Burning For You

Chapter 3

“You’re Derrick?” Sasha gasped, but quickly caught herself when she noticed Carey’s confused expression.

“Hi…” Sasha quickly extended her hand for a handshake and Derrick took it.

A shiver ran down her spine when their hands met, and she withdrew them immediately.

“Nice to meet you, Sasha, Carey told me briefly about you.” Derrick said softly, his eyes not leaving hers.

“Oh, she did.” Sasha looked away quickly. “Welcome, I’ll help you with your belongings.” Sasha moved quickly, eager to get away from his intense gaze.

Sasha’s finger tightened as she gripped the box, adjusting her hold as Derrick lifts the other end of effortlessly. Carey was already upstairs unpacking some of his boxes that they had moved in a few minutes ago.

“So… you’ve lived here long?” Derrick asked, glancing over Sasha with the same easy smile she remembered a year ago.

Sasha parted her lips to speak, but cleared her throat when they felt dry.

“Uh… yeah.” She stuttered. “A year, almost.” She bit down her lips momentarily when her voice sounded smaller than she intended.

Derrick nods, shifting his grip as they both step toward the stairs. “That’s good, means you know all the good spots around here. I’ll need recommendations.”

Sasha let out an awkward laugh. “Yeah, sure, I mean, I know a few places.”

She tried not to look in his eyes, she can’t tell if he remembers her or not, the way he had looked at her was different from the night at the bar a year ago.

She had woken up and he was gone, and now, he showed up here and was Carey’s boyfriend? Her brain scrambles for something that would match his energy, instead, it offers nothing but static.

She decided to focus on the steps to distract herself, counting them mentally as they go, anything to avoid the way her heart raced inside her chest.

“Careful.” Derrick called her attention as she nearly miss one step. His hand hovered near her elbow for a second, and heat flushed to her cheek at his touch.

“I’m good.” Sasha mumbled quickly.

When they reached the landing, Derrick pushed the door open with his shoulder, from across the room, Sasha saw Carey moving around, organizing Derrick’s things with smiles on her face.

“Just drop it anywhere.” Sasha said, stepping aside so Derrick can carry the box in.

He sets it down, rolling up his sleeves. “Thanks, I appreciate the help.”

Sasha bit down her lower lips when she saw his tight muscles. Who would have thought that she had seen everything underneath the outfit he wore, and she could still imagine how strong and comforting his body felt when they were on her.

She swallowed. “Yeah,” she turned to the door.

“You’re quieter than Carey,” he says, a hint of amusement in his tone.

Sasha was caught off guard, she honestly didn’t know what to say to him, she was a lot more shy when she haven’t been drinking all evening with a hot guy.

She huff a small laugh. “Everyone’s quieter than Carey.”

Derrick’s gaze flickered to Carey from across the room. “Fair point,” he smiled.

“I’ll go grab the last box.” Sasha said, and turned to get away.

When she was finally outside, she buried her face in palm and drew a sharp breath. “s**t, I can’t tell Carey about this.”

She ran her hand through her hair and rubbed her forehead. “How do I live in the same building with a man who I had a one-night stand with?”

She glanced back at the door and then sighed heavily. “This is so complicated. He is Carey’s boyfriend now.”

She reached for the last box, but her wrist was suddenly caught, and she looked up only to see Derrick towering over her.

“What are you…”

He interrupted her. “Can you… uh… come here for a second?”

Before she could protest, Derrick pulled her to one side in the hallway outside the apartment.

Sasha’s heart thumped loudly in her chest, she glanced at the door, if Carey walk in to this, she would misunderstand.

She returned her gaze to Derrick, but was dumbfounded when she saw the confusion in his eyes. His brows creased slightly as he ran his hand through his hair, he seemed upset.

“Do you…” he hesitates, then looked directly into her eyes. “Do you remember me?”

The question caught Sasha off guard, even though it shouldn’t.

How can she forget a man she sees every time in her dreams, a man she couldn’t resist and couldn’t stop thinking about?

She thought he had forgotten about her, that one year had made her impossible to recognize, but now he was asking, she can’t lie she didn’t remember him.

She swallowed. “Yes, I do.”

“Okay, good,” he lets out a small breath, like he had been bracing himself for a different answer.

She bit down her lips. “There’s no way I could forget you after that night.”

For a second, he just looks at her intensely, like there were flashes of the night in her hotel room, the night they had both let their desires take over their minds.

“Yeah?” he says quietly.

“Yeah.” She breathed the word.

Derrick stepped closer like he was giving her time to move away if she wants to, but she didn’t.

“I wasn’t sure if I imagined it.” he admits stopping too closer that she could smell his cologne, too close that her heart pounded in her chest.

His gaze flickered down to her lips, and then to her eyes, and her lips again, heat flushed to her cheek, her desires spike, and for a moment she moved her face closer.

“I was going to ask you something,” he murmured, his face just inches away from hers.

“What?” she whispered, her eyes fluttering close.

He leans in and his lips brushed against her, but just then, the apartment door swing open and Sasha jumped, pushing Derrick away from her, and taking five steps away from him.

“Are you two almost done out here?” Carey asked, stepping into the hallway, completely.

Heat flooded Sasha’s face as she reached to grab the box. “Yeah… yeah, this is the last box, we’re done.” She lifted it.

Carey looked between the both of them in curiosity, but then nods since she hadn’t seen anything. “Good, because I need help figuring out where half this stuff goes,”

“I’ll help,” Sasha handed the box to Derrick, grateful for something to do, anything to shift her focus from Derrick.