Destiny's Fates

Chapter 5

This is crazy right? I mean, I haven’t seen Derrek since my family moved away right after 7th grade ended. Dad got a contract working on a set of houses in Blue Springs Missouri, so that was where we moved. What had Derrek done since I had seen him last, other than hitting the gym and beefing up. “So, where do you want to eat?” I asked, careful to keep my eyes on the road and my hands at 10 and 2 on the wheel.

“I could go for a burger, how about you Love?”

“Okay, that sounds good to me.” 10 minutes later we were seated in a booth at my favorite burger joint in town. We both ordered the special, the bacon cheeseburger with a side of onion rings. I sat there drinking my Coke Zero and trying not to make eye contact. Is this a date? Is this just two old friends catching up? Not that we were ever really friends, I mean he tormented me, and I still had a huge crush on him.

“Earth to Destiny?” Derrek looked concerned when I met his eyes.

“Sorry, got lost in my thoughts for a moment.” Holy cow were his eyes gorgeous. Not to mention the fact that I was much closer to him, and he still smelled sweet, almost like maple syrup. I wonder what he tasted like... if his lips were sweet. STOP IT! Bad Destiny! “So, what have you been up to since I last saw you?”

“You mean after your family packed up and left right before your 14th birthday?” Derrek studied me for a moment. “It’s only been like 9 years since we have last seen each other.”

“Right, so we have a lot of catching up to do. Do you still live in Spokane Valley? What do you do? I mean, you are obviously now a huge nerd based on that t-shirt you are wearing,” I joked.

“Ouch, right in the feels Love. Yes, I still live in Washington, but I moved to Seattle for my job about 3 years ago. I am a pilot for a small tourist company. I take the tourists up, let them take pictures, and then bring them back down.” Derrek smiled, “As for the nerd part, I do believe it was you who showed up to the first day of 5th grade wearing a Star Wars Hoodie.”

Our waiter drops off the food, and she shoots me a grin before walking away, almost like she was saying “Way to go! He is smoking hot!”

“Guilty as charged,” I said. “I never knew you were into it though, especially after you made me eat that mud pie during P.E that first day of 5th grade and said that Star Wars was stupid.”

“I came around Love, I actually had a movie marathon planned for your birthday, but you moved away, and I had to watch them all by myself.”

I glanced up and met Derrek’s eyes, then swallowed my bite of burger. “You were going to put on a movie marathon for my 15th birthday for me, of a series that you supposedly hated?”

Derrek held eye contact for a moment and then answered, “It was all for you. I wanted to make you feel special on your birthday. I was totally head over heels for you Love. I was even hoping to maybe steal a kiss.” He grins, then shoves the burger in his mouth and takes a bite.

“Wow, butter a girl up with her favorite movies and maybe get some action in return? Who taught you that, Google?” I paused, remembering how we had made plans to meet that Monday. “Honestly, I didn’t even know that you knew it was my birthday.”

Derrek swallowed, took a sip of his drink, and then met my eyes. “I may have asked your mom to make sure I got the date right.”

I shook my head, “My mom knew about it?”

He nodded, “Yep, she actually called me and told me that you were moving and how the family had to be in Missouri by the 23rd.”

“I can’t believe she never told me, even after I broke down crying about how much I liked you and I never got to say goodbye.” I shake my head and pick up a few onion rings, pausing before taking a bite of them. How come mom never told me that Derrek had planned this whole thing for my birthday? She just let me cry for hours about how I was dealing with a broken heart. In hindsight, I was a tad dramatic then.

“You liked me?” He looked like an excited puppy, which only stirred up more of those old feelings.

“Yes Nerd, I liked you. A lot.” I smiled, “I used to remember you shoving my face into the mud pie and think about how fun it would be if you shoved my face into our wedding cake.”

“Wow, one mud pie and I already had you planning our wedding,” Derrek chuckled. “If I had pulled on your pigtails would that have sealed the deal?”

“Guess we will never know.” My phone started buzzing, and I glanced down. It was a message from Chris. I really hope this is Destiny and not some random person. If this is Des, we need your help to piece together who your other Fate is. Finish up your date and come back. “Hey, Chris says we need to head back.” I glance up to see Derrek signing the receipt. “You didn’t need to buy.”

“I am a gentleman Love, when I invite a lady out, I always pay. Normally I drive too, but you were insistent.”

“If it will make you feel more manly, you can drive us back.”

“Thank you Love, now hand over the keys.”