Page 38 of Loud Hot Roomie
“Different how?”
“For one, I’m always on fire around you. Burning and burning. I love it. Don’t want it to end.”
“That makes two of us,” I admit with a smile.
“And, since it only intensifies, I know where this will go if we let it.”
“You do?”
“I do,hubby.”
A guy my age should cringe at all this “playing house” we’re doing, but I don’t hate it. Derek fills me up in a way I never realized I was missing. I’m no longer empty and unhappy. He fills me to the brim with him. It’s amazing.
“This is a promise to you,” he says softly, cheeks turning pink. “One day, it’ll be more than a promise. A legal binding. Unbreakable vows.”
He pulls his hand out of his pocket and reveals two rubber wedding bands. They’re both plain and simple and black. But, to me, it feels like the most significant thing that’s happened to me.
“I just want to make us official,” Derek says quickly, misreading my quiet for something else. “I want people to know we’re an item. That we’re together and it’s not something fleeting. I need to know we’re on the same page.”
I still don’t take the offered ring from his hand, my heart hammering wildly in my chest. “And here I thoughtIwas the impulsive one.”
He flinches slightly and starts to pull his hand back. Before he can get too far, I pluck the smaller ring from his palm and inspect it up close. Then, I slide it on my right ring finger.
“It’s supposed to go on the left,” he rumbles.
“Yeah,” I agree, “when actually married. Maybe one day you’ll get to put one there too.”
It’s a challenge. To love me through thick and thin, even when I’m annoying or push his buttons. Or when the newness fades away. I’ll accept this promise and hope that the other hand gets its ring one day too.
Derek nods at my answer. He, too, puts his ring on his right finger. “I’m going to make you so happy you’re going to beg me to take you to the courthouse by Christmas.”
“Confident much?”
“When it comes to you, I’ve never been surer about anything.”
He stands from the table and then pulls me into his arms. I hug his middle, sighing happily. His big hands stroke up and down my back making me purr like a cat.
“I know it’s soon, Riko,” Derek murmurs against my hair, “but I’ve already fallen in love with you. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry I’m so irresistible.”
We both laugh and then I tilt my head up to look at him. My mind is a bit messy right now, feeling at odds with galloping heart. Derek is making promises and they feel genuine, but we’ve barely left our bubble. I’m still worried something will happen to mess it all up.
Like maybe if we leave our comfortable space, reality will set in and Derek will change his mind. I can’t be all in with that uncertainty hanging over me. He hasn’t even told his friends about me yet.
Derek distracts me with a kiss and then things heat up. He fumbles between us to palm my dick over my shorts. I’m about to tell him to suck it when he curses. Then, he grabs my arms and physically moves me away from the window.
“What the hell, man?” I grunt when he accidentally bumps me into the corner of the countertop. “You’re manhandling me.”
“Fuck,” he hisses, as he tugs me into the living room. “I…fuck.”
He’s clearly panicked because he keeps jerking his head over his shoulder like the boogeyman is about to pop out and grab his dick.
“Derek?”
His hand scrubs over his face and he shoots me a guilty look. It makes dinner curdle in my gut.
“Derek.” His name comes out sharply this time. “What happened?”
