Devil's Kiss (Sunset Cove #2) (19 page)

When Finn pulled back, he looked Derek up and down and asked, “Since when? The only two things you’ve ever stuck with is running and smoking, which seems kind of counterproductive, but…”

Derek chuckled. “At least it proves that I can stick to something.”

“Yeah, but only things you enjoy.”

“Well, what’s the point of doing something you don’t like?” He paused and then flashed a grin. “I use the same motto in my sex life.”

Finn laughed, but the smile that crossed his lips didn’t quite reach his eyes and had Derek instantly concerned. Something was off. Finn was always the jovial one of the two of them, but this guy in front of him, he was trying to put on a good front, and it wasn’t fooling Derek for a second.

“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” Derek asked, then looked over Finn’s shoulders to see Jordan’s back as he walked away from them and into the crowd of students.

Fuck.
He’d really wanted to talk to Jordan, but he wasn’t sure how to do that without alerting Finn. Then there’d be a million questions on why he needed to speak to Posh Spice, and really, he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t be able to finally spill all his secrets.
 

Hell, maybe that was what he needed to do. Go and get shitfaced with Finn and finally tell him everything that had been going on with his life. Maybe then Finn would feel comfortable telling him whatever was bothering him.

“Not much. I have my ceremony then I was going to go home,” Finn said, and the tone of his voice sent a feeling of apprehension through Derek.
 

“Do you want to go and grab a couple of beers and chat after you get done?”

Finn’s eyes found his, and the pain inside them had Derek taking a step toward his friend. “What’s going on, Danny boy? You’re starting to freak me out. Is it your mom? Katrina? Is everyone okay?”

Finn nodded quickly at that, easing Derek’s concerns over his family and health.

“Then what is it? I know something’s wrong. You could never hide anything worth a shit.”

As they headed toward the auditorium doors, Finn shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded. “Yeah. I was coming to…” He paused as they stepped out into the sun-filled summer day, and when they moved under one of the pavilion tents that had been erected, Finn toed the grass underfoot and finally looked Derek in the eye. “I wanted to see you graduate and…and to say goodbye.”

That brought Derek to a fucking halt. “Goodbye?” he asked, turning to face Finn, who was grinding his teeth like he wanted to scream.

“Yeah.”

Finn went to walk away from him, but Derek reached for his arm, stopping him. “Wait up. Where the fuck are you going that you have to say goodbye? I know we haven’t been real close lately, but—”

“I’m going to Chicago.” The words were clipped and cold, and Finn’s expression offered no explanation.

What the hell was going on? “Am I allowed to ask why?”

Finn shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks and tilted his head to the side. “You can. I’m not sure I know the answer, though. Look, this is hard enough. Don’t make it any harder.”

“Then help me to understand, because the Finn I know wouldn’t decide to just up and leave his family.”

Finn’s eyes met his then, and the anger that had been cool and collected suddenly roared to life. “Really?
You’re
going to say that to
me?
”

The force behind that question immediately had Derek’s spine straightening. “Well, it’s true. They’re here, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, they are. You’re also here, Derek. Though God knows what the hell you’ve been doing these past few months or where you’ve been.”
 

Derek tried to think of an appropriate response, but since he’d been lying to his friend, he really had nothing to say in his own defense.

“You know what,” Finn said. “Just forget it. I didn’t come here to fight with you. You have your own life, and it’s clearly time I went and got one of my fucking own.”

Totally shocked by the turn of events and the angry stranger Finn had morphed into, Derek lowered his voice and asked, “Is the professor going with you?”

Finn’s eyes went flat at the mention of his boyfriend, and his jaw ticked.
 

Fuck, okay. That’s answer enough.
Obviously something had gone down there. Deciding the least he could do was act the supportive friend, Derek tapped his certificate on his hand and asked, “So. Chicago, huh?”

Finn nodded, but he looked like he wanted to vomit.

“When do you think you’ll be back?”

His buddy shrugged and then said, “When the program is over, I guess. Two years. That’s what he said, anyway.”

“Hayes?”
 

This time Finn nodded. “Yeah. Fucking Hayes.”

“You don’t have to go, you know.”

“Yeah, but now I kinda want to. Honestly, I never want to see his face again.”

“But—”

“I don’t want to talk about it, okay? I just wanted to say goodbye and see you before I left.”

“And when’s that?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Are you serious?” When Finn nodded, Derek took his cap off and ran a hand through his hair. “Jesus. Well, thanks for stopping by.”

“You don’t have to be a dick about it.”

But he did. Because if he wasn’t being a dick he might break down and tell Finn that he didn’t want him to go, and, more importantly, that he was sorry he’d let their friendship fall the fuck apart.
 

He didn’t tell Finn any of that, though. Instead, he held his hand out and, when Finn took it, pulled him into a hug that made Derek’s heart break a little.
 

“Well, don’t be a stranger, Danny boy.”

“Ha. You keep saying that to me. And I won’t. There’s email and text, you know.”

“Yeah…I know.”

“Hey? Mom wanted to be here today, but she had to work. She told me to give you this.”

Finn held a box out, and when Derek opened it there was a wooden plaque with
The people who stand out as special in your life are usually put in your path for a reason
carved into it. He traced his fingers over them, and when he looked up, Finn shrugged. “She’s sappy—what can I say?”

“Nah, you’re lucky to have her.”

“Yeah, I know. Okay, well, I’m gonna head out. Congratulations, man. I hope you get that gym by the beach you talked about.”

Derek laughed and shut the lid on the box. “Me too. Good luck in Chicago.”

Finn kicked a stone on the ground and didn’t respond. He merely gave a tight smile and then turned and walked away.

As Derek watched him go, he thought of the simple words inside the box and wondered if he and Finn would ever cross paths again.

* * *

IT WAS LATE afternoon and Jordan was about five minutes away from stripping out of the God-awful suit he’d worn and slipping into some shorts and a tank before pouring himself a glass of Merlot.

He’d finally gotten home after the never-ending commencement ceremony, and had wisely avoided all contact with Derek after that one foiled attempt. It was best that things end this way between them. He’d seen Derek through, from start to finish, and somewhere in there along the way become friendly with the guy, but that was it. It was over now. Derek had moved out, graduated, and would start his life and move forward from there.

Just like I need to do,
Jordan told himself as he removed his jacket and threw it over his couch. When his cell phone started ringing inside the front pocket, he dug it out and almost dropped it as the word
He-Man
flashed across the screen.

As if he’d conjured Derek out of thin air, the guy was calling him, and Jordan wasn’t sure if he should let it go to voicemail or…
Hell, who am I kidding?
“Hello?”

“Hi,” Derek replied, and Jordan wondered when his cock had become a slave to the man’s voice. Every time he heard it, it stood to rigid attention. “You free right now?”

Jordan’s pulse raced at the question, and he wasn’t sure why. It was innocent enough, but front and center in his mind was the fact that, as of a couple of hours ago, Derek was no longer a student where he worked. Which meant all of the excuses he’d used over the years to keep his distance no longer applied.
 

“Yes. I’m free.”

“Can you let me up, then?”
 

Jordan whirled around to face the elevator as if Derek was stepping off it and into his condo as they spoke. “You’re here?”

“I’m downstairs, yeah. Is that okay?”

Jordan tightened his fingers around the phone as he walked over to the access panel of the elevator and pressed the open button. He watched on the small monitor as Derek stepped inside and then looked up into the camera mounted on the wall of the elevator. That was when he asked again, “Is that
okay
, Jordan?”

Jordan saw his lips move on the camera and knew that if Derek took the elevator up to his condo then everything between them would change. That, however, wasn’t enough to stop him from replying, “Yes. Come to me.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

WHEN THE ELEVATOR came to a stop at Jordan’s floor, Derek was positive his heart skipped a few beats.
Christ
, he wasn’t sure he had the balls to ask for what he’d come there for. But as the door slid open and Jordan’s handsome face came into view, he was determined to fucking try.

On his way over to Jordan’s, he’d been running through Finn’s words about leaving, and though he knew it wasn’t personal, it sure as hell felt that way. Finn leaving Sunset Cove meant the end of an era of sorts. An end of them, for real. Not just because they were busy and doing their own things, but because Finn was putting miles, states, and a plane ride between them.

Thinking about it made him mad all over again, though he knew he had no right, and when he stepped off the elevator and headed toward Jordan, he watched him cross his arms over his chest in a move that Derek knew all too well. It was a blocking move. A
do not come any closer
move. And it had his steps faltering.

When he saw Jordan standing in the crowd today, he’d wanted to go to him for many reasons. One of those was to tell him he looked fucking hot in a suit. But after talking to Daniel, the need to be with Jordan had become more pressing. More desperate. Derek had felt out of control, unable to fix or stop what was happening in his life, and he’d known the only person who would make his world seem stable again was the man opposite him, with narrowed eyes and crossed arms.

“Okay…” Jordan finally said. “What’s with the fierce frown on a day where you should be over the moon?”

Derek wasn’t even aware he’d been sporting a scowl until Jordan, as always, called his ass out on it. Then before he realized he was going to, he blurted out, “Did you know?”
 

Jordan cocked his head to the side and asked, “Did I know
what
, exactly?”

Derek wasn’t sure why, but he had a feeling that Jordan had known about Finn leaving. But before he could continue his interrogation, Jordan was speaking again.
 

“That you would graduate? I never had a doubt. Though your smartass mouth and tendency to cause problems for your professors may have given me reason to worry over the last four years.”

Derek let his eyes move down from Jordan’s styled hair to his high cheekbones, and with his shirt and tie still in place, plus his gray slacks and wingtips, he looked the epitome of sophistication. And just like that, Derek’s first line of questioning left him, and instead he asked, “You worry about me?”
 

“Oh, only whenever I think about you.”

“And how often’s that?”

The question lingered between them like a dare. One that had been issued four years ago but never acted on. Then… Jordan took him up on it.
 

He let his eyes trail down over Derek’s own shirt, tie, and slacks, then brought them back to his face and answered, “More often than not.”

Unable to stop himself, Derek took a step forward and Jordan walked backward. They continued that way until Jordan’s back hit a wall and Derek’s polished shoes were touching his.

“Fuck, I want to kiss you right now,” Derek said, as he looked into Jordan’s eyes and waited for him to tell him no. But he should’ve known better when it came to Jordan, who angled his chin up instead. His body language screamed out one thing:
I dare you. But if you want me, you better have the fucking balls to take me on.

No problem there
, Derek thought, as he placed a hand on the wall by Jordan’s head. As all of the feelings he’d squashed down over the years rushed to the surface, Derek brought a hand up to touch Jordan’s chin. But before his fingers made contact, Jordan took hold of his wrist and added, “Be sure.”

Derek’s dick was positive, but as he looked into the dark eyes staring back at him, he sensed there was more to what Jordan was asking him—and he was right.

“What I mean
is,” Jordan said, “be sure that one night is enough for you.”

That brought Derek up short. “Why only one?”

“Because tomorrow I fly to Italy for the summer.”

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
“What’s with everyone leaving all of a sudden?”

Jordan shrugged. “This has been planned for months. But I understand if it changes your mind. If you can’t
do
one night.”

Derek shook his head, not believing that this was actually happening to him. “So basically you want to fuck me then kick me out.”

Jordan’s eyes widened at his blunt words, but Derek didn’t care. It actually felt good to be able to say what he really thought instead of offering a fake smile and going on his merry way, like he’d had to earlier with Finn.
 

“No. I just don’t want you to think this is something it’s not. I’m not in the right place for anything serious. I’m going on vacation and you’ll be starting work. So I don’t want—”

“A boyfriend. Strings. I get it. You want to be able to fuck whoever you want and not worry about the guy back at home mooning over you. Got it.”

“Excuse me. It’s not like that.”

“It’s exactly like that,” Derek said. Then he sighed. “But I don’t even care anymore. I want you. And I’ve waited for fucking ever to have you.”