Page 3 of Pop
“You came back…forme?” she asks on a gasp.
“I said I would.”
“You were gone so long.”
I nod. “I left to make a life. Now I have one, I came back for you.”
Daniel shoves at my chest but I don’t move. “Why would she ever want you? You’re no one to her. And you’re not welcome here.”
My eyes never leave Luna’s. “You were willing to take a chance on me once. All I’m asking is you take that chance again.”
“What?” Daniel spits, not understanding the bond Luna and I created while he was off with his friends and she was here. With me.
“But you left,” she says, tears in her eyes. “You kissed me then you left.”
“Youkissedher?” Now his fist is twisted in my shirt.
“Because I wasn’t enough then.”
“And you are now?” she asks, her voice almost a whisper.
“I‘m a man now,” I say, holding out my hand. “I’ve come to claim my woman.”
“Fuck off,” Daniel says, a desperate edge to his voice. “She’s not going anywhere with you.” He turns to Luna. “You’re not going anywhere with him.”
The warmth of her hand slides against mine, feeling like the sunrise after the darkest night. “You were always enough, Derek,” she says. “Always.”
Luna
Iam not like other girls. When I was at school, no boys asked me out. I never had a date for homecoming, and at parties, boys wouldn’t even play spin the bottle with me. For a long time, I thought there was something wrong with me. I thought my extra curves were turning them away, but then a boy told me the truth. He liked me, but my brother had made it excruciatingly clear that any guy who touched me would receive the beating of their lives.
For a long time, I hated him for it. No one was willing to cross him. Eventually, I became OK with that. Like any girl, I wanted boys to like me. But it didn’t take long to realize that any boy unwilling to stand up to my brother wasn’t worth my time. I deserved better, and then a tattooed bad boy called Derek Star came into my life.
Daniel and Derek hated each other, so Derek didn’t give a damn about Daniel’s rules. He was the kind of guy who took what he wanted and refused to ask for forgiveness. I think that’s what attracted me to him—his fearlessness, his no-fucks attitude. I always did what I was told, so a little danger made me the moth and Derek my flame.
At first, I think he was flirting with me specifically to get my brother pissed. But as the days wore on, things between us changed. I realized I belonged to him. Like our names, he was the stars, and I was the moon. When he left, I felt incomplete, missing my light. He was always enough for me, and it saddens me to think he left because he didn’tfeelhe was enough. We’ve lost so many years, and I don’t want to lose anymore. The moment he walked in that door, it felt like my heart started beating again.
“You can’t be serious,” Daniel splutters, releasing Derek’s shirt as he looks at me with disbelief in his eyes. “Luna. No. You can’t leave withhim.”
I tighten my grip on Derek’s hand, feeling an instant warmth when he squeezes back. “I’m twenty-two, Daniel. I can do whatever I want.”
“You walk out that door and I forbid you to come back.”
I gasp. “You can’t mean that.”
“Try me.”
My eyes move from Daniel to Derek. The pad of his thumb moves against the back of my hand, soothing me as he speaks. “I’m inclined to toss you over my shoulder and drag you outta here caveman style. But if you and me are gonna make something together, this first step has to be yours.”
I wouldloveto be tossed over his shoulder. But I get it. He needs me to choose him over everyone and everything else.
There’s no contest.
“I’m leaving with Derek.”
Derek
We leave the diner with Daniel spluttering and cussing about the insanity of what just happened. I wouldn’t expect a man like him to understand. He enjoys control and manipulation, and when things don’t go his way, he resorts to insults. Well, he’s had his way for far too long. I needed his over protective nature for a time so I knew my angel was safe, but now that I’m here, he needs to back off. This girl is mine.
