great kissing."
" I guess so." I say blushing
" Are you comfortable?"
" Yes, very much."
" Okay I just don't want to crush you."
" Your not going to crush me. I've told you before I'm pretty strong."
" I believe you. I mean just look at those muscles. I think your stronger than me."
" Oh shut up." I say giggling
" Its true."
" Your crazy."
He leans up off my chest and looks me in the eyes. His hand goes to my face and he starts rubbing my cheek.
" But you love me right?"
" Of course."
I lean in and close the little gap between us.
" As much fun as I'm having and would love to do this all night. I'm exhausted. Are you ready to go to sleep?" he says smiling
" Yes. Do you have a shirt I can put on?"
" Yeah there is one in the second drawer from the bottom."
I get out of the bed and walk over to the dresser. I grab a shirt and take mine off. I slip the other shirt on and when I see it goes all the way to my knees I take off my pants. I turn around and head back to the bed. I climb in and Derek is turned over on his side. I slide in with my back against him. He puts his arm over my waist.
" Goodnight, I love you." he whispers in my ear
" I love you too, goodnight."
The next morning I wake up and Derek is not in the bed. I roll over and on his pillow there is a note. There are two long stem roses laying beside it. It says " Shawn, I had such a good night last night despite the news I got. I hoped you slept well. I'm sorry I had to go so early this morning, but I cooked breakfast. Its down stairs waiting on you. Love, Derek ;)
He does the sweetest things for me. He just made my day already. I pick up the roses and smell them. I love the smell of roses they are my favorite flowers. I grab them and walk down stairs. Sure enough there is a plate sitting on the table with aluminum foil over it. Beside the plate there is another note. It says " I see you found the plate. I fixed eggs, bacon, sausage, and some biscuits. I hope they are good and there is some milk in the fridge. Enjoy. Love Derek ;)
Gosh I don't know how I got so lucky to find a guy like him. I remove the foil and eat my food. When I'm done eating I walk back up stairs and grab my clothes and put them back on. I grab my roses and both my notes and then leave his house. I have to go to my apartment and take a shower and wash my hair so the ladies can fix it for the show. When I get home I grab a cup and put some water in it and put the roses in it. I then grab my phone and text Derek. I text " Thank you so much for breakfast. It was really good, you're an amazing cook. Your note and the roses was so sweet. I don't really deserve you. I love you so much. I will see you later. ;)" After I send it I go and take a shower. When I get out I get dressed and grab a few things and then leave the apartment.
It takes me no time to get to the studio. The parking lot and its full. I look down at my phone and see its 3:00. Now wonder why everybody is already here. I go to my trailer to put everything up and then walk into hair and make up. It takes about 45 minutes for them to dry my hair and then curl it. Someone else comes over and puts my make up which takes another 30 minutes. I leave there and go back to my trailer to get dressed. I still haven't seen Derek the whole time I've been here. He might not even be here yet. Who knows with that guy. I just start smiling just thinking about him. He makes me so happy. I get dressed in my country clothes for tonight and then sit down to eat a snack. I grab a bowl of celery and some carrots. I hear someone knocking on my door. I walk over and open the door thinking it was Derek. Its not, its Sabrina and Melissa which is perfectly fine. I really haven't got to see them as much outside of practicing for dances.
" Hey ya'll, come on in."
They walk in and we sit down on the couch. " Do you want anything to eat? Got some good healthy foods." I say laughing
" You and your nutritious food." Sabrina says laughing
" I cant help it, I love it."
" Your crazy." Melissa says
" How is your knee?" Sabrina asks
" Its been decent. Some days it hurts more than others I will always have problems with it."
" I just feel bad because we were goofing off together."
" Its alright. I might would've hurt it another time while dancing."
" It don't look as bad as it did that day." Melissa says
" Yeah." Sabrina adds
" When it swells I just ice it for 30 minutes of so."
We sit and talk until its time to go. They both have to get there hair re-curled before the show. Thankfully my hair holds curl so I have another hour to do nothing before the show. I decide to walk to Derek's trailer and see if he is here. When I get there I knock on the door and Mark opens it.
" Hey, is Derek here?"
" Yeah, come on in."
I walk into the trailer and Derek is sitting on the couch icing his neck. I go over and sit down beside him. Mark walks in behind me and sits down on the chair.
" Hey babe." he says while leaning over and kissing me on the cheek
" Hey, I hadn't seen you and I was getting worried about you."
" I'm alright. My neck is just hurting pretty bad right now."
" Yes, Mr. Jackass over here thought he was okay and thought he could dance. I found him in the studio dancing up a storm. Now he is paying for it." Mark says
I slap Derek on the arm.
" Dancing? Are you crazy?" I yell
" I told you not to tell her!" Derek says through gritted teeth
" I'm not keeping that from here. Ya'll are dance partners and she should no."
" I'm glad he told me because other wise I wouldn't have found out."
" I was fine before I started dancing. My neck wasn't hurting at all. It will be okay."
" Yeah well now your neck is hurting like hell." I say
" And my arm from where you hit me." he says laughing
" This is not suppose to be funny." I say trying to hold back from laughing
" I'm fine, Mark got me some ice and now I'm fine. Just a little spell."
" Please just don't do anything that stupid again. Wait till you are 100 percent better."
" Yes please." Mark says
" Okay fine, I promise." Derek replies
We sit and talk for a little while. When the show is on Derek explains about his neck and that Mark will be filling in. You can tell he is in pain right now. The big dummy should have not went and danced. I hope Mark and I got through to him. We are safe and Sabrina and Louis get sent home. When I go up to hug her I just start crying. I cant believe she got sent home. She is such an amazing dancer. I guess that just proves even the best dances get sent home. When the show is all over with Derek and I say goodbye and I leave my trailer. I head home to my apartment. We are going to have a long week ahead of us.
Hope you liked it. Please review, I always love to hear your feedback.- Mallory