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"Sissy, I don't know what you want me to say about anything Daddy's doing with HIS money, but-" Taylor spoke in whispers as she stood at the register
in Godiva, her eldest sister, Bella, on the other end. Did Bella really have to start this shit? And Taylor had been having SUCH a good day. Hell,
make that a good WEEK. Daddy just took out another loan for some stupid business endeavor and... It's like he forgets how many fucking kids he's
made and... Taylor couldn't help but sigh in the middle of Bella's rant. Didn't she get it? Taylor didn't care what her father did with his
money. It was HIS money. As long as he had enough to go around, Taylor didn't give a fuck. And he always did, so she couldn't understand why Bella
was, once again, being a butt hurt about his ends. It wasn't anything new. Taylor loved her older sister more than chinchilla, but her sister was
always at their father's throat! He just couldn't do right by her, even though his name was half of the reason she got most of the clients that she
did. But Taylor would never say that to her sister...not if she didn't want a fight. Either way, the conversation was getting old and Taylor was way
too high to be downed by it.
"Ugh, Bells...come on! Look, we'll talk later. I'm in Godiva. I'll call you when I get home." Before Bella could respond, Taylor ended the call and
stuffed her phone into her tote, hoping that the next time it rang, it wouldn't be Bella. But, her phone had been ringing off the damn hook all
weekend. Checking to see if what they'd heard was true. Seeing if the rumors were accurate. Taylor Westbrooks had fucked Koi Kidd right from
underneath Devyn. Taylor smirked as she remembered the looks and the whispers as she'd walked the halls of King's that week. And just like that,
Taylor was on top again. And top felt good...although the rumors weren't exactly true. Devyn and Koi were definitely not a "thing" anymore as her tail
got dismissed right in the middle of the hall...in front of everyone. Poor little sweet bitch. She should've known better. Really.
But the other part? That she'd fucked Koi? Well...not exactly. But no one had to know that, now did they? Especially not Devyn, thanks to Koi. Shit
could not have gone better if Taylor had WRITTEN it that way. And that was why she was going to order her Strawberry Trufflelata with the same
Cheshire cat smile she'd worn when it got out that SHE'D been the reason Koi had FINALLY broken poor Devyn Devereaux's little heart.
Derrick had waited until the last minute for something. He almost never forgot things and it wasn’t even that he had forgotten, he’d just been so
busy. Breaking up a “friendship” was a complicated process. Although Koi had made that shit stupid easy. All he needed was a little blow and
opportunity. Derrick provided both. And Taylor was happy to help out, playing her role like a fucking professional...Maybe he should get something for
her while he was here too...That shit she’d done with her tongue after Koi passed out was at least chocolate worthy...Fuck, just the
thought of her lips around his...he needed to focus.
Today was his mom’s birthday and he’d waited until the last minute to get her gift. She lived for Godiva’s Aztec Spice Truffles and he was not
leaving here without a box of them. Godiva liked to play like they only did assortments, but Derrick could change that. It was a simple enough
task...So simple, he might be able to make a little time for someone else. He’d gotten to know Taylor from a number of different angles, so he
didn’t have to see her face to know she was at the counter about to pay for whatever it was she was treating herself to. “Nah, slim, don’t do
that.”
Derrick closed the short distance between them, one of his hands falling to Taylor’s hip while the other produced his card. “Put it on this
one-,” Derrick traded with the young lady at the register, handing Taylor her card back before leaning against the counter next to her. Derrick
smiled.
Nah, slim... Taylor's lips curled into a smile, not even needing to turn her head to know who was behind her. That cute, New York slang in
that baritone voice only belonged to one person and that person had to be Derrick Davidson. She bit her smiling lips, looking over her shoulder, leaning into him as his hand rested on her hip. Taylor had to admit, for Derrick to NOT be a permanent option outside of a bomb ass plan
and some good ass dick, he knew how to make her pay attention, sliding the infamous black card to the girl at the cash register and handing Taylor's
back to her.
"The hell we are..." She giggled, turning around and leaning on the counter so that she could look him in his face. And as usual, he looked like
money. He had a cute little swag that was so much more appealing than when he tried to bite off Koi's shit. Yeah, Koi was fresh...all the time. But
Derrick was...clean and it fit him.
"...I mean I've BEEN celebrating since...well you know. Wednesday, maybe?" She laughed again, pushing her straightened hair over her shoulder. And
there was so much to celebrate. Devyn's demise. The end of the sickeningly sweet "Kevyn" thing (yes, the fucking un-relationship had a name) and, oh!
She couldn't forget Derrick's ability to breathe through his ears. Damn...And just the thought of that made her squeeze her thighs together.
It had been HER week. And apparently his too, his contagious smile keeping the grin on her face.
"Where you been?" Her purr and the way her eyes roamed the length of his body saying more than her question really had...because she was tired of
celebrating by herself...
Derrick’s smile grew wider as Taylor giggled, turning to face him. Damn, she was cute. It was strange to think that she could be. Not that she
wasn’t attractive, not that at all. Taylor was sexy as hell. But that dimple she got when she smiled just the right way when she was really
happy about something...It was cute. She was fucking adorable sometimes and it was weird to think so. Derrick had gotten so used to her being
this…prize to be won, that he had rarely ever thought of her as an actual human being. That feeling grew weaker and weaker everytime he saw
her, and if he was trying to be honest with himself, something else was trying to take it’s place.
He laughed with her as she told him she’d been celebrating since Wednesday. Him too. He hadn’t hit up Devyn yet but he’d gotten the Kidd up out
his crib and getting up with her was on his list of things to do. Comforting her over dinner...having her for dessert. Yeah, he was giving her her
space for now, but he’d be playing concerned friend soon enough. Currently, he was being real friends with Tay. Yeah...he would consider her a
friend. Mostly sweet girl, Harvard head game, down for whatever. His kind of woman...he--what?
“I been around-,” a smirk hit his lips as he watched her give him a once over that told him he hadn’t been in the right places. “Why, you been looking for me?” Derrick allowed the hand he had at her hip to
drift to the small of her back, pulling her closer. He really hadn’t seen much of her since that night...well morning after. He assumed she was off
enjoying her new found six seconds of fame and torturing Devyn with the “fact” that she’d slept with her “man”. Yeah, he peeped her
subtweets and unattached tumblr posts. He knew exactly who they were for.
“I ain’t wanna fuck up your story, even though we know who really gave you the work that night…”
Looking for Derrick Davidson... Wow. Earlier that year, the idea would've been laughable as Taylor hadn't given him a second thought or glance...ever.
Oh, she knew he existed, but he'd always been "so-and-so's" friend or teammate. Maybe it was because she knew he was brains before muscles and no
where near the list of players being scouted for anything after high school. Now? She kind of had to admit, she'd been checking for him lately. Just a
little, at least. Just enough to kind of get to know him in the time they were spending together, plotting shit...ruining lives. He was really smart.
No. Fuck that. He was intelligent. And some of the shit he said? Taylor had to "Google" that shit on the sly just to keep up with him! God, was it
weird that that was kind of...hot? Most of the guys she dated were straight up athletes, no brains necessary. But Derrick was different...it was nice.
Not that...she was saying she was dating him! He just...she didn't know! And she didn't really want to think about it too hard, especially as they'd
only won one battle. The war still had Derrick ending up with Devyn (ugh) and them riding off into the fucking Hawaiian sunset...
"Maybe..." She answered, her hand coming to play with one of her hoops as the way he was looking at her made her a little...warm in the cheeks. She
let herself be pulled closer, her hand coming to play at his tie. Her eyes purposefully avoided his as he spoke, a crazy shyness spreading through
her. She HAD been looking for him, her partner in crime. They'd done what wasn't exactly impossible, but all the same completely satisfying. And even
though most of it was wrapped in lies and manipulation, it was still a victory. Koi and Devyn couldn't stand each other and even though Koi hadn't
gotten anything but a glorified lap dance and a handjob, he wasn't dispelling the rumors. Ha! Taylor was starting to believe that HE didn't know what
really happened that night. All of this was too good! And it just kept getting better, Derrick bringing back memories of that night.
She smiled hard, her eyes widening as she pushed Derrick away playfully. "The work" wasn't even the damn definition for what he'd given her that
night. She'd moaned so loud and kept up so much noise, she was SURE that Koi would wake up out of the "blow and shots" stupor they'd put him in. But
he didn't, just like the little druggie he was, he'd blanked out during the entire thing...slumped over on the couch in Derrick's room where they'd
left his ass...which Derrick dug it out in his bed. Shady. Boots.
"Please..." She scoffed, turning around to get her drink from the counter. "You couldn't have fucked it up if you tried. Even your boy doesn't know
what happened...and he was there." Giggling, she faced him again, her lips wrapping around her straw.
"And what's more important? Devyn believes it. Lucky you." Sighing heavily, she rolled her eyes at the fact that even though Taylor was enjoying her
"win", Devyn was looking at a "happy ending" too. Her and Derrick. How adorable.
Maybe, huh? Derrick could remember a time when that “maybe” would have been a “who?”. Before their little foray, Derrick wasn’t on
Taylor’s radar. He wasn’t mad about it because he knew it was a simple matter of time, but he never would have guessed they’d be together for
the reasons they were. He wasn’t her usual, but he’d given her a chance to see he was good for more than sports. He was an upgrade. Maybe that was
what had her practically melting in his hands today. What was this? When had Taylor ever pulled a shy act with him? Certainly not when he was using
her thighs as earmuffs. But that was exactly what was happening right now, her eyes refusing to meet his with the challenge they usually did...Again,
adorable.
He chuckled a little as she pushed him away, his words taking him back to the night in question. He was pretty on that night, but she was definitely
keeping up. She always did. Derrick wouldn’t lie, in their short time together, Tay had taught him a few things. Stories about her sex game were
grossly understated and it was a damn shame that they last time they’d been together would probably be just that. In everything that had happened
and as cool as she was, Derrick hadn’t forgotten that Taylor was a means to an end. That end was Devyn. He still wanted her and he would have her.
What he couldn’t have was her and Taylor. Something he was positive was a no go in what Taylor had done to she and Koi. Whatever though.
Taylor’s mention of Koi brought him back to the conversation at hand, a hand running over his fade. Koi knew what happened. There was no doubt in
Derrick’s mind that Koi was fully aware that he hadn’t slept with Taylor that night. He slumped and that was it for him. Why he didn’t tell
Devyn that, Derrick hadn’t figured out yet...He was big on keeping his business his, but he was sure he would have told Devyn no to keep her around.
He didn’t though. He even raised Derrick one and completely embarrassed the poor girl in the middle of Davenport. He was honestly the shit on the
bottom of a homeless nigga’s shoe, but that was neither here nor there and he wasn’t sure why he was even devoting brain power to him now...Oh. So
he could be used as a segway to Devyn.
“Hold on. What’s that?” Derrick gave a short laugh. “You sound like you feel some type of way…”
What? She was feeling what now? Because she still showed her distaste for Devyn Devereaux even though she'd obviously destroyed her? Of course she
still hated her. Nothing was going to change that. Not her broken, little heart. Not her ass, finally removed from Taylor's throne. And definitely not
now with Derrick's pathway totally cleared to her. Bitch didn't deserve to be happy and honestly? The bitch didn't deserve him. Not the way she had
played his life on the regular for Koi's ass and THAT nigga didn't even want her! He'd made that clearly obvious when he dumped her in the middle of
the hall...IN FRONT of everyone. She deserved it, though. Playing with hearts wasn't cool and playing with Derrick's was even worse! He actually liked
her, for what reason...Taylor would never understand. So, hopefully the bitch wised up and she could see Derrick for the better guy...because Koi was
literal shit. And as long as it took her to get his flaccid dick up because of all of the SHIT in his system, Taylor finally understood why his ass
was a waste of time. Boring...
"Excuse you, boo..." She retorted, a feigned attitude in her neck roll. "Feel some type of way about what? You finally getting what you want...even if
you ARE lowering yourself...incredibly lowering yourself. But..." Taylor sipped out of her invisible "tea cup", letting him know that was obviously
none of her business. He was a big boy, he could do what he wanted...even though what he wanted was straight trash.
"But I know what you will do before you go totally 'devyn on the brain'." Her free hand met the front of his pants, her hand gripping inside the band
playfully. She bit her bottom lip, her chin raising as she looked in his eyes, a slow smirk forming.
"You could at least tell me 'goodbye'." She smiled, pulling her hand away and wrapping it around the hand that held her cup, sipping from it behind
her devilish smirk.
Ooooooo, these haters got a sour ass look upon they face. Lemonade, lemonade.
Taylor sighed as Danity Kane, Bella's ringtone, broke through the moment. Again? Really!? Taylor mouthed "sorry" as she pulled her phone from her
tote. Her nostrils flared as she inhaled, her eyes looking at Derrick again as she smiled and pointed to the table where he could join her after he
got done handling his business.
Ask and you shall receive he guessed. Of course she felt some type of way about the girl she despised for no reason still getting her happy ending.
Jealousy didn’t look good on Taylor. To be honest, she had no reason to be jealous. Derrick was wrong before this whole thing kicked off. Taylor
wasn’t beneath Devyn, they were just different. Getting to know her had shown him that. Sure, Devyn was book smart, she was hella funny, and...damn
that ass...But! Taylor had all that shit going for her too. Maybe not as much ass, but did that really matter when she threw it back like she did?
Nah, Derrick couldn’t honestly say Dev was better than Taylor anymore. They were just...huh?
Derrick’s smirk returned as Taylors fingers tucked behind the band of his pants, the eye contact she had been missing coming back. There she was.
This was the Taylor Derrick knew. Fun Taylor. The Taylor that asked for what she wanted. The Taylor that usually led to the two of them naked in a bed
or on the floor or...Who the fuck was that?! Taylor’s phone range before he could respond to her flirt. Let her know a proper goodbye was not at all
out of the question.
And she was answering it. Derrick sighed a little, nodding as she mouthed an apology to him. He’d wait. She was worth it and what else did he have
to...ah, shit his mom’s gift. Taylor gave him an out as she pointed to an empty table signaling he could meet her there when he was done. Perfect.
Derrick nodded his understanding and allowed himself the pleasure of watching Taylor walk away from him before turning back to the counter.
Taylor finally hung up the phone, her nerves nearing "shot" level, all because of her overly wary big sister! What was the big deal!? So Bella found a
credit card that their dad had taken out in her name! So what! He'd only used it a couple of times and he paid it off! She was making it out to be
more than it was and of course, she had to call Taylor about it...telling her to check her "credit report" and to be careful around their father. For
what? That was their DAD, why the hell would she need to be careful around him? This was all too fucking much. Taylor leaned back in her chair, her
head shaking in disbelief as she sipped her Trufflelata again. But "this" was Bella. It had always been Bella. Refusing to give their father an inch
for fear that he'd take a mile. She'd moved out of their home when she was sixteen and hadn't seen their parents properly since. And she STAYED angry
at the both of them. What was the reason? The cheating...and the divorce, probably. But Taylor wasn't trying to let that shit stress her! Sure it'd
happened before she could really understand it, but it didn't concern her. Her parents and their shit was exactly that. Bella didn't agree...
Taylor took off her snapback, rubbing her temples. There was too much good shit going on in her life to stress. Really it was. But she hated this. She
hated how Bella was so distant from the family. Sometimes it felt like she wasn't even apart of it at all. It was enough that their own mother hadn't
spoken to them in two years and their father married everything walking. Taylor needed her sister. Lupita, their younger sibling, needed her too. And
Bella needed distance. So much of it that she wouldn't leave Cali for her family.
"Great..." Taylor mumbled, feeling tears well behind her eyes. She was NOT going to do this. She wasn't going to let family shit distract her from how
happy she was. And she wasn't going to let THIS shit mess up some good dick, whose owner was making his way to join her at her table.
Just like he figured, that assortment shit Godiva was on was merely a suggestion. Derrick had a 25 count of of Aztec Spice that was evidence of that.
His moms would be pleased to hear it...He also kind of needed to get home so he could change for her dinner. Grabbing his bag from the counter,
Derrick took the time to sign his receipt and turned to the table Taylor had taken earlier. She was still on the phone. Derrick had taken a few
glances at her in between asking for a manager and talking him into giving him what he wanted. She looked stressed, her eyebrows drawn together as the
other person spoke, soft pout on her lips...he kind of wondered what the call was about. Who she was talking to…
He approached the table just as she was hanging up and he didn’t like how she was looking. He’d never seen Taylor like this. He’d never imagined
Taylor like this. Again, she was showing him she was an actual human being and not the sex object the rumors made her. Whatever it was that had her so
upset, he could honestly say he wasn’t feeling it. Any female on the brink of crying in front of him made him uneasy, but there was something
different in what Taylor was doing to him.
“You alright, Tay?” He took the seat across from her. He was coming over to tell her he’d hit her up later about their goodbyes, but he could
find a little time. What kind of friend would he be to leave her like this?
You alright, Tay? Taylor guessed that the fake smile she'd tried to paste on her face hadn't completely worked as Derrick's expression was
one of complete concern. Shit. And this was what she didn't want. Letting her unnecessary family mess and Bella's shit stirring to affect her so much
that someone would notice. But it had, her eyes glazed over and her chin resting on her palm. And...someone had noticed. Derrick sat across from her,
Godiva bag in his hand and waiting for her to actually open up to him and tell him shit that she'd sworn to herself she would never tell anyone. NO
ONE knew about her father's..."issues", if she could even call it that. No one knew about Bella and no one knew how much it affected Taylor. Because
she hid that shit. She especially hid it from any nigga she was fooling with because dicks didn't have emotions. And even knowing that...something
made her want to...talk. To open up. To finally let some of this shit off of her chest that she'd been holding close for so long.
"Yeah. I'm-" She couldn't even lie, her breathy exhale silencing her words, her head shaking in a silent reply. God, she couldn't lie to him! Why
couldn't she just lie to him, tell him she'd meet up with him later and regroup?!
"No." Truthful answer. But she'd be okay. Right. That was all she had to say.
"It's...just. It's my sister..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at Derrick's face. Why was she telling him this!? He didn't want to hear this
shit? He probably wanted to take whatever he'd just bought in that bag straight to Devyn's house and start sucking up to her. He didn't want to hear
Taylor's shit.
"But you probably have better things to do than sit and listen to my business." She laughed sourly, her hands going to her cup, turning it slowly as
she looked anywhere but back at Derrick.
It was weirding him out. Whatever this thing was that he could feel in the pit of his stomach as he looked at the distress on Taylor’s face. He
didn’t like it and he couldn’t figure out what it was that was making him want to fix whatever was wrong for her. Sure, they’d gotten pretty
close in their time together, but her personal shit? That shit wasn’t his business. She’d never brought up sharing and Derrick had never really
asked about too much. Sure, they’d talked about their families once or twice before, but this? He could see the tears waiting for release and he
didn’t know if he could do that with Taylor. Sadness or anything even remotely related to it, wasn’t something he’d ever seen from her. He
didn’t know how to handle her like this. Delicately he guessed.
She opened her mouth to lie to him, but she couldn’t get it out. Derrick’s confusion deepened, his features giving her a look of concern she also
probably wasn’t used to. No. She wasn’t okay. He could see that. When he’d asked that before what he really meant was what was going
on. Had they or had they not just been talking about the good dig out she was going to get when his mom’s dinner was done? It seemed like in the few
minutes she had been on the phone her mood had done a complete 180.
“Yeah, I got that. What happened?” He sat the Godiva bag in the seat beside him and settled in for whatever she had to tell him. He liked getting
shit out, when it bothered him. He was assuming the same of her...and as her words started he guessed he’d assumed correctly. Her sister? Shit. He
hoped nobody was fucking dying. Not to be insensitive, but he didn’t have time for that....or maybe it was the underlying uneasiness he’d been
feeling since he sat down, Taylor’s unhappiness making seeming to make him equally unhappy. He really, really didn’t like that
shit…But you probably have better things to do…
“Come on slim-,” Derrick’s hand reached for the one she had propped under her chin, holding it as he brought it back to the table. “Don’t do
me like that.” He cared. Probably more than he should have. And yes he did have something else to do right now, but he also knew he wasn’t going
to be able to sleep tonight if he got up from this table and left her in her current state. He wasn’t leaving her like this.
“Bella or Lupita?” Yeah, he remembered their names. She mentioned them every now and again, just as he’d mentioned Anthony and even his
know-it-all sister Kendyll. He was listening then and he was listening now.
Really. Derrick didn’t have to do this. He didn’t have to sit around and pretend that he and Taylor’s relationship was anything other than
amazing plotting and mind-blowing fucking. It wasn’t necessary. Taylor, unlike the bitch he stayed chasing, didn’t have a head full of fluff. She
knew the lines that separated sex, friendship and love. And they, thankfully, hadn’t gotten anywhere near the “love” line. She guessed she could
call him a friend. They’d had a couple of conversations about each other’s families, but it hadn’t gone any deeper than that. It looked like it
wasn’t going to stay that way, though as Derrick prodded her for more details, a look of genuine hurt crossing his features when Taylor let him know
she knew he was too busy for her shit. But...he wasn’t, his voice soft as he pulled her hand away from her face, holding it gently. Taylor gave a
tiny smile at their joined hands, her cheeks warming again at the affection he was showing. Derrick really wasn’t a bad guy. Not at all…
Bella or Lupita? Well damn. Taylor’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment at the fact that he’d actually remembered her sister’s
names. That was one for the books considering that only one guy who’d been in her life had actually even MET them. But for Derrick to remember
details from the few times she’d mentioned them? That was...nice Not that she didn’t remember Kendyll and Anthony, too. It was
just...different.
“Bella.” She said quietly, her free hand pushing her hair from her face as she willed herself not to cry at the mention of her sister’s name.
And then it happened. She told him everything. Well, as much as she could without overwhelming him with details. Taylor talked about her parents’
messy divorce when she was five and how Bella was the only one who really felt the brunt of it. She told him how Bella didn’t trust their father and
how her dad had kind of given her a reason to with all the lies he’d told throughout the years. And then...there was the money…
“And from what Bella says…” She inhaled and exhaled, willing herself to even go into that type of detail with Derrick. She looked up from their
hands on the table, which she’d been looking at the entire time she’d been talking just to keep from meeting his eyes. Because when she did, she
knew what would happen.
“My dad’s broke…” As the words came out, she felt a tear drop. Not because of the money. Don’t get her wrong, Taylor LOVED money. She loved
shopping and living the life she’d been accustomed to. But most of all, she loved her Dad and to think that he’d been hiding a secret like that
from her and her sisters? It was damning and it hurt like hell.
“But between the baby mamas, the alimony he’s paying to four other wives and...the gambling…” She sniffed and wiped the lone tear away. “I
can see how it could be true. But...why would he hide that from us? Especially me and Lupita?”
Bella. Again, Derrick found himself paying that nobody had died. Taylor fucking loved Bella. Not that she probably didn’t care about Lupita too, but
Tay wouldn’t shut up about how great her big sister was when they got on the subject. Independent, smart, beautiful, Derrick even remembered her
saying something about her having a son. Bella was a lot of things and not just to Taylor. Damn, he hoped she wasn’t dead…
She wasn’t. But damn there was so much more going on. Derrick never would have though his simple question would have such a loaded and complex
answer. And Taylor was bearing all. Her ‘rents, the divorce, some more marriages, the lies her dad told, her sister’s reactions, the
distrust Bella harbored, and the fucked up reasons why. Her father wasn’t shit. Not that he would ever say that to her out loud, but from what
she’d just told him…the lies, the credit fraud, the loans that were digging him deeper and deeper into the shitty situation he already had his
family in…her father was. Not. Shit. And from what Bella says… No shit. On reflex Derrick scoffed. No shit her father was broke. Taylor
couldn’t have been this ignorant about how the world worked. No one with money needed to borrow so much of it. Come on…
“Damn…-,” he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Which was good because she wasn’t done. Why would he hide it? Ugh, he hoped that was a
rhetorical question. He hoped that was something she wanted to stew on and think about, because the many, many reasons Derrick had to give
her would definitely not be what she wanted to hear. But, Taylor grew quiet…Shit…
“I mean-,” his words were hesitant, the soft rub of her hand his thumb had been doing through her story stopping. He didn’t want to do this to
her. It wasn’t his responsibility to tell her how shitty her dad was. He was supposed to be open with his family…Derrick’s dad was. Of course,
Derrick’s dad hadn’t made a string of bad decisions and he wasn’t staring financial ruin in the face. Derrick sighed. He wasn’t doing this. He
wasn’t about to shatter Taylor’s view of her father by telling her the truth. That wasn’t his truth to tell. “I don’t know what to say,
Tay…” He didn’t. He didn’t know what to say after hearing all that. He knew what the truth was, but he couldn’t say that. So shit. Fuck it.
He was gonna lie.
“I don’t have answers for you, slim, I’m sorry…But…if you want to take your mind off of it for a while, you can hang with me tonight. I’ve
got a dinner for my mom’s birthday.” Derrick gestured to the Godvia bag beside him, his mother’s gift. He on the low had forgotten about
leaving. He’d been wrapped in in Taylor, in a completely different way than he was used to. He was going to be late. “Just the fam and a few
friends. It’ll probably be boring, but…you’re more than welcome.” He wanted her there. He wasn’t lying, being in a room full of fucking
doctors who exclusively discussed their kids and shit Derrick didn’t give a shit about was going to be a special kind of torture. Taylor would ease
that.
“You don’t have to go home tonight, babe. Take a break…”
Why? That was a real question...although Taylor knew that she wouldn’t find the answer in Derrick. There was no way that he would’ve
known or even guessed why her father would hide something like being penniless from his own children. If it was even true, although the expression on
Derrick’s face, as she told him everything about the situation, made her feel like it was. Like everything that Bella had been telling her from the
jump was true about her father. That he was a liar, selfish and that he didn’t give a fuck about his own flesh and blood. Taylor just...she just
couldn’t believe that! This was her father. The man that she looked up to, respected. The man spared no expense when it came to his girls. How could
she even believe that he would just straight up betray her and her sisters’ trust? It just didn’t seem right. So, no, she wasn’t looking for
Derrick’s explanation on how everything she believed about her father could be wrong. The only person that could explain that to her WAS her father.
And he just wasn’t THAT guy. He loved her and her sisters...and all that he was doing, he was doing so that he could make the situation better. She
HAD to believe that.
Damn. Yeah, her family was that jacked up. Compared to Derrick’s “Huxtable” existence, it probably looked like a shitbomb of a life.
Siblings that she didn’t even know. Step mothers that she hated. A sister that couldn’t stand her own father so much that she hadn’t spoken to
him in years. God, Taylor was happy that she hadn’t opened up about their mother. That would’ve been WAY too much for him to handle.
She watched him struggle for words as he processed everything she’d told him and being unable to even do that. And for the first time since opening
up to him, she felt fear. Maybe what she’d told him was too much to handle. She was the one living it and she could barely maintain. But him? From
what he told her, the biggest disagreement in his life, when it came to his family, seemed to be how much his older sister, Kendyll, stayed on his
back. But that was different. So different.
“I know…” she muttered, hearing him express his lack of words. She didn’t really need him to reply to her question. Whether he knew it or not,
he’d done enough. Just listening to her had been MORE than enough now that she knew he had somewhere to be...and it had nothing to do with Devyn.
His mom’s birthday dinner… He was wasting time with HER when he had a birthday dinner for his mother to attend.
“Derrick, oh my...I’m so sorry. You’re probably late now because of...fuck.” Getting her drink from the table and being so busy with her
apology, she’d nearly missed the fact that he’d invited her. What?
“Wait...you want me to go with you?” Her face slipped into skepticism, her eyebrows raising and her lips pursing. He must’ve been kidding.
She’d just given him WAY more information than he’d needed and he wanted her to come to his mom’s birthday dinner? That was...wow. He didn’t
have to do that. Whether it was sympathy he was feeling for her situation or what, she didn’t know.
“You DO know I’m going to have to meet your family, right?” She partially joked. “I don’t know if they’re ready for HER, boo. Because SHE
is a handful...” She pointed to herself, a small laugh left her lips as she smiled at him, hoping to dispel the weird, jittery feeling that crept
into her stomach.
“For real though...I’d love to.” She accepted his invitation, her hand giving his a small squeeze as she smiled at him.
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